OK, so finally, are (red?) outside gas cans legal or not?

[e9999]

yes, I know this has been discussed somewhat before
and, yes, I did a search with no real result
and, no, I did not find anything while (briefly) searching the california vehicle code and the web


sooo....


does anybody know for sure whether outside gas cans are legal -say in California? and where to print that definitive info from so I can carry something along?

(and what's with this supposed DOT rule that gas cans have to be red, I heard, and how does that affect the lucky ones here having NATO cans...?)



added: and oh yes, I know that in the free parts of the country anything goes, so don't rub it in, please...

 

[crushr]

I've never done any research on its legality, but I have carried a red jerry can on the back of my FJ40 since I bought it in 1986 with no problems. I see other rigs carrying them all the time - have never heard of any anyone being cited or harassed for external fuel cans.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I live in the people's republic of Kalifornia. I've used green jerry cans, red jerry cans, sometimes red and green carried at the same time, and never been hassled by the CHP or anyone else. I carry 3 outside most of the time on my FJ40, in a rear rack. I've carried 2 on the roof in plain sight on my 80 series. This is one I don't think you need to sweat.

 

[RHINO]

the only thing i have ever found about regulations or law carrying extra fuel was that it had to be in an approved fuel container,(this includes metal and plastic jerry cans, gas cans and gas containers) and it cannot be stored in the vehicle compartment (this includes the trunk of a passenger car as it is not sealed and separated from the passenger area)

as for colors of gas cans,,, red is gas, yellow is diesel. green jerry cans are for military use and if a cop wanted to he could site you for it not being red but thats only if HE knows the law. a cop friend told me that it only really needs to be clearly labeled. GASOLINE sticker or whatever.

 

[nuclearlemon]

i've seen where it's not legal to sell them to californians in catalogs and on websites. not sure why, but then i'm not sure about a lot of stuff in cali. guess you have to get someone in a neighboring state to sneak them in for ya

 

[Darwood]

I've searched the California vehicle code to see if there was a regulation against external fuel cans. I couldn't find anything. Most of the laws dealt with emissions rather than location. Not saying the isn't a law but I couldn't find it in the quagmire that is California vehicle code.

 

[e9999]

yup, didn't see anything in the calif vehicle code either. Then again I couldn't find anything about tanks, just about caps and filler necks IIRC.

Ige, the prohibition against selling some cans in Calif has to do with the necks and spouts.

 

[Brentbba]

i've seen where it's not legal to sell them to californians in catalogs and on websites. not sure why, but then i'm not sure about a lot of stuff in cali. guess you have to get someone in a neighboring state to sneak them in for ya

That's what we have to do! In Kalifornia or mail order from out of state, the only gas cans that can LEGALLY be sold to us are the CARB (California Air Resources Board) approved ones...and they all SUCK!

Find a mud friend or relative from out of state and have them buy the good ones, then ship them to you personally! the CARB! Those approved ones leak like hell! From what i remember, CARB's big item is having a 'spillproof' nozzle. I've spilled more with one of their nozzles than the regular nozzle I've got for my Wedco non-CARB cans!

 

[e9999]

OK, I broke down and went (close) to the source.
I called CHP (that's the California Highway Patrol for you foreigners ). Talked to a couple of different offices:

- main CHP hotline 1-800-835-5247. Guy says that gas cans outside are legal to carry. He didn't know about the color requirements though. Didn't know too much.

- Truckee inspection office 1-530-587-1242. Nice gal. Much more knowledgeable than first. Basically, she said that gasoline transportation is highly regulated for commercial applications and that they use Title 49 (www.fmcsa.dot.gov) for specs for that (Calif basically uses the Fed rules). But she said that small (e.g. some 5 gal cans) quantities for private use are exempt. Basically, the short story is that she said that gas cans outside (whether rear mount or roof rack) and also even inside are legal (meaning in California I assume). She said there is no requirement as to color or even type of containers. She said that I could carry it in milk cartons if I wanted to...
(note: odd thing is that I've seen plenty of containers in stores that say "not for use with motor vehicles" or something like that. Don't know if a legal requirement or not, maybe just CYA syndrome.)

