Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

BobHenry (who I believe is a Real Plumber) has a good point. I'm just copying what Real Plumbers did on my household appliances, 'cuz I don't know any better.

Thanks, Bob

That helps. I'll think having a short leg under the trailer would help keep the plumbing inside simple. Simple sounds best to me.

bobhenry wrote:This helps to picture the thoughts in my original post

Here I have oriented the picture in as near upward as I could.
The red lines are cut lines showing a very short nipple replacing both sections.



The down leg will collect about as much debris as the amount of black pepper you put on your eggs.
A huge volume is not needed just a place for it to fall out of the flow of gas. Most gas lines have male thread so a coupling can be added to the top. Again by having a very short nipple between the top of the tee below the floor and the coupling above your gas line is well supported if you kept the hole just big enough for the pipe itself.

I completed most of my install today. I ended up with a much simpler system:

Inside the trailer:
- 3/8 36" flexible line from burner
- 3/8->1/2 ball valve
- 2' of 1/2" black pipe (vertical through the floor)
Outside the trailer:
- 90 deg elbow
- 4' of 1/2" black pipe
- T with tiny nipple (1.5") down with a cap (at front of trailer) and a 4" nipple up
- cap (temporary until I finish)

Pipe under the trailer will be supported by straps. On the inside of the trailer, I'm thinking about using a pipe clamp right where the pipe enters the cabinet to help support it (similar to the suggestion of using a coupler).

I decided against putting the sediment trap under the middle of the trailer - it stuck down 2-3" from the frame and just felt too exposed (thinking about speed bumps!). I move the T & trap to the tongue area where it is close to other things that stick down more (like the tongue jack foot which is about 1-2" longer).

I'll drop by an RV parts place tomorrow and pick up the regulator, hose, and bottle.

All it in all it wasn't too bad. The hardest part was figuring out where I want to put the hole in my cabinets and floor. I was very happy that after a lot of measuring my pilot hole came out less than a 1/4" from where I guessed it would be from the inside of the trailer.

When I'm done, I'll definitely get a plumber/expert to inspect it for me.

Beats the hell out of the $1800 estimate at the start of this thread doesn't it.

Now just get a spray bottle add some liquid soap and spay away looking for bubbles.
I bet ya a dollar to a donut ya did a good job and won't find any.
So if ya don't see any just give it your blessing and tell all your camping buddies about the gas line wars.

Anyway we are all proud of ya

Good job!

bobhenry wrote:
Now just get a spray bottle add some liquid soap and spray away looking for bubbles.

I agree. It either leaks or it does not. If it does not leak you are good, if it does leak then you have some fixing to do.

Thanks all! I'm almost done but not over the finish line yet.

I didn't make it to the RV parts place, so now I'm going to need to order the regulator and hoses and stuff online.

A couple of quick questions:

- What's the difference between a vertical and horizontal mount (beyond the obvious physical orientation)? My pipe comes straight up the middle of the front of the trailer, so I was thinking about using a vertical mount
- How does the regulator mount to the surface? or is it meant to be supported by the pipe?
- Does it make sense to connect to the pipe using a low pressure hose on one side and a high pressure hose to the bottle?
- Do you pressure test through the regulator? with the appliance connected?

Ok - I think that's all I need to figure out to finish this up.

I googled horizontal vs vertical propane regulator and found MtnDon on another forum http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=9438.0

And found the Camco manual - very helpful: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61wY8isPBgS.pdf

Ah - and it looks like y'all are suggesting just spraying all the joints to detect leaks as opposed to using some kind of pressure gauge?

zroadhouse wrote:Ah - and it looks like y'all are suggesting just spraying all the joints to detect leaks as opposed to using some kind of pressure gauge?

I bought a pressure gauge and the fittings required to pump air into the system years ago. So I use that as a 24 to 48 hour check. That is the method used by the inspector for home construction piping. If that indicates a leak then the soapy water comes out. But with a small project like a trailer soapy water can detect leaks if done carefully and deliberately. If it is not windy your nose can also detect amazingly small leaks.

If you use air pressure and a gauge in a capped off pipe system be sure to NOT apply that pressure to the regulator or any appliances. 11" WC pressure is only 0.4 PSI.


Horizontal vs vertical; whatever is best suited to the installation.

Regulators may come with mounting brackets or not. They do have holes for mount brackets. If the iron pipe is solidly mounted the regulator could simply be attached directly to the pipe. Sometimes there is no room to turn the regulator onto the end of the pipe so a union fitting can be handy. Think ahead to the possible need to replace the regulator. Will it be easy or difficult to remove it w/o a union?

IF the regulator was connected to copper tuning on the outlet side, the regulator itself should be solidly mounted to help avoid flex and work hardening of the copper. That won't be an issue with iron pipe that is well mounted.

Hoses do deteriorate over time so I personally prefer to minimize their number. IE, mount the regulator onto the pipe and use a hose to the cylinder to make that connection easier.


When ordering the regulator and pigtail hose be sure to get the hose that matches the input of the regulator. There are different fittings used.

I was told/taught never to use Teflon tape for LP fittings. And to use a dope approved for LP.

MtnDon wrote:...
When ordering the regulator and pigtail hose be sure to get the hose that matches the input of the regulator. There are different fittings used.

This is all very helpful - thank you!

I'm beginning to think that maybe I should just start with a two stage regulator mounted directly to the bottle. Then I can put a 1/2 -> 3/8 reducing union on my T at the front of the trailer and have a single low pressure rubber hose from the regulator to that point. When the bottle is off the trailer, I can put a 3/8 nut on the union.

Padilen wrote:I was told/taught never to use Teflon tape for LP fittings. And to use a dope approved for LP.

I used No. 5 Pipe Thread Sealant like this -> http://www.amazon.com/Rectorseal-25790-4-Ounce-No-5-Pipe-Sealant/dp/B0009PU9CK

One of the problems that existed with our tear was that the guys from Eye4design used un galvanized (black iron) pipe and where they went under the axle was well below lowest point and just waiting to be taken out by a rock. I know that "black iron" is the default recommendation by RVIA but on the way to something I encountered the underside of and Airstream and the gas piping was copper. Looking at the RVIA standards I found that they allow copper. I re plumbed ours in copper using flared fittings and I do a leak test each year. Not feeling comfortable doing the flared connections I had some one at my HVAC contractor do it for about $50.