If you need to take some gasoline with you while you travel off-trail, you ought to know how to properly store a jerry can so it doesn’t become a hazard.
Off-roading comes with its own unique set of challenges. Off-road vehicles and their intrepid drivers routinely face hazards above and beyond those encountered in the urban commute. This can include crawling a vehicle over rocks, across rivers, through dense scrub, and over terrain ranging from dusty and bumpy trails to sandy beaches and deserts — even rolling over smoldering fire grounds. Adventurous, off-roading areas can be many miles from the nearest gas station, so a couple of jerry cans or more of extra fuel are likely to be essential cargo.
Gasoline is a volatile fuel that is explosive in the presence of air, so how do we safely store a jerry can of gas while off-roading? The answer lies in following the same principles as storing a lead-acid battery, which also emits an explosive gas — hydrogen — when under charge. Both jerry cans and car batteries should be secured upright, in a well-ventilated area outside the passenger cab, away from potential impact zones of or sources of ignition. If the gasoline is to be stored unused for a long time, add a stabilizer from an automotive or hardware store.
Fuel tanks on modern cars have devices like Evaporative Emission Control (EVAP) and even capless filler systems to keep vapors under control, but such safety features are not present when loading five-gallon cans of gas onto your rig. Any hazards will increase proportional to the length and difficulty your off-road journey, so it is critical to store jerry cans properly.
