In a message dated 17/06/2007 8:43:22 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
LISTSERV@GERRY.VANAGON.COM writes:

A few  years ago I installed an Olympian brand catalytic heater in  my
Vanagon.  I love it.  It works great and makes cold mountain  camping
downright cozy.

I plumbed it into the existing gas lines and  mounted a quick-release gas
fitting on the lower right corner of the  kitchen cabinet so that the heater
literally plugs in there.

The  only problem is, the little 3 gallon propane tank wasn't really  designed
for this additional load, so on camping trips longer than about 3  nights, if
I'm using the heater, I run out of gas.

I'm now  considering mounting an additional, reusable, propane tank, the type
that  you can refil or exchange, inside the cabin, possibly on the  platform
behind the driver's seat.

Does anyone have experience with  adding propane capacity to a vanagon?

Paul,  you can add a second OEM propane tank to any Vanagon Westy under the
sliding  door side.  The mounting points are there just as they are for the
tank on  the left side.  My Westy has had two tanks since two ~ three years  now.
 It's connected to my _Propex HS200_
(http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/propex.htm)  heater which  consumes very little fuel.  It will run full blast for about
90 hours on a  full tank of propane.  That Propex is so efficient and the
space so small I  never have it on for long so consumption is very small.  I also
use that  second tank to run auxiliary propane fired equipment such as a camp
stove using  a 12' flex line.  I do not have the two tanks connected together.
  This can be done but seemed like a lot of trouble for not much gain.

Cheers,

Frank  Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
'87 Westy, '90 Carat, '87 Wolfsburg  (Forsale) & Lionel Trains (_Collection
for sale_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/trainsal.htm) )
_Frank Condelli &  Associates_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/busindex.html)
- Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley
_Vanagon Stainless Steel Exhaust  Systems_
(http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/stebro.htm)
_BusFusion_ (http://members.aol.com/BusFusion/bfhome.htm)  a VW Camper
camping event, Almonte, ON, June 07 ~ 10,  2007