Underslung LPG for Symbol on 2nd Gen Boxer

I'm interested in having an underslung refillable habitation LPG system fitted to our Auto-Sleepers Symbol. 
The van is a 2nd Generation Peugeot, first registered 2001. It's an absolute corker and well worth the effort we think. 

Our first foreign trip, an extended one in Italy and first of many we hope, has absolutely confirmed what a pain in the backside the size incompatibility issues are between UK onboard cylinders eg. Calor 7kg Propane and the ubiquitous 10kg Italian/European cylinders.
Conveniently topping-up at will, at any of the abundant UK/EU LPG garages we all pass every day... the cost benefits... freeing up cupboard space... getting rid of all the hassle, and never running out... is all very appealing. 

An initial tentative enquiry with Autogas in Thirsk seems to suggest the brake cable rod blocks the favoured position underneath, and the only other option... ditching the spare wheel and using it's location... I'm not very comfortable with.

So... has anyone any experience of such a conversion to this model, or any useful advice to pass on... pros & cons etc.

You'll find the answer in this thread from 2011 but it's not what you want to hear....

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Why not  just ditch the gas bottles you have and replace them with Gaslow bottles, that is what is fitted now to my 2012 Symbol two bottles in the gas locker
David

The main problem with the internal gas locker is there is very little room due to the wheel arch. I have found that the maximum amount of gas that can be carried in the locker is a single 6Kg bottle next to the locker door and a 3.9Kg bottle at the back of the locker. You do need to raise the 3.9 on 6" blocks of wood or you cannot shut the locker door.

Paul300358... yes the gas locker is a mean little affair despite it actually accepting yhe 6kg and the 3.9kg. I haven't tried it, but it looks like it would even take 2 x 6kg cylinders. But you are missing my main point which is continental use. No Calor dealers in Italy and the tall fat 20kg bottle is standard.

Heanorboy... I've estimated that our mean little locker will only take just one smallish Gaslow bottle.. . Yours is a later model so the locker is probably more generous. OK, so there are plenty of LPG garages, but we use a lot of gas as we do most of our campng off grid, need the fridge on gas, like regular hot showers, cook proper meals, and like mountain regions where heating at evening time can make a big difference. Gas in one smallish Gaslow cylinder would be getting refilled just too often with us.

Paulmold... thanks for that link. Yes, the consensus on that thread wasn't what I wanted to hear. Sounds like its...
A. Keep fishing for a practical sized refillable lpg cylinder that'll fit.
B. Find some way of converting the brake rod to cable, thereby freeing up space for even one of the longer cylinders.
C. Ditch the spare and go for a pretty large tank at the back. Please someone convince me I don't need a spare.
I must do 10 to 12,000 car plus van miles per year and can't remember the last time I changed a wheel.
I also always have full breakdown cover... so why bother having a spare if the towtruck will just pick you up and take you to a tyre garage... or a mobile fitter comes out to you?
But keeping a good spare is deeply ingrained in my motoring psyche.

Hi Pilchard, I looked into fitting 2 x 6Kg bottles but found that there just isn't the room, the best we could do in the locker was a single small gaslow. I did used to run a Ford estate which had a factory LPG conversion, the tank filled the spare wheel well. I never had a problem but I never felt comfortable with it.
Is it possible to hang a spare wheel on the back door?

Hi Paul. Yes these gas lockers are tiny, but OK for UK use because Calor Gas is cheap and available everywhere, including most petrol stations. Its just a problem when in Europe. My experience is limited to Italy, where I travel to quite a bit... but the same problem is going to exist in countless other EU and non EU countries. The common cylinder size is just too big for the locker. Autosleepers must have thought their customers were europhobic. So this is why I'm talking "underslung". An incidental upside is the increase in very limited cbd space by having an empty gas locker.
I know what you mean about feeling uncomfortable not having a spare. But consider this... when was the last time you had a complete deflation on the road and stopped and changed your wheel? Do you have breakdown insurance, and could they provide mobile tyre assistance? Some cars no longer come with a spare.any women lack the strength to change a wheel, and increasingly... so do men, if they even have the nouse.
The weight of that spare on a door? Nah! Not for me. It's like carrying a great big rock in case your handbrake fails. Just keep your tyres in good nick, properly inflated, and regularly checked... and a roadside puncture will just not happen any more often than once every 10 years... if you are unlucky.

Its the problem with the gas that has put me off stopping longer than a few nights on aires in France. We normally end up on sites for the electric hook up to save the gas. I travelled over 500,000 miles in the last 15 years for work covering most of Europe in Mondeos and civics none of which had a spare, I never had a problem. Then, last year I had to change a wheel twice, fortunately both times I was carrying a spare.  
Have you tried to remove the spare wheel, jack your symbol up and change the wheel? It ain't easy on a flagged flat drive. I only did it because I spotted some small cracks in a rear tyre side wall. I think that it would be quite an adventure removing the spare with a flat rear tyre!! I would want it on more than a jack before I crawled underneath.

Hi Paul... I think you've highlighted the problems perfectly.
I don't want my gas supply, cylinder, or capacity to dictate what I do, where I go, or how long I stay there. The incompatibility issue of UK vans and European gas cylinders is a farce. Maybe the more modern vans have it solved.... but I can't afford one.
2 wheel changes in 500,000 miles! I bet had you known, you would have left spare and jack at home.
It's many years since I changed a wheel on a van... twin wheel Tranny I think was the last... but you have to be pretty butch, prepared to get frozen to death, filthy, and run down by passing traffic... and that's if you can get the jack under, or you are not on soft mud. As manufacturers have over the years seen the waning of the gung-ho DIYer, I doubt if they've bothered making roadside wheel changes any easier.
But anyway... I just had a quote for various options and they are all £800 to £850. Ouch!!! That's a titchy one tucked behind the sill, a slightly bigger one lying acroos the van in front of exhaust box number 2.... but I have to first get someone to modify the brake rod... and a decent sized one (doughnut I think) which is the simplest as it fits in the spare wheel void. I'd seriously consider a DIY job at those prices.

I knew someone who had a 2007 Duetto and wanted an underslung tank that wouldn't fit. He decided to remove the waste water tank and this then provided an excellent venue for a 38 litre tank with factory fitted welded on brackets. He said he never liked the idea of lugging waste water around with him and used a flat portable tank to collect it and dispose of it appropriately as soon as possible. Could this idea work on your Symbol maybe ?

It seemed a good idea to me, he was very happy with it.

Hi Will. We find both our fresh and grey tanks far to useful, as we do lots of off-grid camping.in fact... I can't understand why anyone would own a campervan or motorhome if it were not to maximize the number of days "wild camping" and at the same time avoid what has become over the years quite onerous campsite fees. If I were intending to just camp on campsites then I'd have caravan instead, They are far cheaper to buy and give you greater freedoms.