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DIY Portable Fuel Tanks

C

chaskuss

Well Known Member
Listers,
Some years ago, Kitplanes had a nice article [in multiple parts] on how to build your own portable [on a trailer or back of a pick up truck] fuel tanks. The idea is to allow you to purchase fuel "off airport". I had saved that article, but I seem to have lost it in a hard drive crash last year.
I just saw Larry Gieger's very nice set up here. See

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showpost.php?p=510144&postcount=17

I would love to hear from Larry or anyone else who has done this. Especially details on where, how you did it.
Charlie Kuss
PS If anyone has the Kitplanes article mentioned above, I would love a copy of it.
 
I would also like to see the article. If anyone has a referrence to it (issue dates) I can access it at the Kitplanes site archives. I did a search but too many returns. If I know the issue dates I can get them.
John
 
Harbor Freight trailer. 100gal tank, 12v pump and filter from the local farm supply. And a battery with tender. grounding strap and fire extinguisher hanging on the back. Ladder added for high wing Rans. total cost was about $800 for everything new. Street legal, too.

Picture004.jpg

Picture005.jpg
 
I did just what Brian did, but the local scrounging RV airport rat, Guccidude, found me an unused 110-gal fiberglass tank that I used on the HF trailer. One could also probably tie down a couple 55-gal drums on that trailer and use those. By the way, be sure to get the HF trailer with the larger wheels for any highway driving with a fuel tank. The little ones look pretty wimpy and a wheel/tire failure would not be fun with 100 gallons of fuel.

greg
 
chaskuss said:
Brian,
Nice looking rig. Where did you buy the fuel tank and how much did it cost?
Charlie
Click to expand...

It's not mine, but belongs to my hangar mate. I'm fairly certain he got the tank at a ranch/farm supply called Murdock's. I'm not sure of the price, but thought he said he had $800 or so in the whole thing.
 
Might be best to keep the tank size under 95 gallons

Resurrecting this old thread. I Googled looking for that old Kitplanes article. I think it was from the mid 1980s. I stumbled across the link below:

https://www.jetfleetmgmt.com/product/fuel-trailer-110-gallon-x-2-tanks-street-legal/

This is way overkill for our purposes. However, I took note of the 4th paragraph. This warns that carrying more than 95 gallons of gasoline over the road is federally regulated. So, best to keep the tank size under that.

Charlie
 
chaskuss said:
Resurrecting this old thread. I Googled looking for that old Kitplanes article. I think it was from the mid 1980s. I stumbled across the link below:

https://www.jetfleetmgmt.com/product/fuel-trailer-110-gallon-x-2-tanks-street-legal/

This is way overkill for our purposes. However, I took note of the 4th paragraph. This warns that carrying more than 95 gallons of gasoline over the road is federally regulated. So, best to keep the tank size under that.

Charlie
Click to expand...

A little more research and I found that for over 95 gallons of gasoline or 119 gallons of diesel/Jet A, you need a CDL [commercial drivers license] with a hazmat endorsement. So best to keep the fuel tank under those limits.

Interesting article on self fueling on AvWeb linked below:


https://www.avweb.com/ownership/self-fueling-legalities-and-risks/
 
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right now i have a 55 gal drum on a custom 4 wheel dolly. i have a popular 8gpm pump on the drum. pump is easily removeable with a 2'' union at the drum. $8 at menards or $32 at ace hdwe. for the union. guy at ace could only say ''well, you get what you pay for''. what ever that was supposed to mean.
it can easily be rolled on to my atv trailer empty and pretty painlessly off loaded when it is full.
my plan is to get a VERY SMALL trailer for about $300 bucks, northern tool has them and make the drum permanent on the trailer. then the unit sits in the hangar until i haul it a mile to a gas station. the 95 gal. restriction is good to know. i know all this depends on the airport you are at.
 
I did the same thing Brian did except I built my own trailer (modified boat trailer). Instead emptying it and pulling it to the gas station every time, I just fill a couple of 6 gallon gas cans when I fill my pickup and pour it in the tank when I get home. I do occasionally pull it to the station if the price seems really "good".
 
Everyone should just keep in mind that not all of these tanks/containers are legal to carry gasoline. All hazardous material containers must be certified, and there is a difference in the certification process between containers designed for gasoline vs. diesel. Obviously, the gasoline standards are more stringent, and, thus, more expensive.

The other big consideration is properly securing your tank to your vehicle. You would not believe how often this is overlooked or ignored.
 
One other consideration is where you are going to store your fuel trailer. The airports that I am familiar with do not allow fuel storage inside of hangars other than what is in your airplane or auto tanks. Plenty of looking the other way goes on for small containers but hard to ignore a fuel trailer

Erich
 
Before I hauled 100 gallons or so of fuel down the highway I would want to know how my insurance company would treat an accident, spill, etc.... especially the liability aspects.
Make sure you meet whatever DOT regulations for the State you?re in as well as Federal requirements.

Accidents happen and nothing can shield you from liability in our litigious society. I don?t live my life in fear of what may happen, but I try to consider the scenarios that have obvious exposure before I act.

If your little home made trailer and tank, which where probably not designed for this use, got rammed into by some meth head, well, you get the idea.
 
Title 49: Transportation

The Federal DOT (PHMSA) Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration regulations do not apply IF the hazardous material being transported is for your personal use and not SOLD in commerce. State laws may apply and maybe EPA but not federal DOT. The gallon limit is per package and not the total quantity in the transport vehicle.

Title 49: Transportation
PART 171?GENERAL INFORMATION, REGULATIONS, AND DEFINITIONS

?171.1 Applicability of Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to persons and functions.

Federal hazardous materials transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish regulations for the safe and secure transportation of hazardous materials in commerce, as the Secretary considers appropriate. The Secretary is authorized to apply these regulations to persons who transport hazardous materials in commerce. In addition, the law authorizes the Secretary to apply these regulations to persons who cause hazardous materials to be transported in commerce...?
 
Russ54 said:
The Federal DOT (PHMSA) Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration regulations do not apply IF the hazardous material being transported is for your personal use and not SOLD in commerce. State laws may apply and maybe EPA but not federal DOT. The gallon limit is per package and not the total quantity in the transport vehicle.

Title 49: Transportation
PART 171?GENERAL INFORMATION, REGULATIONS, AND DEFINITIONS

?171.1 Applicability of Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to persons and functions.

Federal hazardous materials transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish regulations for the safe and secure transportation of hazardous materials in commerce, as the Secretary considers appropriate. The Secretary is authorized to apply these regulations to persons who transport hazardous materials in commerce. In addition, the law authorizes the Secretary to apply these regulations to persons who cause hazardous materials to be transported in commerce...?
Click to expand...

Most states, rather than legislating their own laws, simply incorporate the Federal regulations as their own state laws, and so the "federalness" of the law is more or less irrelevant.

Also, the fire safety agencies in nearly every state regulates the carrying of gasoline on or in vehicles and the certification of the containers in which it is carried.
 
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