- As an aside, she was basically saying that the Vehicle Code only tells you what you can NOT do. So if it's not in there you can do it. Well, of course, but the issue is how to make sure it's not in there, way too convoluted to be sure...

- I did ask about specific sections of the CVC dealing with this, but didn't get anywhere.

So anyways, unless these 2 are wrong, it seems like it's OK to carry gas cans in or out of the vehicle. Somebody may want to call a different CHP office to confirm?

HTH

E

 

[Brentbba]

Jeez TMI!!!!

 

[e9999]

Jeez TMI!!!!

that was the short version I said...

but fine, you can go with "I was never arrested so far so it must be legal" argument next time you are stopped for something, if you prefer... let us know how that one worked!

 

[FirstToy]

Eric,
I've carried gas cans on the back w/ CHP, local heat and sherriffs cars behind me. The most any police officer has done is wave at me or give me the thumbs up.
I don't know of anyone that has had a problem with this.

What the cops could stop me for is no rear mudflaps but I've never had that problem luckily

 

[Brentbba]

that was the short version I said...

but fine, you can go with "I was never arrested so far so it must be legal" argument next time you are stopped for something, if you prefer... let us know how that one worked!

Nah! I'll just overanalyze it for about 3-4 weeks, put up 5 posts about it, then not make up my mind.

 

[e9999]

Nah! I'll just overanalyze it for about 3-4 weeks, put up 5 posts about it, then not make up my mind.

ooookaaayyyyyy.... whatever floats your boat...!

 

[Brentbba]

ooookaaayyyyyy.... whatever floats your boat...!

LOL!

 

[Grolar]

Thanks Eric for the info and research. I'm always übercautious when I cruise by a police car, even though I'm usually a very law abiding non citizen, and having lots of flammable liquid on my roof rack could be a concern one of those days.
Maybe I watch too much local TV news but I always have the feeling that I'm gonna be gunned down by the cops for any reason.

 

[gsdog2]

Well being in law enforcement, unless your a tweeker and need to be talked to, an illegal gas can would be good PC. But most people I see with cans on their rigs are all business anyways so why bother. I've never heard any law about it, only thing close is not using say a rag as a gas cap (again, tweeker). I better ask around with the traffic guys. If some rook wants to stop me, then ill just say I've spent more days on the beach than he's got on, then after giving me the cite for being a smartbutt, bring my NATO can and my Blitz can to the judges courtroom and turn them upside down. Maybe he'll drop the case.

 

[lovetoski]

Great info - nice to hear the straight scoop.

 

[dmede808]

I've found that most of these minor technical vehicle violations never get any attention unless you get pulled over for some other reason. So while you may never get heat for the tanks alone, a cop may mention it during a stop for something else, like speeding or busted taillight.

I have tint on my front side windows (from PO). Never gets noticed by cops, and where I park the sheriffs and transit police are always hanging out in my lot looking to catch guys crossing train tracks after the signal goes down and issuing parking tickets. But the one time I get pulled over for passing on the right side of stopped traffic (dismissed in court, thank you) the cop put me on notice for it.

 

[e9999]

I've found that most of these minor technical vehicle violations never get any attention unless you get pulled over for some other reason. So while you may never get heat for the tanks alone, a cop may mention it during a stop for something else, like speeding or busted taillight.

I have tint on my front side windows (from PO). Never gets noticed by cops, and where I park the sheriffs and transit police are always hanging out in my lot looking to catch guys crossing train tracks after the signal goes down and issuing parking tickets. But the one time I get pulled over for passing on the right side of stopped traffic (dismissed in court, thank you) the cop put me on notice for it.

well, the point was to establish whether the cans are indeed a violation or not. If they are not, as appears to be the case in Calif, then the LEO has no ground to stand on trying to tack that onto something else.
Of course, if he thinks it's illegal, he may stop you and you may get canned on something else truly illegal plus you may need to prove the cans *are* legal. Probably best course for the latter is to ask him what specific sections of the Vehicle code they are violating and take it from there...