As vacation season rapidly approaches, recreation vehicle users on the west coast have had to look outside the region for propane.
Unlike recent propane shortages on the island, the issue isn’t the fuel supply but the high cost of replacing old auto meters used to regulate the flow of propane.
Local suppliers have historically had the meters but have balked at paying the $20,000 cost of replacing outdated meters now too old to fix.
As a result, RV users have had to travel to suppliers in Springdale, Hawke’s Bay, Port Saunders, Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor in order to fill up.
One such user is Matthew Connolly who recently made the trip to central Newfoundland in order to fill his 30-litre tank.
Connolly said he used to fill his tank in Pasadena and Deer Lake but has been told the cost is simply too high for local suppliers to be fully-equipped for RV fill-ups.
He said while it was a “hassle” to take his bulky tank off his vehicle and to an out-of-town supplier, he’s concerned tourism in the region will suffer if the situation continues.
“As it stands, tourism is going to take a pounding on this,” Connolly said. “Big RV clubs come down here in groups and they need the propane in these units.”
A self-described moderate RV user, Connolly said he easily goes through 30 litres of propane a summer since it’s required for heat, to cook and to run his refrigerator.
Although places such as Canadian Tire will fill one’s tank through a cylinder exchange program similar to ones used for barbecue tank fill-ups, Connolly said such a setup is difficult given the size of propane tanks for recreational vehicles.
Connolly said the situation has cause some to do what he describes as gravity feeds, where a smaller cylinder is turned upside down while the propane runs from a join hose into their RV.
As a safety instructor, he said such stories make him cringe.
“I’m hearing horror stories about what people are doing and it’s not right — someone is going to get injured,” he said. “You’ve got to have purge valves and shut-off valves ... if you don’t know this, you can get into a serious accident.”
Michael Thorne, general manager of the Atlantic region for Superior Propane, said his company supplies the propane for the businesses in Springdale, Hawke’s Bay, Port Saunders, Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor.
He said his company has been in contact with local entrepreneurs about installing a meter in order to meet the local need.
Should one emerge who’s willing to pay the $20,000 price tag, Thorne said is wouldn’t take long for the supplier to be up and running.
“We need to find someone who’s willing to absorb some of the cost,” Thorne said. “It’s really going to come down to the entrepreneurs doing the evaluation and seeing if it makes sense.”