Hi all.
Would you recommend taking Jerry can for a trip around Australia? We've got a large VW LT35 which is pretty good on fuel, but not sure on taking a Jerry can as well. Any info welcome.
Cheers Troy
It all depends on the availablity of the fuel you use. We have been around the block 3 times with our caravan, using LPG as the main fuel. There are places where there is no LPG, so we had to use petrol - simply to get to the next fuel stop. I took 1 Jerry can, but being petrol, I didn't like it inside the car, so I only filled it when I was going into LPG scare areas, and then used it up as soon as possible when I was back in a gas area. Where possible, I filled at the local roadhouses.
I now use Diesel, and unless I was going on the Canning Stock Route or other very remote places, I would not take a Jerry can. It takes up space, is extra weight and is normally messy to transfer fuel into the car. Some of the remote places certainly charge a lot more for fuel than the cities, but by buying fuel from them you are supporting the local businesses. They often offer other services eg tyre or mechanical repairs etc, and you are doing your bit to keep them there should you or someone else need their service.
Do your own research, talk to others who are coming the other way and find out where the cheaper places to fill up are located, but at least you are supporting the bush people.
Hi TA, I have a relatively small 68ltr fuel tank with only around 350/400km safe range so I carry one or 2 (depending on the distance I plan to travel) jerry cans of diesel in the front boot of the van. I normally plan to top up the fuel around 300kms and if I find a garage that is easily accessible with a van I will do so in whatever town I am in. If I don't find a suitable garage that has good access I will use the jerrys to get me further down the road. The issue with me is not really the price of the fuel it's how far I can get on a tank so the jerry just gives me that little bit of breathing space.
Given my fuel consumption, my 90 ish L tank gives me a range of 470 ish Km.
But the 'ish' is the thing.
All you need is some unexpected condition that may affect your consumption & dramatically reduce your range .. like head or side wind, undulating surface, uphill terrain or even driving too hard.
So for this reason when touring I always fill up at every opportunity & try never to get down to 1/4 tank and when touring, I carry a 20L plastic jerry of petrol (suitably protected) in the centre of the van's front boot ... just in case.
I fill up every morning before hooking up if I can, making sure that the tank is completely full.
I don't have a modern consumption 'gauge' in my old Patrol but know how many Km I should get for each 1/4 tank & keep a sharp eye on that & look for reasons if I don't get what is expected .. and take action as appropriate. (78k first 1/4 & 100k each subsequent 1/4 .. but I am not sure about the final 1/4)
Has worked for me for almost 20yrs & >200,000 km towing.
-- Edited by Cupie on Tuesday 11th of April 2017 08:04:18 PM
Hi Tadau,
I've not done the big trip in one hit but I do travel in some isolated areas often, so yes I take a jerry can but I do not fill it until about to head off into the wild beyond. However, twice I have returned home with the jerry can still full.
I liken it to insurance - if one holes a tank, strikes sandy roads, does a fuel hose/pipe or the fuel stop down the road is waiting for the tanker to arrive "sometime today, tomorrow". It could save a bit of walking in not so savoury conditions.
If I'm travelling on the black stuff, generally I don't bother.
Years ago when we were heading down to Adelaide, we filled up at Winton, took 50L at Diamentina NP (you could buy it then - for a PRICE! I could have taken more but I thought I had enough) & going to either Windorah or Birdsville was out of our way. We arrived at Innaminka with the fuel gauge on the edge of the red line + 11L of diesel in a small jerry can on the camper trailer! It was a sandy road in northern SA that I had not counted on - not deep, but enough to increase the fuel consumption.
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Warren
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If you don't get it done today, there's always tomorrow!
we carted 2 x 20 lt cans almost half way round Aust and wondered why carry the extra weight (on the manufacturers fitted holders. Then we got to a remote town north of Leister WA and found the fuel station operators had decided to close for a couple of days. We needed both the can contents to get us to the next Servo - so we always keep them full now.
Slightly off the topic, but to do with fuel, don't rely on your plastic card to pay for your fuel in the more remote areas. Often their ATMs and EFTPOS machines will be off line and they can wait for 3 weeks for Telstra to fix the problem. We saw people who had no cash and no fuel in remote northern WA (but on the Darwin main road) who had to just park up or rent a cabin at Servos until Telstra eventually turned up
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
From experience, if you are staying on the bitumen, and topping up, before you have less than a quarter of a tank
Then you will not need to carry extra fuel
I carried a Jerry can on my first lap in 2013/14, because I was unsure of the reliability of the more remote service stations, to have fuel available I found that I did not need, to carry a Jerry can
I stayed on the bitumen from WA, went around the coast to the Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Newcastle areas Inland to Tamworth, Emerald, Three Ways, Katherine, Kununurra, then back home along the coast
From memory, the longest stretch between service stations was, about 320 odd kilometres
it's the UNexpected BETWEEN those points
that can make you wish differently.
Cupie.
Little tip when up North mainly. But anywhere there is temp variations.
Try to fill your tank that night when arriving.
Waiting till next morn and a cold drop in temp's..
CAN equate to extra condensation\WATER in your tank\s.
Over time it can add up believe me.
I have helped change out a coupla rusty, and water pinholed tanks over the yrs.
I ALWAYS (when possible)
Fill at arrival to wherever. rather than morn on departure.
Hi all. Would you recommend taking Jerry can for a trip around Australia? We've got a large VW LT35 which is pretty good on fuel, but not sure on taking a Jerry can as well. Any info welcome. Cheers Troy
I always have two jerry cans of fuel. I put them in the same category as oil, coolant, serpentine belt, spare wheel(s), etc. I work by Riley's Commentary on Murphy's Law [1]. Basically it boils down to "if you aint got it you'll need it and if you do have it you won't."
[1] Riley maintained that Murphy was being unreasonably optimistic.
Cheers,
Mark F...
-- Edited by markf on Saturday 29th of April 2017 03:13:52 PM
