front compartment lock - wont stay latched - "tab" too short?

[NB Canada]

Locks on propane access doors are verboten. They are to be kept accessible to emergency workers...just in case.

Hmmmm. All those locked lockers at bottle exchange centres
I will put this at the very bottom of things to worry about
Lock it if you want @smullinex. No one will say anything

[geotex1]

Hmmmm. All those locked lockers at bottle exchange centres
I will put this at the very bottom of things to worry about
Lock it if you want @smullinex. No one will say anything

Sorry, throughout the USA it's not a suggestion or boogedy boo, it is law. All those lockers you reference, law requires them to be approved by the local fire department and they must either provide a key to the fire department or utilize the special locks with the fire department's master key. Not that it matters as the tooling carried by firefighters can open one up in under 10 seconds. However, the requirements are based around first responders, who are rarely geared up. Should the worst happen, and your propane door be locked or bottle locked, the owner can be held culpable. As I have said many times, one does not need to rely on crowd-sourced information for decisions. Seek the authoritative advice, which will lie with any full-time fire official with the Marshall required to be versed, but most importantly, simply ask your insurance company the hypothetical if they will cover. As a data point here in PA, where we have safety inspection yearly, the inspector is to fail any recreational vehicles with REMOVEABLE bottles in locked propane cabinets or are themselves locked in position. We are all big boys and big girls, but instead of this attitude, do the responsible thing in educating yourself and being considerate of your family, your neighbors, and the environment. It's bad enough how this influx to the subculture is shirking "tread lightly," "leave no trace behind," and "pack out what you pack in" and ruining habitats, destroying our parks, and spoiling the experiences and access for those of us who are place great value in these principles.

[Gronk1]

If you are concerned about having your bottle(s) stolen, put a lock on the strap when you get to camp. But put on your break camp list to remove them before traveling.
There is an old thread on here I believe by Tucson Jim that chronicled his adventure with a truck & trailer fire while moving. The first thing the FD did when they showed up was to pull out the tanks.

[Calbar]

My 378MBS also had the issue with the front compartment lock cam being too short. I went to Home Depot and bought a set of cams with one that was longer. All fixed now.


Rob

[smullinax]

My 378MBS also had the issue with the front compartment lock cam being too short. I went to Home Depot and bought a set of cams with one that was longer. All fixed now.


Rob

Thanks Rob, I'll be doing the same.

[smullinax]

Locks on propane access doors are verboten. They are to be kept accessible to emergency workers...just in case.

I wondered about that before I made that suggestion. Makes sense.
Thanks!

[Bob & Jule’s]

We installed a longer tab and a cabinet angle bracket on the frame for the tab to engage. I can’t figure out how to include a pic here hope this helps.

[MyRVRadio]

I just ordered six of these. I had previously replaced ONE of the cams on my propane compartment, but I needed more and couldn't find them. So I went looking today.

I had in my Alexa "hardware list" to get 2.25", these are 3", but I can certainly shorten them if needed, far easier than I can fabricate some. (And I was NOT going to buy the entire lock assemblies for like $7 each at Ace. In fact, I was just looking for these this morning at an Ace.)

https://www.easykeys.com/products/20...ight_Cam_C7005

They were $1.67 each, and six with shipping cost me $19 something.

[lorend]

Hmmmm. All those locked lockers at bottle exchange centres
I will put this at the very bottom of things to worry about
Lock it if you want @smullinex. No one will say anything

Your right NB, no one will say anything. But the locked lockers at your local store are less likely to get t-boned in an accident. . If any of you have time, watch a video on a BLEVE. That is a Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion. That describes a propane cylinder on fire. It is amazing how such a small container that runs out so fast with our heaters can do so much destruction. I was with a fire dept and we did a lot of training on those situations because of the seriousness of the explosion capabilities.

[NB Canada]

Your right NB, no one will say anything. But the locked lockers at your local store are less likely to get t-boned in an accident. . If any of you have time, watch a video on a BLEVE. That is a Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion. That describes a propane cylinder on fire. It is amazing how such a small container that runs out so fast with our heaters can do so much destruction. I was with a fire dept and we did a lot of training on those situations because of the seriousness of the explosion capabilities.

I am quite positive a cheap tab type cylinder is not going to stay intact by a t bone accident and I am quite sure they could get in there in 2.25 seconds

You do realize many many people use cables and locks to secure tanks to their campers still allowing access to the tank ? They even sell them on the interwebs.