First I will share some very basic knowledge about propane. Propane is also called LP Gas. The L P is simply Liquid Propane. When propane is compressed it condenses into a liquid form. It is a property of propane that when uncompressed it changes into a gas. This is what makes it possible for propane to be carried in a tank. Natural gas cannot do this. So - basic number one - the propane in your propane tank is a LIQUID UNDER PRESSURE.
The propane tank in all Roadtreks that I am aware of is located in the rear, under the van chassis, behind the rear bumper. A reader has shared that in older Roadtreks the propane tank is under the driver's seat floor with access to the fill and gauge is under the flip up step. At some point in change of year, Roadtrek moved the tank and access to the back of the van. To turn on the propane there is a valve located behind a cover right in the middle over the bumper. The valve that you see is a grey knob and like most valves is turned to the right to turn off and to the left to open. Clockwise to turn OFF. Counterclockwise to turn ON. In the compartment behind that cover there will be other components of the system - other than the on/off knob and a connection on a flexible hose to allow you to attach a portable gas grill to the Roadtrek's propane tank for outside barbecuing, don't touch anything else that is there. You will see an analog dial meter that will tell you how much gas is in the tank - though you can also find this out inside your Roadtrek on your monitor panel on the wall. There will be a place for a certified propane person to fill the tank and a pressure relief valve used when filling the tank. Propane is highly combustible. This is not something to fool with.
Let's take a tour of the propane system.
Here is where to look for the propane valve ->
Open the cover by turning the white tab on each side to clear the cutout on the cover.
Here is everything "propane" for your Roadtrek ->
What you are looking at above is where to turn on the propane to use it in your Roadtrek and where a certified propane distributor will fill your propane tank for you. The yellow cap is the connection for the propane fill - DO NOT TOUCH THIS. The red ring to the middle right is the overflow pressure relief valve for the propane. DO NOT TOUCH THIS. The grey it all goes into is the propane tank. What is not seen in this photo is the auxiliary barbecue connection hose which is to the left side and in this photo is tucked down behind the bumper. THE VALVE THAT YOU TURN IS IN THE VERY MIDDLE WITH THE BLUE LABEL.
Here is the ON/OFF VALVE that you will turn ->
Let's get to the systems that you have on your Roadtrek that use propane and what you need to do to get them to operate.
The first thing that you are going to do whenever you first turn on your propane is to light the stove to make sure that the propane is actually flowing through the system. You always want to do this so that you know that the propane has filled all of the gas lines. It is only at the stove that you can actually see the result of this first hand. So we will start with the stove.
STOVE
The stove is the only appliance without a self-lighting pilot light. You must light the stove with a flame that you produce with a match or a lighter. The best thing to get to light the stove is one of the extended reach butane lighters used for barbecues. This lets you get close without getting too close.
Open the glass cover that is over the two gas stove burners. Each has a knob. Look around the edge of each burner and you will see a small, thin brass tube coming up. This tube will be the pilot that will ignite the burner. With the propane valve on in the rear of the Roadtrek, light the lighter in your hand. You only want a small flame. Turn on either one of the burners by turning and pushing its knob. Bring the flame to where that brass tube is (you will probably hear and smell gas flowing) and the gas should ignite. Adjust the knob to a low flame and let go. The burner is lit. Let it burn for a few seconds and then shut it off. Light the other burner the same way. Your propane is flowing through all of the propane system in your Roadtrek. Turn off the stove. Of course, if you are planning to cook right then and there, your stove is lit and ready to cook. In any case, when you are ready to cook on the stove, do the same thing to light it.
Let me just repeat again why this is done each time you turn on the propane. If you do not do this and go to start your hot water heater or start your 3 way fridge on propane, you cannot see the burner that lights with the burning propane. If the water does not get hot or the refrigerator does not start to cool (most likely with an ignition trouble light on the fridge control panel) you will not know why. By lighting the stove first you eliminate the problem that the propane may not be flowing. Once the stove lights you can be sure that there are no clogs along the propane line. Do be aware that this tells you nothing about leaks.
REFRIGERATOR
Most Roadtreks come with a Dometic three way absorption refrigerator. These work using propane, 12 volt battery power, or 110 volt shore power. Since I do not have this type of refrigerator I can not tell you any details about its operation. A detailed manual should have been included with your Roadtrek just for the refrigerator. I can tell you that this refrigerator does not work like your fridge at home which is a condenser system. An absorption refrigerator has ammonia running through it that must be heated and one of the ways it is heated is with a propane flame burner. To ignite that flame you need to have battery power and you should put your battery switch on before trying to turn on the fridge even when using propane. Do read the manual for your refrigerator. If you don't have one, you can download one for your model fridge on the Dometic website.
END OF PART 1
PART 2 NEXT WEEK
I'm on my first extended trip with my 2011 Roadtrek 190 and haven't been able to obtain a propane refill. It seems that the filler connection nozzle cannot be screwed on to my connection valve because there isn't quite enough clearance between the valve and my bumper. It's almost as though the valve is slightly out of level, pointing downwards just enough to prevent the filler nozzle from going on straight. I've tried this at an RV Superstore and a KOA campground. Is there some sort of an adapter I can purchase that would solve this problem? As of now it seems the only obvious solution would be for me to cut away part of the plastic bumper cover.. ! Incidentally I bought the Roadtrek in May and have not had to refill it until now. Obviously the dealer managed to work around this somehow and I can ask him when I return home next week. Meanwhile, can you offer any suggestions? Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteWe have not had that problem and we have the same Roadtrek as you have. In the photos in the article above you can clearly see the yellow knob that is removed to fill the propane tank. Yours should be positioned just the same. Is it possible that the van was in a rear end collision and the bumper was pushed out of line and now blocks the fill? I am not aware of anything that can be used as a work around. If such exists then an RV shop should know what to do. (At least they should.) Let us know what happens!
