Main fuel tank replacements (2 Viewers)

[jvoelcker]

Has anyone here replaced their main fuel tank with one of the larger Long Ranger tanks?

Does it hang down much lower than the factory tank? Any chance of some photos?

I need to increase the range on a HDJ100, but would like to avoid sticking an auxillary tank under the back and won't have space for jerry cans.

Thanks.

 

[SamoL]

I have the same situation. I guess there are no replacement tanks for a main tank - at least I haven't found any. Sorry.

Regards
Samo

 

[jvoelcker]

I have the same situation. I guess there are no replacement tanks for a main tank - at least I haven't found any. Sorry.

yes, it is a pain. I have seen them advertised for 80 series and understood that they were available for 100s but none of the supliers seem to have them.

Apart from having the weight hanging off the back, the price of the LR 182l and then the fitting kit is extreme, although I may just have to bite the bullet.

BTW - are you planning any more trips to N. Africa? We are aiming to spend this April in Morocco.

 

[SamoL]

The weight in the back really sucks, but I guess you don't have another option. I can carry two 20l jerry cans on the roof (beside tent, jack and sand plates). I'm still at least 40 liters short for anything serious. I'm trying to find a fuel tank that would be mounted above the spare tire, but there are not many options available - at least if you want it to have TÜV (there is a plastic 65 liter tank, but the tire would sit 30mm lower than stock position and that would be unacceptable for me).

Unfortunately we are not going to N Africa this spring. But in November or December we might do a three week trip to Libya. Are you interested?

Regards
Samo

 

[jvoelcker]

I have thought about jerry cans on the roof, but long term I want to increase the range so may well end up going for a long range aux tannk.

Unfortunately we are not going to N Africa this spring. But in November or December we might do a three week trip to Libya. Are you interesting?

We are doing a family trip spendiing around 3.5 weeks in Morocco in April, but that's it for this year. I would certainly like to go to Libya at some point.

If you are looking for people to travel with check out http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/ particularly the 4x4 sections - lot of great info on overlanding and travelling in N. Africa.

 

[SamoL]

Thanks for the link. I strongly advice you to buy good MT tires for Morocco to avoid the tire drama that we had. Off course you can drive on paved roads and a little bit of sand (as there is not much of it in Morocco), but if you are planning to drive off road, you will find mostly rocks (in various sizes). Beside this and stronger springs in the rear or air bags, you can travel in Morocco without other modifications (and perhaps you have to carry two jerry cans if you want to do longer off road sections, like for instance Assa - Smara, that we didn't cover because of a flat tire).

Have a good trip!
Regards
Samo

 

[jvoelcker]

Hi Samo,

I knew I had a link somewhere for the replacement tank - takke a look at http://www.longrangeautomotive.com.au/vehicles/toyota.html - I think they do a 160l replacement to the main tank - I have asked for more info.

On the tyres front, what tyres were you using? I am planning on running BFG AT KO's, this seems to be the tyre of choice for people going to N. Africa from the UK.

I have considered running the BFG MT's but 99% of the life of the tyre will be spent on tarmac and so I prefer the AT pattern - I have MTs on my 80 at the moment and they are fine in the dry, but no fun in the wet or on icy or muddy roads.

 

[SamoL]

I was driving Bridgestone Dueller 694, which unfortunately are not LT tires (in Europe you can buy them only as passenger tires).
Bgf AT should be better, but you should expect pieces of thread blocks to fall off.
I currently drive Goodyear MT/R in 265/75R16 on 6.5" wide Toyota rims. I gave deflated them to 0.8 bar and had no problems in the sand. And they also perform OK in the wet. But for driving on tarmac around home or for summer non-offroad trips I still use Duellers and also another set of Blizzaks for the winter

Regarding the fuel tank: I think I've been looking at that page and that is supposed to be a replacement tank - to replace the 45 liter tank that is mounted above the spare tire on some markets. But please - contact them. If that is a replacement tank for the main tank, I'm also interested.

Regards
Samo

 

[jvoelcker]

I was driving Bridgestone Dueller 694, which unfortunately are not LT tires (in Europe you can buy them only as passenger tires).
Bgf AT should be better, but you should expect pieces of thread blocks to fall off.
I currently drive Goodyear MT/R in 265/75R16 on 6.5" wide Toyota rims. I gave deflated them to 0.8 bar and had no problems in the sand. And they also perform OK in the wet. But for driving on tarmac around home or for summer non-offroad trips I still use Duellers and also another set of Blizzaks for the winter

I'm planning on going the route of BFG AT's for most of the time and then a second set of rims with some extreme MTs on for serious off roading over here.

At the moment I have Goodyear Wrangler MTs on my 80 which aren't that great off road and very poor on the road in the wet, and very bad in snow and ice.

Regarding the fuel tank: I think I've been looking at that page and that is supposed to be a replacement tank - to replace the 45 liter tank that is mounted above the spare tire on some markets. But please - contact them. If that is a replacement tank for the main tank, I'm also interested.

I suspect that you are right. Looking at the prices of aux tanks they are pretty expensive, but then when you add the 'fitting kit' it almost doubles the price!

I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[SamoL]

I'm planning on going the route of BFG AT's for most of the time and then a second set of rims with some extreme MTs on for serious off roading over here.
At the moment I have Goodyear Wrangler MTs on my 80 which aren't that great off road and very poor on the road in the wet, and very bad in snow and ice.

