So I have a VW Eurovan, the “Weekender Edition,” and the fuel gauge has become unreliable. I can usually estimate how much gasoline is left by just looking at the odomometer. But it’s been running a bit funny recently and I’ve already run out of gas twice.
So the prudent thing to do is to travel with spare fuel. This way if I run out of gas I can just coast over to the side of the road, put an extra gallon or two in the tank, and continue on to a gas station.
This becomes particularly relevant if we are camping. I live in the South West United States and would like to explore the deserts here and in Mexico – not good places to run out of gas.
The problem, of course, is that gasoline A) is highly flamable and B) generates lots of fumes. Traveling with two gallons inside the van is a bad idea.
But those of you familiar with the Eurovan Weekender will know that my options are limited.
This is a van; There is no separate trunk for me to store the fuel without worrying about fumes (although I would still worry about the dangers of bursting into flame should I be involved in an accident). This isn’t some giant RV.
Nor is it a proper four wheel drive vehicle. This is our family car that we use everyday that happens to have a poptop roof and double as a place to sleep when we travel.
So I’m very hesitant to purchase and install an external jerry-can holder; it’s just not that type of vehicle and I don’t feel like spending that kind of money.
But what should I do? There are three options that I can think of:
1) Just keep a gasoline canister in the van and stop worrying.
Well, I tried this for a while. The best-fitting place to store the gas in the Eurovan is underneath the rear bench seat. That’s where my kids sit. Do I really want a big jug of flammable liquid sloshing around underneath them? Not an appealing thought.
And I was able to smell the fumes while it was in the van. In fact, I was starting to get headaches from the smell. That can’t be good for you. It certainly can’t be good for you if you plan to sleep inside the campervan.
Despite what manufactures would have you believe, there is no such thing as an “air tight” gas can.
2) Break down and install a proper external jerrycan holder.
Well, like I said this is not a rugged vehicle and I’d feel a bit silly with this type of kit mounted on my rear bumper. Also most designs (the more affordable ones as luck would have it) make it fiddly to open the rear door. That’s not very convenient for what is our everyday vehicle.
To me an external jerrycan seems like an invitation to thieves or vandals. Even if I lock the can in place, it seems trivially easy to puncture it and drain its contents. (Using a steel rather than plastic container would make this more difficult, though.) Finally, I’d be nervous of bursting into flame should I happen to be rear-ended.
3) Mount a fuel container on the roof.
Now this has possibilities. I would have to get something low profile so that I don’t spoil the sleek aerodynamic design of this fuel efficient masterpiece (those of you familiar with the Eurovan can laugh now). The containers manufactured by RotoPax fit the bill nicely. And I’d have to be careful with the weight and position of the containers.
Like I mentioned above, this is a poptop so I don’t want the top falling down because of extra weight. Gasoline’s weight varies with temperature; the colder it gets outside, the denser (and hence heavier) the gas gets. Let’s assume an average of seven pounds per gallon at around seventy degrees Fahrenheit (that’s a very conservative estimate). That gives me fourteen pounds for two gallons of gas plus the weight of the container and mounting brackets. Not too bad. I guess I can live with the weight.
However, do I need to be concerned about having the sun beating down all day onto a container of gasoline (remember, it’s flammable)? I just don’t know. It routinely gets over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the places I go to play.
So for the time being, I’ve compromised: I keep an empty gasoline canister inside the van. This way, if I do run out of gas I save the cost of another container. Every little helps.
Have any of our visitors found a way around this? Answers on a postcard please (or better still in the comments below!)
