Electrical and Systems
RV LP Gas System Service, Leak Testing and Repair
Typical range
$285 to $2,500
Shop hours
1 to 10
Labor rate
$260/hr
The short answer
LP gas service covers pressure and leak testing, regulator replacement, line and fitting repair, tank valve service, and appliance connections. All LP work is performed by certified technicians only. Work runs $285 to $2,500, or 1 to 10 hours at $260 per hour plus parts.
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What this work actually involves
An RV propane system runs at a regulated 11 inches of water column, which is a very low pressure, and that is exactly why leaks hide. A joint can weep at a rate that never smells strong enough to alarm anyone while filling a sealed compartment overnight. The only honest way to evaluate a system is a manometer test: pressurize the system, isolate it, and watch for pressure decay over a timed interval. A soap bubble check on the fittings you can reach finds the easy leaks and misses the ones behind a wall.
Regulators are the most common replacement. A two stage regulator has a diaphragm that hardens with age and with Southern California temperature swings, and once it stiffens the delivered pressure wanders. The symptoms show up as appliance complaints rather than gas complaints: a furnace that lights and drops out, a refrigerator that will not hold temperature on LP, or a range burner with a lazy yellow flame. Owners chase the appliance for months when the regulator is setting the pressure wrong.
The other Southern California factor is corrosion and rodents. Coastal storage rusts the tank valve threads and the copper to steel transitions, and rodents chew rubber pigtail hoses in stored units because the hose material is soft. Any hose that is cracked, checked, or past its date gets replaced rather than inspected optimistically. All LP gas work here is performed by certified technicians only, in the shop, and every job ends with a documented pressure test.
Systems and brands we work on: Suburban, Atwood, Dometic, Norcold.
Location: All work is performed at our Yorba Linda facility. We do not offer mobile, roadside, or fleet route service.
02
What the job includes
- Manometer pressure and timed leak decay testing of the entire system
- Two stage and automatic changeover regulator replacement and adjustment
- Delivered pressure verification at 11 inches water column at the appliances
- Copper, black iron, and flexible line repair and replacement
- Rubber pigtail hose replacement on cracked, checked, or chewed hoses
- Tank valve, OPD valve, and POL fitting service on removable cylinders
- ASME tank fitting service on motorhome mounted tanks
- Appliance gas connection and shutoff valve repair
- Compartment ventilation verification and line routing correction
- Documented post-repair pressure test on every job
03
When you need this service
- A propane smell around the tank compartment or inside the coach
- The LP detector alarming, even intermittently
- Appliances that light and then drop out under load
- A yellow, lazy, or uneven burner flame on the range
- The furnace and water heater competing, where one runs only if the other is off
- A cracked, checked, or chewed rubber pigtail hose at the tank
- Regulator that frosts, hisses, or vents audibly
04
How we do it, step by step
- 01
Visual survey and isolation
Tank, regulator, pigtails, and every accessible run inspected, and the system isolated so a decay test measures the plumbing rather than an open appliance valve.
- 02
Manometer pressure decay test
System pressurized and held for a timed interval with a manometer. This is the only reliable way to prove there is no leak, including the ones behind walls and under floors.
- 03
Leak localization
Where a decay is measured, the system is sectioned and retested to narrow the leak to a run before anything is opened up. Sectioning beats guessing on a long line.
- 04
Regulator and delivered pressure check
Delivered pressure measured at the furthest appliance under load. A regulator that reads correctly at rest and sags under demand is a common miss.
- 05
Repair by certified technicians
Lines, fittings, hoses, valves, and regulators repaired or replaced by certified LP technicians only, with correct thread compound and correctly formed flares.
- 06
Documented final test
Full system pressurized and held again after repair, delivered pressure verified at every appliance, and the result documented on the invoice.
05
Pricing and posted rates
| Item | Rate or range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Typical job range | $285 to $2,500 | Varies with extent of damage and parts availability |
| Shop hours | 1 to 10 | Quoted after teardown, not before |
| Mechanical and electrical labor | $260 per hour | 2026 posted rate |
| Parts | 100% markup under $100, 35% over | Special order parts require a non refundable deposit at order |
| Deposit | 50% at authorization over $2,000 | Additional 25% when parts arrive on jobs over $10,000 |
| Sales tax | 7.75% on parts and materials | Labor is not taxed |
Insurance billed jobs may be billed at carrier negotiated labor rates that differ from the posted retail rates above. See all posted rates.
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Vehicles we do this work on
Vehicle
Class A Gas Motorhomes
A Class A gas motorhome is a flat-front coach built on a Ford F53 or Workhorse front-engine chassis, typically 28 to 38 feet. Rear
Vehicle
Class C Motorhomes
A Class C is a coach body built onto a cutaway van chassis with a sleeping or storage cabover extending above the factory cab. Tha
Vehicle
Standard Fifth Wheels
A fifth wheel couples to a hitch in the truck bed through a kingpin and pin box, with a raised forward bedroom over the truck. The
Vehicle
Travel Trailers
A travel trailer tows from a ball hitch behind the tow vehicle rear axle on an A-frame tongue, which makes it the most sway-prone
Vehicle
Truck Campers, Slide-In
A slide-in truck camper sits in a pickup bed and is clamped down at four points, so it absorbs the truck frame twist directly. Jac
Vehicle
Pop-Up Campers, Tent Trailers
A pop-up camper is a low box trailer with a lifting hard roof, canvas walls, and fold-out bunk end decks. The lift system, the bun
Vehicle
Food Trucks
Food trucks combine cooking heat, grease, water, propane, and a generator inside a box that also has to survive freeway travel. Fl
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Questions about lp gas system service and leak repair
Frequently asked questions
How do you find an LP leak I cannot smell?
With a manometer decay test. We pressurize the isolated system and watch for pressure loss over a timed interval, which detects leaks far too small to smell reliably. If there is decay, we section the system and retest to narrow it to a specific run before opening anything. Bubble testing alone only finds accessible joints.
How much does LP system service cost?
Work runs $285 to $2,500, or 1 to 10 hours at $260 per hour plus parts. A pressure test with a regulator and pigtail replacement is at the low end. A leaking line behind a wall that has to be traced, opened, replaced, and retested, plus tank valve work, is at the high end.
Who performs the LP work?
Certified technicians only. LP gas is one area where we do not let general technicians work, and every job finishes with a documented pressure test on the invoice. All of it is performed at our Yorba Linda facility with the coach in the shop.
My furnace and water heater will not run at the same time. Is that a gas problem?
Very likely. That symptom is classic for a regulator that cannot maintain 11 inches of water column under combined demand, or for an undersized or partially blocked line. We measure delivered pressure at the furthest appliance while everything is running, which is the condition that exposes it. At rest the same system will test fine.
How old is too old for the rubber hoses at my tank?
The pigtail hoses carry a date and they harden, check, and crack with UV and heat exposure, which Southern California delivers in quantity. If a hose is cracked, checked, chewed, or past its marked date, we replace it. They are inexpensive relative to what a failed hose in a closed compartment can do.
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Ready to move on lp gas system service and leak repair? Bring it to Yorba Linda.