Two 30lb tanks came with the 1999 Coachmen Royal 285 Fifth Wheel Camper. Well when the bottles become empty you need them refilled, correct? Yes you need them filled. So we found two places in our small town that offered refilling. One of which had normal business hours of 8-5 and the other was open till at least 7 to 8pm. There wasn't a huge price difference on the price of propane. I believe it's been around $3.25 give or take a few cents.
My husband normally took care of refilling the propane bottles because once you fill them they become quite heavy to even lift. One of the places had been refilling our bottles without any problem until one day. This time it was a different representative that he was dealing with and he refused to our shock to fill the propane bottles. Once questioned, the representative advised my husband that our bottles were out of date and he was unable to refill them. Of course my husband was extremely upset because we were out of propane. The representative advised us that the bottles must be recertified every 12 years.
Luckily, most gas stations carry propane bottle sales. While it's no where near the size we need it would work for a day or two until either I or my husband could get the tanks certified. Now the real question is this... WHY DID THE SELLING DEALERSHIP KNOWINGLY SELL US A CAMPER WITH UNCERTIFIED PROPANE BOTTLES THAT WERE OUT OF DATE AND TO BE HONEST ABOUT IT, THE BOTTLES WERE SOLD ILLEGALLY BREAKING FEDERAL MANDATED LAWS?!? The Coachmen was a 1999 and we bought it in 2013. Pardon my math but that's well over the 12 year law.
Hmmm, quite a puzzler isn't it? Luckily the other refilling place was able to recertify our tanks for us and fill both bottles. Now, the recertification charge is actually quite cheap. It was only $10 per bottle so that was a relief that it wasn't going to cost much!
What made us angry is that if something would have happened to the propane bottles it would have been a very bad day for someone to word it nicely. This is just one of the many issues we incurred with the Coachmen Royal. I promise you soon enough that one of the blogs coming up will put everything all together.
My husband normally took care of refilling the propane bottles because once you fill them they become quite heavy to even lift. One of the places had been refilling our bottles without any problem until one day. This time it was a different representative that he was dealing with and he refused to our shock to fill the propane bottles. Once questioned, the representative advised my husband that our bottles were out of date and he was unable to refill them. Of course my husband was extremely upset because we were out of propane. The representative advised us that the bottles must be recertified every 12 years.
Luckily, most gas stations carry propane bottle sales. While it's no where near the size we need it would work for a day or two until either I or my husband could get the tanks certified. Now the real question is this... WHY DID THE SELLING DEALERSHIP KNOWINGLY SELL US A CAMPER WITH UNCERTIFIED PROPANE BOTTLES THAT WERE OUT OF DATE AND TO BE HONEST ABOUT IT, THE BOTTLES WERE SOLD ILLEGALLY BREAKING FEDERAL MANDATED LAWS?!? The Coachmen was a 1999 and we bought it in 2013. Pardon my math but that's well over the 12 year law.
Hmmm, quite a puzzler isn't it? Luckily the other refilling place was able to recertify our tanks for us and fill both bottles. Now, the recertification charge is actually quite cheap. It was only $10 per bottle so that was a relief that it wasn't going to cost much!
What made us angry is that if something would have happened to the propane bottles it would have been a very bad day for someone to word it nicely. This is just one of the many issues we incurred with the Coachmen Royal. I promise you soon enough that one of the blogs coming up will put everything all together.