Rotopax for Jerry Cans - Brilliant or Stupid?

[SV Allie Rose]

Has anyone contemplated using the rotopax system for their jerry and water cans?

Rotopax is extremely popular with those who are building out sprinter vans for off road travel. I like the idea of them because 1) great warranty, 2) lockable for when away from vessel, 3) horizontally stackable/compatible, 4) They're only two gallons, so the ladies can grab them and move them around rather a five gallon which is more difficult.

I hate the idea because it'd be ridiculously expensive, probably around $500 for some stupid fuel cans, if done properly. I'd want to carry 8 gallons of fresh water and 8 gallons of diesel in total, so 10 cans is what I'd need at about $50 a can in total.

Just figured that there's someone out there whose done this before. I couldn't find any pictures of the rotopax on a boat, so maybe there's a reason for that after all.

Also - whatever the board are called that are connected to the stanchions that you strap/mount the cans to - I need to replace. Do you all use teak for these boards? A regular, good ole 2x4? What's the standard there?

[Danm1]

I used one for diesel because I could fit it comfortably in an outside locker and carry it from land-based service station to my boat via launch or dinghy. One of many items I regret selling with last boat...but I just needed a small reserve or top-off for day sailing and coastal cruising. I imagine they would be less convenient for offshore quantities.

[Muaddib1116]

A few gallons of gas will get a car enough range to get to a gas station from pretty much anywhere, and a few gallons of water will let a person survive to make that journey. It's a bit different on most boats. That's a lot of money to invest for 16 gallons of extra tankage. It'll be something thieves are interested in for the expensive containers more than what's inside.

[SV Allie Rose]

I never contemplated the thief aspect... very good point. I figured there's a 99.9% chance I couldn't afford to do it this anyway. Maybe such a system could be useful to store one gallon of fuel within one of the cockpit lockers itself though? Small amount of fuel to use when changing filters to avoid going onto the deck, because presumedly the sludge that is going to be kicked up and cause the filters to clog in the first place would be occurring when weather is less than ideal to begin with. Then there's the ventilation issues however...

A friend of mine offered to sell me his old sprinter van set up, hence the initial thought on this idea to begin with.

Any feedback on what wood to use when replacing the planks attached to the stanchions that hold the cans themselves?

Also curious if there's a good choice on which cans are best for holding water/diesel to begin with? High heat and sun exposure in tropical areas near the equator could lead to things like BPA getting into the fluid within the cans. Specifically water - I'm curious if it's best to cover the cans in some kind of enclosure, drop the coin on cans that are made with premium materials, or what the solution there would be.

Lifespan of both diesel and water cans, presuming they're always on the deck of the boat, I would guess is about 10 years?

[Muaddib1116]

As far as jerry can boards between stanchions, I'd personally go with a cheap piece of lumber, maybe dress it up with some stain and varnish, but it's going to get a lot of exposure and have jerry cans rubbing on it. Not sure it's worth it to get a really nice piece of teak or anything else fancy.


For jerry cans, I think the standard plastic fuel cans have the right mix of cost and longevity, even in tropical sun. You can always make canvas covers for them to make them look nicer and last longer. I don't know much about water jerry cans, but I imagine that these days they are bpa free. I don't know about long term storage as backup water. It's worth some research. For either, I think a 10 year lifespan is a reasonable minimum expectation, assuming they generally taken care of.