Propane tank hold down.

[TomS]

I’m getting ready to fabricate an assembly to carry a 20 lb propane tank on the tounge of my tear. I want to be able to easily remove my tank. So, I plan to make a simple square out of angle steel to keep the bottom of the tank from sliding around.

I plan to make hold hold-downs out of a pair of ½” diameter threaded rods and an angle bracket. The angle bracket will have slots to engage the collar at the top of the tank. I’ll use a pair of wing nuts on the top of the brackets along with a pair of retaining pins to keep the wing nuts from vibrating loose. The bottom of the threaded rods will be attached to the C-channel trailer frame with 4 Nylox nuts for redundancy.

Here are some drawings to help you visualize the assembly. Any comments or suggestions would be most welcome

[mikeschn]

Tom,

That will work... You might consider using a nylon or plastic wing nut, that'll eliminate a pin to keep from losing your wing nut.

I fabricated my tank mounting today too... Here's a picture of mine. It's rock solid. The wing nuts are underneath the angle.



Let me see if I can find more detail on the wingnut online... (I bought it at the local hardware store.)

Mike...

[mikeschn]

No luck on the web search... so here's a pic of mine.

I believe it's a Mopar Air Cleaner Wing Nut...



Mike...

P.S. Have you seen this? 4th item down...
http://www.fishhousesupply.com/lpaccessories.htm

And I've seen the single version somewhere too!

[TomS]

Thanks for the photos Mike.

Do you thnk I can get those nylon wing nuts in 1/2"-13?

I'm more than a little paranoid about dropping the tank at 70 MPH on a busy interstate. That's why I came up with the pins and redundant nylox nuts. I want a system that absolutly positively can't vibrate loose.

I've seen those tank mounts. The only problem is they're made to hold 2 tanks. One 20 Lb tank should last me through an entire season. Nobody out there seems to be selling tounge mounted propane holders for a single 20 Lb tank.

[Sonetpro]

Looks like a good idea. Only suggestion Would be to go to an electronic store and get some shrink tube. Shrink tube the threaded rod so it doesn't rub.

[mikeschn]

I'm not having any luck finding the single bottle rack that looked similar to the double bottle rack... All my hits appear to be this style bottle rack.

http://www.tjtrailers.com/store/single- ... -rack.html

Regarding the 1/2"-13UNC Wingnut:
If you go to www.mcmaster.com and go to page 2060, you'll see all kinds of wingnut/knobs you can buy... and yes they have the 1/2"-13...



You could even make a wingnut yourself out of wood. Just install a threaded insert or a t-nut. Or make one out of steel plate and weld on a nut.

Mike...

[TomS]

Thanks Mike!

I just ordered a pair of these knobs from McMaster-Carr



They had some vibration resistant knobs, but not in the size I need. So, I still plan to use retaining pins. But, these knobs will be faster and easier on the hands than the wing nuts.

Sonet, The rods should be far enough from the tanks so they shouldn't rub. But, the shrink wrap idea might help prevent the steel rods from rusting.

[mikeschn]

Looks like a good idea. Only suggestion Would be to go to an electronic store and get some shrink tube. Shrink tube the threaded rod so it doesn't rub.

Steve,

I think we have some shrink wrap. Good idea...

Mike...

[bdosborn]

Hey, I just found a bracket. Its not specifically for propane but it might work.



http://www.americanvan.com/catalog/stan ... amilyID=68

Bruce

[asianflava]

You can get them from Rockler. Don't know what thread count you are looking for though.