In our second Grand California, we deliberately swapped the gas heating for a diesel heater. There are various reasons for this, including the fact that there is nothing worse than being somewhere in the middle of nowhere and having no way of filling up with gas. There are certainly ways to do this with a gas heater, but not with a standard gas system in the Grand California. This means that the gas cylinder always has to be filled or replaced by a specialist dealer. Diesel is simply more practical here, as you can find a filling station anywhere and refill your tank. There is also no need to lug the bottles around. If you have additional cargo in the trunk, you may first have to clear out everything in front of the extremely inconveniently positioned gas locker. Not much fun in wind and weather.
But this is not meant to be a discussion or advice about gas or diesel.
Because despite diesel heating, you need gas if you don’t rebuild something, for example an electric stove. Cooking in a campervan works with gas. So you have another gas bottle in the trunk, which we didn’t want. As we always have our gas barbecue with us anyway and use it with cartridges, it would make sense to use these cartridges with the gas system in the Grand California. That should be easy, right?
Fortunately, it really can be done without modifying the system. You only need two adapters and an optional holder for the small cartridge.
The connector is needed to connect the gas cartridge with a hose.
Then an adapter 21.8 x 3/8 for connection to the high pressure hose of the gas system.
Simply screwed together, a gas cartridge can now be used on the gas system without restriction. The result looks like this:
Who now still needs a holder for the cartridge, can take a simple mountain bike fender, for example this HERE.
The complete parts list:
Craftsman bottle adapter – https://amzn.to/3UUHc6H
Topeak Unisex – Adult Versacage Bracket, Black, 22cm – https://amzn.to/3KhFszF
CFH connection valve AV121 – https://amzn.to/3UTGUNz
Have fun with the conversion.