DeleteCharles,
DeleteThis literally just happened to us a few hours ago. We have a much older RT 190, a 1996, and we went to a local RV shop to fill our propane (for the first time). The nozzle wouldn't reach. The mechanic there pointed us to a nearby Exxon, and the technician there had no trouble filling the propane for us. I'm not sure if gas stations in general are a better bet, but it's worth a try. Hope this helps.
Lisa
I have a 2018 Simplicity SRT and can't find the propane on/off switch to turn off when driving and on when camping. Does anyone know where it is located? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI have a 2018 Simplicity SRT also. I emailed Roadtrek with the same question and this was my answer:
ReplyDelete"It is an open/close shut off valve (knob) on your propane tank outside the coach. It should say vapour. It would be like opening and closing the propane tank on your bbq."
Usually Roadtrek puts the propane tank behind the rear bumper. On the Chevy RTs the access is in the middle of the top of the bumper where it meets the bottom of the cargo doors. You can see this in the first photo in this article. That panel comes off and behind it you should see what is in the third photo from the top. The knob to turn that they are referring to should look exactly like the blue knob in the last photo in this article. Turn that to the left and the propane is ON. Turn it to the right to shut off the propane. The Simplicity may have this located somewhere else. The location should be shown in your Roadtrek Simplicity 2018 manual. Roadtrek should have told you WHERE to look outside your coach for the location of the tank and valve. The valve has to be on the tank and accessible - this is also where the propane tank is filled.
Deleteyou guys are amazing! I refer to your blog all of the time and you clear things up for me every time. I own a 2007 190 Versatile. Just wanted to say thank you for sharing! You should get paid by Roadtrek in some form or fashion. Leslie
ReplyDeleteHave a 2004–190 Popular and had to replace the tank. Now trying to find 2 Marshall regulators.
ReplyDeletejust got our roadtrek 2020. It's unclear to me whether there is any propane (we have a induction stove, so can't test there). In other words, not sure whether the dealer filled it or not...I'm confused about the interior tank light panel. When I push it, all 4 lights come on which I'm assuming means the battery is full.
ReplyDeleteWith a 2020 Roadtrek you have a Roadtrek built by the new owners and they are only building on Sprinters and Pro-masters now- and either could have many changes from the Chevy Roadtrek line. Propane is usually used for the hot water heater, the refrigerator, the furnace and the stove. With an induction stove - you need to know if you have a three way Propane/DC/AC fridge, a propane hot water heater, and a propane furnace. I really don't know what the new Roadtrek company is using - and since they abandoned the Chevy line - anything could be possible. As to the battery monitor - with new batteries the C will indicate two things - when plugged in or running the generator the batteries are charging. AND with new batteries - the C will remain lit after charging to show the batteries are at full charge. As the batteries age, immediately after charging the C will remain lit and go out sometime the next day - and then the bottom three LEDs will only be lit - up to the G - yellow LED. This still indicates the batteries are charged - and the G will stay on as long as the charge is over half charge. AGM batteries - if that is what you have must be recharged when they reach half charge - which on the LED panel is as soon as the G LED goes off and the two red LEDs remain. BUT If you have lithium ion ECOTREK batteries - all of that changes - and I could not tell you what must be done.
DeleteI totally agree your instructions are priceless thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI own a 2008 Roadtrek 210 Popular. The floater in the propane tank is broken and cannot be fixed--thus impossible to know when I need to refill. I've been advised I need a new propane tank, but am unable to locate one. Any advice--please?!
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have read in the RT forums and groups, the propane tank is available. If you cannot locate it from an RV parts supplier then look at our article of October 2020 which lists a link for the RV dealership that bought all of the Chevy Roadtrek parts inventory from the new Roadtrek company as they no longer support Chevy Roadtreks. It is very possible that MobileLife RV has the tank. They are expensive as they know they are the only ones that have the Chevy Roadtrek specific parts. Once their inventory has sold out - that is it unless a stock part can be fitted to the Roadtrek.
DeleteHi there. We have a new to us 2011 Chevy Roadtrek 170v. We are going on a road trip and can’t seem to turn off the propane in the back. We turned all the way to the right and then tested the stove. It remains lit for over ten min. Does it just take a long time to shut off or is something wrong w our shut off valve? We’ve tried both directions to no avail. We wanted to be safe while on the road and at the gas station. Thanks so much for your help. :-) Linda
ReplyDeleteThe stove is the last propane appliance on the propane pipe line. When you shut off the propane valve the propane pipes are all still full. When I want to empty the lines I first start the two burners in the stove and then go outside and shut off the propane valve. The stove will stay lit and burn off what is in the pipes. This can take awhile - a little longer than ten minutes or more. Stay at the stove while it burns off. If it is a half hour something is wrong and it might be the valve on the tank. What should happen is the flame on both burners should get lower and finally both get to the pilot hole and go out. After they go out make sure you turn off both stove knobs so that the stove is closed off and the next time you turn on the propane valve, it does not fill the Roadtrek with propane through the open stove burners. Propane is used up slowly - a full tank lasts a long time - and using up what is in all of the pipes can take time when emptying the lines.
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