Front Runner 36 litre rear water tank.

[Baytown]

G'day everyone.
Im thinking of installing a Front Runner 36 litre rear quarter water tank.
How difficult are these to fit? I realise I have to drill a decent hole through the body for the filler neck which protrudes into the rear cargo area.
Thanks for any advice re this.

Ken
124234

[Ancient Mariner]

I built similar in aly for my 110 but don't use a filler just disconnect breather in wheelwell and put hose on outlet tap till water comes out the breather

AM :wheelchair:

[weeds]

Never fitted one but like the idea to fill the space.

It's not an issue for me and I suspect won't be for you but I believe 255/85/16 33's will hit the tank

[DiscoMick]

On my wish list too. I have seen a pic of a Defender with a rear quarter tank with the filler coming out the rear, but I don't have a pic.

[Baytown]

Thanks fellas.
Mick, I saw the same post here some time ago. It looked very neat.

Ken

[Captain_Rightfoot]

There is also one which wedges behind the seat and between the cargo barrier. Great idea.. only our barrier is installed too close to the seat.

[landy]

I fitted mine with an external filler. Hardest part was getting up the balls to cut the hole.

[Baytown]

I have one one of those from Boab, but I've removed my rear seating. I may still install it and bolt it to my cargo barrier. Not sure yet.


There is also one which wedges behind the seat and between the cargo barrier. Great idea.. only our barrier is installed too close to the seat.

[Baytown]

Hi Nino.
Thats the installation that I've seen. Very easy access. Was the tank difficult to fit, and are all the mounting points already in place?

Ken


I fitted mine with an external filler. Hardest part was getting up the balls to cut the hole.

[landy]

Hi Nino.
Thats the installation that I've seen. Very easy access. Was the tank difficult to fit, and are all the mounting points already in place?

Ken

Hi Ken.
Everything to fit the tank is in the box. Once you remove the wheel it's very easy. You have to drill a hole in the wheel box but you get a template to do that. The tank is held in place with a large plate/bracket that is the width of the tank. It also acts as a stone guard for the tank.
I bought the lockable water filler from an RV dealer. I found that it was a pain to fill from inside. All the pipe work I got from Bunnings.

[Baytown]

Thanks Niño.
Ill go ahead and purchase one then. Good on you.

Ken

[roverrescue]

If you are running a tap for water to come out of the tank & your tank has a breather (sort of a given)

The easiest way to fill is to just plonk on a standard hose click-connect fitting on the tap, then open tap and fill from a hose.
Tank fills, air comes out breather - 100% neater install than a fitting a filler neck.

I have a 65L tank under the tray and a tap on the back wall of the 130. With a 3/4" breather I can run standard drinking hose at max pressure and fill tank easily.

There is no need to have a large filler for a water tank

S

[DiscoMick]

There is also one which wedges behind the seat and between the cargo barrier. Great idea.. only our barrier is installed too close to the seat.
I've seen those, but I think my drawers would interfere, as they also interfere with fitting a cargo barrier. I also like the idea of getting the weight of the water as low as possible and keeping the interior clear of obstacles.
I was thinking of fitting the water tank to the passenger side and the extra fuel tank to the driver's side, to gravity feed into the main tank, which would balance the weight.
Then it might be time for a HD suspension.

[Michael2]

I've got both the Frontrunner quarter panel water tank, and the 50l (8cm flat) cargo barrier tank, with the cargo barrier tank on the rear side of the barrier, between the barrier and the draw system.

I must have an early type quarter panel tank, as I don't recall a breather.

Installation is an afternoon.

As already suggested, you can fit a clip on garden hose to the tap and 'reverse fill' your tank.

The tap location is handy for washing hands etc, but the tap gets exhaust soot on it, and if you're camping with kids, you'll have a muddy puddle at your back door (sometimes).

It's a worthwhile addition. The 50litre cargo barrier tank is probably better value for money, but having both is handy for a family of 5.

[dusty disco]

Hi Fellas

Its an old thread, but I wish I knew BEFORE buying the Front Runner 36litre tank that it would not fit my 2007 (Puma) Defender.

