Australia has some of the best 4WD touring options in the world, and if you have the right gear and knowledge you can head to some of the most beautiful and remote gems it has to offer.
However, there are a few things that you absolutely must have when touring this country – plenty of water, gas and fuel. But, just as importantly, you must be able to safely and securely store them on your 4WD in a way that is conducive for driving over rough tracks.
Our 80 series with an LPG bottle on the roof.
In this post, we are looking at how you carry and store water, LPG and fuel (petrol or diesel, whichever your 4WD takes!) in and on your vehicle, and at home.
Sadly, there have been some terrible accidents and deaths from fuel, in particular, that hasn’t been stored or carried correctly, and we’d like everyone to take the right precautions.
Some remote locations need a lot of fuel like Steep Point.
Take enough for your trip
The first, and most obvious point is that fuel, water and LPG are somewhat critical to your survival. If you run out of any of them, it’s going to put you at risk, with water being by far the most important. It’s critical that you know how much you are going to use, what backup plans you have and that you are prepared should things go wrong.
Single burner stove that uses disposable gas cartridges work well.
With LPG, if you run out you can still light a fire if you have to, or eat food that doesn’t need cooking. We usually take a small single burner and a couple of spare butane cartridges, which last enough to get you back to safety.
In regards to fuel for your 4WD, you should have a history of what it uses under different conditions, bearing in mind that soft sand will use the most fuel and towing can make a huge difference. Take enough fuel for where you are going, with a bit in reserve.
Soft beach sand will make you use a lot more fuel.
Water is something you won’t survive for long without, so take enough to drink, wash your dishes with and have a bath as required.
Each trip is different, and there are lots of variables for how much water you should take, but factor the temperature in, access to other water sources (swimming in a river for example) who you are travelling with and what you’d do if it all went pear-shaped. Things like water purification tablets or a LifeStraw are a fantastic emergency measure.
Beyond this, if it really goes wrong, you should have a way of communicating; an EPIRB, satellite phone or mobile phone reception suffices if you aren’t travelling out of services.
Hiking in the Kimberley? Make sure you take adequate water.
Weights
All of these weigh a lot, and that means you have to be careful where they are kept. LPG is probably your least concern in terms of weight as the quantities that you’d carry under normal circumstances are almost insignificant. Water, petrol and diesel though are a different story, with many travellers taking several hundred kilograms of them!
Water weighs 1kg per litre. Petrol weighs 0.75kg per litre, and Diesel weighs 0.832kg per litre. Ideally, you want to keep the weight down as low as possible in a 4WD. Some people carry fuel and water on the roof racks of their 4WD, and often you don’t have a choice, but lots of weight up high on a 4WD is not a good idea.
Fuel and water on the roof racks.
Fumes, explosions and general safety
Petrol and LPG can be very dangerous. Diesel tends to be quite stable and safe, and water is essentially 100% safe. The worst-case with water is you end up with wet carpets inside your 4WD, and a lack of water if it breaks.
LPG and petrol both have a pretty obvious smell, and can be very dangerous to inhale. Diesel is much less likely to explode, and the fumes are significantly nicer than petrol.
Of course, it’s important when refilling to ensure that there is no spillage, as if you have petrol or diesel on the side of your jerry cans, you will smell it for a long time!
4KG LPG bottle in a dedicated holder on the roof racks.
Storage redundancy
One of the things that a lot of people don’t put too much thought into is that the containers that you carry your petrol, diesel and water in can, and do fail from time to time.
Whether that’s your long-range tank, a jerry can or a flexible bladder, it is possible for leaks to develop, and that can put you in a pretty bad place.
With water especially, it pays to have a couple of different storage locations, so if one does let go, it’s not your only supply!
Double jerry can and tyre holder with taps on our old Hilux.
Carrying LPG, fuel and water in your 4WD
LPG
LPG should be kept on your roof rack if possible, or on your trailer, but small canisters are okay inside the vehicle as long as they are removed from the burner, kept secure, upright, with their safety caps on and away from high temperatures.
Our best LPG storage option was a quick-release holder for a 4kg bottle that we bolted onto the roof racks. If it leaks, everyone is safe, and it’s easy to undo and set up at each camp. A lot of people use a milk crate on the roof racks with the bottle tied down nice and securely too.
If you are going to carry LPG inside your vehicle, take a minute to read the rules within your state. Most suggest anything under 9kg is okay if you take the relevant precautions, but it’s a risk I think people should avoid unless there is no other way.
Gas bottles secured in milk crates on the roof.
Water
Water is the easiest of them all to store, but it’s also probably the most important. Having it easy to get to will make your touring much more enjoyable. If you can fit a water tank to your 4WD inside the rear, or underneath, you will be onto the best solution.
This can either be gravity fed, or you can install a small pump. Jerry cans and smaller containers inside your vehicle are fine, providing they are well secured and can’t move around or be punctured.
There’s nothing wrong with using jerry cans for water.
You can absolutely carry water in jerry cans on the roof, but don’t overload it as it’s possible over time in the sun you will end up with mould growing (especially in clear containers).
Another popular option for carrying water is on a rear bar – on one of the swing away arms. Some people carry fuel here, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend LPG or petrol as in the event of an accident, things could go bad real fast.
Our 12V water pump that takes from a 50L underbody water tank.
