The right way to refill the propane tanks

The thought of dealing with propane gas can be scary for some people. Especially when it comes time to fill the tanks.

Turning on the stove or furnace from inside the Airstream is no big deal. But getting face to valve with the propane tanks? Turning off the gas valve and smelling propane? Transporting the tanks in your tow vehicle to the propane station? These things can make many people unsettled.

If you are one of these folks, or if you are new to the RV lifestyle, here are best practices for accomplishing this task.

But first, in case you aren't sure where the propane tanks are located on an Airstream...

On travel trailers the propane tanks are usually under a cover at the front of the trailer. The cover can be white plastic (Sport), black (Basecamp) or an aluminum trapezoid-shaped box with a black lid on aluminum trailers. Vintage trailers often don't have a cover at all.

In motorhomes the propane tanks aren't visible. Access is through a “fill station” located down low on the passenger side, and they aren't removable. Consult your Owner's Manual if you can't find it. Since you can't remove the tanks on a motorhome, you can skip ahead to the "Best practice steps for refilling a tank at a propane filling station" section.

Remove the propane tank cover

Pull open the lid and spin the handle in the middle of the propane tanks to unlock the cover. Lift it off and set it aside.

With the tank cover off you'll see two painted steel cylinders (more commonly called tanks), or aluminum cylinders in some cases.  Each is connected to a hose and a device that regulates the flow of propane gas. 

A primer on the shutoff valve and automatic changeover regulator

Each propane tank on a trailer has its own shutoff valve, like the triangular one in the photo below. (Motorhomes have a shutoff switch.) When a trailer is in use, the shutoff valve on each tank should remain open so that the automatic changeover regulator can do its job – which is to switch from one propane tank to the other when the first tank runs out of gas. (And any time your Airstream is stored, the valves or switch should be in the OFF position, for safety.)

Here’s the automatic part: if the tank in use runs dry, the regulator starts to draw gas from the secondary tank, giving the trailer an uninterrupted flow of gas. This means that you don’t have to get up in the middle of the night to switch tanks. This is a wonderful thing given that this is usually the time that propane tanks run dry during cold weather. 

The changeover regulator is the device shown in the photo below. It's located in between the tanks. To know which tank is in use, look at the direction of the white (or black, if you have an older model) arrow. If the changeover regulator shows green, like the photo below, the tank it's pointing to contains gas. All systems go.

But if the changeover regulator shows red, that tank is out of gas. 

You can manually switch the changeover regulator to point to the tank that has gas. But best practice is to travel with both valves open, and let the changeover regulator do this automatically, when one tank goes empty. If you are manually making the switch, move the white arrow to point at the secondary tank and open the tank valve. You should see the indicator become green again. Make a note to get the empty tank refilled at your next opportunity.

By the way, it’s a good idea to check the indicator on the regulator every day while you are camping, especially during the winter. While camping in Colorado for three weeks of freezing nights, we had a tank go dry every 3-4 days due to the furnace running a lot.

Best practice steps for refilling a tank at a propane filling station

At filling stations, you'll need to remove the propane tank yourself and provide it to the attendant to be filled. (That's only for travel trailers. Since motorhome tanks stay in place, all you have to do is drive to the propane filling station.) In most cases, you'll also have to go inside and request that someone come out and fill your tank, since they don’t staff these stations all day.

You'll need to close/turn off the gas valve and unscrew the big green or black knob that connects the flexible black gas line to the propane cylinder. 

Because you already removed the handle that held down the cover, the tank cover and bracket that holds the top of the propane tank will also now be loose. Pull off the entire tank cover and set it aside, then remove the tank and give it to the attendant at the propane refilling station.

Re-installing a propane tank on a trailer is the reverse of the procedure above, except for one thing: that cylinder is now going to be a lot heavier! Typically it will be either 30 or 40 pounds when full. Take it easy, or get some help wrestling it back into place if you need it. Be sure that when the cylinder is settled into place, you’ve tightened the handle so that it can’t wobble. Also make sure the base of the cover is sitting flat and not pinching any electrical wires. 

There is a space at the bottom to pull the electrical wires through – take a look every time you replace the cover to be sure no wires are getting pinched.