Carrying extra fuel (1 Viewer)
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I'm sold on the Waivan cans, seems like they are the right ones. I will pick up two 5 gallon ones. I figured I'm probably good with where I'm headed anyways. So once I am down 10 gallons, I will go ahead and put them both in the tank. Interesting thought, do people usually wait until they are close to empty before adding gas from a spare can? I think it makes more sense to me to add the gas as soon as you can. Then fill up the can again when you get gas. idk
The biggest issue is that the paint is so pretty you have to wrap them up to prevent scratches. I must have put one next to something hard because it wore through the paint to bare metal. Oh well, I'm over it now so onto using them more!
MoJ
Moderator
If you have an opportunity to refill your cans you also have an opportunity to refill your truck.
MoJ
Moderator
Waiting until you’re sure you’re going to need it keeps it available for your friends truck, a stranded whoever, or in the event of a massive fuel loss. Keep your water until you’re thirsty.
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Oops never mind
i have been kicking around this idea for about a month and this is what i was thinking of trying as carry my spare tire in the back for now as i build my carrier. My though is i would only use this reserve tank for long trips, the same way i don't fill my extra cans and carry them for everyday or short trips. I would mount the tank where the spare would go, add its own fuel level gauge and have a pair of pumps (this is where it gets a little redneck). one would pump fuel into the aux tank, one out of it to the main tanks. I would route the the overflow of the 2nd tank back to the first tank . at only 7 inchs deep it should tuck up nicely under the rear where the spare tire would usually sit . straps or sold crossmember mounts would be used to hold the tank in place.
The hard part is filling the Aux tank. I saw (i think it was on this site) someone had created a split fuel neck filler that had 2 places to put the gas pump nozzle when filling, that would be a great idea. you would just put the nozzle in the filler hole you wanted. My semi redneck idea is to have a fuel pump that would move fuel from the main tank and and pump it into the aux tank. The process would be fill up the main tank as usual (which is about 25 gallon right?) from the gas station pump. switch on of the new pump and have it fill the Aux tank from the main tank. This process would be slow as most fuel pumps only do about a gallon a min, so lets assume that takes 17 min for the 17 gallon aux tank to fill from the main tank.. Then top-up the main tank with 17 gallons from the gas station pump. Its more of an idea than anything right now. the down side is the time to full the aux tank. perhaps twin pumps to speeds up the aux tank filling from the main tank?
Then when on the trail, when the main tank gets to say 1/4 full, turn on the pump from the aux to main and it would fill your primary tank with the 17 gallons. Cool things to add would be timers on the pumps so you would not forget to leave them running, naturally as both tanks would be linked with an overflow hose it would be unlikely to be able to overfill one or other tank by leaving the pumps running., or starting the transfer with less than 17 gallons of empty space in the main tank, it would end up just circulating the fuel. My rough build cost would be under $200. I will look at other ways to fill the tank like an aux filler line running under the truck to the rear bumper, but for now i think this would work with the limitations mentioned and keeping the cost low.
The hard part is filling the Aux tank. I saw (i think it was on this site) someone had created a split fuel neck filler that had 2 places to put the gas pump nozzle when filling, that would be a great idea. you would just put the nozzle in the filler hole you wanted. My semi redneck idea is to have a fuel pump that would move fuel from the main tank and and pump it into the aux tank. The process would be fill up the main tank as usual (which is about 25 gallon right?) from the gas station pump. switch on of the new pump and have it fill the Aux tank from the main tank. This process would be slow as most fuel pumps only do about a gallon a min, so lets assume that takes 17 min for the 17 gallon aux tank to fill from the main tank.. Then top-up the main tank with 17 gallons from the gas station pump. Its more of an idea than anything right now. the down side is the time to full the aux tank. perhaps twin pumps to speeds up the aux tank filling from the main tank?
Then when on the trail, when the main tank gets to say 1/4 full, turn on the pump from the aux to main and it would fill your primary tank with the 17 gallons. Cool things to add would be timers on the pumps so you would not forget to leave them running, naturally as both tanks would be linked with an overflow hose it would be unlikely to be able to overfill one or other tank by leaving the pumps running., or starting the transfer with less than 17 gallons of empty space in the main tank, it would end up just circulating the fuel. My rough build cost would be under $200. I will look at other ways to fill the tank like an aux filler line running under the truck to the rear bumper, but for now i think this would work with the limitations mentioned and keeping the cost low.
