Finally......a good way to carry extra gas (mod)!

[threeaces]

I wanted to share a simple modification (addition), but one that solves a huge problem.

I recently bought an Arctic Fox 811 and opted to order it with the generator compartment, but without the generator. My reasons were cost, noise, and the fact that I really like my Yamaha 2000w generator. I knew this would be a great place to transport the Yamaha, but like many of us truck camper owners struggled to figure a good way to carry extra gas.

Tonight I installed a 3 gallon RotoPax can and locking mount. I wasn’t crazy about drilling into the side of my new camper so I opted to mount to the rear access door. I figured if I make a mistake mounting it would be far less toutble than making a mistake drilling into the main siding. Also, the location worked well with being out of the way from the ladder, steps, propane bbq, etc.

Here are some pictures. Note, I reinforced the inside of the door with sheet metal. Handling the weight seems like it won’t be an issue.

[Grit_dog]

I sit on the gas tank on my dirt bike? Maybe I should re think my hobbies?
Or maybe should get an electric car to reduce that risk in my life altogether, but I’ve seen batteries explode, what to do, quit my job because that’s pretty risky (not even considering the 1000times I’ve had cans of gasoline in the truck bed), job itself has a greater chance of punching my ticket than any gas can strapped to the camper 4’ off the ground.
What about folks that carry their generators on a front or back hitch? OMFG that’s like a rolling ground missle!
And that kids is how ridiculous this thread has become.....

[burningman]

Rustofer wrote:

otrfun wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
Had a Pinto when I was a kid. It never blew up but it did beat (blew) the pants off a lot of cars on the street and at the track.

Tubbed it and dropped in a 350 Turbocharged small block with a 400 high stall box with a 9" Ford rear out back on ladder bars.

High 11's at the track with wrinkle wall MT's if you could keep it straight and off the wheelie bars.

Great high school car. Wish I had it today. What a hoot.

Yeah, I remember seein' a few mods like yours. That's an insane amount of engine for a small car with such a short wheelbase!

Not to mention likely overweight on the front axle!

Go to the drag strip sometime... there’s plenty of extremely high powered, short wheelbase, light weight cars.
Back in the day V8 Vegas were common, and I put a 351 Ford into a Mazda RX7.
That Pinto sounds pretty awesome!

[trail-explorer]

Wow, this thread sure went off the tracks...........

[SageCrispin]

AnEv942 wrote:
Or jeeps...gas tank was under the seat and you sat on it. Early ones you lifted cushion to fill..

Before my Jeep days, but that's pretty funny....

[AnEv942]

Or jeeps...gas tank was under the seat and you sat on it. Early ones you lifted cushion to fill..

[Bedlam]

Ford trucks also used have the gas tank behind the seat inside the cab. My friend's truck was cobbled together with a couple different model years, so he had two tanks with individual fillers in the bed and the third in his cab.

Another issue with the side by sides is the exhaust is right under the cargo area. If your spare gas tanks leak, you have a combustion source just waiting for that gasoline.

GM also had the gasoline tanks mounted outboard of the frame rails (side saddle tanks) causing them to leak if you were hit broadside. I never heard of a remediation for that design but know there were some high dollar law suits due to it.

[otrfun]

SageCrispin wrote:
. . . There was a time when all our Chev trucks had the gas tanks part of the cab. After a while it was decided that it wasn't a good idea for people to be leaning back against the gas tank as they went down the road. And it was a GAS tank-there were no diesel pickups then . . .

Used to drive a 70 Chevy C10 back-in-the-day. I vividly remember hearing that fuel sloshing around in that gas tank mounted just behind the seat as I braked and drove around corners. Even then, before safety and seat belts were a common mind-set, we always thought that's got to be the most stupid, dangerous place to put a gas tank. What were those GM engineers thinking--lol!

[SageCrispin]

Speaking of the Pinto and what not:
I got a real kick out of the suggestion (sorry-REALLY not pointing fingers-just dating the posters) that the gas be carried between the cab and the bed. I guess none of you kids remember fueling the pickup truck from the fill pipe located just behind the door handle. There was a time when all our Chev trucks had the gas tanks part of the cab. After a while it was decided that it wasn't a good idea for people to be leaning back against the gas tank as they went down the road. And it was a GAS tank-there were no diesel pickups then.

As I read the OP, I could see the nay-sayers coming from a mile away. These kind of posts are made in heaven for those guys. And now here I am joining the fray...BAD Sage.:o

I did have a couple of useful (??) thoughts come out of this. The first is that one of the first mods Jeep off-roaders make is putting a Jerry can on the back (Google "Jerry can mount"). Yes, they're a bit higher than most cars but not all trucks. I guess you just have to pick the right vehicle to rear end you.

My other thought is regarding side by sides. Most of the mods I've seen put the spare gas can(s) on the sides of the cargo space. I would think that a rear end collision for a Teryx/Razer is extremely rare. Roll overs however are somewhat common....think about it....

Sage

[Bedlam]

SidecarFlip wrote:

otrfun wrote:

Lantley wrote:
.....What is the Pinto notorious for? . . .

