Where to store tanks in an RV?

[SlugLife]

Unfortunately, all RVs are a little different, so it's a little difficult to say exactly where, without seeing what kind of RV you have, and perhaps knowing how you have your stuff laid out. Personally, I use the space next to my bed in the back, and bolted 4x d-rings into sturdy spots in the walls, and then use a couple ratchet straps. When moving, I might throw some extra pillows or blankets in the space to act a little like bubble-wrap.

he other storage compartments all have preformed sealed "tubs". I don't know if they're strong enough to hold up to thousands of miles of bouncing so I won't store them there.

They should be strong enough, though the quality of one RV to the next varies greatly. Those tubs should be plenty fine scuba-tanks.

My current best idea is to store both of them on one of the dinette seats. It seats four and has seat belts bolted thru to the frame.

That' should be fine too. Though if it's me, I'd probably want to use a ratchet-strap, if you can find (or make) any place to hook it onto. You could potentially even hook the ratchet straps onto the seatbelts themselves.

 

[broncobowsher]

RVs are just too different from one to the other. Even if you rattled off a brand and a model it would mean nothing to 99% of us. There is a 1% that might actually know a tiny little bit about what you have.

Generic answer for placing something heavy in an RV, low and just in front of the rear axle. That is the best place to maintain good weight distribution, and it is generally a well protected place.

 

[Waterwulf]

Thanks for the ideas. Yeah, I thought about putting in a couple of big eyebolts thu the floor in back and strap them down there but I'll probably go with the seat belts in the dinette seat. it's two two person seats and it's only my Wife and I so there will be room. I think if they get loose from the seat belts, that we already have bigger problems!

 

[Darnold9999]

Put them on something that will prevent them from rolling around in the belly storage compartments like the rack someone posted previously. That something will distribute the weight of the tank across the light steel floor so that will deal with the issue of denting the storage compartment. Put them valve toward the back with the base facing forward and as close to a bulkhead as possible. It is stopping suddenly that will launch the tanks. No reason to have something like tanks inside the motorhome unless you have a very substantial wall between the tank and you. Somewhere in the documentation for your MH will be the max weight allowed in your storage compartment. Very unlikely two tanks will exceed this limit, but worth checking. Mine are rated for 100lb each. If I had to put the tanks in my MH I would put them under the bed - a couple of walls between them and me, but I wouldn't.

 

[Waterwulf]

Ok, I've made a decision after looking at the dinette set seat belts and researching carry weights on the RV storage compartments. The seat belts are factory auto types and bolted to a steel frame that's welded to the chassis frame. It's all mounted on several different points and seems pretty strong. That's where they're going to be stored for travel.

The belly compartments are pretty standard and rated for a hundred pounds. Even though two tanks only weigh in at about 70 pounds, the weight is different from 70 pounds of lawn chairs, tables, fishing gear and barbecue stuff. It's more concentrated and has more slam when it bounces on a pothole at 65 mph. Yeah, I could spread it out with a carriage built to fit the compartment but then where will I put the chairs, table, barbecue stuff, etc.?

They're going on the dinette seat. I'll build a base for them to fit into upright and use their own backpacks to strap them into the seat belts. My second option and actually my first choice, is on the floor upright against the base of the dinette seat strapped in with the seat belts. I just have to convince my Wife that cutting two holes in the base of the seat for the seat belts to come out thru, is perfectly acceptable for a new motorhome. I'm not having much luck!

 

[ThatDogDontHunt]

Ok, I've made a decision after looking at the dinette set seat belts and researching carry weights on the RV storage compartments. The seat belts are factory auto types and bolted to a steel frame that's welded to the chassis frame. It's all mounted on several different points and seems pretty strong. That's where they're going to be stored for travel.

The belly compartments are pretty standard and rated for a hundred pounds. Even though two tanks only weigh in at about 70 pounds, the weight is different from 70 pounds of lawn chairs, tables, fishing gear and barbecue stuff. It's more concentrated and has more slam when it bounces on a pothole at 65 mph. Yeah, I could spread it out with a carriage built to fit the compartment but then where will I put the chairs, table, barbecue stuff, etc.?

They're going on the dinette seat. I'll build a base for them to fit into upright and use their own backpacks to strap them into the seat belts. My second option and actually my first choice, is on the floor upright against the base of the dinette seat strapped in with the seat belts. I just have to convince my Wife that cutting two holes in the base of the seat for the seat belts to come out thru, is perfectly acceptable for a new motorhome. I'm not having much luck!

Do your dinettes seats have a storage bin under them? Do they face the front and back? Both of our front and rear facing dinette seats lift up to allow access to a storage bin under them. Our bins could hold a bunch of tanks each.

 

[happy-diver]

Upright and in the middle at middle height seatbelted in with dogs, or sideways low on sponge in a cabinet thing

Pounds per square inch is greater vertical than horizontal

Sell the campervan man or give up diving I think it's both

 

[Waterwulf]

Yes, the seats have storage under them but the one with seat belts is the front facing one and it has vent plumbing under it that would get squashed by the tanks. They will have to be belted in so that only leaves the one seat.

No, my dogs won't be seat belted in next to the tanks because they wouldn't fit. They're very large dogs.

"Pounds per square inch is greater vertical than horizontal" ......................uuhhmm whut? The tank weighs the same and has the same internal psi no matter which way it's laying. The only variables are how far it flies when it gets thrown in an accident and the force applied when it makes impact. That's a result of it's mass multiplied by it's velocity. Regardless of what it's velocity and mass is, it will hurt a lot if it impacts on any part of a human body. That's what I'm trying to avoid.

"Sell the campervan man or give up diving I think it's both"................. It's not a campervan. It's a thirty foot motorhome. Why would I want to give up diving? I've hauled twin tanks and all of my other gear on a motorcycle so fitting it all inside my RV is easy. I just want to be safe doing it!

 

[Fred Tagge]

"The dinette has seat belts bolted to the frame.." The first thing I'd look at is to see if those bolted anchor locations can be utilized to anchor additional strapping to contain the tanks in a vertical position. Those spots at least you know are going to eventually transfer the loads directly into the frame and keep things from flying around if the world turns brown.
BTW sewn in seat belt attachments are pretty standard, so a little time browsing in a u-pull-it salvage yard will let you find suitable anchor points sewn into 2" webbing really cheap. The last time I looked for flexible webbing with anchors it was single digit dollars/strap + a coupe minutes with a half inch breaker bar to pull them. There isn't a lot of market for those straps so they are almost free from salvage yards.

The other thought is to remove the backpacks to store those in outside storage and just tie down the heavy bits inside.

There is a lot of variability in the structural strength of campers and motor homes. I recall a major national brand that had cabinet anchors so weak that more than a can of soup and a pack of paper plates in them just going over a railroad crossing would bring them down onto the counter, and then there was nothing left to reattach them to when trying to put them back up. The Floors should be at least 3/8" plywood or chipboard. If so an angle bracket held down by enough smallish screws could be installed to clamp the bare tanks to using a ratchet strap routed through the bracket with the ratchet n top of the tanks.

 

[Waterwulf]

Yup, I had already looked at the steel sub frame to see if additional belts could be added. I have a few sets laying around from assorted Rat Rod Rail projects. Another option that I'm looking at, is to just unhook the flexible heater ducts under the seat and push them back out of the way so I can strap the tanks in under the seat. Oh well. I'll figure it out. Thanks for all of the suggestions.