Attaching a LPG tank to your motorhome - we're ready for Europe!

How to install a fixed LPG tank in a motorhome? And why should you do it? In 2015, we spent a whole year travelling through Europe with only Swedish LPG tanks, but that was a rookie mistake. We won't do it again!

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Why install a fixed LPG tank in the motorhome?

Why should you install a fixed LPG tank in your motorhome? Well, we can explain that! Most countries in Europe has, for some unfathomable reason, its own LPG and LPG tube system.

In Sweden, Swedish LPG cylinders are usually connected to the motorhome. When you run out of LPG, you go and change it, for example at Bauhaus or a petrol station. No problem! It works in a similar way for Germans in Germany and Spaniards in Spain. The problem is that each country has its own system, so a Swedish tube cannot be changed in Germany or Spain, and a German or Spanish tube cannot be changed in Sweden. Impractical? Yes, extremely!

One would imagine that the whole thing can be solved with some kind of adapter. Or perhaps by buying a German or Spanish LPG pipe and plugging it in. But well, none of that is painless. Refuelling with an adapter to a regular tube is usually not possible, and in most countries you can't buy a full LPG tube unless you have an empty LPG tube from the same country to hand in in exchange. Moment 22? Yes, definitely! But there is a solution, and it's called a 'fixed LPG tank'.

Who needs a fixed LPG tank?

If you're only travelling in Sweden, you won't need a fixed LPG tank. If you're just travelling down Europe for a few weeks in the warmer months, you can probably do without a fixed LPG tank. If you are going abroad for a longer period of time, or if you are travelling in cold weather (and using LPG for heating), then a fixed LPG tank can be very useful.

What is a fixed LPG tank?

A standard LPG cylinder is a cylinder that is replaced when it is empty. A fixed LPG tank is instead permanently installed. You never have to change it, but instead you fill up with LPG at a petrol station.

Refuelling a standard non-fixed LPG cylinder on your own is too dangerous and almost always prohibited. The fixed installation means that you never even have to open the door where the LPG cylinders are. You refuel from the outside, through a small opening, and you can't overfill.

The best thing about this solution is that you can refuel a fixed LPG tank in many places around Europe. For our part, we have chosen to have a regular Swedish LPG tank (composite) and a new fixed LPG tank (aluminium).

Installing a fixed LPG tank in the motorhome

Installing a fixed LPG tank in a motorhome is not necessarily very difficult - but it is likely to be quite tricky. After going through the whole procedure, we can highly recommend bringing in professional help. Apart from the fact that it was cramped and messy, the whole thing also involves LPG. In other words, it's important to get it right!

We bought all the stuff we needed (Alugas tank, hoses, duo-coupling and more) at Torvalla Bil in Haninge. Then we got help from Håkan, who both represents Gasolfyllarna in Norrköping and Motorhome school (part of the The all-terrain vehicle), to install a fixed tank in the motorhome.

Installing the LPG tank in the motorhome - here's how

Håkan, who helped us install the LPG tank in the motorhome, started by emptying the LPG compartment.

He then fitted a duo regulator (so that one LPG tube can switch to the other when it runs out, without having to get up in the middle of the night) and oil filters and hoses. It was a bit cramped and challenging to fit everything, but Håkan said that "it usually is". Very nice with someone who is experienced to help!

A little later it was time to make holes in the motorhome wall with a box cutter, to install the hatch where you can refuel with LPG.

The final step was then to mount the round little hatch, where you have to refuel, and to download the app "Dimes SRG". With the help of this app, you can see when it's time to fill up with LPG, so you don't have to go without. We also got a bunch of different adapters, so that we can easily fill up with LPG in different countries around Europe.

It feels very, very good to have this in place!

Have you thought about installing a fixed LPG tank in your motorhome?

Have you thought about installing a fixed LPG tank in your motorhome? Or perhaps you have already done so? What are your experiences? Please tell us!

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