I've often wondered about the propane lines being exposed the way they
are.  I just replaced the tank on my van (waited too long to do so, but
lucked out, it never failed) and again wondered about those lines.  I
considered the larger tank that GoWesty now offers (five gallon), but
didn't want to give up the 3 inches of clearance, given some of the roads I
go on.  Those roads are why I have thought about the exposure of the lines.

Any chance you will offer this addition to "the market"?  And if not, does
anyone know of a source for something like it?

BTW, when I filled the new tank, advertised by GoWesty as having a volume
of 3.3 gallons, after purging it took 2.58 gallons.  Given that the tank is
"full" at 80%, and that purging put a tad in, that is almost exactly what
it should take (80% of 3.3 is 2.64).  Still no gauge, a bummer, that would
help.  I'm still not sure how "autostop" works.  Backpressure stops the
flow when the tank reaches 80% of capacity, right?  The fill valve on the
new tank still required an adapter.  I thought not needing that was one
advantage of the newer hardware.

mcneely

On Fri, Dec 2, 2016 at 8:20 AM, Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Been lax on the old blog thing this last month , have catch-up to do on
> comments. But I have posted a very short bit on an aluminum skid plate for
> the westy tank.
>
> What's shown is actually the second go round, the first one got all
> painted and everything :-)
>
> The original idea I wanted to pursue was a side plate covering the valves
> and reg. This is not an original idea I have seen some euro installs with
> side plate. But then after making one with a side plate it occurred to me
> that I could have made an effort to protect the copper gas lines that come
> out forward then up into van floor. So I welded additional bits and bobs to
> it and painted the thing. Looked like a dogs breakfast.
>
> So what I have posted is mark two, unpainted, might be a little more
> material added to the front to deflect a little more dirt.
>
> https://shufti.blog/2016/12/01/vanagon-propane-skid-plate-prototype/
>
> And as it seems to be the way with me making things, I didn't see a very
> obvious improvement to the design until after it was finished. So there
> without be a mark III.
>
> Cheers
>
> Alistair
>