Underseat Water Tank for JK Unlimiteds

[keithro]

I'm looking at doing a group buy/build/design on an underseat water tank for the JK Unlimited. You will obviously loose the ability to fold the rear seat forward while this is in place, but I'd like it to be easily removed. My current concept is to make the tank out of 14 or 16 GA 304 Stainless steel. The pieces would be laser cut and CNC bent. The tanks would be tig welded. The forward most seat mounts would mount to the top of the tank using a quick release pin (not shown in images). The rear seat mounts would remain stock and untouched. The rear seat will fold up when the quick release pin is released giving easy access to the top side of the tank. We would align the tank baffles with tabs for the front seat mounts to give further strength. I approximate the volume of the tank would be close to 17 gallons.

One of the problems is the transmission tunnel or "hump" in the middle. You can see in the design that the tank comes up to clear it. We would need a work around for this issue. There could be a short section of hose that connects the two lower areas of the tank, or we could build in a lower portion in one part of the tank that would require cutting a portion of the transmission tunnel out. The cut would be about 2"x 11" and would be under and toward the rear of the seat (I have checked and there is clearance underneath for the cut. The last option could be internal pickups that run inside the tank to both sides and hook up to the pump..

Everyone will have different needs for fill, drain, connection fittings so I'm hoping we could find a fitting that could easily be installed in different locations by the participants by just drilling holes where needed. If no such fitting can be found we will identify a weld in fitting and the most popular areas to place them and have them installed during the manufacturing process.

Is there anyone that has interest in such a project? Please post up here and we can start some dialogue on preferences. I'm hoping to get at least 5 interested parties so the economy of scale will bring the cost down.

 

[Septu]

I like the idea... however for me personally, not being able to fold down the seats would be a deal breaker. Could be interested at some point (not likely for this buy) if the size was restricted to one side or the other. The only thing that would make sense (size vs price point) would be the passenger side. Just a thought... change the bottom on one side so that there's no dip after the hump, so that there isn't two low sides.

Something like this:
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,_____________ (ignore the commas... forum won't let me use spaces)
________/

 

[sickchilly]

I love it. This would be a great use of typically unused space for me. I also like the idea of sacrificing a little capacity by making one side higher as suggested by the previous poster. That might provide enough room for hose storage or a stack of maps, etc.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Why not break out the measuring tape and head to your local trailer/RV supply store? Water tanks come in many sizes and shapes.

 

[Brigitta]

Interesting idea but we usually have the rear seat folded down for extra storage when we're off road. If the seat is up it's because there is someone sitting in it and then we need the underseat area for extra storage.

Not sure how many overlanders would trade the extra storage gained by folding down the rear seat for a water tank. We currently keep our water storage on either the roof rack or the trail rack, we like the gravity feed system. How would get the water out? A hand pump system or a 12V pump?

 

[ACWeller]

I found this product which might work for ya.
http://www.frontrunneroutfitters.co...OTWELL-WATER-TANK-40L-10-57-Gallons-p170.html

 

[keithro]

I currently use the front runner footwell tank and it's a nice product, but it occupies the footwell area, which is okay for small passengers (children), but not adults. This project is aimed at those that USE their back seat for passengers. This project is not for people that fold down their rear seat. If you don't carry passengers then this obviously doesn't make a lot of sense for you.

I do feel that the position of this tank is far better than roof rack or a trail rack. As a reference point, 15 gallons of water weighs 125 lbs and I'd rather have that weight low and in the center of the vehicle.

The idea of having one side higher is intriguing. We could potentially house the pump, a filter and some hose under that side. Volume of the tank would decrease to about 13 gallons. That would also make it quite a bit easier to bolt down the tank as you could easily access both the existing seat bolt mounting holes on that side.

 

[jdzl]

I'm interested if it can be done for a reasonable cost. [One hump design]

 

[cybercat]

This is a great idea I've been thinking about this for years just didn't have the skills to bring it together.
The seats could have a quick release mechanism that would facilitate sliding forward or removal.
The box could be configured for TJ's and JK's widening the market appeal.