Carrying gas cans and or Bigger Tank?

[Reinen]

There are very, very few places you're going to be traveling in the backcountry where the range of the JL, even in 4hi, isn't going to be sufficient to make it to the next easily accessible gas station.

Well, I wouldn't be so quick to say that. It's not particularly hard to be 70+ off-road miles from the nearest gas in the Utah region, where a direct route is impossible.

The real reason why you take extra gas is in case you get 80% of the way through your planned route and find a washout or landslide made the trail impassable and you have nowhere else to go but backtrack. That can royally screw up your gas management plans. And you're in a desert. Which is why you take extra water too.

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[Bullwinkle]

Just for the sake of aesthetics, I purchased a carrier plate to secure a 1.75 gal. RotopaX on the Jeep. The former was purchased to supplement the larger Acerbis fuel tank I had installed on my Suzuki, where efforts to increase travel distance make a vital difference.

There's no shortage of forum posts where JL owners mention their less-than-stellar fuel mileage, which usually comes about as a result of heavier tires/wheels, lift kits and the like. This is instructive.

Don't be put off the idea of supplemental fuel-carrying capacity simply because a lengthy argument against doing so is presented in list format. Are such folks standing by to deliver fuel to you wherever and whenever you run low? It's your skin in the game, not anyone else's.

Geography can surprise us. Some years back, my riding partner and I spent the better part of the day making time on the Fleur-de-lis Trail in Cape Breton Island, hoping to reach the Provincial Park (for camping) before sunset. It was a miles-long isolated ride on a rural two lane road, with nothing but conifers for as far as the eye could see. The "Last Gas for xx Kilometers" sign was a welcome one, and I'd have topped off the Jeep's tank with the same enthusiasm that day.

Completely agree...I'll find the 2 can carrier system I like best and mount that, tall jack and antenna mount/s.....appreciate everyone's input, it helps.

 

[old mike]

But, but, but, what if a comet passed close to earth and meteors broke off and hit the trails ahead and behind you and a giant buried carnivorous dinosaur, kept in suspended animation down in an uncharted pocket of permafrost for 70 million years was warmed up by the impact energy, came alive, and broke out of one of the craters looking for lunch? You might need to take a cross-country detour, treading as lightly as you could of course, in order to escape it. Boy, if that happened, you'd be sorry if you weren't carrying plenty of extra fuel ...unless the impact energy ignited that extra fuel and blew you up ...or unless you made it back to town without needing it.

 

[Jeepeto]

TrailRax PakRax with Rotopax

Bounce between WaterPORT, and Rotopax. Carry up to 8 gallons of fuel or 16 gallons if you add the extended Rotopax mount. Mix and match with water cans if you need water storage.

I also used the Rock Slide spare tire mount on my soft top for carrying Rotopax when necessary. Could be used with the TrailRax on the hard top for excessive amounts of storage if necessary.

 

[Bullwinkle]

TrailRax PakRax with Rotopax

Bounce between WaterPORT, and Rotopax. Carry up to 8 gallons of fuel or 16 gallons if you add the extended Rotopax mount. Mix and match with water cans if you need water storage.

I also used the Rock Slide spare tire mount on my soft top for carrying Rotopax when necessary. Could be used with the TrailRax on the hard top for excessive amounts of storage if necessary.

Will that mount work on the 2dr w/ my hardtop? I like that, puts that added weight over tires...

 

[GearWhore]

I've got the Rock Slide Engineering spare tire rack with two 2-gallon fuel cans. Easy to install and take off as necessary. They are really only useful/used for 1-2 trips a year, and with the diesel range they are maybe even overkill for those, but as @Reinen points out, it isn't too hard to get far enough into a backcountry/overland trip in the Southwest only to have a washout or closure and have to backtrack or redirect a LONG ways. Especially since not all stations carry diesel.

As others suggest, dump the cans into the fuel tank as soon as you can. It removes the extra weight and sloshing.

