Posted: 12/13/2009 6:14:37 PM EDT
| Hello all. Trying to ge the hives ideas on what to do. On my M1009 (K5 Blazer) I was going to make a swing out gate to mount the spare tire and two military gas cans on since the tail gate drops down. I have switched plans to a roofrack to put the spare in and my hi-lift jack. What and where would be the best place to mount two cans? Was thinking of the rack but not sure how much taller the cans will be than the tire? Any thoughts/pics? |
Nice set up! More pics so we can all shamelessly steal, I mean borrow, some of your ideas. Seriously, very nice!
|
Do a lot of reading about putting a roof rack on that blazer's top. If not done properly it can crack to top and cause issues.
I forget the name of the k5 site with lots of blazers on it but some searches should turn it up and they mod the heck out of everything so there should be some help on roof racks as well. To some extent I wonder if a roof rack could be done the way some of the ladder racks are being done on pickups with caps where the support comes down the outside of the cap and then goes in where the cap and pickup bed meet. I figure getting it sealed up might be a pain but it would eliminate worries about cracking the cap where the roof rack attaches up top. As far as the fuel cans go, you could make room for them to lay flat, if they are good cans that won't leak. I only consider scepter or the older nato military cans for this, I have not seen a plastic can I trust on its side that was not a scepter. I personally hate getting stuff off the roof a lot though, so if the fuel is going to be used a fair bit I would head back to the bumper rack. |
|
I think as you research racks and weight limits, you'll find putting fuel cans on top is not practical due to weight, let alone the idea if there's a leak its not cool to have your entire vehicle soaked with gas.
Off the back, it leaks, it leaks on the road. Tj |
|
With my old XJ I was carrying a NATO can on its side. I wouldn't try one upright without having the military type mount, and even then I would be hesitant as it would have lots of stress to flip over during hard turns and would be up there where trees can grab them (not a huge thing in some places, but a big deal around here). Plus, the higher it sits the more it screams out "come steal me".
I think if I was carrying one like that, I would only trust a NATO can as that is the only kind that absolutely will not vibrate open. We had lots of issues with our Scepters letting the cap vibrate loose in Afghanistan That said, how much fuel are you planning to carry? A whole lot of people are buying the 5L NATO cans for roof rack use- 5-6 of them can mount on a rack all in a row, they are not too tall when carried upright, and are a helluva lot easier to get up and down. 6 5L cans will get you just shy of 8 gallons, 8 will get you 10.5 gallons. One of my local customers made a neat rack for his landcruiser that has two rows of 5 cans, 8 are for fuel, one has oil, and one has ATF. I will try to get pictures next time he is by the shop with it. As a bonus, if one does leak you don't have a full 5 gallons coming out. |
|
Quoted: Hello all. Trying to ge the hives ideas on what to do. On my M1009 (K5 Blazer) I was going to make a swing out gate to mount the spare tire and two military gas cans on since the tail gate drops down. I have switched plans to a roofrack to put the spare in and my hi-lift jack. What and where would be the best place to mount two cans? Was thinking of the rack but not sure how much taller the cans will be than the tire? Any thoughts/pics? Remember this: 3/4 of your roof is just a fiberglass shell. The only part that should bear any significant weight is above the front seats. I have a '72 Blazer (and a '83 K20 3/4 ton P/U), and have a hitch haul rack for carrying gas cans, spare tire, etc. To drop the tailgate, I do have to unload the rack, but it was significantly less expensive than having a custom built swing-out, like the Excursion above has. Do you still have the CUCV brushguard installed on it? How about mounting the HiLift jack centered and vertical on the brushguard? It would look like the wire cutter they put on WWII Jeeps. 
|
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Good looking setup! Did you build that yourself? Do you mind showing some more detail pics of how it swings? Had a friend build it , Does your friend take orders? I'm in the market for a rear for my XJ, and I would buy that design in a heartbeat. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Good looking setup! Did you build that yourself? Do you mind showing some more detail pics of how it swings? Had a friend build it , Does your friend take orders? I'm in the market for a rear for my XJ, and I would buy that design in a heartbeat. I have a set of custom front and rears on my XJ that I am about to sell, I will send you some pics. |
|
Quoted:
I have seen quite a few people carry them on roof racks lying down. I'm not sure I would want to do that though. I went with a bumper mounted rack. I do need a roof rack though. http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp328/HeadedNW/Ex1-1.jpg I fell in love with that bumper when you IM'd me pics during construction, it turned out GREAT! |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Good looking setup! Did you build that yourself? Do you mind showing some more detail pics of how it swings? Had a friend build it , Does your friend take orders? I'm in the market for a rear for my XJ, and I would buy that design in a heartbeat. He might , He is a Jeep guy at heart |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Good looking setup! Did you build that yourself? Do you mind showing some more detail pics of how it swings? Had a friend build it , Does your friend take orders? I'm in the market for a rear for my XJ, and I would buy that design in a heartbeat. I have a set of custom front and rears on my XJ that I am about to sell, I will send you some pics. Please send me the pics as well. Thanks, Grove |