Propane tank location on 2016 Roadtrek Zion

[warrenb]

I am about to take delivery of a 2016 Roadtrek Zion. The propane tank on this rig are located right behind the back bumper. Every manual for the zion that I have found has the tank on the passenger side and a tire mount behind the back bumper. Is this unusual or dangerous? The carfax does report two minor accidents one on the passenger side and one in the rear. A local body shop reports repairs done, but was the propane tank moved?

I have tried to attach a photo

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by warrenb

........ Every manual for the zion that I have found has the tank on the passenger side and a tire mount behind the back bumper. Is this unusual or dangerous? ......

Two points:

TECHNICAL - See this thread which picks up here. Bruceper apparently reproduced a passage from the standard in question. Excerpt:

"(b) Tanks mounted behind the rear axle of a motorhome or chassis-mount camper shall be installed in such a manner that the bottom of the tank and any connection thereto shall not be lower than either the rear axle height (excluding the differential) or any section of the frame immediately to the rear of the tank, whichever is higher."

From your single photo, I am not sure that it meets this technical standard. If the rig's configuration doesn't conform to this standard and it gets found out, it might prevent you from being able to purchase insurance for it. Or if you had a claim and an unapproved configuration was discovered, the claim might be denied.

PERSONAL - I would not own or drive a rig configured like that. First there's the possibility of a propane breach in a rear-end collision. Even if the tank survives an impact, the appurtenances might not. These tanks are not bulletproof.

Second, even in the absence of a collision, the propane tank appears to be the feature that defines that van's departure angle. Most Class B owners tail-strike eventually. I would not want to live with the specter of having the tank be the thing I accidentally smack into the ground. There's just no need of that risk.

I think in pictures, so here's one in this vein, rebutting a well-known blogger. The photos are of my van tail-striking during a tow I had to have last year. I had skid plates mounted on the rear to "protect" the generator, and you can see the grooves cut into the ground by them. We later replaced the plates with skid wheels because this kind of thing happens so often.

[markopolo]

The tank in the photo looks to have skid plate protection. That steel protection appears to be 1/4" thick and also separate from the actual tank. More photos of that guard would be useful. It does not look like the typical light gauge steel guard that's welded to LPG tanks. It looks to be much more substantial.

As Interblog points out, it's not the greatest location but it's worth pointing out that it is not uncommon. Lots of Chevy RT's have the tank in that general location also. You see tanks at the rear of LP converted vehicles like Taxis also.

LPG tanks are vulnerable in a collision. The odds of being rear ended would seem to be greater than being T-boned but side locations or rear are both still vulnerable. The risk must be fairly low though for tanks to be routinely added to vehicles as they are.

You do have to be aware of that tank location when reversing to high curbs or low walls. Lots of us fit our B vans in car parking spaces by overhanging the rear over a curb or similar.

The Promaster rear overhang looks to be less than Interblogs Sprinter.

[InterBlog]

It would be instructive to find out more about the history of this one. Where did it originate? The photo is pixelated - am I correct in observing that "vapor" is spelled "vapeur"? (I noticed because I speak some French).

Markopolo notes that it may not be a standard type of plate that the tank has. I have never seen this type before, but I don't pay much attention to European vans or components. However, as I understand it, irrespective of configuration, those plates were intended as rock shields - for debris protection, so that junk kicked up in the roadway does not damage the vulnerable appurtenances. Those plates were never intended to bear the force of a tail strike.

More pics would indeed be useful.

[mkguitar]

never thought about this- on my chev based pleasure way the genny is lower than the propane tank and in my many slide unders the van to do "fixes" to genny and shocks I have never brushed it, or thought about it


my axle/genny/trailer hitch fer sure are all lower than the tank


the access to valve/fill are through what would have been license plate/step cutout in bumper



mike

[InterBlog]

Historically, I have obsessed about expanding my propane capacity, so I tend to take pics of every van tank I see, so I can refer back. A few:

1. This was a commercial installation, Class B or C. I forget the brand, but it was Sprinter-based because I took the pic when the rig was up on a hoist at our local Sprinter service center. Note that this tank is (a) amidships and (b) not lower than the axle or other major frame component:



2. This.... ah, no. While structurally sound, it lacks elegance (they could have fit the mounting plates - had some pride in workmanship). But still, it is also both amidships and not lower than the diesel tank.



3. My own suffering tank for reference. Amidships, and above the bottom of the frame (that orange-ish member lower down is just the fiberglass ground effects, the running board specifically). The measuring tape is in the photo because I was trying to find a way to put a splitter in the line so that I could run a BBQ off the same tank. No dice; the leaf spring is in the way.

[markoch]

That's the normal location for a 2016 Zion. Later years it went to the passenger side in front of the rear tire. Someone on the FB group recently hit a curb with their side tank and lost all their propane in a big white cloud. No ignition thank goodness. So you can rupture a tank no matter where it is located.