Petrol and Diesel
Petrol and diesel are best stored in the factory fuel tanks or long-range tanks under your 4WD. If this isn’t possible, then jerry cans are a good option (with them in a trailer being the most preferred option). There is a limit of 250L of petrol when travelling, so even if you have the capacity and space you can’t take significant amounts.
Petrol shouldn’t be kept inside your vehicle due to the fumes. Diesel is also recommended to be kept outside your vehicle, but many people do safely carry it inside with the right precautions.
Our old camper trailer had 3 jerry can holders and 2 LPG bottles.
Again, you can store both petrol and diesel on the roof racks, but having 5 jerry cans full of fuel or water is going to make your 4WD handle very poorly, and will possibly be illegal. Bladders are an option that some people do use very successfully too, but you need to be very careful with them!
If you have a trailer that you take with you, then there are more options for fuel storage. We carry diesel/petrol and LPG in dedicated holders for our camper trailer or have them inside the boat, tied down properly.
If you have a ute, the canopy is a much better place to keep petrol or diesel if you need to, but LPG should still be in a vented area where possible.
We need to take a lot of fuel for our boat.
Storing LPG, fuel and water at home
With LPG, petrol and diesel, storage at home is simple. Keep them in a well-ventilated location that doesn’t get too hot, doesn’t receive excessive sunlight (gentle sun through a garage window for a few hours a day is fine) and make sure the breathers are open for the jerry cans. Petrol, in particular, expands significantly as it heats up, and if you don’t have the breathers open to allow this to happen you risk doing damage to your jerry cans and having a big spill.
If you keep them in a shed or garage where you work, know that this can put you in a very dangerous situation. Before doing any hot work (grinding, cutting, welding, smoking, etc.) you should take a minute to look around and remove anything that has the potential to harm you. Anything flammable should be taken away, and this includes jerry cans and LPG bottles.
The easiest way to store your water containers at home is empty and dry. Tip the water out, allow them to dry out for a few days and then put the lid back on, but not tight. If you keep water, you should keep it out of sunlight, and in containers that are full. It won’t ever go off this way, but sunlight and air gaps encourage the growth of nasties.
Taking lots of fuel to Steep Point.
Don’t take shortcuts
It’s an amazing privilege to load your 4WD up and explore the many adventures Australia has to offer. Take the time to store your fuel and water safely, and you’ll add many incredible memories to the list.
Don’t take shortcuts especially with LPG and petrol, or the results can be tragic.
See you out there!
What’s the best storage solution you’ve found for touring?
If it involves four-wheel driving, Aaron loves it. When he isn’t writing for his blog, 4WDing Australia or the Snowys Blog, you’ll find him camping and driving around Western Australia.
I want to travel with a small plastic diesel can and a small LPG tank on the roof of my x-trail but I’ve been getting conflicting advice. Will it get to hot up there in the outback
I noticed that in one of the pictures the jerry cans are lying flat, secured by tie downs.
I can see how this is good for less wind resistance but is this an good way to carry them or would they be more likely to leak?
I’m not sure of the legalities here, John, but if you needed to so this you should apply some common sense.
The most likely place a jerry can will leak is around the spout, ideally you want this at the top so it is only gas that would leak with expansion if the seal was poor, which means upright is best. This is how I would personally transport jerry cans. I have transported them empty on their side but if I had to transport them full on their side I would probably only do so with metal jerry cans, would make sure they weren’t full to allow for expansion, and ensure that the sides, which are not as strong as the base, weren’t subject to excessive rubbing or impact.
Hi , i was just wondering if i could mount a forklift gas cylinder under my ute tray behind the cab for gas storage horizontally as they mount that way on forklifts . any advise would be more than welcomed
I don’t think it’s simply a case of mounting it sideways and you’re good to go, Arron. LPG cylinders need to be used upright in order for the liquid stays at the bottom and the gas at the top. If you tip it sideways you’ll get liquid gas coming out of the valve. I imagine the forklift system is configured differently to account for this.
I have one of those plastic diesel jerry ‘vans’.
Once I have tipped the diesel into the car, do I need to do anything special to the now empty jerry can. The jerry can will have a slight amount of diesel left in it. Do I need to worry about any possible issues caused by the remnant diesel forming a vapour?
Hey Neil, you will still get some expansion of the fumes when it gets hot even if there is just a small amount of fuel in the jerry can.
The jerry cans are designed to handle this expansion, so I’d suggest you just apply the normal guidelines and common sense. Transport the jerry can on the outside of the car or remove it form inside the car at the earliest convenience. If you have to keep it inside the car then monitor it, make sure the caps are tight, release the pressure if it gets hot inside and transport it securely.
Hope that helps.
In some states having a gas bottle on roof rack is illegal. Be interested to hear if your system is legal in all states
SUV gas safety
Hi, I have a Subaru Forester and want to find the best and safest way to travel with my small 2kg gas bottle for my coleman classic 2 burner stove.
Thanks
Have you got roof racks on your Forester, Jen? Outside your vehicle and secured to the roof racks is the best option. Alternatively, it might be worth considering attaching a holder and bracket system to the rear of your vehicle? For safety reasons, it’s not ideal to transport the cylinder inside your car, so we’d advise having a chat with a qualified gas technician before doing so. Hope that helps, cheers.