Jerry cans on roof ?

like putting them up and down ... squashed my thumb doing it once.

and being sure that they don't leak or break.

And then getting it out of the jerries without it going on you or your clothes ...

Went away with someone that had 6 steel jerries of diesel on top of a Troopie. 3 of them leaked on the first dirt road - his tent that was next to them was covered in diesel and unusable. And the dust really stuck to the roof!

Need to pad them with carpet to prevent rubbing.

Weight is the main factor - empty them as soon as able.

In my experience, the steel ones tend to leak, plastic ones are better.

On this subject, does anyone know how the plastic jerries handle being laid on their side or their edge on a mesh floor on the roof rack with carpet separating?
What I'm trying to ask is whether the jerries are only designed to be carried vertically, or will the sides also tolerate a pounding.
Gerry (no pun intended)

Hi Nissnut

The jerries are meant to be carried vertical , and on the roof is not a good choice to start with ,let alone vertical as I have seen some.

Heat from the sun can expand things and put a lot of pressure on seals.

I have preferred to carry plastic jerries inside my patrol,before on the roof.
Laid on there side on floor, but only some like Willow from supercheap have sealing system that is acceptable to me for this purpose.

Robin Miller

worst case scenerio,
jerry can of petrol on roof, jerry can leaks, driver smokes,

I carried plastic jerry's on the roof this year when we did the Simpson. Bought the jerry's from super cheap and laid them down on the roof (lids to the top) on a piece of carpet and slid carpet tiles between them to prevent them from rubbing through each other. We did not have any leaks or problems but did empty them as soon as we could.

Not the best Idea to fill them on the roof either like we saw other people do, you should always put them on the ground to earth them, is safer and a bit more effort involved but much cheaper than a long ranger.

I have carried jerry cans on the roof on a couple of occasions. I only use Rheem plastic ones. I lay them on a scrap of marine carpet and secure them with ratchet tie downs.

I empty them as soon as there was room in the tank to take the extra fuel to get the weight off the roof ASAP, The only other thing on the roof is a spare anyway.

I had no problems in very rough hot conditions but they were not up there for a long time, only a couple of days. I dont lay them flat but I lay them on the narrow side.

As for them heating or leaking, I recon that has just as much chance of happening wherever you put them.

Only ones I have had leak were the Rheem ones.

I do put them on their side on rubber mat whenever I have trouble with low hanging branches, and haven't had an issue. I do check the lids are real tight.

I generally have used the yellow ones from supercheap and they have stood up fine to 12 months hard work.

I am using diesel, so the roof filling is not a problem and works for me.

Ciao for now
Andrew.

I met a guy in Broome with a 4.2 TD Patrol. He had bought 2 x 25 Litre marine plastic tanks that are used in Tinnies etc. The benefit being their low height and large footprint. He would then siphon down when required. A more expensive option but seems safer.

Cheers

I have carried 4 jerries on the roof rack lying down on occasions. Its not advisable but other means aren't always available. I have steel jerries and have seldom had them leak. The secret is to renew the seals every so often. Lifting them them up or down is no issue as I am reasonably tall. Just lay them down on a good piece of tube/rubber/ folded tarp and tie them down with ratchet straps.

I now carry 12 jerries lying down in the bottom of my trailer for long trips out in the never never. This gives me a fuel capacity of 330 useable litres of diesel.

I went to cape york with 6 steel jerry's on the roof rack and had them tied down with good ratchet type straps so they couldn't move and rub excessively and drove accordingly, being aware of the whole gravity thing.
The main reason was I didn't have to get up there every day,and once they where empty,they where out of the way(and light)leave the cargo area space(inside the vehicle)for the stuff you have to use during day/night dust free and DRY!!!!

I have used both steel and plastic to carry petrol and would only use steel now. The plastic ones tend to expand in the sun and stretch straps and then when they cool even slightly the straps are loose.

I now use timer and threaded rod to bolt mine down. They are filled from the roof, which has caused no problem and then lifed down. I have syphoned from the roof direct to the tank but this is slow, but causes no problem.

I have carried 6 Jerries ont he roof but like to get this down to 2 ASAP due to weight.

A variety of opinions. They all seem to have their pros and cons. Thankyou all for your responses. Ive got 4 jerry cans so Ill strap 2 on the roof and carry 2 in the back, see how they go. nissnut ps Im a smoker.........................BOOM......................................

I saw a 4WD arriving into Perth a few weeks ago with a line of jerries across the front of the roof rack. Must have been 7 - 8 across the rack! 160kg just in the fuel, who knows what they had on the rest of the rack if they thought 160kg across the front was a good idea! I'm sure the engineer who designed their roof rack didn't incorporate it being used like that.

I've heard of/seen but not used, flexible fuel bladders that boaties use. You can get them for water storage too, but they can sit on the floor behind the front seats and are strong enough to take the kids weight and you can put a bit of carpet over it if you're worried about holing it.

Tim

Hi nissnut

My experience is only with steel jerrys both on the roof and inside the 4by.

Being a short ars., jerrys on the roof are a PITA and I don't like all that weight up there, for centre of geavity reasons and potential roof rack/gutter damage.

A number of years ago I did the Connie Sue in my 3.0 petrol GQ and as I could not get any good info on the track I decided to carry 7 jerrys. Made a steel frame to bolt across behind the front seats and bolted it down to existing rear seat holes etc (rear seats were out). Made sure that jerry seals were OK and strapped them into the frame. Solid as solid. Just laid soft gear, clothes bags, sleeping bags etc on the top of them.
No leaks, no smell, easy & convenient. Safe?

The GQ has gone but that frame has been modified by a friend to take 4 jerrys inside his Rangie with again, excellent results.

Just me experience, not a recommendation.

A few blokes have mentioned using carpet on the rack......

I just bought a new roof bag (Halls Canvas, Adleaide) and I wanted to avoid it having to sit directly on the ARB rack's mesh floor. Wasn't too keen on the carpet idea , as when it gets wet it'll be heavy and smelly.

So, I hit on the idea of those rubber squares that clip together like jigsaw pieces. They are 600mm square......perfect for a 1250mm x 1700mm roof bag.

As for the jerry cans, I've had a couple of the black plastic Rheem ones....just gave them away to Brew69 as I don't use them anymore. I also have 2 of the half-height steel jerry cans (10 litres each). I use these for petrol for the Yammie gennie. They are much easier to hoik up onto the rack. I make sure I never fill them right to the top, so that they won't over expand if left in the sun. Probably only needed to get one of 'em anyway.....but I like to have 2 of everything!

Cheers

Roachie