Propane

[theoldwizard1]

Has anyone ever stopped using propane completely ?

I don't see a big benefit for the cost, unless you plan on boondocking for a week ! Most people camp in warm weather and if you are plugged in, there are always electric space heaters. Induction cook top, InstaPot, microwave or convection oven for cooking. Residential refrigerator (they work better in extreme conditions anyway). Water heater would have a longer recovery time.

Even if I did want to boondock for a night or two, I always carry an old Coleman stove so bacon and eggs in the AM is not a problem. Some disposable propane bottles and a Mr Heater Buddy Heater would be good to knock the chill out in the AM if I was concerned. More storage without a furnace and less weight too.

[JoeH]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Has anyone ever stopped using propane completely ?

Yes- we did when we bought our then new all electric coach in 2013. Took a little getting used to , but 5 years later we are still going without propane.

[allen8106]

I camp year round so not using the propane is out of the question.

Just came back from a week in western Montana and glad I had the propane, we had to fill the 30 pounders twice in a week. While I don't like it it's part of the cost of the freedom to do what I do.

[MrWizard]

IMO for what it is worth
IF you want NO propane
buy a new all electric DP with Auqua HOT, a roof full of solar, and a 2000ampHrs of lithium batteries

and park it in a 'RESORT' with 100amp service

[wa8yxm]

I have "Camped" in temps as low as 11 Degrees (THank you but that is a bit chilly) .. Again I use Electric as much as I can due to ... It's pre-paid all I can "eat" but I have to pay for propane. and that is the ONLY reason.

I use Propane when I have to so I keep the tank at least half full.

No fun running out of gas in the middle of a cold night. Been there. Done that Do not wish to do it again.

[colliehauler]

Since my seasonal site is 30 amps I use propane to heat the water. In cold weather I run two 750 watt ceramic heaters and set the furnace thermostat at 62 degrees. I only go through a 30# tank every couple of years and about the same for the outdoor grill. I wouldn't want to do without propane.

Some people camp without any conveniences, just not my idea of fun. Personally I would not want to be dependent on electric hookups.

My other RV has a built in generator, unless I need to use the microwave or A/C it's not run where there are no hookups.

To each his/her own.

[4x4van]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Has anyone ever stopped using propane completely ?

I don't see a big benefit for the cost, unless you plan on boondocking for a week ! Most people camp in warm weather and if you are plugged in, there are always electric space heaters. Induction cook top, InstaPot, microwave or convection oven for cooking. Residential refrigerator (they work better in extreme conditions anyway). Water heater would have a longer recovery time.

Even if I did want to boondock for a night or two, I always carry an old Coleman stove so bacon and eggs in the AM is not a problem. Some disposable propane bottles and a Mr Heater Buddy Heater would be good to knock the chill out in the AM if I was concerned. More storage without a furnace and less weight too.

Aside from the fact that your premise above (in red) is not at all accurate, your last paragraph made me laugh a bit. "More storage without a furnace and less weight too." Ummm...and then you fill that storage (and offset that weight savings) with a coleman stove, Instapot, electric space heater, Mr Heater Buddy heater, disposable propane bottles, etc...got it! So what was the advantage again?

[pnichols]

BarabooBob wrote:
For those that want to use electricity whenever possible, what about when you camp where there is no electricity and you are not allowed to run your generator, at any time?

Your question above is about campsites in which you're not allowed to run a generator at all ... i.e. no generator-allowed hours.

These are usually "tents only" type campsites - and often are not large enough for RVs, or have campsites that are so unlevel that RVs cannot be leveled adequately, or are outright posted as "No RVs".

Unfortunately those camping areas are often very beautiful and highly attractive to us with our relatively small RV. If we find those type camping areas and they're not outright posted as "No RVs", we can charge our batteries by merely idling our ultra-quiet main engine which cannot be heard a few feet away.

With our idling main engine we can of course also keep the interior cool with the cab air if the camping is during hot and/or high humidity daytime weather. Our other RV appliances are propane based, so are quiet.