Exploding rear-mounted gas tanks (when rear-ended). It was big news back in the early 70's. If I remember correctly, the fix action was placing some extra sheet metal between the gas tank and the muffler. The muffler was mounted parallel with the side of the gas tank and was only an inch or two away.

Had a Pinto when I was a kid. It never blew up but it did beat (blew) the pants off a lot of cars on the street and at the track.

Tubbed it and dropped in a 350 Turbocharged small block with a 400 high stall box with a 9" Ford rear out back on ladder bars.

High 11's at the track with wrinkle wall MT's if you could keep it straight and off the wheelie bars.

Great high school car. Wish I had it today. What a hoot.

I learned to drive with a Pinto that was rear ended by a Galaxie 500. It did not blow up or leak fuel. It was hard enough to shorten the frame - The doors popped open at impact, the seat back latches broke and the transmission tunnel crumpled between the front and back seats. Due to the damage the car slightly crabbed when driven, but I learned how to drive clutch on it and we still sold it for about $500 running (even after I had learned to drive with it).

I have the pre-emission 5-gallon plastic gas cans I haul in my enclosed trailer to fuel my toys. They are strapped to a side wall but sit on the floor. I'm hoping they will become valuable enough that I can flip them for Rotopax replacements (doubtful). Until then I will keep using these unless they start to fail.

Polaris off-road vehicles have been the latest to be caught up in fire fodder due to leaks in the fuel system over hot components (no collision required). Jeep also had something similar to the Pinto and the solution was to add the tow receiver option for additional protection and rigidity...

[wnjj]

mkirsch wrote:
This is caused by people watching too many old episodes of "CHiPS" on MeTV. If you believe what you see on that show, ANY car explodes into a ball of flames from even the slightest tap.

https://youtu.be/-9GGDOUDLhc

[mkirsch]

This is caused by people watching too many old episodes of "CHiPS" on MeTV. If you believe what you see on that show, ANY car explodes into a ball of flames from even the slightest tap.

[SidecarFlip]

Rustofer wrote:

otrfun wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
Had a Pinto when I was a kid. It never blew up but it did beat (blew) the pants off a lot of cars on the street and at the track.

Tubbed it and dropped in a 350 Turbocharged small block with a 400 high stall box with a 9" Ford rear out back on ladder bars.

High 11's at the track with wrinkle wall MT's if you could keep it straight and off the wheelie bars.

Great high school car. Wish I had it today. What a hoot.

Yeah, I remember seein' a few mods like yours. That's an insane amount of engine for a small car with such a short wheelbase!

Not to mention likely overweight on the front axle!

Might have been but when you stomped on the loud pedal, the weight came off the front suspension right now. In fact, was easy to put the headlights in the trees on command of your right foot.

[Rustofer]

otrfun wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
Had a Pinto when I was a kid. It never blew up but it did beat (blew) the pants off a lot of cars on the street and at the track.

Tubbed it and dropped in a 350 Turbocharged small block with a 400 high stall box with a 9" Ford rear out back on ladder bars.

High 11's at the track with wrinkle wall MT's if you could keep it straight and off the wheelie bars.

Great high school car. Wish I had it today. What a hoot.

Yeah, I remember seein' a few mods like yours. That's an insane amount of engine for a small car with such a short wheelbase!

Not to mention likely overweight on the front axle!

[otrfun]

SidecarFlip wrote:
Had a Pinto when I was a kid. It never blew up but it did beat (blew) the pants off a lot of cars on the street and at the track.

Tubbed it and dropped in a 350 Turbocharged small block with a 400 high stall box with a 9" Ford rear out back on ladder bars.

High 11's at the track with wrinkle wall MT's if you could keep it straight and off the wheelie bars.

Great high school car. Wish I had it today. What a hoot.

Yeah, I remember seein' a few mods like yours. That's an insane amount of engine for a small car with such a short wheelbase!

[otrfun]

burningman wrote:

otrfun wrote:

Lantley wrote:
.....What is the Pinto notorious for? . . .

Exploding rear-mounted gas tanks (when rear-ended). It was big news back in the early 70's. If I remember correctly, the fix action was placing some extra sheet metal between the gas tank and the muffler. The muffler was mounted parallel with the side of the gas tank and was only an inch or two away.

The Pinto was notorious for being the victim of an over-sensationalized story, in an era when fact-checking was a lot more difficult.
That’s evidenced by the fact that none of you actually know what the Pinto was notorious for. Everyone just heard “Pintos blow up!” and believed it.

It was all about hitting the car so hard that the gas tank was crushed against the rear differential, and getting a hole punched by one of the bolts.
Since then, attempts to recreate the scenario have all failed.
Hit any car that hard and anything might get smashed against anything . . .

I owned two Pintos back in the day. I remember things a little differently. Buy, hey, it was . . . a loooonng time ago--lol!

Edit: Upon second thought, here's a little further elaboration on what I do remember. I believe it was true they couldn't recreate or definitively find the source of the problem. They made several guesses as to the cause. According to you, one guess was the differential. Another guess was the muffler. So . . . apparently in an attempt to appease concerned owners a sheet metal guard was placed between the muffler and gas tank. I remember having this installed at the dealer. I believe in later years it became OEM.