Propane line clearance by trailer equalizers

[mwilson]

For those that have missed the several threads I am involved in regarding my Cougar suspension and brake overhaul / upgrade....

I stumbled onto an issue with my black iron propane feed line. It runs down the RH frame rail just inboard of the spring and equalizer hangers. My springs had weakened over the last ten years so I ripped into it this weekend to do the suspension work. Looking across from the left side to the right under the trailer I see a shiny spot. On closer inspection it was my propane line that was all shiny from the upper spring eye bolt making contact on bumps.

Scared me bad, it was almost through the pipe.

So if you have a similar set up under your trailer make it a monthly item to inspect. It might save your trailer at the very least.

I removed it all today and created a new line with an offset so that this can not happen again.

 

[Killgore]

Mike, that's a good job of correcting something that should never have occurred. These kinds of issues will eventually force the RV industry to clean up its' act, unfortunately only after somebody gets involved in a fatality; lawyers get involved; or owners, working together, start a class action lawsuit. The general public is being deceived by glitz and the 'wow factor' that covers up shoddy workmanship, design flaws, and sub-standard materials and components. These are all dictated by an industry that is only concerned with volume and the bottom-line.

- Ed

 

[DavidC]

Nice find, I will have to take a look at mine now

Dave

 

[crispyboy]

Holy Crapoli - nice find!
It seems like every job undertaken on an RV always takes longer due to the other items you have to fix/correct along the way.

 

[mwilson]

Holy Crapoli - nice find!
It seems like every job undertaken on an RV always takes longer due to the other items you have to fix/correct along the way.

Well said!!!! My weekend project has now turned into a four day project, Saturday afternoon, long day Sunday, part of the day yesterday and will finish it Friday.

Good thing that the tire dept. doesn't need their jacks back in a hurry.........

Mike.

 

[GCroyle]

Mike,

Seriously, nice catch and solid repair.

We're proud of ya on this one.

Gary

 

[MichaelOverfield]

Good catch! I'm sure feeling like I've got as much if not more time fixing mine as camping in it.. When I had pulled the basement plastic cover to ensure I had no more mice nests.. I had all the wires and plumbing in there unsupported and fall out, literally, on the ground. That and I find the water tank improperly supported, could have failed eventually on the road, so many more issue in there, I practically had to rebuild darn near all of it, and route and tie things up properly... then came the wheel bearing issues, then the spring, then the tires, at each finding additional problems not part of the original work along the way. It is really amazing this industry has been able to function for so long with such major, and potentially catastrophic design and quality flaws. That pipe you found could very easily been a serious and rapid fire! One good bump, and hit, breaching that pipe, and simultaneously providing ignition.. and that would have been it!

 

[Bill Stockard]

Good catch! I'm sure feeling like I've got as much if not more time fixing mine as camping in it.. When I had pulled the basement plastic cover to ensure I had no more mice nests.. I had all the wires and plumbing in there unsupported and fall out, literally, on the ground. That and I find the water tank improperly supported, could have failed eventually on the road, so many more issue in there, I practically had to rebuild darn near all of it, and route and tie things up properly... then came the wheel bearing issues, then the spring, then the tires, at each finding additional problems not part of the original work along the way. It is really amazing this industry has been able to function for so long with such major, and potentially catastrophic design and quality flaws. That pipe you found could very easily been a serious and rapid fire! One good bump, and hit, breaching that pipe, and simultaneously providing ignition.. and that would have been it!

Most LP gas tanks are equipped with an excess flow check valve to stop the flow of gas in the event of a gas line rupture.

Bill

 

[MichaelOverfield]

Most LP gas tanks are equipped with an excess flow check valve to stop the flow of gas in the event of a gas line rupture.

Bill

This may well be, but who wants to inadvertently test that safety feature? It would be impossible to assume the eventual full size and flow of an eventual rupture, perhaps it is small enough to allow flow and not trigger the safety cut off... I have a propane torch that makes a HUGE flame and does not trigger the flow cut off.. so I'd hate to put any safety to the test, Murphy says the time you need it, it will oddly not be there for you! (Seen it first hand, long story, but testing any safety is a path we should all avoid).

I think it is just poor quality/manufacturing/engineering (assuming there was any, which I seriously doubt in this case). The suspension components had the room to hit that pipe from the factory, and the flattened springs had no effect on that geometry, this was all by the equalizer link, which pivots from the frame mount..

Since I also have a Keystone built RV (Outback 21RS), I'm sadly not surprised at this serious defect, I had really poor brake wiring, poor assembly in all the wires and plumbing, water tank not mounted properly/poorly supported, cracking on the I-Beam frame from insufficient cross beam support, horrible OEM tires, I could go on and on.. but at this point I've fixed so many things I feel as if I'm darn close to a rebuild and want to get some use for my considerable labor!

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

Good catch! I'm sure feeling like I've got as much if not more time fixing mine as camping in it..

Same here. I was shocked to find an extra battery charger that was plugged into a 110v outlet that was fed by my inverter! If anyone is wondering what happened, I only ran the inverter long enough to set up the tv and went on a two hour 4-wheeler ride. When I got back to camp, I discovered that it had drained the batteries to the point that I had to jump start the generator to charge them back up.

Mine is from a different manufacturer, but does go to show that stupidity is rampant in the industry as a whole!

 

[MichaelOverfield]

Same here. I was shocked to find an extra battery charger that was plugged into a 110v outlet that was fed by my inverter!

Perhaps it was supposed to be the perpetual energy model where the battery made the 110V, which then charged the battery!! If only it worked, you'd have quite the invention right there!

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

Perhaps it was supposed to be the perpetual energy model where the battery made the 110V, which then charged the battery!! If only it worked, you'd have quite the invention right there!

I have no clue why it's even there in the first place. Even if it were plugged into a different source, it serves no purpose since the converter/charger that it was equipped with handles the task all by itself. When I first noticed it I was scratching my head in bewilderment and laughing at the same time. Whoever thought this one up is about as sharp as a bowling ball :-laf