I arrived home yesterday to find a package on my doorstep. I had almost forgot I ordered a Rotopax system for the Jeep.
Now let me preface by saying I HATE the looks of fuel cans or Rotopax containers on Jeeps. The ones around here are mostly on mall crawlers and don't have any idea why people drive around with them hanging all over their Jeeps. Maybe it to make people think they take them off-road.
Anyways, usually we have had absolutely no issues with fuel concerns when off-roading, especially with the LS being even better on fuel than the anemic little V6. However, last year we had two occasions where I was getting nervous wondering when we'd hit pavement and a fuel station. In addition, there are a couple of trails here in Utah out across the west desert heading towards Nevada that my wife and I would like to explore this year. Last fall when the wife and I were in Moab we really wanted to do Lockhart Basin but it is a long trail that heads south out of Moab and when it finally hits pavement it is a long drive back on pavement to Moab. No one else in our group wanted to do it so I'm sure it will be a trail that we will run by ourselves and not knowing the exact distance and terrain I would feel a little better having some extra fuel. Then again in the San Rafael Swell in November there was a trail we were in Reds Canyon. Near the bottom of Reds Canyon there is a secondary road that takes off down through Muddy Creek. It is "usually" passable from what I understand but not always. The wife and I sat at the turn-off for several minutes discussing it with 3/8 of a tank of fuel remaining. I knew that if we stayed on the main road we had about 18 miles of dirt before we hit pavement and aired up and then another 30 miles back to camp in Green River. However, I did not know what Muddy Creek trail would be like and where exactly it would dump us back on to the pavement or even IF the trail would be passable through the ravine that day. I figured it would be as it was later in the year but they had also gotten some heavy rain the week before we were there so it was questionable. Ultimately we stayed on the Reds Canyon loop road and arrived back to camp with just under a quarter of a tank, but I really wanted to see where the Muddy Creek trail went as I understand there are some cool old abandoned mines along that route. My wife and I would really like to explore a couple of these areas more extensively.
That being said, I started thinking about it later last year and looking at what my options were and I was especially keen on something that was NOT permanent and easily installed and removed when not needed, which will be the majority of the time. I stumbled across a guy on the trails between Ouray and Silverton last year and was quite impressed with how simple of an idea it was and especially how easy it was to install and then remove when not needed. It is made by Rock Slide Engineering which is a Utah based company so I was happy to support them. I also had a discount coupon to a vendor that I used recently so for Christmas I ended up ordering a couple of 2-gallon Rotopax containers, two Rotopax mounting brackets and a Rock Slide Engineering spare tire carrier dual mount system. This will allow me to carry 4 extra gallons of fuel on those rare occasions I think I'll need it thus extending my range by about 40-55 miles depending on the type of trail. More than likely to the higher range because when we do these longer trails they are generally not as technical and I am netting at least 14 or so MPG when traveling at speed on scenic dirt roads. The technical trails I get closer to 9.5~ish or so.
I had received the two 2-gallon Rotopax containers and the mounting brackets within a couple days of ordering them in mid-December. However, I received an email stating that the mounting system was on backorder and it would be late February before it shipped. At the time I didn't think anything about it because we had no plans until March/April time frame but I had forgotten all about them until yesterday when I arrived home.
Needless to say, I had to test fit them.
I assembled the mounting brackets to the curved mounting plates. They appear to be well made and have a nice powder coated finish that compliments the rest of the Jeep's fenders and bumpers well. The instructions say to mount them on either side across from one another but I chose to mount them a bit higher on the tire and somewhat angled. My theory is that it will keep the weight more centered over the tire than further out over the widest part of the spare tire.
The mounting system is pretty basic, just a 2" wide ratchet strap. It appears to be very stable but first trip with fuel in the containers and a rough road will be the test. The guy I talked with in Colorado last summer said his didn't bounce much at all or really give any indication they were mounted back there but I'm still a bit anxious. I also know my tire carrier is probably built a bit stouter than most aftermarket ones but still, between the 37" spare tire, Hi-Lift jack and now 4-gallons of fuel that is a lot of weight.
They don't look the greatest but they don't look that bad either. More importantly they will work when they are needed, which thankfully won't be that often.
Thanks for looking.
Mike
