RVers Stay Warmer While Staying Put
RV-One is on it’s way to Quartzsite, Arizona today so I’ve posted this for your reading pleasure. 
Whether your RV is a travel trailer, 5th wheel or motorhome it’s a pain to move it when you’re set up to stay a while. You’ve got the awnings deployed and secured, patio mats nailed down complete with flower pots and lights. Your patio furniture is set up, the ladder out, your bikes off the mount, windshield covers on, the blue-boy under the coach and, well you get the picture.
Now, you discover you’ve run out of propane. If you have reasonable access to the propane cylinders you can easily remove them and take them in for refill without dragging along the RV. 
Most motorhomes don't have removable LP cylinders so they either have to drive to the propane or have it delivered to their site. Many RV parks allow propane dealers to bring their trucks through their parks to service motorhomes. If, however you are out of reach of this kind of service, you’ll need an extended stay propane kit.
This kit costs about $75 dollars and comes with a tee and a five foot length of extension hose. (Google “RV extended stay LP kit” and you’ll find many vendors). 
Bill Cook from Waupaca, Wisconsin was my RV neighbor this past week. He uses this extended stay setup and reports that when temperatures have been hovering around 30 degrees at night, he gets about 13 days of propane use out of his extra seven gallon LP tank. Bill mounted the extended stay tee between the regulator and the motorhome LP tank.
He rigged a long bolt to lift and brace the regulator to line up with the tee and the motorhome LP tank valve fitting. 
You can also add additional tanks using extra LP pigtails. The tee has screw-in plugs to secure the openings for travel. This tee will also allow you to hook up additional LP devices. For instance you can purchase an additional hose with fittings to operate a BBQ, lantern or stove. Just connect it to the tee and you’re ready to go. With this system you can also use an external large capacity tank. Propane distributors will sell or rent these if you need one for a longer stay. Often State Parks and RV Parks offer the use of these tanks to their work-campers as part of their contract. Helping you expand your gas capacity - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing
Whether your RV is a travel trailer, 5th wheel or motorhome it’s a pain to move it when you’re set up to stay a while. You’ve got the awnings deployed and secured, patio mats nailed down complete with flower pots and lights. Your patio furniture is set up, the ladder out, your bikes off the mount, windshield covers on, the blue-boy under the coach and, well you get the picture.
Now, you discover you’ve run out of propane. If you have reasonable access to the propane cylinders you can easily remove them and take them in for refill without dragging along the RV. 
Most motorhomes don't have removable LP cylinders so they either have to drive to the propane or have it delivered to their site. Many RV parks allow propane dealers to bring their trucks through their parks to service motorhomes. If, however you are out of reach of this kind of service, you’ll need an extended stay propane kit.
This kit costs about $75 dollars and comes with a tee and a five foot length of extension hose. (Google “RV extended stay LP kit” and you’ll find many vendors). 
Bill Cook from Waupaca, Wisconsin was my RV neighbor this past week. He uses this extended stay setup and reports that when temperatures have been hovering around 30 degrees at night, he gets about 13 days of propane use out of his extra seven gallon LP tank. Bill mounted the extended stay tee between the regulator and the motorhome LP tank.
He rigged a long bolt to lift and brace the regulator to line up with the tee and the motorhome LP tank valve fitting. 
You can also add additional tanks using extra LP pigtails. The tee has screw-in plugs to secure the openings for travel. This tee will also allow you to hook up additional LP devices. For instance you can purchase an additional hose with fittings to operate a BBQ, lantern or stove. Just connect it to the tee and you’re ready to go. With this system you can also use an external large capacity tank. Propane distributors will sell or rent these if you need one for a longer stay. Often State Parks and RV Parks offer the use of these tanks to their work-campers as part of their contract. Helping you expand your gas capacity - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing
posted by Jim Twamley at
1/17/2008 11:48:00 AM
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Now you can refill these small bottles and reuse them again and again with the MacCoupler EZ Fill propane coupler. It takes one minute to refill a bottle from a 20 to 40 pound propane tank – there are no gauges, or other special tools needed to do this procedure. You can download the instructions in PDF format and read more about this product here:
You can purchase this from Cabela’s web store for around $24.00 delivered. 
Bob has done a unique custom install of a CAT heater in both of his RVs. Here is a view of the platinum catalytic heater installed in a cabinet door. Ingenious! 
This baby puts out 5000 British Thermal Units and is vented to the outside with a flex hose. 
A thermostat located in the bedroom controls this unit. The heat is dispersed by an electric fan in the unit. This unit is much more economical to run than a typical forced air heater. It uses less propane and much less electricity! 
Bob insists on a few safety features when he uses his CAT system. First he makes sure the propane supply line is installed with a shut off valve. 
Second, he makes sure he “cracks” the ceiling vents before he turns on the heater. This way you have a renewable oxygen supply and it helps reduce condensation. I’m not sure why he “cracks” his vents when he could just use the crank handle.
The infant safety latch helps ensure the door stays closed while traveling. 
While not in use this space doubles as storage for an additional stand-alone CAT heater. Bob likes to stay nice and toasty! 
This particular CAT heater is made in limited quantities by Arnie Lund. Contact him and see if he has a batch made up, but check out his website first: 
Frank, like most of us, was frustrated with the propane tank retaining bar assembly because it is awkward to handle. Frank decided to make life easier by placing a tension spring under the retaining bar. He used about a 1 ½ to 2 inch spring (not so stiff as to make the wing-nut hard to twist) and mounted it on top of a large washer held in place with the locking nuts. This holds the retention bar up against the wing nut while you easily remove the tank for service. 
If you are wondering why a red bungee ball is hanging off the tank, there is a good reason. Frank does not like to drive with his propane turned on, so to help remind himself to turn it off, he hangs this bungee ball out of his LPG compartment. When he forgets, it isn’t long before he sees the bungee happily flapping in the breeze in his mirrors.
