Roadtrek Ranger RT 2015

[starbc02]

HELLO!!!!!

We are new class b owners and have just purchased a 2015 Roadtrek Ranger RT. We are so excited to upgrade from a popup camper. It is based off a chevy 2500 express van. This model had the option at initial purchase for propane, however it wasn't selected by initial owner. We are looking to add propane just like factory had intended. The rig looks like it was "set up" for propane even has the LP indicator on the control panel. However it wasn't installed. We are looking for any schematics "maps" on the propane system and part numbers to help our search. I know that "this" Roadtrek went out of business in 2019 we have had zero help from "new" Roadtrek. We are basically looking for any parts numbers or names of parts (furnace etc) people might be able to get off their rigs or paperwork that came with them. We are looking for any information regarding the propane system on the Roadtrek Ranger RT.

We would need information on the following items:
1. 7 us gallon propane tank and mounting hardware parts numbers and possibly measurements
2. 16000 BTU domestic furnace
3. 2 burner gas range
4. any thing else you think we might be missing

We know we will need to have the propane hoses to run as well and the exhaust for the furnace. Since we are going to be doing the work we will also be adding a quick connect for our camp chef so we can cook outside.

We plan to do a lot of dry camping and won't always be hooked into shore power.

Anything you have would help even if its just photos of the manuals that came with your Ranger. We have the manual for this year just looking for more specific information. We seriously appreciate any hep you might have to offer. Please help us

Can't wait for spring to hit the NE so we can take this thing out and enjoy him. We named him Rick --- Ranger Rick

thanks again
Becky & Tom

[Sensfan]

Good day! We own a 2012 Ranger 3500. I have absolutely no DIY skills, however I asked a former employee of the original company about your Ranger 2500 propane quest. He indicated that, in his opinion, such an addition would require a professional ground up installation by a certified/licensed installer. I will send you a private message with the names of two suggested RV dealers that may be of assistance in answering some of your questions.

[starbc02]

Yes. Thank you. We are not planning to diy this. We are handy people but propane is propane. We want a safe conversation. Do you have propane ? Do you happen to know the model number of your stove, furnace or LP tank?

[folivier]

Don't forget water heater. Or maybe look at the new on demand combo water heater + heat. No reason (other than possibly cost) to not go with the latest, greatest out there.
I would start with looking at van conversion companies for ideas.

[Bud]

"We are so excited ........................"

Darn right, and you will figure it out. Right Rick?

Have fun.

[jrobe]

The real question is probably - how bad do you need heat (and maybe hot water) in your RV? That is a big project finding and installing the correct propane tank, running the gas lines through an existing build, cutting in the furnace vents, installing the furnace including 12V lines, etc.. I bet if you hired someone to do that it could be $10k pretty easily. That will be an expensive furnace. You can always cook for 10 min with a simple cheap propane canister from Walmart.

Here is the midwest we rarely use our heater in the 3 summer months and even in May and Sept could probably manage pretty well without it most of the time. That RV was designed for someone who decided they were either going to have shore power or didn't need a furnace.

One option that would at least cross my mind would be to install a gasoline based furnace (Webasto, etc.) if it was possible to tap into the gas tank. Our diesel furnace is the size of a small loaf of bread and is under the passenger seat. It would cost a lot less that a new propane system.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by jrobe

One option that would at least cross my mind would be to install a gasoline based furnace (Webasto, etc.) if it was possible to tap into the gas tank. Our diesel furnace is the size of a small loaf of bread and is under the passenger seat. It would cost a lot less that a new propane system.

That's what I was thinking, too. Or maybe a gas-fired Espar Airtronic or hydronic. The latter would give you hot water as well.

[booster]

The costs of the the items you list, as others have mentioned, will be very high and a lot work on an existing van.


My bet is that you would be money, time, and hassle ahead to just bite the bullet and trade it in on a 190 Popular. It would be on the 3500 structure which is an improvement and would have the things you want.


I know this is not a pleasant thing to hear or even consider, but what you want to do is likely even worse.

[RTRanger]

We just picked up a 2015 Roadtrek Ranger in mid December! We’re new to the class b world. We started with a class c and then upgraded to a class a. We sold the class a because we don’t need all that room since we bought a bungalow in Florida. We’ll do some short stays at our favorite state/national parks with the Ranger but we’ll mainly use it for traveling between PA and FL. (Man I hate hotels.)

Our Ranger does not have propane and I’m fine with that. I’ll be VERY interested in what for estimate you get on adding it. I’m leaning toward installing a Webasto Gasoline Heater because it would be many times cheaper than just buying the parts for a propane installation.

