I see some folks have tank covers. Being this is my first trailer, anybody have a recommendation? They seem to clean up the front a bit and maybe
add some aerodynamics's. I see vinyl and hard plastic and advantage to either?
[quote source="/post/8072/thread" timestamp="1426706509" author="@shovelhead"]I see some folks have tank covers. Being this is my first trailer, anybody have a recommendation? They seem to clean up the front a bit and maybe
add some aerodynamics's. I see vinyl and hard plastic and advantage to either?
[/quote]I don't know if it makes much of a difference, but I have the hard plastic. I got it to protect the hoses from the sun down here in Florida. They do clean up the front a bit, and have held up well over about 6,000 miles.
I have the vinyl, and there's some discoloration from the winter. Dirt, leaves, pollen, schmutz, etc.
I guess I'll spray it with some clorox kitchen cleaner, let stand, rinse off, then throw out and replace with the hard plastic.
In my experience the only advantage to the covers were their protection of the hoses and fittings; I never minded the way the bare tanks looked in the first place. In general I always found them to be cheap and flimsy looking, but they served the purpose they were designed for.
Plastic on mine, look nice but the little plastic tabs that screw to the frame don't look like they'll last long?
I think the tank covers on T@B trailers are the nicest I have seen. Check their web site for pictures. They really clean up the front of the units. i believe the battery is under the same cover. As I recall, they are some form of plastic, but they seem very sturdy, with thicker walls/lids than most other covers. Tank placement is quite different on the Camplite's, but I would think some after=market supplier could create covers with similar construction and design.
[font size="3"]I looked at the molded hard plastic, but there was some mechanical fit problem with two tanks and two batteries on the tongue. I[/font][font size="3"] went with the soft gray cover for dual 20# tanks. Black would have been nice, but I couldn't find it. The soft covers come with a cardboard piece to maintain shape. This, of course, immediately deteriorates due to moisture absorption so I fabricated a replacement from thin acrylic sheet. Works and looks great.
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If anyone knows of a single tank cover either hard or soft that will fit over the tank, hose, and mount let me know. I've seen a few covers for single tanks, but they all appear too tight to fit over the tank mount. I don't have any intentions of going to a double tank.
[font size="3"]I'm not sure what the issue is. All covers I've seen, single or dual, cover the tank, hose, regulator, and hold down mechanism. One example: [a href="http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/20-lb-single-gas-bottle-cover-polar-white/19072"]http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/20-lb-single-gas-bottle-cover-polar-white/19072[/a]
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I went with the Camco hard plastic double tank. It goes together with 2 halves screwed together with a top door that snaps in and two closure knob/nuts. It's by no means heavy duty as they market it just some flimsy shells. It slips over dual tanks and thats it. Why the covers dont fly off while tooling down the highway? There is a plastic loop at the base you can bungee cord. Bungee cord not included. One thing that Camco does they irritates me. They Hot Glue melt the bag of hardware to the item. Whats up with that ? The hot glue melts into the plastic leaving a big glob. Same thing they did with the air vent covers I bought.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81FFqTq86ML._SX522_.jpg)
[quote timestamp="1426891613" author="@charliem" source="/post/8243/thread"][font size="3"]I'm not sure what the issue is. All covers I've seen, single or dual, cover the tank, hose, regulator, and hold down mechanism. One example: [a href="http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/20-lb-single-gas-bottle-cover-polar-white/19072"]http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/20-lb-single-gas-bottle-cover-polar-white/19072[/a]
[/font][/quote]The issue is finding one that fits over not only the tank, but the tank holder and regulator as well. It seems to be darn near impossible. The one you linked to will not fit.
I just ordered the dual tank rack and Camco PE 20lb dual white cover. Up here we have a problem with regs getting water in the crimped seams on the cheaper regs. The better regs are roll formed at the halves. When water gets in there it freezes and can expand the seam causing a leak. I lost one not having it covered this year mounted horizontal on a 100lb tank that feeds my Big Buddy heater in the shed.
Plus those covers can hold some extra propane hoses for the grill and such. The rack was the only portion of the hitch area that wasn't rusted thoroughly on our old 1989 trailer because of the cover. That trailer just went bye-bye this weekend, thank goodness.