Carrying Emergency Fuel in Jerry Can Attached to TT

[Caneman8434]

Because of the very small gas tank (15 gal)and low gas mileage(10 mpg)of our tow vehicle (Mazda Tribute V-6), we ran dangerously low on(and out of)fuel several times during our round-the-country RV trip. Even though we tried to remember to refuel whenever the tank got below one-half full, we ran into times when there was no gas station between us and empty, especially out west in the desert areas.

Because of this, I'm considering hanging a military-style 5-gal fuel can in a made-for-Jerry-can steel bracket on the back of my TT (18'6" Fun Finder). Has anyone done this, are there precautions that I should consider, and for that matter, are there laws about storing emergency fuel containers on the outside of a TT? TIA for any advice you can provide.

George

[Caneman8434]

Well. it seems that I may have stuck a stick in the proverbial hornet's nest; at least for some of you. I really appreciate your input. I learned quite a bit about the issue of carrying "emergency fuel" on my TT. As well as what different people call "small" when discussing the TV's gas tank.

As for me, 70 and retired, the original deal-breaker was whether the desired TT could be towed by our existing, paid-for TV; a 2002 Mazda Tribute 3200 V-6 (or a Ford Escape V-6, same vehicle, different name). In any case, the TV we owned, and could not afford to replace if we were going to buy our first TT, had a "paltry" 15 gallon tank.

That small tank has been a thorn in my side; we ran out of gas (nearly) 3 times during our 10-month, coast-to-coast RV trip around America (thank God we invested in a AAA plan with a few gallons of free gasoline and 150-mile towing). But, as I've stated, the Mazda proved up to the challenge of that long, sometimes mountainous, trip; except for the need to gas-up every 100-or-so miles (giving us a 50-mile cushion).

As for purchasing a more "appropriate" tow vehicle just wasn't an option at the time. I don't know about the rest of you, but money has been a limiting factor for most things during my life. A newer,bigger, TV with more torque and a larger fuel tank would have been great, but buying it may have postponed or even cancelled our once-in-a-lifetime, fantastic trip around the country.

George

[Ventureman]

Lantley: Good post and points well taken. I guess I was feeling cantankerous yesterday. My apologies to the forum, OP ,and Gde. I have learned a lot from you folks over the years and yesterday I contributed nothing positive. Sorry.
"Internet muscles" I like that! At work we call it "phone balls"!
Mea culpa.

[Lantley]

Relax everyone. I wonder if some read the entire thread or they just jump in an 1/2 cocked. The first words of my post said I'm not trying to offend anyone.
Gdetrailer stated that he suffered through with the smaller tanks but it was worth it to him because getting his truck into the garage was more important to him than having a larger tank.
I totally respect his opinion and motives just as much as he respected my point that small tanks are a pain in the butt.
This forum is about discussion. You don't have to agree with everyone's point of view. But hopefully you will respect the various opinions and at some point learn something from the entire discussion.
While small tanks are still a deal breaker for me for many of the reasons Gdetrailer posted, long beds are a deal breaker for Gdetrailer because they won't fit into his garage. I get it.
Unfortunately some of us aren't open minded enough to respect/understand different views and opinions before they resort to name calling or just flat out miss the point.
Internet muscles are an incredible thing. Internet muscles lead to keyboard bravery which allows some to challenge others in ways they would never consider if face to face.

[Ventureman]

So why not complain about your garage being too small? It's not Fords fault. You seem pretty high maintenance...a lot of "deal killers" and "not an option".
I'll be a good sport and hang around a while longer but I think we've just about beat this to death.
Agree to disagree?

[Gdetrailer]

Ventureman wrote:
gdetrailer wrote
From my 97 F250 up to my 2006 F250 I was STUCK with a paltry 26-29 gallon tank because I chose a Super cab with short bed gas truck..


There you have it. You weren't "stuck" with anything...you "chose" it!!
Seriously people.....

Umm.. would you like come over and tear down 36ft of CEMENT BLOCK wall (rebar and grouted), pour new footer, build the wall back up, grout it, extend the roof, re insulate, rewire, pour additional 6" thick floor extensions?

That is STUCK, not an "option"..

I had to buy what FITS into my garage.. I grew up with vehicles sitting out in the weather.. Much nicer to open the door on a nice toasty 15F below winters morning at 5AM and pull the vehicle out and be on my way..

