Spare fuel tanks idea

I am with these guys on the fact that filling from a can is not so fun, but I have done it on multiple hunting trips in NV and AZ.

Heres the argument winner: 20 min on the side of the road and driving to CG beats camping on the side of the road with an angry wife asking why you didnt bring enough gas.

Gdetrailer wrote:
A very serious accident will most likely snuff out not only you and your passengers lives but anyone else that is either part of the accident or attempting to HELP you.

A flimsy plastic gas can or even a metal "jerry can" is just not up to the task you have at hand for safety.

You are risking life and limb for what? Six gallons of fuel that will only net you a measly 40 miles of driving..

Just scary what folks are willing to do in the name of "convenience".

A very serious accident will likely result in complete detachment and destruction of the trailer regardless of six gallons of gas.

Additionally, it isn't necessarily convenience as much as insurance. I normally do what was suggested above (I know worst case is 10mpg so I plan for gas @ 150miles (6 gal is a 25% increase btw)); there are a few times when I go to a site for a first time where gas isn't guaranteed.

Either way, I agree it isn't the smartest (and that tank above seems smarter) but I use it rarely and risk management is applied.

RockDodger wrote:
I would like to run something by you guys. I have an idea to replace the two 30 gal. propane tanks on the tongue of my trailer, which I never use, with two military style gerry cans in a vented box for extra gasoline so I don't have to stop so often for fuel. The propane tanks when full weigh around 55 lb each. The gas cans would weigh a little under 40 lb each. Now I know some of you alarmists are going to shout danger and death at me, but I appeal to the innovative thinkers, designers, and off-road techies for your ideas and thoughts. I pull a 20 ft TT with a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser. It does a good job, but sucks gas like there's no tomorrow. An installed auxilliary fuel tank would make some service points inaccessable, so I decided against that. I thought this idea would be a viable alternative. So any input would be appreciated.:B

Ditch the jerry cans.

You can get a 15 gallon "fuel station" which you can mount to your trailer tongue.



FUEL STATION LINK

It was designed for landscapers usage and is fully designed to be bolted to a landscape trailer frame.

If you wanted to keep your propane you could have a shelf built over top the propane tanks to hold it and it will drain via gravity OR..

Remove the propane tanks and mount in place of the tanks.. Then add a electric fuel pump for automobiles and you can pump it into your vehicles tank..

I used a tank similar to this one to mount in my truck bed and used a electric fuel pump to manually pump the fuel into my truck tank.. With my setup I can pump 15 gallons in about 11 minutes during a rest stop..

Don't have leaky cans or even have to hold the stupid splash and gurgle EPA cans.. I don't lose a drop of fuel and it is in a heavy duty tank..

By the way, just because it can hold 15 gallons it doesn't mean you have to put 15 gallons in it.. You can put 5 or even 10 gallons in it to hold you over for a while.

-Oz- wrote:
I have a similar issue where my 2001 4runner has done the "i want gas" now thing so if I'm going somewhere new I carry a 6 gal in between my two batteries. You can see in this picture where it drops it:

I put it between the batteries so I still have propane plus batteries plus a little extra gas. At worst the extra gas gets me another 60 miles with the trailer which is plenty normally to find gas. If I'm really in a bind I drop the trailer then I can go another 105 miles...

I don't even strap it in; it fits so tight that I've never had issues with it even off-road. If I get into an accident I know the fuel will depart most likely but at that point that is probably the least of my problems.

There are so many things totally "wrong" about your setup..



Something about putting highly flammable liquids in a flimsy plastic gas can (with most likely the stupid EPA garbage spouts) between two potentially explosive batteries and topping that off by sandwiching between a set of propane tanks and the trailer body..

Your setup is similar to the old side saddle tanks of 70's-90's GM truck tanks in which the tanks were on the outside of the frame rails or like the much maligned "Pinto" rear tanks (which by the way, Pinto was not the ONLY car that used a rear tank.. Pretty much every car from 1950's up to 1980's had a rear tank).

Your setup is a real example of how not to do it.

You want to protect the fuel from being SQUEEZED out of the container, a plastic container is no match for 120 lbs of propane tank AND 120 lbs of battery.

A very serious accident will most likely snuff out not only you and your passengers lives but anyone else that is either part of the accident or attempting to HELP you.

A flimsy plastic gas can or even a metal "jerry can" is just not up to the task you have at hand for safety.

You are risking life and limb for what? Six gallons of fuel that will only net you a measly 40 miles of driving..

Just scary what folks are willing to do in the name of "convenience".

I would keep the propane and add the gasoline.
Is 40# of gas enough? I might double that if I was making the effort.

RockDodger wrote:

***When the idiot light on the dash comes on you need to find gas within 20-25 miles...period. Sometimes it ain't that easy.

But you know how many miles you get to a tank towing, you have a trip odometer and a fuel gauge.

So you know from the moment you pull away from the fuel pump pretty closely how far you can go until the FJ needs another drink.

There's really no difference between carrying an extra 10 gallons or stopping when you have a 1/4 or 1/2 tank and topping back up.

I have a similar issue where my 2001 4runner has done the "i want gas" now thing so if I'm going somewhere new I carry a 6 gal in between my two batteries. You can see in this picture where it drops it:

I put it between the batteries so I still have propane plus batteries plus a little extra gas. At worst the extra gas gets me another 60 miles with the trailer which is plenty normally to find gas. If I'm really in a bind I drop the trailer then I can go another 105 miles...

I don't even strap it in; it fits so tight that I've never had issues with it even off-road. If I get into an accident I know the fuel will depart most likely but at that point that is probably the least of my problems.

RockDodger wrote:
***Nope. TT is all electric everything. We never dry camp. My wife doesn't like it..

What do you do with the refridge running down the road?

Still would have to stop to dump the cans into the car so you have to stop anyway. That means you would have to stop along the shoulder of the road or stop in a rest area. At some point you have to stop and fill the jerry cans again.

Maybe better trip planning would be in order and use a app like Gas Buddy to find closest gas

2oldman wrote:

JaxDad wrote:
First, you never cook, use the fridge except off shore power or use the water heater?

Thirdly, if the FJ is that hard on fuel is an extra 10 gallons really going to make a difference?

x2 and x2.

I can't imagine making a habit of filling from cans.

***Nope. TT is all electric everything. We never dry camp. My wife doesn't like it. We cook with fire, a microwave, or Mr. Foreman.

***When the idiot light on the dash comes on you need to find gas within 20-25 miles...period. Sometimes it ain't that easy.