propane vs coleman stove vs alochol stove

Coleman stove requires carrying gas cans and is inconvenient. Propane version requires carrying propane, which even in 1 pound bottles is still propane. Alcohol is the safest but has a lot lower heat content and is many times more expensive to operate than propane (I forget what I calculated but it has lower heat content per gallon than propane but costs $15 per gallon at home maintenance stores). Propane does go boom under certain circumstances. Option you have not included is electric induction cook top, with lots more batteries, charging, and 2KW inverter.

I too had serious issues with propane since I could not figure out a good low cost method to mount a tank below the floor (horizontal tanks are expensive and there are not really any good deep spaces below floor for a 20 pound tank, barely for a 10). I have had propane on my sailboat for the last 25 years and think nothing of it. But then, my propane locker is built into the steel hull at deck level and any propane leaks drains directly overboard and if the tanks go boom the explosion will go up through wood deck hatch and not into boat. But a below decks leak would be bad. But we are on camper vans. I have decided to add propane in internal tanks. Specifically 2 ea 11 pound tanks below the sink in a home made sealed box with fiberglass epoxy coating and the appropriate overboard drains. The simple DOT rules, as best I find them, are an air intake at the top of a sealed box and an air/propane drain at the bottom of the box, each of at least 3/4 inch diameter. Current rules may require more cross section but I decided to limit myself to the 2 ea 3/4 inch hoses. British marine rules and older DOT rules match what I have done. The opening for the box must be above the highest point of the valve, so that if you have a leak in the door, propane can not leak out. So box is top loading only. Top will be O-ring sealed with compression latches. Stove is a 2 burner ENO Force 10 stainless marine cook top. It has automatic propane shutoff if flame goes out. Not RV cheap crap. I will have a 12V solenoid valve at tank which must be turned on via remote switch in order for propane to flow (solenoid is explosion proof). You can throw in propane detector if you want too (I am not yet sure if I will do that in the van). The internal tanks do take space, but my alternate use for the area was recycle and trash bags, so no big loss.

Yeah, alcohol is expensive and inefficient for any use other than short term cooking needs.

Propane stoves are a great option and a horizontal tank can be easily installed underfloor (not taking up valuable interior floor space, negating safety requirements discussed above). Have used a horizontally mounted 5 gallon propane tank under a VW Westy camper for many years with no issues. That size of tank would supply about 100+ days of cooking w/ a 2 burner stove. If the tank is used exclusively for cooking, then anything larger would be overkill.

For my 2015 Transit camper, I bought a VW Eurovan horizontal tank and mounted it between the frame rails on the driver side of my van. The tank extends down no further than the frame rails themselves, so no lost clearance due to tank.

I bought my tank from GoWesty.com, however, I have since learned that all of GW's tanks are manufactured by Rockymountainwesty.com on the Front in CO. You'd likely need to contact Mike @ RMW directly since I don't think these are listed on his website.