 

[Dkretden]

Another vote for trailrax

 

[Jeepeto]

Will that mount work on the 2dr w/ my hardtop? I like that, puts that added weight over tires...

According to the website it does, as well as sky one touch

 

[Whiskeybiskit]

Will that mount work on the 2dr w/ my hardtop? I like that, puts that added weight over tires...

Yes it will. Here is my 2dr with it. I added a small stick-on

blindspot mirror to my side mirror as the rotopax covers the window.

 

[RubiGrey]

TrailRax system, the RotoPax mounts and 4 gallon fuel pack.

 

[txj2go]

I asked this question a few months ago. The spare tire mount or the side window mounts seem like the most reasonable way to do it. I was only planning one trip where extra fuel might be needed so I didn't want to spend a lot on tanks and mounts. I ended up buying the 5 gallon metal Jerry can from Harbor Freight.

We were going to Doll House in Canyonlands Maze district. (See my post in trail reports subforum.) From closest gas station in Hanksville to Doll House is at least 105 miles, 210 mile round trip. We also has a 25 mile side trip to another campsite. Since almost 200 miles of this 235 miles is offroad I was concerned about fuel consumption. On freeways I get 20mpg, ,maybe 21. Offroad of course I get less, I've noticed under 15 on some Colorado trails. On the worst part of the trail to Dollhouse going slow, 4-low, climbing obstacles, I was getting about 10. Turns out there was enough easier dirt road that we kept a pretty good average mpg and didn't need extra gas. For anyone interested in that area you can actually go out the south to Hite and save a few miles, and there is usually an open gas station at Hite but don't count on it without checking first. We had plenty of gas and went out to Hite for other reasons, but if the station at Hite had been closed we could have gone back to Hanksville.

Regarding the Harbor Freight steel jerry can- it doesn't take up much room inside. It seems like a reasonably good can but with a questionable nozzle, and the lid leaked vapors when the can was full and being jostled around continually so we had to deal with the smell for a day. I've found on the internet that other caps will fit and it is possible to buy a better gasket for the stock cap so if I need to carry the can again I will work on that.

I think there are limited reasons for me to need to carry extra gas, but I'll concede that there are reasonable situations where other people would need extra gas so it isn't worth arguing about. I know that people like to buy stuff to put all over their Jeeps but if you insist on carrying around some rotopax, somebody will probably steel them.

 

[calemasters]

Carrying gas cans and or Bigger Tank?

 

[Dkretden]

OP, one nice thing about the Trailrax system is that if you don’t need to carry fuel or water on a specific trip, you can likely configure the rack to carry things like axes, shovels, tool boxes, rotopax storage box…. Etc….. think that the Trailrax system is fairly versatile for those so inclined.

 

[Avar928]

Second, third, fourth the Rockslide Engineering setup for extra gas and water. Cross country I ran 2G gas and 1G water.

Also installed RC spare tire relocation plate for my bike and to bump out the rotos so I can access the rear gate handle. If you don't angle them up you can't open the gate.

https://www.roughcountry.com/jeep-spare-tire-relocation-plate-10526c.html
https://rockslideengineering.com/product/ez-rack-kit/

 

[GearWhore]

We were going to Doll House in Canyonlands Maze district. (See my post in trail reports subforum.) From closest gas station in Hanksville to Doll House is at least 105 miles, 210 mile round trip. We also has a 25 mile side trip to another campsite. Since almost 200 miles of this 235 miles is offroad I was concerned about fuel consumption.

Doll House and the area around there (Natural Bridges, Bears Ears, etc.) is one of the primary reasons I have the extra fuel cans. I was on a Doll House trip years ago and the Flint Trail slid and closed. We didn't know until trying to drive out. Took the road to Hite but they didn't have fuel at the time. Coasted into Hanksville on fumes, even with the 5-gal Scepter can.

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