Propane Tank Tool Box

In this Instructable I am going to show you how I took an old, expired, empty and ugly 30lbs propane tank and made a tool box for the tongue of my little travel trailer. This project was done over a few days with minimal cost, using found and recycled parts and pieces.
I found a need for this as my trailer has very little exterior storage and the fact I will probably never need to run 2 tanks on my trailer. Wasted space no more!!!

OK. We are dealing with a tank that held compressed , volitile fuel. I cannot stress how important it is to be safe on this one. Do not skip any safety steps. Read as much as possible about emptying these tanks properly. There are plenty of youtube videos and other sites that are available. I do not accept any responsibily for any negligence in emptying or cutting of the tank.

First things first. Take empty tank and go outside. Open valve and leave outside for 24 hours. Now its empty I removed the set screw in the side of valve. Next I removed the open/close knob on top of valve. Invert tank and leave outside for a couple more hours.
Now remove the valve. It is a tapered thread so it will be tight. It is regular right hand thread but it should be tight. In my case very tight. Keep working at it. Eventually it will come apart
Last step is I filled it full of water. Any residual fuel will get pushed out of the top hole. A little redundant maybe, but hey......safety.

Pretty simple here. Mark out your door and cut er open.
I used masking tape and a felt to mark out door location. I also cut opposite of the handle on top so I can mount on my trailer and still access all my equipment.
A simple angle grinder and cut off wheel made short work of this

So I wanted a container at the bottom of the door to hold small items such as nuts and bolts, pins and such. A quick carboard template was made and then transfered to steel. I spaced it up from tge bottom of the door i case my hinges sag a bit.
I also wanted extruded steel for a shelf to slide screwdrivers and such into. Using the existing seam in the tank as a shelf support i welded it in.

As with the door I added an extruded steel shelf. I also used existing seam as support. I added a steel strip to the front of shelf with a bunch of holes drilled in it so I can see what is on the shelf as it is hard to see in.

Now this could be done a number of ways. Many different hinges are available. I opted to make my own.
Line up door. I used a couple of shims to space it properly. Tack hinges in place. Put the door on and test function. Happy with how it worked I welded it together.

Again there are many ways to do this step. I have no idea where I got these parts......but they needed a home!
I lined them up with the door bolted in place. A couple of plug welds and they are on. Not having a "female" part to these I simply welded a few nuts on the body.

Again a simple step. Take your project all apart. Sand, prime and paint color of your choice. I happened to have a few cans of this color on the shelf......so now its burgundy
Once the paint has dried put it all back togethe. I re-installed the valve on top but this could be a simple plug.

So now fill with the tools of your choice. Mount on the tongue of your trailer in the spare spot and there you go. Amaze all your camping buddies with a custom toolbox made from scrap!!!!

I cannot stress safety enough. Pkease be aware of what can happen messing with propane. This little project took about 4 hours over a couple of days.
This will get a 12 volt light source as a next upgrade.
I also drilled a small hole bottom ceter of tank for water drainage as there is no door seal yet.
I hope this inspires you to use up some old junk. Please post what ya make, would love to see some other configurations on this idea!!!!
Now go make something!!