Gas Locker Floor - Luck Was With Us!

Elsie2010

Elsie2010

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Hi all

Thought I'd share our experience as not sure if this is a known thing or just an unfortunate event (hoping it's the latter!)

Whilst (luckily) driving through the grounds of Chatsworth (private stately home) doing no more than 5mph, we heard the biggest thud and a sound of dragging.

Whilst trying to look for a safe place to pull in, an oncoming car flagged us to stop.

Our spare gas had fallen out of our locker, onto the oncoming traffic due to our gas locker floor failing completely, with the connected gas hanging on by the pug tail, scraping the floor!

We have a 2008 Elddis Autoquest 140, bought in Jul 2022, where luckily our dealer has said he will stand to the repair.

Have read this to happen to caravans but not so on MH's.

Just makes you aware of how flimsy the floors can be, and just grateful it didn't happen on a main road or a motorway and it didn't hurt anyone or their vehicles.

Both were secured but gravity won the battle and the spare went rogue!

Photos attached (floor completely gone and what the floor looks like)

IMG-20230407-WA0007.jpeg IMG-20230407-WA0009.jpeg
 
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dazandandrea said:
Bloody hell. You were lucky then.
Imagine that at 70 on a motorway 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮
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So very much so!
Stupid old me then decided to forget to bloomin lock the gas locker after we had sorted the incident (despite hubby telling me to 3 times) and that then flung open on a main road on the way back (my head was foggy from the gas incident, no excuse I know)

The other lucky thing was, hubby forgot to turn gas off from our last outing so the one that remained in the locker (albeit on no floor as that had totally gone) was 'live'

Lucky stars yesterday and lessons well learned on checking gas is off on every journey, regardless of it not being used since the last
 
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Tombola said:
Wow...lucky as you say.

Was this not picked up on in any hab check ?
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Unfortunately not, although last hab check was Jul 22 so not sure if it was ok then, and not so now?
When it goes it for floor to be repaired, we're bring hab check / service / mot forward and getting it all done then.
If they say what caused it, I'll repost in here in case it's of any use to anyone

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Elsie2008 said:
Unfortunately not, although last hab check was Jul 22 so not sure if it was ok then, and not so now?
When it goes it for floor to be repaired, we're bring hab check / service / mot forward and getting it all done then.
If they say what caused it, I'll repost in here in case it's of any use to anyone
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I suspect the fixings have gone rusty and with the weight of the bottles bumping around in the locker it just couldn't stay in place.
 
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I noticed a similar problem when I changed the 2x leisure batteries.
Not total collapse but well on the way.
In my case, the cabinet floor was secured by aluminium rivets which had been attacked by road salt to the point of disintegration
The cabinet walls and floor panel were galvanised so all ok, just the rivets gave out
 
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Stag man said:
I noticed a similar problem when I changed the 2x leisure batteries.
Not total collapse but well on the way.
In my case, the cabinet floor was secured by aluminium rivets which had been attacked by road salt to the point of disintegration
The cabinet walls and floor panel were galvanised so all ok, just the rivets gave out
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It's just not something you'd usually consider to be an issue (or is that just me being a newbie to the MH world?) Glad you noticed yours, its a scary ordeal (not just for us but the unlucky road uses the gas hurtles towards)
 
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Elsie2008 said:
It's just not something you'd usually consider to be an issue (or is that just me being a newbie to the MH world?) Glad you noticed yours, its a scary ordeal (not just for us but the unlucky road uses the gas hurtles towards)
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Sometimes parts of our MH’s are a bit cheap and cheerful
 
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Found this when I checked the gas hoses and regulator dates ( both now due for replacing) stripped down as much as possible either side of rain showers so now organising wood and delam stuff to repair. Now also have eye strain and a headache from you tube vids and going on our next jaunt for 3 months at the end of May, no pressure then!

818FEE9D-9B71-400F-8157-83D4CA3EFF7A.jpeg A2C15C6A-BDE6-4B57-80AF-4597110E5548.jpeg
 
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IBPups said:
Found this when I checked the gas hoses and regulator dates ( both now due for replacing) stripped down as much as possible either side of rain showers so now organising wood and delam stuff to repair. Now also have eye strain and a headache from you tube vids and going on our next jaunt for 3 months at the end of May, no pressure then!

View attachment 736847 View attachment 736848
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Oh blimey! Good job you were checking the hoses etc, it's not something you'd expect (or maybe that's just me) Hope you get all sorted (sure you will) and you have a great and safe trip

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I was pleasantly surprised to find the gas locker floor on our Rienza was a pierced metal plate rather than wood. Not long after we started using it I heard a rattle from the o/s. It wasn’t until I came to change the bottle that I found the floor was not secured along the outer edge.
On investigating it had been riveted with two normal size rivets that had pulled through the floor plate. I re-secured it with four flanged larger rivets and large washers.
From what others have said we got away with this lightly but the thought of the two 6kg bottles dragging on the road is scary😦.
 