There are no universal tires. Last year in April there was a lot of rain and Merzouga was flooded - MT tires would come handy
I know Goodyear MTR are not the ultimate tires for mud. But I don't have such bad experience on tarmac. They are worse than duellers, but still drivable.
If you want tires for serious offroad, they will all perform like sh.t on tarmac. If you really want the best tires go all the way: Goodyear now makes tractor radial tires 280/70R16

http://eu.goodyear.com/home_en/tires/repository/dt_812/index.jsp

For my kids for fooling around in the woods I have bought a Fiat 126p, lifted it 2" and put tractor tires on the back (total cost of $150). And I've used tractor tires on my Suzuki Jimny for racing. There are no other tires that are so capable in the mud.
WARNING: With tractor tires there is a chance you stop hating mud!

Regards
Samo

 

[jvoelcker]

I've used Simex Extreme Trekkers on the 80 before (http://www.simex4x4.com/files/OGALZTOGKR\extreme on red ROH Rim cut down.JPG) and they are certainly 'interesting' on tarmac and am thinking of getting the same again for the 100, but would only put them on if as you say I am going to play in the woods!

BTW - I was trying to find the site you put together on your trip to Morocco last year - is it still up?

 

[SamoL]

When driving in the worst kind of mud (clay), there are not many tires capable of self-cleaning. I've seen only two: Boggers and tractor tires.

And my web site is still up: diary is in Slovene only, but you can see some nice photos and GPS tracks and waypoints on the bottom of:

http://www.tojezakon.com/potovanja/Maroko2005/

Regards
Samo

 

[jvoelcker]

When driving in the worst kind of mud (clay), there are not many tires capable of self-cleaning. I've seen only two: Boggers and tractor tires.

The Symex Extreme Trekkers have a good reputation for this and are used a lot for extreme off roading in the UK and in the the jungles of the far east. They are very exppensive, but some pretty good retread versions of the same pattern available if you just want to play

And my web site is still up: diary is in Slovene only, but you can see some nice photos and GPS tracks and waypoints on the bottom of:

http://www.tojezakon.com/potovanja/Maroko2005/

Thanks, I remember that it was an interesting site to see what you can do in 2 weeks, we have 3.5 weeks and still have to sit down to work out where we are going to go.

I'm mainly planning on just getting a stack of routes logged into the gps/mapping system and then pick and choose as we make our way around.

 

[e9999]

if money is no object, a larger tank or an aux are great. But one can't beat the cheap factor and convenience of good Jerry cans... If space is an issue and if you're talking serious expedition, then an offorad trailer is a great solution.

 

[SamoL]

Offroad trailer is not very practical. There is no way I could get arround gere with a trailer. And I can't imagine dune driving with a trailer
I guess I'll just put two or three extra jerry cans in the trunk behind the seats and reorder the other luggage (buy smaller alu boxes - I carry two 120 liter: one for the food and the other for the equipment and spares for the car).

Regards
Samo

 

[jvoelcker]

Yes, as Samo says trailers aren't that practical in the desert although it is something I'll have to consider if we go for a 4th child :-0

Travelling with the wife and three young children (6.5, 5.5 and 1.5) means I have a lot of clobber to ccarry including things like nappies, formula, etc so the boot will be full so no room for jerries and we will hopefully have two roof tents on the roof rack so no room there.

In reality we could probably get away with no extra fuel in Morocco, but it will limit things a bit, but an aux tank will take the pressure off and makes life easier when at home and running on Biodiesel.

 

[SamoL]

I have two children, but they are "full size" - the older son is taller than me. We have a 200x180cm tent and we all fit in it.
It should also be big enough for your family.

Regarding biodiesel: it can cause problems in the long run. I was thinking about running my Toyota on a pure vegetable oil, but I've dropped idea, as I don't want to have problems with my engine some 10000km from home.

Regards
Samo

 

[jvoelcker]

Yes, we looked at 'family' sized tents and our French friends have one for them and their two daughters, but we are probably going to end up with either a standard sized roof tent and a ground tent or two standard roof tents - we are borrowing one roof tent and I will try to buy one for us.

The idea with going for two standard ones is that it gives us a little privacy from the children and if they don't like the travelling then I can still go on my own.


With regards biodiesel, I've not had any problems with my 80 and will run trials with the 100 to see how it goes. Starting with running a low mixture and then increasing it - I want to see how the electronics cope with it.

We have a local supplier producing 100% biodielsel from waste veg oil at the moment although he is looking to processing Rape seed oil.

I certainly wouldn't want to do a major trip on it using suppliers I don't know (too many cowboys) so will only ever buy from my local supplier, but with an Aux tank I should be fine for getting up to Scotland (something we do regularly) and back on supplies from home.

 

[SamoL]

Are you that brave to sleep with small kids in separate tents? Well - that was the main reason why we bought one big rooftop tent.

You will probably sleep in different places every day. Maybe sometimes even out of camps if you hit for the dessert. And in Morocco there are people everywhere - even there where you wouldn't expect.

Regards
Samo

 

[dclee]

Regarding biodiesel: it can cause problems in the long run. I was thinking about running my Toyota on a pure vegetable oil, but I've dropped idea, as I don't want to have problems with my engine some 10000km from home.

Just curious as to what you've seen that leads you to believe there might be long-term problems with biodiesel, or SVO for that matter. Remember, Rudi Diesel originally designed and ran his engine on pure peanut oil...