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You could likely piece something together here:
Holy cow they have everything! looking a a rough build from them it would cost about $1900 for a sub tank setup but had not really thought about using a fuel solenoid to switch between the tanks rather than fill one from the other. Really appreciate the link and will dig around and refine the idea from this.
The switching solenoid setup is for diesel variants that don't have in-tank pumps.
oh right, my plan was to pump fuel from the Aux tank to the main tank. For a moment i though i would be able to use the solenoid to switch between tanks but as you say this is for diesel set ups. The non diesel versions use an in tank pump that would be pretty high pressure. Id rather keep anything i add (tank, lines and pumps) to be low pressure and really just used to move gas from the Aux tank to the main tank, (or between them if i don't have a way to fill the aux tank, where the stock fuel pump would pick up the gas and move it to the motor using the existing factory designed lines. The less I mess with the factor setup the better i feel.
DivByZero
SILVER Star
Oh man, I just lost 30 minutes of my life reading all the way through that thread but it was worth it!This is the way.
Spare fuel bladders in the doors?
Rather than taking up valuable ground clearance, has anyone stored bags of fuel in the doors? If the bags were airtight, they could expand and collapse on their own to accommodate the extra fuel from the gas tank. I imagine basically drilling 4 holes into the bottom of the tank, silicone in...forum.ih8mud.com
alia176
SILVER Star
Sorry, I didn't read the entire thread but the topic caught my eye. Here are my .02 cents worth.
- hitch receiver mount on a swing out so that you can get it out of the way and lower the tailgate.
- if you end up going the hitch receiver basket route, be SURE to have it customized for higher mounting in order to prevent dragging.
- if a hitch mounted solution is going to be used, use the Air Lift 1000 air bags inside the rear coils to bring the rear end back up with all the extra weight and also to help with bottoming out prevention while wheeling and what not.
- SAFETY - do NOT put the fuel cans directly in front of the rear facing exhaust/tail pipe. Bad things will happen!
- non receiver option - a simple roof basket using the factory rails then slap them up top. One caveat though: if you're using plastic containers, they WILL deform with the UV and your strapping solution WILL come loose. So, keep an eye on that. Furthermore, they WILL vent, run down the sides and land on your roof.
- if a roof solution, use NATO style cans but lay them sideways but still upright. This will lower the aero drag just a tad. For refilling your main tank, just use a long jiggle hose so that you won't have to unload those heavy cans and go through all that hassle. Since the NATO cans will be mounted upright but on their sides, you can still open up the outlet and stick the jiggle hose inside. This will work with plastic fuel cans also.
Good luck and have fun.
- hitch receiver mount on a swing out so that you can get it out of the way and lower the tailgate.
- if you end up going the hitch receiver basket route, be SURE to have it customized for higher mounting in order to prevent dragging.
- if a hitch mounted solution is going to be used, use the Air Lift 1000 air bags inside the rear coils to bring the rear end back up with all the extra weight and also to help with bottoming out prevention while wheeling and what not.
- SAFETY - do NOT put the fuel cans directly in front of the rear facing exhaust/tail pipe. Bad things will happen!
- non receiver option - a simple roof basket using the factory rails then slap them up top. One caveat though: if you're using plastic containers, they WILL deform with the UV and your strapping solution WILL come loose. So, keep an eye on that. Furthermore, they WILL vent, run down the sides and land on your roof.
- if a roof solution, use NATO style cans but lay them sideways but still upright. This will lower the aero drag just a tad. For refilling your main tank, just use a long jiggle hose so that you won't have to unload those heavy cans and go through all that hassle. Since the NATO cans will be mounted upright but on their sides, you can still open up the outlet and stick the jiggle hose inside. This will work with plastic fuel cans also.
Good luck and have fun.
Hey @alia176 , can you clarify what you mean by "upright but on their sides". Trying to visualize this buy not sure what you are describing. Are you saying that they are upright (opening at the top of the can) but thinner profile oriented front to back of the vehicle to lessen drag or are you actually laying the tank flat on its side? If the latter than how do you open the outlet to use the jiggle hose? Probably dumb questions but I am interested in your answer as carrying extra fuel in cans may be in my future.
Here is a picture of me filling the cans on my FJ60. The cans are on their "backs" so the spout is upright. I can fill and empty the cans without removing them.
alia176
SILVER Star
Yup, exactly what MIke is portraying above. It's the easiest way to transport, fill and drain the tanks from a roof rack. Thanks Mike for the visual! 
Dat rug