I was ready for SOME fettling of the product, but not wholesale mods that took 3 weekends. I should have paid more attention to, for example, this one:
Installation Instructions: the gap between theory and application (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/90-110-130-defender-county/100684-installation-instructions-gap-between-theory-application.html)

It seems that there is less room in the Pumas, not to mention replacing the steel support leg these have. And the tap hanging UNDER the crossmember. And the filler lid with no seal.

The plastic tank is worth at most $200... the rest of it is $400 of frustration.

Cheers.

[DazzaTD5]

I fitted one many many years ago to a TDCi (puma)...

*the front runner tank is anything but a square neat shape, more like a blow moulded plastic tank, the shape is all over the place.
*remove the wheel of your defender.
*remove the brace.
*be very very careful NOT to flex out the panel too much as you WILL buckle the panel (no didnt happen to me but a customer showed me the aftermath of what happened when they flexed the panel too much)
*use big flat washers for the support bracket or it will pull through the alum sheet of the defender body.
*easier with 2 people, one can push the tank right up hard into position, while the other bolts it up
*i used a floor jack with a block of wood to push it right up.
*yes the alignment holes / measurements are rubbish, you will need to work it out yourself.
*I ran a hose to a nice brass tap i got from bunnings, the die cast one with the tank is crap.
*all said and done its not a bad idea

*no I really dont want to fit another one again.

[dusty disco]

*no I really dont want to fit another one again.

Hi Daz

Your comment sums it up!

It is an excellent concept - my Tdi had a 40litre aluminium one (with curved shape to match the wheel) - but this rendition is sub-standard, sorry to say.

I still need to seal it to keep the dust out of the car - and the water in the tank!

Regards

[sharmy]

I built similar in aly for my 110 but don't use a filler just disconnect breather in wheelwell and put hose on outlet tap till water comes out the breather

AM :wheelchair:
I had an alloy water tank in my bt50, but found it unsuitable for town water, the chlorine in the water makes heaps of little round white balls, so not suitable for drinking.

[travelrover]

Quite some years ago I had an ex Calvert expedition 130 tucker truck, one of 2 specifically built by JRA (in Perth I think) to support the mission (1996). These had dual stainless steel tanks one mounted either side forward of the axel under the tray. I would say around 50 litre capacity and were brilliant. We used the vehicle for towing a dual horse float to events with all the crap they need. 100litres of water was very handy.

[MLD]

I had an alloy water tank in my bt50, but found it unsuitable for town water, the chlorine in the water makes heaps of little round white balls, so not suitable for drinking.

wonder if you would get a different result if you passed the water through a filter first. I have a SS water tank and fill it using a cartridge caravan water filter and food grade hose from Bunnings. I found the garden hose tainted the water taste and when in the bush, it's nice to know that you have removed some solids from the water, especially when filling up from bore water. In your case, a multi-chamber filter typical for kitchens with suitable filters for chlorine might be the trick. They are not that expensive from bunnings.

For those that get black tea leafs or other contaminants in their tank after being idle for a period, fill and soak it with nappy san and warm/hot water. Active ingredient is sodium percarbonate which is the same product used by any hospitality place for washing glasses. You can buy sodium percarbonate at any beer brewing store too (home brewers use it to clean bottles). you don't need much, ¼-⅓ cup does 80L tank. After a few hours the percarbonate de-activates and becomes gray water. Drain the tank, rinse with fresh water and bob's your uncle. It keeps the contaminants from returning too. While you are motivated, soak your red wine glasses, they will come out sparkling.

While not suitable for those that want a back seat, i used a Huntsman 80L SS water tank, removed the rear seat box and strapped it in. Plyboard shelf on top full width of the back seat area. I have the fridge on the passenger side and the rest of the space is ideal for bags / dogs. Back in the day Mulgo (Expedition Centre) sold a SS tank that fit inside the back seat box. Wasn't cheap but great use of that space that is otherwise an empty void.

[sharmy]

I got rid of the alloy tank (it cracked anyway ) and replaced with this, all 200l of it. I originally had 2 0f them but the under floor battery boxes fell off, so I had to remove one of them to fit the batteries there. What's left of the space where the second tank was I fit 4x 25l plastic drums when going away. You can never have enough water.