TheSamba.com :: View topic - Need Help- Ontario Canada- Propane tank Recertification

Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:31 pm

Hello All,

Most of the posts here saying you do not need certification if the tank is sideways, well, my insurance company says otherwise. I purchased a used 87 Westfalia and i'm in the process of registering it in my name.

Insurance Company needs the following items done before they will provide me with insurance.
1- Vehicle certification. No big deal since its needed for registration as well.
2- Porta Potty, oh well, again no big deal.
3- Propane tank Certification. I've contacted couple of places and when you mention tank is sideways, they tell me they dont certify those. meanwhile my insurance company wants it certified. So confusing....

If anyone in Ontario, Canada has gone thru a similar situation please let me know what you did. I live near Markham. GTA or anywhere in Southern Ontario will do.

Happy SLOW motoring... :D

Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:34 pm

Ontario is a mighty big place... maybe a hint to what side you live on..

I've a friend near Ottawa who had his certified last year, I'll point him to this thread.

Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:39 pm

danfromsyr wrote: Ontario is a mighty big place... maybe a hint to what side you live on..

I've a friend near Ottawa who had his certified last year, I'll point him to this thread.

ty. Edited to add location.

Wed Aug 29, 2018 6:26 pm

I registered mine in Ontario without any propane tank issues. Maybe change your insurance company. My regular insurance company would not cover it because it was too old so I needed to find a new insurance company for my Westy

Wed Aug 29, 2018 6:37 pm

Please explain why your insurance company requires you to have a porta potty. This makes no sense to me. If I heard that, I’d be calling a new insurance company for a competitive quote.

I might be able to understand the propane tank, but a porta potty?

Wed Aug 29, 2018 7:49 pm

sounds like they're covering it as an RV
probably for a cheaper rate?

really not all companies know how to insure a converted camper van that you daily drive to work and the store.

Thu Aug 30, 2018 11:56 am

Mine is an 86 Vanagon GL with Westfalia camping package, not an RV. I'm east of Toronto.

Mine certified no mention of propane tank. Insurance with State Farm never even asked. Do they know about it ? Hell yes, including the appraisal papers I filed with the van so that if things go south, they know what I've got into it.

I would say that you should look elsewhere or go with a broker to find a better educated deal. They don't sound like they are well versed in what they do.

Thu Aug 30, 2018 12:13 pm

danfromsyr wrote: Ontario is a mighty big place... maybe a hint to what side you live on..

I've a friend near Ottawa who had his certified last year, I'll point him to this thread.

Quote: Hi:

We had our van certified and on the road for at least a year before we replaced the propane tank. There were no questions from our mechanic or insurance agent about the tank. Period. We had the tank approved / certified on our own initiative by Bytown Propane here in Ottawa so that we felt comfortable driving with a propane tank bolted to the undercarriage.
I don't know if this helps your cause but that's what we did.
Rob and Ingrid

Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:13 pm

Well, USA law requires tanks to be "recertified" after 12 years from date of manufacture, and every 5 years after that. Which doesn't matter to you, really, I wonder what Canadian law provides for that?
I have a...let's see, do the math...36 year old tank under my Westy. It has never been recertified. When I rebuilt my rig, I cleaned and repainted the tank like nice and shiny new. Nobody has ever even looked for a date stamp. But if it still looked like it did back then I wouldn't blame anybody if they wouldn't refill it.
Also, there are some legal differences (in USA law) between portable tanks and permanently-affixed-to-vehicle tanks. Again, I don't know how that translates to Canadian law.
Maybe the insurance company is visualizing the typical portable tank on the tongue of the trailer. Or maybe they had to pay out once on a propane-tank related incident. It's funny how somebody sitting in an office visualizes the "dangers out there" and makes policy based on their view. Which could, again, actually include an experience.