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Campervan Gas Autonomy Calculator
13kg, 6kg & Campingaz Bottles

Accurately estimate how long your gas bottle will last in your campervan.
Calculate your gas consumption (Heating, Cooking, Fridge).

🔥 Your Gas Appliances

Estimate your daily usage time for each appliance. Average consumption figures (in grams/hour) are already set for standard campervan appliances.

1.0 hour/day
2 shower(s)/day
0 hour/day

Estimated Autonomy

Your daily consumption
0 grams of gas / day
🛢️
Large Bottle (13 kg)
0 Days
Ideal if you use gas heating in winter.
⛽
Small Bottle (6 kg)
0 Days
Cube, Twiny, Elfi. A favourite choice among vanlifers.
🔵
Campingaz R907 (2.75 kg)
0 Days
Very small, very expensive, for summer cooking only.

Which Gas Bottle Should You Choose for Your Campervan?

The gas system is at the heart of your conversion. It allows you to cook, heat your shower water and, if you choose a combination heater such as a Truma, heat the entire living area in winter.

Gas autonomy needs to be considered from the very first stages of your 3D design: What size gas bottle should you buy, and more importantly, how large does your sealed gas locker need to be?

Our campervan gas autonomy calculator shows that there is no one-size-fits-all answer. It all depends on your equipment!

The 13kg Bottle: Your Winter Ally

This is the standard domestic gas bottle. It takes up a huge amount of space in the storage area, as the sealed gas locker will need to be both large and heavy.

  • Who is it for? It is the obvious choice if you install gas heating (Truma Combi 4, Webasto Whale). A gas heater in the middle of winter can consume around 150 to 200 grams per hour. If you heat for 8 hours a day, a 13kg bottle will be empty in just 8 or 9 days.

  • If you don't have gas heating, a 13kg bottle is excessive. It will last more than 6 months just for cooking, which is a waste of valuable space.

The 6kg Bottles (Twiny, Cube): The Vanlifers' Choice

They contain between 5 and 6kg of gas depending on the brand. This is the go-to size for campervans. They are small, easy to handle and allow you to design a compact gas locker under the kitchen sink.

  • If you use it for cooking (2-burner hob) and a gas water heater for your showers, a 6kg Twiny bottle will give you an excellent autonomy of around 3 to 4 weeks. That's more than enough for a stress-free holiday.

The Absorption Fridge: The Gas Vampire

A gas absorption fridge (three-way fridge) runs on 12V while driving, 230V on a campsite, and gas when operating off-grid. It is very quiet, but it can consume a significant amount of gas. To keep things cold, it burns a small flame 24 hours a day, 7 days a week without stopping.

It can literally drain a small 6kg bottle in just over a week. This is why more and more converters are moving away from gas fridges in favour of electric compressor fridges.

🍳 Keep Your Gas System Safe

Gas requires a very strict installation (sealed gas locker, rigid copper pipes). Discover the standards you need to follow for your safety and vehicle approval.

Read the Plumbing & Heating Guide →

Frequently Asked Questions

Butane or Propane: which should you choose for a campervan?

The choice depends on the temperature. Butane freezes and stops working when temperatures approach 0°C. If your gas locker is in the unheated rear storage area of your van, you may not be able to make a coffee on a winter morning! Propane, on the other hand, remains usable down to around -40°C. It is the preferred choice for year-round vanlifers.
 

Can you keep a Propane bottle inside the living area?

Contrary to a common misconception, yes! The VASP standard (EN 1949) does not prohibit Propane inside a vehicle, provided that the bottle is kept in a dedicated sealed gas locker with a permanent 100 cm² low-level vent leading underneath the vehicle.
 

Should you install two gas bottles?

If you live in your campervan year-round or go skiing with gas heating, a two-bottle gas locker is essential. It allows you to switch bottles (using an automatic changeover regulator) in the middle of the night when the first bottle runs out, without freezing.
 

Why is the Campingaz R907 so popular despite its small size?

The Campingaz R907 (2.75kg blue bottle) has one major advantage: it is widely exchangeable across Europe (Spain, Italy, etc.). Twiny and Cube bottles, on the other hand, are specific to the French market. However, Campingaz gas costs around 4 to 5 times more per kilo than gas from a standard bottle!
 

What is LPG in a campervan?

LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) is a mixture of Propane and Butane. Instead of using exchangeable bottles, you install a fixed tank or a refillable LPG bottle. You simply stop at a filling station and refill the bottle yourself through an external filling point. It is very economical to use and ideal for travelling around Europe.
 

Is LPG legal and approved for VASP?

Yes, installing an LPG bottle is permitted for VASP motor caravan approval through Qualigaz, provided that the bottle is securely fastened with certified metal straps and fitted with a 27-bar safety valve to release excess pressure.
 

Can I use a diesel heater and only use gas for the hob?

Absolutely. This is the preferred setup for a new generation of converters! The heater (such as an Autoterm or Webasto) draws diesel directly from the vehicle's fuel tank. This means gas is only needed for cooking. A small 6kg Twiny bottle can then last for more than 2 to 3 months without any problem.
 

Do you have to turn off the gas bottle while driving?

Legally, yes, unless your installation is fitted with a "Crash Sensor" (such as the Truma MonoControl CS). This device detects severe impacts (such as accidents) and instantly shuts off the gas supply. If you have one installed, you are allowed to drive with the bottle open (very practical for keeping the fridge running or heating the living area while driving).
 

What regulator pressure should you use?

For several years, the European standard (EN 1949) has required campervan gas installations to use a standardised pressure. You must install a fixed regulator set to **30 mbar**, whether you are using Propane, Butane or LPG.
 

Is it mandatory to use rigid copper pipes?

For VASP approval, most of the gas system must use rigid pipework (annealed copper or steel) with compression fittings (olive fittings). Flexible hoses are strictly limited to the connection between the gas bottle and the fixed regulator, or to very rare justified exceptions (such as a sliding drawer).
 

The Conversion Workshop