By the way, it is possibe for tenters to sometimes need and use small generators. In addition to our built-in generator, we carry along in our motorhome a small ultra-quiet portable suitcase generator that was probably intended for both small RVs and tenters when it was introduced in the 1980s. We sometimes use this for battery charging in noise-sensitve campsites instead of idling the main engine.

[BarabooBob]

For those that want to use electricity whenever possible, what about when you camp where there is no electricity and you are not allowed to run your generator, at any time? This summer my wife and I stayed at a state park (can't remember the state), at 6:00am. this monster bus parked about 100 yards away decides to fire up his generator and the extremely noisy diesel engine. One of the other campers went over to ask him to turn it off until 8:00 am which was when generators were allowed, the jack-a$$ would not even answer the door. He then decided to start reving the engine. We found a ranger and this moron was escorted out of the park and his reservations were canceled without a refund. A bunch of us stood near the road and applauded as he drove by. And people wonder why campers don't like generators.

[memtb]

richclover wrote:

memtb wrote:
We rarely have a 50 amp “current bush” where we do most of our camping, and often the temps are near or below O F, so on an extended boondocking trip, we do use propane....lots of propane! :B

Hi, Todd!

Nope, no “current bushes” in my part of the state. We haven’t had our first snow yet. It’s been warm and very dry... until now. We’re putting a cold weather/snow test on the new rig next week for a week-long elk camp.

I’m hoping the new remote start generator will do okay. Some extra gas will be aboard.

We’re sure to burn through most of two 30 lb propane tanks 😉

Rich, I bet you will “burn thru” 2 - 30 pounders pretty quickly! Last year,a late Nov. early Dec., 22 day trip....we “ burned thru” close to 50 gallons ( 200+ pounds)! But...we had a “very comfortable” elk camp!

[richclover]

memtb wrote:
We rarely have a 50 amp “current bush” where we do most of our camping, and often the temps are near or below O F, so on an extended boondocking trip, we do use propane....lots of propane! :B

Hi, Todd!

Nope, no “current bushes” in my part of the state. We haven’t had our first snow yet. It’s been warm and very dry... until now. We’re putting a cold weather/snow test on the new rig next week for a week-long elk camp.

I’m hoping the new remote start generator will do okay. Some extra gas will be aboard.

We’re sure to burn through most of two 30 lb propane tanks 😉

[MetalGator]

I love the propane on our new Motorhome. Only two things use it (propane/electric water heater and furnace). Our stove is induction and the oven is a convection oven. I live in Florida so rarely use the furnace and almost always use electric on the hot water heater. What I do use it for is our gas grill. I usually like cooking on charcoal but I found a nice portable gas grill that I really like. I took the regulator off and I can hook it up to the gas connection on the outside of the motor home. Both my wife and I work long hours during that week and are basically weekend warriors. Using the portable gas grill is really easy and convenient. I have a large propane tank on the motor home and it was full when we purchased a little over a year ago. I use the gas grill almost every trip multiple times and several times I have smoked ribs/brisket on it where the grill was going for 6+ hours. My tank is still 65% full.

Burch

[theoldwizard1]

jplante4 wrote:
Plus camping with an old 2 burner Coleman stone and a Mr Buddy heater isn't exactly camping without propane.

True ! Neither are really required if you are willing to fire up the generator.

[doxiemom11]

In some areas, the cost of propane is cheaper than electric --- and the desert sure does get cold at night. We prefer to use our furnace rather than leave an electric heater plugged in and running while we sleep. I used to pay insurance claims and those electric heaters can start fires. If you are awake and present, you can react to signals of danger and prevent a fire - not so much when you are sleeping. Many rural houses heat with propane furnaces, have propane clothes dryers , propane kitchen stoves etc so I also do not understand the people afraid to use their furnaces.

[2gypsies1]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Has anyone ever stopped using propane completely ?

More storage without a furnace and less weight too.

No, you don't have to use the furnace or propane tank. Camp the way is most comfortable for you. There are no 'rules'. However, I hope you're not considering taking out the furnace, etc. You would have a hard time selling it.

Opposite of this is that we rarely used electric - just propane and solar.