Toolbox / fuel tank ground clearance?

[palebluewanders]

Hey everyone, we are curious to know how high above the ground the bottom of your toolboxes and fuel tanks are, and whether you've ever hit them against anything. We are (very roughly) estimating ~50cm for ours and wondering how that compares to others' and whether it's too low.

Thanks!

 

[cobo]

I haven't built out my U500 camper yet so I'm mostly just going to lurk on this thread, but I will say that it is relevant to know what your wheelbase is since the longer it is the easier it is to run the toolbox aground on a some convex surface.

 

[Iain_U1250]

Fully loaded, we are 600mm at the lowest point ( which is the chassis itself) and we have a 3250mm wheelbase. We have never bottomed out, closest we came was driving over a fallen tree, and hit the step which I had to bend down a bit afterwards. As you can see below, the step is about 150mm lower then the chassis or fuel tanks.

 

[palebluewanders]

I haven't built out my U500 camper yet so I'm mostly just going to lurk on this thread, but I will say that it is relevant to know what your wheelbase is since the longer it is the easier it is to run the toolbox aground on a some convex surface.

Great point, my wheelbase is 3.65 meters.

 

[palebluewanders]

Fully loaded, we are 600mm at the lowest point ( which is the chassis itself) and we have a 3250mm wheelbase. We have never bottomed out, closest we came was driving over a fallen tree, and hit the step which I had to bend down a bit afterwards. As you can see below, the step is about 150mm lower then the chassis or fuel tanks.

Nice, gotta love those portal axles too!

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Does not matter what your clearance is, you will soon find somewhere where it is not enough.
The key to avoiding damage is to know what your limits are and to recognise obstacles that will exceed them. More than anything, that takes cautious practice.

Keeping the wheels on the high spots.


No problem.


And of course, clearance is not a constant. It varies with the suspension travel.


Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[palebluewanders]

Does not matter what your clearance is, you will soon find somewhere where it is not enough.
The key to avoiding damage is to know what your limits are and to recognise obstacles that will exceed them. More than anything, that takes cautious practice.

Spoken like a true adventurer! Good perspective, thank you. Some crazy marbles there. Off-road driving course and practice are high on our list of priorities.

 

[alanymarce]

Hmm - my reaction is that I'd want to make sure that fuel tanks (and water tanks) are higher (less exposed) than anything else under the vehicle. You can ding a chassis member and not do much damage, however if you crack a fuel or water tank you may be in big trouble. So I'd avoid having either of these as the lowest/most exposed part of the vehicle. I guess you could damage the tool box and it's not so serious.

In terms of minimum clearance, as others note, whatever it is you'll find the limits with experience. I continue to be impressed by seeing Toyota Corollas and similar cars on rough tracks around the world.

Our Montero (at home) has 28.5 cm clearance and our Wrangler (in Canada) has 21.1 cm. My Peugeot 404 Estate had a clearance of 15.2 cm and took me through the Kalahari with no problems - the only modification I had was a water tank below the boot/trunk, and I made sure that it was well within the exterior dimensions of the body.

You also need to consider, as others imply, Breakover, Approach, and Departure Angles.

 

[palebluewanders]

That reminds me, depending on the height of the fuel tanks it might make sense to add some underside protection too. But yes, having it higher to begin with would be best.

Thanks for the input, everyone! Very helpful. ?

 

[Neil]

I have a 3mm alluminium plate covering the underside of both my steel tanks.

After 4 years in South America they a bashed to bits, but saved the tanks .

It's a good idea

Neil

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

I am moving to rotomoulded High Density Polyethylene plastic tanks for both diesel and water. They are almost bullet proof and lighter than steel.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[NatersXJ6]

Heavy construction equipment often has the bottom step hanging from steel cable just for this reason. Look at a front-end loader next time you see one for inspiration.

 

[theangrychicken]

The heffalump's stainless steel tanks were originally outfitted in Italy nearly 30 years ago and as far as I know have not been modified since the original owner had them made/installed.
The battery box is the lowest and sets about 50 cm from the ground, the same as the axels. Fuel and other tanks are slightly higher.

 

[Sitec]

Hello. So our truck's lowest point is the bottom of the transfer box at 500mm. The bottom of side skirts along the side of the truck are 650mm from the ground and our wheelbase is 4.3m.

 

[Geo.Lander]

Hey everyone, we are curious to know how high above the ground the bottom of your toolboxes and fuel tanks are, and whether you've ever hit them against anything. We are (very roughly) estimating ~50cm for ours and wondering how that compares to others' and whether it's too low.

Thanks!

Do you know the legal limit for this in the UK/EU? I think it it the same as the rear underrun protection at 550mm, but this will depend on the year the truck was constructed..