extra fuel inside car

[macneil Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close macneil]

Hey everyone have a two day trip coming up and would like take some extra fuel just wondering if its safe to carry the jerrycans inside for that amount of time in the 3rd row section of the rear with the pop out rear windows open they are plastic ones not metal if that helps.

[macneil Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close macneil]

I searched jerry cans inside car and didnt find anything about inside the car and I don't have a roof rack and not taking a trailer

[ntp Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close ntp]

Diesel, petrol or rocket fuel?

[discoveraus Member Find all posts View Profile Close discoveraus]

hello macneil,

I have carried both petrol and diesel in approved jerry cans inside the car on many long distance trips in the past, I have never needed it at any time and always found it to be a waste of available space.

Considering the dangers in an accident, or even if a jerry just leaks fumes, I stopped carrying fuel because I found that fuel in always available everywhere and I now just pay for it when I need it. Any Prado has a huge range and towns and servos are plentiful.

I am a 30 year volunteer firefighter and attend numerous motor vehicle accidents every year, seeing fuel containers in a crashed car frightens me shitless these days.

regards

Ross

[Beach Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beach]

Here is an Extract from a WA mine site document.

"This story serves as a sobering reminder to anyone contemplating keeping a jerry can of petrol in their car.
In late 2010, a woman sustained very serious burns when her station wagon blew up in a small outback town in Western Australia. There were some plastic jerry cans in the rear of the vehicle
and petrol vapours had escaped in the heat of the day. Not realising this, she had climbed into the vehicle and lit a cigarette, igniting the vapours.
.................................................. ......................................
This was the start of an extremely traumatic experience for the woman. For some unknown reason, the vehicle’s central locking system activated. People ran to help but couldn’t get her out of the burning car and she was still trapped inside when the jerry cans exploded.
The force of the explosion was so great that the front windscreen landed on the roof of a nearby building and the back windscreen landed on the other side of the highway. The bitumen under the car melted.
The heat forced back the would-be rescuers but they kept encouraging her to get out. Somehow she managed to escape from the vehicle, but not before suffering third degree burns to her legs. Her arms were burned as well and she sustained flash burns to her face. The car parked next to hers also caught alight and blew up.
That night, the Royal Flying Doctor Service flew her to the Burns Unit at Royal Perth Hospital. It took several weeks for her to recover sufficiently to be released from hospital. In the March 2011 issue of the local newspaper in her town, she said that her greatest wish was for others to not go through the same trauma. She and her family have experienced physical, emotional and financial stress as a result of the accident.

This is also a good anti-smoking message.

[baggs71 Inactive member. Find all posts View Profile Close baggs71]

X2 extra fuel needed?

Hi mate.....recently went through most of central australia and not once got below 1/4 of my fuel load....deisel of course....

I have heard of blokes needing it on the CSR and for good reason.....

I take it you are doing the CSR orhave a V6?

[macneil Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close macneil]

Thanks guys yes have a petrol and looks like I may have to see if someone on the trip with a ute will carry it for me

[baggs71 Inactive member. Find all posts View Profile Close baggs71]

You cant buy a set of cheap cross bars for the roof to strap jerries to?...nice and cheap option.....

[macneil Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close macneil]

I have a 04 model with the 3 cross bars not the rails looking for a roof basket in time for the trip

[404pug Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 404pug]

I carried 6 jerries of petrol inside my 120 on the CSR. They were ratchet strapped to the floor where the 2nd row of seats were taken out. All 6 jerries were tested beforehand by half filling them with petrol and leaving them in the summer sun for an hour on their sides. Any leakers [2] were chucked. They were not filled until Willuna where the slow stuff started. One was emptied every 100 km or so ie. each day until all gone.So where does that leave you? If you carry petrol inside, carry it low, ratchet strap it down, use it up ASAP, and dont carry it where you are doing highway speeds. Cover the jerries with sleeping bags etc to insulate it and leave the windows cracked down if you park. Don't smoke! I cant think of too many places in Australia other than the CSR where you would carry extra petrol. About 750 km is close to the longest stretch between fuel. It is worth to pay a few bob extra NOT to carry it except where you really have to. I carried one on the Simpson last year but used only 140 l anyway .I would rather have the heavy fuel down low than to have 80-100 kg of fuel up high on the roof, especially in rough going.Neil PS there are a few threads on here about it but search often doesn't bring them up.

[Jon Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Jon]

I carried 4 Jerry's in a roof basket for the CSR. Emptied one every second day to reduce load on roof. 4 Jerry's plus the basket gives max load of 100 Kg on the cross bars.
I would NOT put petrol inside the vehicle, as advised by others...too risky.

[smakb Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close smakb]

If its that important to have extra fuel, go a long range fuel tank. It gave me 200 usable lt and the weight is down nice and low. In a 120 Prado it may not be worth it but the 150 Prado only has 130 lt (usable).

[wooley Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close wooley]

If its that important to have extra fuel, go a long range fuel tank. It gave me 200 usable lt and the weight is down nice and low. In a 120 Prado it may not be worth it but the 150 Prado only has 130 lt (usable).

the problem is, a long range tank works out to about ~$18.50 per liter of storage.

Jerry cans work out to about ~$0.55 a liter.

I personally have had jerries in the cab and as long as they're sealed and don't leak, no problem.

I've also carried unleaded (in smallish quantities) but I'd probably recommend against that.

[brooksy78 Member Find all posts View Profile Close brooksy78]

No to petrol inside cars for 2 main reasons.
If the Jerry can is not air tight vapors are leaking into the cabin which are flammable, carcinogenic and impact concentration.
A spill or accident will easily escalate into a major fire or worse.

And I hate the smell too! Swap someone's gear for your Jerry cans

[smakb Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close smakb]

the problem is, a long range tank works out to about ~$18.50 per liter of storage.

Jerry cans work out to about ~$0.55 a liter.

I personally have had jerries in the cab and as long as they're sealed and don't leak, no problem.

I've also carried unleaded (in smallish quantities) but I'd probably recommend against that.

I agree that a long range tank is more expensive, but they cost less than my families safety. If it was only me in the car, yes sure, but if my family was going to be in the car there is no way I would. The long range tank it an investment (just like good quality shocks or a bull bar) that is then available for you all the time. You can not compare prices in the way you have unless you are going to carry the jerry cans with you all the time.

Put some on the roof (whilst checking the weight) if you most, but you don't know when some dick head is going to cause an accident. With my former employment I attended many accidents and only two of them were intentional. People don't plan to have accidents and I have seen lots of drivers crying whilst watching family and friends get loaded into ambulances.

Yes the odds of an accident are extremely small, but the consequences are incredibly high. You may gamble with you life, but with your kids?