Thread: Carrying Fuel On Trailers

When I did my Libya and Morocco trips I carried 120 Litres of Petrol in the back of my Discovery. For the Libya trip I also carried another 40 litres on the roof rack. The roof rack Jerry Cans were metal and the inside ones were plastic Jerry cans (you should never leave plastic Jerry cans exposed to the sunlight for too long). As Ron says allow room in the can for expansion and it's not a problem.
I also put my 90 upside down in a ditch when I skidded on a roundabout because someone has spilt diesel all over the road

Ivan

Originally Posted by Tank

Diesel when HOT is extremely explosive

Diesel fumes are also highly explosive so even diesel engined vehicles and equipment shouldn't be refueled with the engine running.

it is very hard to ignite diesel vapour--but not impossible.
ive often seen fuel spill on to hot steel and atomise-often inside a fuel tank you get a diesel mist-i had a injector fail and the compression inflated the tank forcing diesel out of the fuel cap.
but that not a jerry can,storage tank.

I would expect the real world risk assesment to be a fuel spill situation and not a fire.
I had 2 jerry recently broke away from a mounting of a fire truck going over a drain only one came open.but a these wiegh a few KG and you wouldnt want it to hit anything.

our work refueler is 500L-it only has a fire extinguisher and a spill kit.
the other 200L has no requirements and i hadnt thought about spill bunding.

I did my trip with my camper and took two metal jerries on the back filled with diesel. My TDV6 chews through a bit of fuel when towing and particularly off road and as I was not sure exactly what the conditions I would encounter I took the jerries.

The two jerrie were relatively new 'Motorguard' models bought from Repco about two years ago. I have used them for few trips filled with petrol strapped inside my 101 and never had any issues with them.

However when I was checking the rig over after about 300km of driving I noticed that one of the jerries was leaking from the filler seal and a bit of fuel had been spilled - if it had been petrol would have been very dangerous.

The latch on the jerry will not clamp down very tight so I assume the rubber seal has compressed.

Is there any issue with these seals switching between fuels and I assume you can buy replacements - where???

Also - I bought a funnel to put fuel in the car if needed (not needed with the 101). I did not want to use a clip on spout as I have two different versions and both pour out as much fuel as it puts in the tank. Does anyone have a version that actually works with a standard metal jerry and where did you get it.

Thanks

Garry

Personally I won't use a Jerry that has had petrol in it for Diesel and vice versa even though the risk of cross contamination is not that great.

Neither do I use funnels if I can help it I prefer a syphon hose. If it is only a small 5 litre emergency jerry then a funnel is fine.

The preferrence for syphon hoses comes from a misspent youth ...

cheers,
Terry

swinging a broad sword...

so long as its not bulk (under 205L for diesel and petrol 9.5kg I think for lpg) and the container is approved for the carriage of the fuel you want to transport, providing you have it adequately secured within the dimensions of the vehicle then you can legally carry fuel wherever the hell you want on the vehicle.

however, whats smart to do and what you can do are 2 entirely different things.

I personally don't like to carry fuel in any enclosed area.

Originally Posted by garrycol

Is there any issue with these seals switching between fuels and I assume you can buy replacements - where???

Garry

most places that you can buy the steel jerries from will have the replacements, I have seen them at clarks rubber, BCF, out of town Servos, surplus stores (they also come in the CES kits of 110's, IMV's, Mogs, macks) and they are available from the nearest person to you that you dont like who also has steel jerries.

WW 2 jeep.....jerry can at extreme rear of vehicle.
WW2 dodge weapons carrier.....jerry can on running board.
Series three FFR landrover.....two jerrycans at extreme rear one on each side.
CJ jeeps one jerry can at extreme rear.
Misubishi pajero factory jerry can at extreme rear.
Some ex army mini Mokes one jerry can
After market swing out jerry can holders at rear of modern toyotas and patrols.
Many , many more which I cannot think of.
If any danger was present with these vehicles I think it would have been made illegal many years ago.
The fact is with a good metal jerry can can be dropped from a great height and not burst.
The germans worked this out just before WW2 and why the Allieds copied it and they are still used today by all armies.
Miltiary vehicles could carry a hundred jerrys in the back during war and not to many were lost though the jerrys.
We watch too many films where the car goes down the cliff and explodes where in real life it is rare.
The real danger is plastic Jerrys or cheap thin metal ones.
Old ex army Aussie made Reem were the best ones.
To day if you purchase a thick wall metal european made one you cannot go to far wrong.
Feel the weight of the jerry.....go for the heaviest built one.
I have carried jerrys in proper made jerry holders on the a frame of trailers and never had a problem.
Carrying them loose in the rear of a trailer would be asking for trouble as the trailer may not ride that well and skip around.
I have seen plastic jerrys of petrol get hot in the sun and pressurerise, swell and become dangerous especially when removing the cap.
A metal quailty jerry will allow slow pressure release and the clamping action of the cap will not leak if the gasket is good.
Metal jerrys will not swell and therefore will not become stuck in the jerry can holder and cause accident trying to reef it out.
In the real world has anyone seen a correctly fitted metal jerry can cause a fire in a accident ?????
In accidents I have seen where jerrycans are fitted to the outside of a vehicle, they will break free and not cause a problem.
I think a bigger danger is the modern high pressure fuel systems fitted to cars fail to shut off, or get damaged causing a fire with the close location of the engine and the all the extra exhaust compents these days and there is plently of cases to back this up.