I am not spoiled, just a heck of a lot SMARTER.. Saves wear and tear on the vehicle, I don't have to CAREFULLY hand shovel snow and ice from around the vehicle.. I am not running to and from my vehicle in rain.. I don't have to scrape ice of the windows in the morning.. I don't have to wait for the defrosters to remove the fog from the inside of the windows..

I can do maintenance and or repair work in the comfort of may garage rain or snow..

Not putting my vehicles in a garage IS NOT an option..

Besides, Ford finally came to their "senses" and gas F250/350s with short or long beds GET the SAME 35 gallon tank :B

[Ventureman]

gdetrailer wrote
From my 97 F250 up to my 2006 F250 I was STUCK with a paltry 26-29 gallon tank because I chose a Super cab with short bed gas truck..


There you have it. You weren't "stuck" with anything...you "chose" it!!
Seriously people.....

[westend]

wbwood wrote:
Does it really matter what the numbers are or how often you have to stop? The idea behind the point was to have a little extra that can mean a lot if you can use that little extra. No matter if you can go 200 miles or 2000 miles on a tank of gas. A measly 5 or 10 gallons can make it better for some. Get off your high horses. It's not all about you or what you think smeone should or shouldn't do.

Now, with that said, anyone have anyways of mounting jerry style cans on a 4" tube bumper? Don't worry, I'm not gonna carry gas. I'm carrying water.

Two ways I see of doing it--weld an upright to the bumper and fasten the jug holder to that----fabricate an upright with "L", said "L" to be fastened to bumper with 4" U-bolts. Maybe they already make such a thing. I know some of the spare tire carriers have a U-bolt attachment.

Bolt-on spare carrier

[pira114]

wbwood wrote:
Get off your high horses.

I don't think he was trying to be up there. It's just another opinion. And a valid one.

Being prepared starts with the truck. And for fuel, it starts with the tank capacity.

Unfortunately, today's trucks seem to come with smaller tanks. And diesels get lower mpg than they used to. So it's all a balancing act of what you can afford vs what gets the job done.

Sorry I don't have an answer to your tube bumper question. But I've seen many jeeps with tube bumpers and racks on them. I'd start with the 4 wheel parts stores.

[Gdetrailer]

Lantley wrote:
Gdetrailer you get my point. Sounds like you have experienced my thoughts as well.
I wasn't trying to blast those who have those small tanks. My initial comments mentioned being mean spirited. But I am saying that I would not use a vehicle with a 27 gallon tank for RV towing.
If I were forced to I would not use portable tanks but I would get an larger after market tank or get an auxiliary tank.
A 27 gallon tank would be too limiting for me. The small tank would force me to stop way too often. As you noted stopping excessively extends the travel day.
In short a 27 gallon tank would be a deal breaker for me.

My previous trucks I could have had a bigger tank, IF I wanted a Long bed.. That was a deal breaker to me since a long bed with Super cab would have added 1 1/2 ft to the length of my truck..

That would do several things I didn't want.. That would have maxed out the depth of my garage leaving no wall space and just enough space to get around the truck on the front OR the back and not both.. Deal killer.

The extra length also increases the turning radius.. A 21ft truck has a shorter turning radius than a 23ft truck.. Deal killer. My shortbeds already have a pretty darn sad turning radius often making what should be a two point turn into a 4,5,6,8 or more points.

Extra length adds unneeded weight and costs.. Deal killer..

[wbwood]

Does it really matter what the numbers are or how often you have to stop? The idea behind the point was to have a little extra that can mean a lot if you can use that little extra. No matter if you can go 200 miles or 2000 miles on a tank of gas. A measly 5 or 10 gallons can make it better for some. Get off your high horses. It's not all about you or what you think smeone should or shouldn't do.

Now, with that said, anyone have anyways of mounting jerry style cans on a 4" tube bumper? Don't worry, I'm not gonna carry gas. I'm carrying water.

[Lantley]

Gdetrailer you get my point. Sounds like you have experienced my thoughts as well.
I wasn't trying to blast those who have those small tanks. My initial comments mentioned being mean spirited. But I am saying that I would not use a vehicle with a 27 gallon tank for RV towing.
If I were forced to I would not use portable tanks but I would get an larger after market tank or get an auxiliary tank.
A 27 gallon tank would be too limiting for me. The small tank would force me to stop way too often. As you noted stopping excessively extends the travel day.
In short a 27 gallon tank would be a deal breaker for me.

