# Propane Tank Bracket



## stapless (Feb 20, 2005)

had a pretty good scare today. went to refill an empty propane tank. when i removed it, i saw that the bracket was secured the the frame rail with 2 flimsy sheetmetal screws that had been put in at an odd angle







. ONE WAS BROKE







!! not sure how long it had been that way. the other was near breaking. that could have been a huge disaster/safety issue if that other one let loose driving down the highway. I'd like to think the plastic cover would have kept it in place, but no guarantees on that one.

I got it home and drilled 8 new holes into the lower pan of the bracket that holds the propane bottles. 4 were into the crossmembers, and 4 into the main beams running front to back. put 8 of the 1/4 by 1 1/2 inch machine screws with washers, locking nuts, and locking washers in to secure the base of that bracket back onto the fram rails of the trailer. solid as a rock now







!!

can't remember if I've seen this post before or not







. In any case, it's worth checking out your rigs if you haven't done so before. dragging propane bottles down the highway can never be a good thing!!

scott


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

Found pretty much the same thing on mine as soon as I got it home.
Self tapping sheet metal screws holding the bracket down and two of them had broken off.
I repaired it with stainless steels bolts, washers, and nuts.
Then I promptly forgot all about it......or I would have posted here about it for others to check out.


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## cookie9933 (Feb 26, 2005)

stapless said:


> had a pretty good scare today. went to refill an empty propane tank. when i removed it, i saw that the bracket was secured the the frame rail with 2 flimsy sheetmetal screws that had been put in at an odd angle
> 
> 
> 
> ...


















Jan


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Thanks for the for info. Checked mine, and all screws are OK.

Thor


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

Will check mine today....Thanks for the heads up.

Tim


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## cookie9933 (Feb 26, 2005)

Scott,

Thanks for the reminder. The last time I was out camping, I also noticed that the propane tank tray/bracket was only held with 2 self-tapping screws. My reaction: "what a POS that is".







These are the same weak screws that hold up the underbelly. When I dropped that down, I found about one in five of those screws broke off with very little removal torque. Had to drill adjacent holes to reattach. Apparently, they get mostly twisted off during installation. I think those self tappers are a terrible choice of fastener to hold 60 lbs of propane plus bottle and bracket weight. Today, I am going to use six U.S.-made 5/16 bolts (bolt diameter, not head size) and locknuts with flat wahers to keep this assembly attached. I am NOT impressed with Chinese nuts and bolts. Would advise everybody else to do the same.

Bill


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## drobe5150 (Jan 21, 2005)

thanks for the info, will be checking mine this weekend.

darrel


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

I will have to check mine after work.
Thanks for the tip.
Don


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## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

We are going camping in 5 hours. I'll check mine as well.

Randy


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## Fire44 (Mar 6, 2005)

Scott,

Thanks for the warning. We are pulling out this afternoon and I will check them before I leave.

Gary


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## Paul_in_Ohio (Sep 29, 2004)

I needed to re-fill one of the tanks, so I had it apart anyway. Mine is connected with 4 good size bolts directly to the cross member. I applied force to test it and it is solid as a rock.

Thanks for the heads up though. That's what makes this site so great!

Paul


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## chuone (Jun 30, 2005)

stapless said:


> had a pretty good scare today. went to refill an empty propane tank. when i removed it, i saw that the bracket was secured the the frame rail with 2 flimsy sheetmetal screws that had been put in at an odd angle
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Uncle Dim (Jan 27, 2007)

Lucky you,

I have the center cross member completely detach from the frame. Real poor engineering and workmanship. Half of the angled steel had been cut off prior to installation pretty much eliminating all it's strength. I'm pretty upset about the finding and was wondering if all the other outback were manufactured this way.


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## john7349 (Jan 13, 2008)

Katrina said:


> Found pretty much the same thing on mine as soon as I got it home.
> Self tapping sheet metal screws holding the bracket down and two of them had broken off.
> I repaired it with stainless steels bolts, washers, and nuts.
> Then I promptly forgot all about it......or I would have posted here about it for others to check out.


YEP... The same here, one broken sheet metal screw and one holding the tanks.







I put in bolts also. 
Could really have been dangerous.


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## Partsman Ed (Aug 26, 2008)

I checked mine and they looked good, but I have to fill up my tanks before too long so I will probably replace them then.

Thanks for the "reminder".


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## RI-23rs (Jul 7, 2008)

Thanks for the info. Even though mine is a year old I am going to secure it better.


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