LP Fill Port, Switch, Quick Disconnect RAISED

[Pez Vela]

I think anyone who has an Interstate with the low hung LP port worries about it. It is low enough to the ground to be damaged many ways. When I finally damaged it on a rough Forest Service road, it was time to take action.

1) Picture of the problem port and use of the quick disconnect for BBQ. Too low to the ground.
2) Picture of the removed ground effect piece. 5 body screws and on small rivet at the back bottom to be drilled out.
3) Picture off the bracket ground off. Be careful not to cut the wires or hit the elbow for the quick disconnect.
4) Picture of piece of bracket to be discarded. Fill the holes where the bracket was attached to prevent water and rust problems.
5) Try to make as clean a cut as possible on the removed body piece. This will be noticed the most.
6) Picture of the installed box raised, drilled and riveted back in place. Notice the damaged box that was repaired as best as I could.
7) You need to make a decision on how to hinge the cut piece. A prior post used a piano hinge on the top (probably easier for a cleaner alignment). Since I use the quick connect for the BBQ, I did not want to hold the panel up while trying to connect the hose with only one hand. I decided to cut the damaged plastic black door and rivet my cut body piece to it at the bottom. This allows the use of the existing hinge on the black box. The door hinges down out of the way like the factory door.
8) Put a larger body screw in the hole by the mud flap and cut a groove for the top of your door to slide into it. This seems to hold the piece in place, but I did not fully trust it. So I put an extra catch.
9) Put a stud into the hole for your prior plastic door knob and press the piece into the stud to mark where to drill a hole for your lock nut. Now you have a way to make sure the door stays shut.

It is nearly impossible to get a perfect fit but we do the best we can. Since we boondock more than most I probably would have fully ripped it off eventually.

[rmkrum]

Looks really good. Like that’s the way it should have been installed at the factory!

[billstrong]

I have an AI with the propane panel in the same location which in my view is unacceptable. I probably won’t move it but I am going to do something to protect it better from road grime. The first thing I will do is get a yellow plug for the grill connector.

[Titus]

Several of us have raised the fill panel before we snagged something and ripped it off. You can do so without removing the lower plastic trim piece. We made a vertical cut in it with it still in place. We also made the horizontal cut in the bracket (your second picture down on the right) with it in place.

[Pez Vela]

Originally Posted by Titus

Several of us have raised the fill panel before we snagged something and ripped it off. You can do so without removing the lower plastic trim piece. We made a vertical cut in it with it still in place. We also made the horizontal cut in the bracket (your second picture down on the right) with it in place.

Removing the plastic trim is the easiest part. I would recommend it to get a nice clean straight cut with the thinest grinding wheel you can get. The cut is going to be the most visible and easiest part to screw up. Your cut on the bracket is limited by the elbow for the quick connect.

[mike2016]

I guess Airstream learned this and it is now raised on newer Interstates, exactly just like yours

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by mike2016

I guess Airstream learned this and it is now raised on newer Interstates, exactly just like yours

Yes - they got some complaints from NHTSA/US DoT. I filed a complaint with NHTSA a few years ago as did several others.

[mike2016]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

Yes - they got some complaints from NHTSA/US DoT. I filed a complaint with NHTSA a few years ago as did several others.

ah ha... i wish they made that panel a little more sturdy though. it's quite filmsy and traps a lot of dirt in it