We have not slept in it overnight yet but I just about have everything set up. I added 200w of solar on the roof and 200 amp hours of lithium batteries for the house.

I really like the compressor fridge, it seems to work great.

[RTRanger]

One additional thought, I had installed electric heat in both of our other RVs. It worked great when we were at a park that had power. Much quieter that the gas furnace. In the Ranger we might just carry a small electric ceramic heater since we’ll be fair weather campers from now on.

I would also consider a DC electric blanket if I could find a good one somewhere. When reviews on Amazon show blankets with holes burnt in them I would never consider one of them even for free.

[booster]

Originally Posted by RTRanger

One additional thought, I had installed electric heat in both of our other RVs. It worked great when we were at a park that had power. Much quieter that the gas furnace. In the Ranger we might just carry a small electric ceramic heater since we’ll be fair weather campers from now on.

I would also consider a DC electric blanket if I could find a good one somewhere. When reviews on Amazon show blankets with holes burnt in them I would never consider one of them even for free.

I think very many of us on here use a small electric heater when on shore power, as it just makes sense in many ways. Many also use electric blankets or mattress pads.


I think you are on the right track as long as you have a way to keep warm if you don't have shore power.

[starbc02]

Thank you all keep the answers coming.

The combination heater and water heaters are intriguing however the price point is high. Around 2k from what I am seeing. But I really like them.

We have found a local RV service center that will install the propane and run the lines at what we consider a reasonable price. We included the cost of the work and parts in our original purchase price point and we are still within it.

We are looking for dry camping solutions as we very rarely camp with hookups. However we do have a perfect little space heater for the van and a heated mattress pad from our pop up camper days.

[rowiebowie]

Welcome to the forum!

I have to agree with others who've suggested this may be too big a bite to chew. Since you've graduated from tent camping, I'd suggest you consider a sizeable upgrade in battery capacity and the previously mentioned DC electric blanket. Your B is still a substantial upgrade from a tent.

[booster]

Be careful with any installer of propane lines and question thoroughly what they are going to use for materials. I think copper is required for all be final terminations in RVs per RVIA, but I have heard of retrofit/repair shops using long lengths of rubber hose because it is much easier. I wouldn't want any long lengths of gas hose inside the van where it could be not be inspected, could get rodent chewed, rubbed on sharp stuff, ect. A bid that is noticeably lower than others always has to be a bit suspect for this kind of differences. Other shops plan on just calling and saying OOPs it is going to cost more for some reason, once it is half done. Or the job could be done well if you are lucky. Be sure to read any and all information and BBB information on the place before hiring them, especially for something like propane installation.

[jrobe]

I like my Espar D2 diesel bunk heater so much that if I ever bought a gas Class B van, the thought has crossed my mind of just adding a small diesel auxiliary tank and installing the D2 again. I would rather have this heater than a propane furnace and the hassle of regularly filling a propane tank. They use so little diesel fuel that the tank could just be a small 2-5 gal tank. For that matter, it could even just be a small separate plastic gas can sitting next to the van with the small intake hose dropped down into the can on the rare nights when heat was needed. These heaters are small, safe, fairly cheap, and all the semi truckers in the country have proven their reliability. Our local Sprinter dealer (Freightliner) installs them in all their semi trucks now.

https://www.amazon.com/Eberspacher-A...s%2C183&sr=8-6

[rowiebowie]

One more general warning about RV repair shops. Many (if not most) are backed up for months, so it may take some time to get your work done regardless of whether it is a major or minor job.

Secondly, my one and only experience was a local repair shop that attempted to rip me off. Well they actually did for $350 just to tell me I had a blank monitor panel a bad macerator (exactly what I told them was wrong when I brought it in). They also told me it would cost an additional $1800 for those repairs and other completely boggus items I knew were ok but I guess they thought I was stupid and an RV newbie.

They did me a favor in a way, since I decided to do all future repairs myself. Turns out the blank monitor was a blown in-line fuse and the macerator cost $250 on Ebay. This confirmed my belief that if it's already broken, what could I hurt by trying to fix it myself (provided the work can be done safely). Most of my subsequent repairs are to remove old parts and install new parts of the same make and model. That makes it much easier and keeps me within my limited expertise.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by jrobe

I like my Espar D2 diesel bunk heater so much that if I ever bought a gas Class B van, the thought has crossed my mind of just adding a small diesel auxiliary tank and installing the D2 again.

Gas-fired Espars are readily available and routinely used in Transits. By all accounts, they work just fine when properly installed. That is what I am going to use.

They have a bad reputation in some circles, but this appears to be due to misguided attempts to use the standard Ford fuel standpipe, rather than the proper Espar one (different diameters).