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bigwood said:
I was pleasantly surprised to find the gas locker floor on our Rienza was a pierced metal plate rather than wood. Not long after we started using it I heard a rattle from the o/s. It wasn’t until I came to change the bottle that I found the floor was not secured along the outer edge.
On investigating it had been riveted with two normal size rivets that had pulled through the floor plate. I re-secured it with four flanged larger rivets and large washers.
From what others have said we got away with this lightly but the thought of the two 6kg bottles dragging on the road is scary😦.
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Oh crikes! Although, in my head you'd think met would be more resilient than wood?
Glad you located your issue and all was safe and well
We hope this post and replies such as yours and others, helps to bring attention to something we all assume would be safe and fine
 
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well i just crawled under the van and very pleased that the moulded shell interior of the locker is in good shape and---- its all supported by a solid steel frame which is in good nick and well secured... (y) :hot:

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Very scary story, glad it worked out OK, I am surprised that your bottles were not also held in by securing straps to the wall, not just dependent on the floor 🤔👍
 
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I can't believe that anyone would think that a fllor the width of the gas locker & fixed from below was in any way capable of supporting 2 x gas bottles. I would have expected at the least the floor to be complete 8x4 sheets from one side to the other.
 
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Been there done that but it was my own fault.
Our first Hymer the gas locker was very low base would ground on speed bumps if not careful.
New van only has it a couple of weeks and our first trip abroad in a Motorhome partly ripped the bottom off the gas locker pulling out of a car park on the road of a 100 hairpins in Slovenia. I was on full lock pulling out of the car park on a 1 in 6 with a big lip up to the road.

Strapped it up with camlock straps & gaffa tape. When we got home a few weeks later undid the straps & tape and the bottom just fell out with the bottles.

It was all GRP so an easy repair I cut two inches off the sides and back rebonded the floor with GRP and added some aluminium strips for extra support. Result no more ground clearance problems as the base of the locker was two inches higher.
 
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The two bottles in ours are held by two tension lock web straps as as a lot of others probably are but they will only hold bottles from sideways movement. Something as smooth as a gas bottle will just slide down.
I helped un load welding bottles from the back of a Bedford truck when I was in the army. They are hard to grip upright making it difficult to stop them sliding down on to my feet. I made sure I was the one at the top next time.
 
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DavidG58 said:
Very scary story, glad it worked out OK, I am surprised that your bottles were not also held in by securing straps to the wall, not just dependent on the floor 🤔👍
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They were on really tight, or so we thought. I can't even open a jar of jam after hubs has had his paws round it. Must be the heavy weight of the bottle out-did the straps once the floor gave way?

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Wow, I’m so pleased that it happened at low speed and gutted for you I’m picturing sparks as the bottle scrapped along the road, which ain’t good when it comes to gas cylinders.

Hope it’s not too much hassle to fix.
 
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Far more common than it should be, especially with 2 13kg bottles. The last one I repaired, I made a new floor from aluminium chequer plate and angle. If I was doing another, I would measure and have an aluminium tray made with tall enough sides and back to screw to the inner walls. I would have it welded together so it would be super strong and have drop out vents drilled in the floor. Some vans now ship with plastic locker floors, which can crack but don't rot away
 
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Elsie2008 said:
Hi all

Thought I'd share our experience as not sure if this is a known thing or just an unfortunate event (hoping it's the latter!)

Whilst (luckily) driving through the grounds of Chatsworth (private stately home) doing no more than 5mph, we heard the biggest thud and a sound of dragging.

Whilst trying to look for a safe place to pull in, an oncoming car flagged us to stop.

Our spare gas had fallen out of our locker, onto the oncoming traffic due to our gas locker floor failing completely, with the connected gas hanging on by the pug tail, scraping the floor!

We have a 2008 Elddis Autoquest 140, bought in Jul 2022, where luckily our dealer has said he will stand to the repair.

Have read this to happen to caravans but not so on MH's.

Just makes you aware of how flimsy the floors can be, and just grateful it didn't happen on a main road or a motorway and it didn't hurt anyone or their vehicles.

Both were secured but gravity won the battle and the spare went rogue!

Photos attached (floor completely gone and what the floor looks like)

View attachment 736769 View attachment 736770
Click to expand...
Wow, thanks for the heads up. Glad everything was OK and no real harm done apart from a scarey experience.Will be checking my gas locker tomorrow. (y)
As said the floor looks OK and it just fell through due to failed fastenings.
 
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