Most RV owners dramatically underestimate how quickly their propane gets consumed, especially when running the furnace or refrigerator on LP mode. The RV furnace is typically your biggest propane consumer, using roughly a gallon every 24 hours of continuous operation, yet many new owners assume a 20-pound tank will last weeks of camping.
What throws people off is that propane consumption isn’t linear throughout the day. Your refrigerator might cycle on LP mode for only a few hours total while maintaining temperature, but the furnace runs almost continuously on cold nights. Water heating uses propane in short, intense bursts — heating a full tank might consume a pound of propane in 30 minutes, then nothing until the next shower.
The math gets trickier because propane appliances work less efficiently at different altitudes and temperatures. Your furnace burns more LP gas to produce the same heat output when it’s really cold outside, and your refrigerator may run longer on propane mode in hot weather to maintain cooling.
A more realistic approach is to track actual usage over a few trips rather than relying on manufacturer estimates. Many experienced RVers keep a simple log of tank levels and days between refills, adjusted for weather and appliance usage. This gives you real-world data for planning longer boondocking trips or deciding whether a larger propane setup makes sense for your camping style.