[habsfan59]

Good day, I own a Roadtrek Ranger RT (2014, Chevy 2500) with the Propane option equipped. I am not home at this time but the propane tank with the bracket might be available thru www.mobiliferv.ca. My 2 stove burner is a Dometic 2BR-1066050 model. The furnace is a Suburban NT16SE. Probably like your Ranger, we have an electric water heater EEMax EMT2.5.

Few notes: We purchased the 2014 Ranger in 2016. Since then, we have camped approximately 400+ nights in it and have almost 110000 Kms (about 65000 miles) on the odometer. We did road trips (Spring, Summer and Fall in Canada/USA). We had some cold weather along the way but we rarely used the Gas Furnace, we prefer a small electric (1500W) heater. In 6 years, we probably used the Gas furnace about 5-6 times....! In summary, I would not spend any money on a gas furnace for my Ranger.

Having said that, we love the Dometic 2 burner stove that was installed.

With regard to the Water tank, it is only working on 120AC only (No gas water heater). Originally I was surprised of it, but after 6 years of usage, we love the "so called On-Demand" water heater. It is super efficient...!

Overall, we really like the Ranger RT. There are few things that we are not very "in love with"...! Low clearance chassis. The sewer system too low from the ground. Don't ask me how many times I had to repair the Black/Grey tank drain...! I am probably an expert on repairing it...LOL...!

Also, not a big fan of the Onan 2800. We rarely uses it and the maintenance on it is a bit a PITA. Most of the generator running hours on it are "maintenance hours".

The rear bench converts to a mattress which for my "old body" is not the best mattress...! Luckily, we found a Mattress shop that made a custom mattress and since then we are very comfy for sleeping.

The above "negative points" are minor and we can live with it. The Chevrolet Express 2500 has a workhorse engine (4.8 Ltr) coupled with the 6L90 Heavy Duty transmission have a excellent reputation of reliability.

I am sure you will enjoy your Ranger 2015 as much as we like our Ranger 2014.

[starbc02]

Originally Posted by habsfan59

Good day, I own a Roadtrek Ranger RT (2014, Chevy 2500) with the Propane option equipped. I am not home at this time but the propane tank with the bracket might be available thru www.mobiliferv.ca. My 2 stove burner is a Dometic 2BR-1066050 model. The furnace is a Suburban NT16SE. Probably like your Ranger, we have an electric water heater EEMax EMT2.5.

Few notes: We purchased the 2014 Ranger in 2016. Since then, we have camped approximately 400+ nights in it and have almost 110000 Kms (about 65000 miles) on the odometer. We did road trips (Spring, Summer and Fall in Canada/USA). We had some cold weather along the way but we rarely used the Gas Furnace, we prefer a small electric (1500W) heater. In 6 years, we probably used the Gas furnace about 5-6 times....! In summary, I would not spend any money on a gas furnace for my Ranger.

Having said that, we love the Dometic 2 burner stove that was installed.

With regard to the Water tank, it is only working on 120AC only (No gas water heater). Originally I was surprised of it, but after 6 years of usage, we love the "so called On-Demand" water heater. It is super efficient...!

Overall, we really like the Ranger RT. There are few things that we are not very "in love with"...! Low clearance chassis. The sewer system too low from the ground. Don't ask me how many times I had to repair the Black/Grey tank drain...! I am probably an expert on repairing it...LOL...!

Also, not a big fan of the Onan 2800. We rarely uses it and the maintenance on it is a bit a PITA. Most of the generator running hours on it are "maintenance hours".

The rear bench converts to a mattress which for my "old body" is not the best mattress...! Luckily, we found a Mattress shop that made a custom mattress and since then we are very comfy for sleeping.

The above "negative points" are minor and we can live with it. The Chevrolet Express 2500 has a workhorse engine (4.8 Ltr) coupled with the 6L90 Heavy Duty transmission have a excellent reputation of reliability.

I am sure you will enjoy your Ranger 2015 as much as we like our Ranger 2014.

Wow. Thank you for this information!!! This is exactly what we are looking for. Please send pictures when you are home or have service to do so. We will be Boondocking it mostly and won’t be having hook ups. So the furnace will be used as we can run heat pump and electric space heater on battery. Unless you are having luck with space heater on battery without running them down ? We are so excited to get out there and really break this van in !!

[mangomike]

like some I don't think I'd mess with your unit.
You didm't ask for alternatives but I'd
Buy a large Portable Buddie propane heater . we use one on our boats and tent camping.
they are portable and easy
and a tow burner Coleman stove ,
Just saying .............
Good luck
Michael