Fuel on roof. Fore or aft?

[Pskhaat]

I get it. Not the best place for fuel, atop the roof. I need a minimum of 10 extra gallons and don't have a larger/auxiliary tank.

Due to weight and sloshing would you advise to mount them towards the front or the rear of a full length roof rack. Why?

 

[billiebob]

The heaviest item, put it in front of the rear axle, think 2/3, 1/3. Put the lawn chairs and sleeping bags at the ends. Think polar moment.

ps, if the tanks are full.... or empty.... there will be no sloshing. And unless you know you will need the extra fuel... leave them empty.

 

[nitro_rat]

Wherever you like ?

Maybe ask your insurance underwriter what they recommend...

 

[Cabrito]

I get it. Not the best place for fuel, atop the roof. I need a minimum of 10 extra gallons and don't have a larger/auxiliary tank.

Due to weight and sloshing would you advise to mount them towards the front or the rear of a full length roof rack. Why?

I've done both with no noticeable differences. I go heavy on the roof rack so it all comes down to how I'm loading up with also taking into account weight distribution. I usually only carry five gallons of gas max, but also have had water up top too.

I tend to default to the rear of the vehicle so I can access them easier from the tailgate. I also like the 10L or 2G cans because they are easier to work with.

This old shot from the early 90's was five gallons of gas up top on my X-tra cab SR5. I had to put the gas upright when full and it was sketchy so I would empty it as soon as possible.
Canyon de Guadalupe Baja



2x 10L cans up top in front.


2x 10L Fuel and 2x 10L Water up top on the rear.



These days I'm only running 2x Two gallon RotoPax



My last trip to Baja I went with 2x 10L in the rear.



In Baja my FJ was our chase vehicle and we were carrying 25 gallons of gas on the roof!

 

[Pskhaat]

Maybe ask your insurance underwriter what they recommend...

Will just be me and known vehicles off-highway. Wont travel with them full on populated roads. Plus, I can't afford anything but State minimum liability anyway.

Bloody literal highway robbery, those insurance premiums.

 

[Pskhaat]

And for what it's worth, I've had 80-90L water tanks (along with two 20L jerry cans) in vehicles on many occasions, and have never noticed the "sloshing" that everyone on ExPo seems to be terrified of, despite frequent, spirited driving through twisty roads.

I'm employing Waivian'ish cans this time. I am much more concerned with leakage than sloshing. I've had terrible luck with leaking cans in the past.

 

[Pskhaat]

And unless you know you will need the extra fuel... leave them empty.

I ain't one for show. Where I'll be going I may not need many roads but I'll absolutely need fuel ☹️

 

[The_Hoff]

I put mine at the rear so I can siphon straight to the tank without removing the Jerry cans. Also, I empty them asap, i.e as soon as I’ve used about 20L of fuel from the tank I empty a Jerry - that way you minimize the time you have the weight up top.


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[DaveInDenver]

Seems to me a consideration is the weight shifting. So if you have stout mounts, like cages, they won't move then anywhere it makes sense. When I carry jerry cans I put them in a small basket on the roof with ratchet straps. I put them against the front so in a panic stop or hard-stop over obstacles they won't come skidding forward.

 

[Voodoo Blue 57]

Depends on your setup.
I built a custom rack for 4 5 gal jerry cans. I was really nervous with all this weight that far back. Everytime we stop on the 1st day of our trip I would check and double check to make sure everything was secure and no leaks. I thought there would be a noticeable sway with the extra weight so high and when turning or on off camber terrain but with my suspension setup I did not feel anything. A testament to the FJ and Icon suspension.

In my case I don't think it would have mattered it the fuel was fore or aft.

Here is my setup. And yes I need all 28 gallons of gas, 10 days and 300 miles from asphalt to asphalt.

 

[MoGas]

I just keep them inside.

 

[Pskhaat]

I just keep them inside.

Maybe these new cans will work better. But I've never had luck with this in the last 30 years or so.

 

[alanymarce]

As you can see we put the cans at the rear of the roof rack, mainly (as noted previously) to allow fuel transfer without having to take down the cans. Not ideal from the point of view of load distribution nor polar moment of inertia, however... we filled them only for a couple of trajectories of this particular trip, and gave them away (to the fire department) when we no longer had any likely need. FOr the trajectories for which we needed extra fuel we drove appropriately for the increased CoG/PMoI until we had used enough fuel to tranfer the contents to the main tank. We had the same set up on the previous "big trip".

 

[krick3tt]

I have a LR3 and carry my two 10L cans where the spare tire used to be under the vehicle. On the rr I carry my extra water in two 5L Scepter cans. I sometimes do carry extra fuel on the roof in a holder I fabricated, on their sides (it is lockable) to cut wind resistance. They are Nato cans and do not leak so that is not a worry. I carry them toward the rear for easy access as a Nato can with 20L of gas is about 55+ pounds and extremely awkward to handle.
I know there are those that would not carry fuel under the vehicle but that is where most stock fuel tanks are. My cans are protected by a 3/16 inch plate and uses the LR spare tire winch to lift them into position.
When full they equal the weight of the spare tire.

 

[Pskhaat]

I am so re-enamored these last few years of having my spare in OEM under bed location with proper rear hatch access I can't imagine on a swing like I used to have. Anyway, and as such, no spare fuel underneath for me ☹