[hawkeye-08]

My Dad just got a toy hauler with 30 gallon gas tank for fueling the toys. He won't use all the 30 gallons on the toys, but it is also hooked to the generator and in a pinch, he could fuel his truck... His last trailer he had a platform built on the back that carried his generator and (2) 5 gallon gas jugs. That trailer had the axles closer to the rear so he had no problems with reducing the tongue weight. On my 73 pickup, I added a second gas tank and valve/switch to switch tanks. Lots of ways to solve problem, try to choose a safe way...

[Gdetrailer]

westend wrote:

Lantley wrote:
I not referring to those that travel into trully remote areas that need more fuel. I referring to those that have TV's with small 25 gallon tanks.

You do know that many gas pickup trucks have a fuel tank either less than 25 gals. or close to that number?

CORRECT!

Lantley, many pickups with certain combinations of cab size and bed size not to mention gas or Diesel MAY have pretty darn small tanks..

While what you posted is somewhat true, in reality you have blasted anyone who has one of the trucks which due to circumstances outside the control of the owner the MANUFACTURE DEEMED that small tank size to be the ONLY SIZE.

From my 97 F250 up to my 2006 F250 I was STUCK with a paltry 26-29 gallon tank because I chose a Super cab with short bed gas truck..

at 10 mpg that meant my absolute max range was 260 miles to 290 miles, to ENSURE we didn't run out of fuel we started LOOKING for fuel stations at 200-225 miles. If the next town was MORE than 25 miles we STOPPED as fast as we could find a station..

Depending on the distance between towns we often refilled at the 175 mile mark on one of our repeat trips..

These short stops added considerable time to our trips not to mention often going 10 or more miles out of our way..

I personally was not impressed with the idea of carrying loose cans and then having to lift them.. That is why I I found the 15 gallon "fuel station" and set it up with a fuel pump..

My 2013 F250 does indeed have a bigger tank (35 gallon) but we still ended up with a couple of short stops around 175-200 mile mark even though at 10 MPG I could go up to 350 miles..

Adding that 15 gallon fuel station for us is like adding an additional 150 miles we could go so we could be a bit more picky about the gas stations we pull into..

Running short on fuel meant we often had no choice of fuel stations.. Sometimes getting into a really tight place and spending considerable time trying to reach the pumps and or trying to get out of the stations without damaging the station or my rig..

Not to mention over the years we HAVE found cities that are BEST TO AVOID either for traffic or due to crime (I was not impressed at one fuel station that I had to stand outside and the attendant was inside behind several inches of bullet proof glass and pass the money in a 1/4" deep notch in the counter :E ).

So now we can skip a few fuel stops, pick out easier ones and can drive as far as 400 miles and not be forced into a place that is not RV friendly..

[Nvr2loud]

Lantley wrote:
My comments are not to be condescending or mean spirited but you guys that need portable gas cans really need to consider a more adequate tow vehicle.
Either add an aftermarket factory type tank or an auxiliary tank.
Using portable tanks does increase the risk factor but more importantly if your TV is unable to travel 200 miles without running out of gas, you need to consider a different TV. Having ample gas tanks is a basic requirement for any RV tow vehicle.
I can understand a long trip through the dessert or remote area, but for general camping fussing with portable tanks would be a deal breaker for me.
Once upon a time I carried genset gas in a jerry can. The can worked fine but I can't imagine hauling gas for the TV that way. Stopping to refill along the way via portable cans. No thanks. Too small of a tank capacity is the first clue that a vehicle is inadequate for towing an RV trailer.

I can tow my trailer approx 250 miles between gas stations... but that isn't really the issue. We travel into a Provincial Park here to camp and it is 60 miles from the last gas station to the camp site. That is a total of 120 miles in-and-out. I fill my truck, tow into he park, and spend a week camping. During that week there are multiple trips to various trails and attractions throughout the park. We can easily get up to 200 miles on the trip meter before we're ready to leave. I can either make the 60 mile trip mid-week (120 mile round trip) to fill my tank, or I can carry some extra gas to get me out.... A bigger truck may or may not help.

Not all situations are black and white, there are grey areas too.