Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Hi all

December is fast approaching and I have to make a decision on something. I will be doing around 4800-5000km through Namibia and Botswana, mostly tar roads, but will be doing 300km of the Namaqua Eco trail, and also a bit of sandy stuff on the west coast of Nam. I need somewhere to put my extra petrol, and I'm hoping to get away without taking the roof rack. It would only be used for holding the jerry cans, everything else inside the car.

I can get a fluorinated plastic tank ±55litres which would fit perfectly behind the front seats, as there is no way in heck I will carry the metal jerry's inside the car. The tank would not be full all the time, only when I'm about to hit the remote areas. The longest remote stretch would be around 500km. Do I take a chance and carry the petrol in the car for those times, or just bite the bullet and take the roof rack?

The tank does have a breather valve and can be hooked up to an outside vent to minimize fumes in the cabin. Also, my thinking is that I would fill up the main tank with the plastic fuel tank as soon as I can to get the fuel out of the car, and only use the fuel in the sub tank when I really need it. I know the concerns with having petrol in the car, the vapours, the potential explosion if it ignites, etc etc. Is is too risky?

Hallo Rhett

I guess that you will get many different views on this specific subject.

The tank which you showed is designed to be fitted behind the front seats (for single cab). So therefore you are using equipment which has been designed to be carried inside a car. I have done trips were I carried 2 Jerry cans inside the vehicle without problems. I would also tend to avoid the roof rack and carry the fuel inside.
There is certainly an increased risk of doing that. there is equally an increase in risk carrying additional weight on the roof. A third (more expensive) option would be to install a long range tank. Check out the Junk mail... i think there is one on offer for 2000 R (surely it is negotiable).

I agree that those tanks are designed for being fitted inside a single cab so should be "safe"....

however...

There is a bump in the floor of the patrol which is where the propshaft sits underneath the vehicle so you would need to prop the tank up to keep it level.

The other far more serious aspect of having a tank like this inside the vehicle or ANY fuel tank for that matter is the issue of securing it !! You don't want to ever be in the situation where the vehicle rolls ( I pray this never happens ) and suddenly you have a 50Kg block flinging around the inside of the cab. This can kill !!!

Due to the internal tank being lower than the filler cap you will have to either transfer the fuel into a jerry can and then into the tank, or fit a proper fuel pump to get the fuel out the internal tank. This could be a bit of a pain in the donkey.

Taking the roofrack does add a different dynamic to the trip. Yes you will use a little more fuel, but by carrying 2 jerry cans ( 20L + 20L ) you have 4/5th of the fuel you would have had with the internal tank. add another one jerry can and you now have more than enough. The space it takes up on the roof rack is minimal. You then have the luxury of taking along a table and you can chuck on wood for the fire that night. I did a trip through Kubu and Kommitjie island with Greg ( juice ) and Grant a few years back, with the roof rack loaded to the max. I had 2 jerry cans ( 40L ) and 40L water, My old army balsak full of wood logs, a bag of charcoal, ammo box full of recovery gear, roof top tent, gas bottle, and the side awning. Greg still picked up some extra wood that we stacked up on top of his kite-buggy !!

Oh and don't worry, we got a little stuck in places cause we were too lazy to deflate tyres..... that will teach us !!!.....

That is some serious loading there Ricster

Yes my plan would be to strap it down to the rear seat brackets on the floor. Rear seats will come out as there is only wifey and I. We will be driving together with a 90 defender and a very empty 110, so those 2 aluminium bliks can carry all the charcoal and wood, don't want to get the Patrol dirty inside! Other than that, we will need to pack really light this year. None of the fancy luxuries unfortunately.

My first thought was also to add a little 12v pump to get the fuel into the main tank, but then I wondered if I could not just gravity feed the fuel to a separate 10l can on the floor, then pour that into the main tank? Extra PT I suppose, and then again the 10l can will use more space than the pump? Could I just buy a little aftermarket fuel pump from Midas and fix a 12v cigarette lighter socket onto it?

Picasso, the long range tank might be viable option. This tank plus the hose fittings will still set me back R1500 or so. I'll check Junkmail now.

Thanks again for the advice so far!

That all sounds cool but what about the fumes? Its petrol not diesel?

Yip....we were loaded, had all the luxuries we needed for a comfy completely self reliant trip. Still got about 5-6km/litre if i recall.

But thinking about your dilemma.... I would go with the roof rack for sure. R1500 odd for a tank that you will use how many times? I have spare jerry cans and a spare twin jerry can holder if you want to borrow.... I only charge R159.00 rental ( the price of a bottle of Klipdrif Primium at my local bottle store .... ).... only kidding, You are welcome to use it if you need.

Tinus, the fumes are also a concern. I'm not sure how well the vent works on the tank, and even if I run a hose off the vent and outside the car, wouldn't the cap also give off fumes?

I'll go take a look at one of them and see. It definitely is an investment that I have to consider carefully. Ricster, thanks for the offer! Will keep that in mind

I know I can sell it off again if it doesn't meet my needs - I will let you know. Then again, I can always bolt it on the roofrack with the jerry cans and have a total 225l for my trips - in 4.8 terms that equates to around 500km

Jip stick to jerry cans like Cedric says ....imagination the hot car with petrol fumes....not lekke ....that can only holds 60 l hey ?

Yes 55l actually. I spoke to my friend with his diesel defender, and he is also looking for one, so my plan is to get the tank, chuck some petrol in and then test it out. If it gives off too much fumes, I'll pawn it off to him.

For very many years, fuel tanks were fitted inside vehicles.

Ford F100's and I think the Chev C10's had the tank behind the seat. The early jeeps actually had the tank under the driver's seat.

Life must have been dangerous back then!