Best auto switchover

[Magnet18]

Hi all
I currently have a single tank motorhome setup and am looking to replace the 40 year old single tank regulator with a 2 tank automatic switchover regulator

I'm concerned that I can't seem to find any sort of solid product, the camco that floods my search results appears to be junk, and there are lots of complaints about every other automatic switchover I can find either stops working after a few months or "commonly doesn't work right, try tapping it"


Can anyone recommend a quality product they've had years of trouble free service with?


For background, full timing this winter, so it will be getting a workout, and reliability is essential!

[Magnet18]

More details on my research
-camco units are often DOA or have a < 1 year life
-lots of complaints on amazon about the cassava group sold on VTS giving up/not indicating after a few months
-marshall apparently used to be a standby but is now made in china rather than italy

I did find this made in America unit, looks high quality with the price tag to match, does anyone have any experience with it?
http://www.regoproducts.com/lpg/lpg-...cts/7525b.html

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Stop by a dealer and take a look at what goes on a new AS. If it looks like it will work, have them order one for you.

Bob

[J. Morgan]

In my view all of the RV regulators made today are crap, if my old one would have still worked after forty years I would have kept it.

After replacing my regulators over and over and over I finally bought a heavy duty unit.....

This one has lasted a record 16 months thus far.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Well, my 'crap' is made in the 🇺🇸🇺🇸 and I'm happy with it.😂

Bob
🇺🇸

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Well, my 'crap' is made in the [emoji631][emoji631] and I'm happy with it.[emoji23]



Bob

[emoji631]

I’m glad you found something made for an RV that works well for you, I didn’t.

I’m not 100%, but I think I had one of those too.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

I’m glad you found something made for an RV that works well for you, I didn’t.

I’m not 100%, but I think I had one of those too.

Sorry...I thought the OP was inquiring about the auto switch models.😳

Bob
🇺🇸

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Sorry...I thought the OP was inquiring about the auto switch models.[emoji15]



Bob

[emoji631]

He was, but I threw my opinion out there anyway. I thought that would be alright. Maybe not right Bob?

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

He was, but I threw my opinion out there anyway. I thought that would be alright. Maybe not right Bob?

Not rong at all, the more options the better. 👍

Bob
🇺🇸

[Magnet18]

Thanks for all the opinions!

Looks like airstream OEM is a "Wortington", a company that as far as I can tell doesn't actually exist.

Based on the image it looks like a rebranded low-flow Marshall (i think the picture bob posted is the same). I thought I saw somewhere that they were now made in China, but maybe I was mistaken, they still have a big "made in the USA" sticker on their site

I did see a "mr heater" at Menards, which is popular with SOBs, and without even picking it up it was visibly junk. Chineseum alloy die casting with so many cold flow defects I bet it would shatter if you dropped it

Bob, how much use does your regulator have on it? Being that it's one third of the price of the really nice rego, and still made in the USA, it might be worth trying. The only reason I'm hesitant is quite a few reviews on Amazon say it stopped working after a month or two, but unhappy people are far more likely to leave reviews

[uncle_bob]

Hi

I've got two years in on the regulator on my AS. The next door neighbors have ten years in on one that looks identical to mine. No problems at all on either one of them.

They do not seem to be a common point of failure. People here are not at all hesitant to complain loudly when anything goes wrong on their trailers......

Bob ( yes, the other Bob ...)

[ROBERT CROSS]

^
Yes

Our original had 11yrs, the Marshall high flow replacement was installed last Spring.
POI..the original was replaced because it wasn't shutting off the line to the empty tank when removed to fill. (switchover)

Bob,
🇺🇸

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

I've got two years in on the regulator on my AS. The next door neighbors have ten years in on one that looks identical to mine. No problems at all on either one of them.

They do not seem to be a common point of failure. People here are not at all hesitant to complain loudly when anything goes wrong on their trailers......

Bob ( yes, the other Bob ...)

Lol, yeah, six regulators in less than five years might kinda make a complainer out of me about RV regulators.

If yours is good then great! Mine weren’t. I guess I might have just been very unlucky, nonetheless it’s kinda ok if I share my experience here isn’t it?

[68 Overlander]

I thought Steve at VTS had all that figured out. I'd contact him. Our businesses started about the same time and he should know.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

Lol, yeah, six regulators in less than five years might kinda make a complainer out of me about RV regulators.

If yours is good then great! Mine weren’t. I guess I might have just been very unlucky, nonetheless it’s kinda ok if I share my experience here isn’t it?

Hi

You might consider changing where you get your propane .....

Bob

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi



You might consider changing where you get your propane .....



Bob

Yeah, could be, but at the same time the regulator I have installed now has worked for 16 months now. That’s a record Bob.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

Yeah, could be, but at the same time the regulator I have installed now has worked for 16 months now. That’s a record Bob.

Hi

A lot depends on the failure mode. Cracks into two pieces and falls on the ground is not likely from a junk load of propane. Threads that aren't even close to the right size - not from bad propane.

Regulators that jam up and just stop working - that can be from crud in the tank. I can't imagine a situation where you get bad propane time after time. A dealer like that would not stay in business.(at least I'd hope that's the case).

I can see how you could get a load into the tank and it would take a long time to flush out. The sorts of things that plug a regulator will sit in a tank for quite a while. (much like water in the bottom of an air tank)

Bob

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi



A lot depends on the failure mode. Cracks into two pieces and falls on the ground is not likely from a junk load of propane. Threads that aren't even close to the right size - not from bad propane.



Regulators that jam up and just stop working - that can be from crud in the tank. I can't imagine a situation where you get bad propane time after time. A dealer like that would not stay in business.(at least I'd hope that's the case).



I can see how you could get a load into the tank and it would take a long time to flush out. The sorts of things that plug a regulator will sit in a tank for quite a while. (much like water in the bottom of an air tank)



Bob

Two leaked out of bleed holes and four failed to pass propane.

None would disassemble so a forensic look wasn’t all that practical. The three places I have typically bought propane from move a lot of product.

I’m in the trailer about six months a year, some of it winter, I’m thinking I might use more propane than the occasional weekend camper or the two vacation a year set.

Either way, until now, my record with regulators has been kinda abysmal.

It isn’t the buying them or installing them that’s a big deal, it’s the failure when I need them that bothers me.

Granted, these unforeseen failures mean that some of these that failed were off the shelf at Lowe’s spur of the moment replacement things that shouldn’t have been depended on, but some were supposed to be good ones.....