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Budward View Drop Down
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Posts: 438 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: 2nd Battery Install
    Posted: 17 Sep 2014 at 5:49pm
I added a second LP tank to my 179.  On our recent 30 day trip we made it about 25 days-   fridge running on gas 24x7, boil a quart of water each morning on the gas stove for french press coffee and water heater on only when an infrequent shower was pending, maybe 4 times running my Olympian gas grill and only maybe 3 nights where the heater came on.

Was glad to have the second tank as the fridge beeped "out of gas" one morning as I was just about to make coffee.Ouch

I do carry a small backpacking stove that runs on white gas for emergencies.  Not having coffee would have qualifiedEmbarrassed



Oh-  I used the mount system jeeperic showed but I didn't bother with all the changeover stuff, I just hook to one bottle and move it to the other when it empties.   Takes all of 12 seconds.   Used to do it in 10 but I've gotten old...Tongue
2014 179
Towed by a 2015 Ford Transit Diesel
Supervised by a German/Aussie mix and a Labradoodle!
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Sep 2014 at 5:56pm
Hmmm. Stain. Don't quote me on this, but I think I made a mix of Minwax Red Oak and Special Walnut. I have a bunch of stains and mix 'em on scraps to the boss's satisfaction. I have a very beautiful and somewhat fastidious boss, errhh wife! Smile

fred
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Sep 2014 at 6:02pm
Budward, you burn a lot of propane! In a 26 day trip we made it almost 18 on one tank using furnace almost every morning and a bit at night, reefer 24/7, hot (propane) showers and cook a lot. When we did run out in Kalaloch, WA they had propane right there in campground. Very convenient.

fred
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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jeeperic View Drop Down
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Posts: 48 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Sep 2014 at 7:09pm
Budward, I whole-heartedly agree with you on the coffee-in-the-morning-emergency! I like the way you think! And Fred, our bosses must have gone to the same school!
That button at the top of the remote?
That's the power button..press it.
Turn it all off.
Go outside!

'14 RPod 171
'09 Jeep Wrangler JK (mine)
'14 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 (hers)
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WillThrill View Drop Down
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Posts: 298 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Sep 2014 at 8:29pm
Originally posted by fwunder

Budward, you burn a lot of propane! In a 26 day trip we made it almost 18 on one tank using furnace almost every morning and a bit at night, reefer 24/7, hot (propane) showers and cook a lot. When we did run out in Kalaloch, WA they had propane right there in campground. Very convenient.
fred


We camped in Kalaloch last month, and it was great except for the perpetual fog over the ocean.

I too was thinking that two propane tanks seems like a lot. Even with running the water heater for showers, ours will last for at least 3-4 weeks. If you're running the furnace much, though, that would completely change the equation.

When we go to Alaska with our Pod next year, I'll just throw one of my spare propane tanks in the back of our Envoy. We'll be taking extra gas too, just in case. I've heard that you can go a long way between gas stations on the Alcan highway.
"Not all those who wander are lost." Tolkien

2014 Hood River 177
2005 GMC Envoy XL
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Sep 2014 at 9:01pm
Ahhhh, Kalaloch! I know I hijacked the thread, but hey! This place was just fricken gorgeous! I hope to return sooner than later! - fred
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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Budward View Drop Down
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Posts: 438 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Sep 2014 at 9:57pm
Originally posted by WillThrill

If you're running the furnace much, though, that would completely change the equation.

 


We were camped in Rocky Mountain National Park in February a few years back in a pop-up truck camper -   we went through a full tank of propane in 3 days- heater basically ran 24 x7,  it was in the low teens IIRC!
The truck is a 96 I ordered in July 1995- still have it and the 4Wheel camper..
2014 179
Towed by a 2015 Ford Transit Diesel
Supervised by a German/Aussie mix and a Labradoodle!
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Sep 2014 at 10:10pm
Wow! Over 140,000 BTUs of energy per day! Shoulda just knocked a whole in the backside of the truck and run the engine/heater! Tongue

fred
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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Budward View Drop Down
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Posts: 438 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Sep 2014 at 8:20am
Well the problem with that is it is a diesel, they won't stay warm in those temps due to using so little fuel during idle!  There are systems that bump the idle speed up to keep them warm, but propane is cheaper.

140,000 BTU per day-  sounds about right -  it is 16,000 BTU heater so run time would be 8.75 hours times 3 days and you are out!
  Keep in mind the grey upper part of the popup has no insulation!
2014 179
Towed by a 2015 Ford Transit Diesel
Supervised by a German/Aussie mix and a Labradoodle!
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techntrek View Drop Down
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Posts: 9059 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Sep 2014 at 9:37am
Been there, done that with a popup in cool weather, the heat just blows right out of the seams and through the tenting.  Much better insulation in the pods and no air penetration, but with heavy heater use I would carry a 2nd propane tank, too.  Normally I go through less than a tank each summer.  I just filled up the 2 30 pound tanks that came with our new camper, plus a spare 20, and spent about $70.  I figure those big tanks will expire before they run out!
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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