Do I really need to bring extra gas?

[Longshadow]

Wow, I really thought 90% of the feedback on this thread was going to be "no, you don't need them in developed countries". Boy was I wrong.
Most of my travel is interstate with small stints offroad of <1-day and I've never gotten close. However, though, I am OCD about filling up at a half tank just in case and haven't gotten an opportunity yet to spend multiple days offroad.

I’m like you…if I roll up on a gas station with half a tank, I fill it up. On one trip I past a station with 1/4 tank thinking I could make it to the next town. I made it but I got really nervous. I don’t mine stopping more often to fuel up. It gives me a chance to stretch the legs and grab a snack.

 

[Longshadow]

I just want to throw my $4.20 cents into this conversation. I live in New Hampshire. Gas and or Diesel fuel is far from scarce, meaning there are plenty of stations; the problem is with my 2004 Jeep TJ anyway is it has a 19 gallon tank when it was new and unmolested, it got about 210-220 miles on a tank. I know because I write everything down and l purposely ran it out of fuel to find out how far I can push it, 18 almost 19 years later the jeep is far from what it was then, it is now lifted, riding on larger, wider and far more aggressive tires and is also carrying around far more gear and well, junk, than I used to. I now have a maximum range of roughly 170 miles highway on that same 19 gallons. Realistically, crawling through 50 miles of forest roads in 4 lo at between 2 and 5 mph will burn up most of a full tank. Then consider also that the 10 % ethanol that is in the gas now which wasn't there 18 years ago, is robbing power so your engine works far harder and therfore burns more fuel to carry all that "gear". I now always carry at very least, another 5 gallon can even if I am going on a short day trip. You get bogged in the forest one time or even have to help someone else extricate themselves, you can easily burn up a few gallons due to the extra revs you're going to make and not even necesarilly move much, summer heat saps power, winter cold does too, in fact pretty much everything is acting against you once you leave the mall parking lot. Nothing sucks worse than getting stuck in the middle of nowhere where your phone doesn't get signal and you can't even raise anyone on the radio(s). Not that you went out alone, because nobody ever does that. RIGHT? Over the years I have learned to carry a good quality can or two and just rotate through the gasoline to keep it reasonably fresh. I also suggest using a good quality stablizer in every container, every time. I consider extra fuel every bit as important as drinking water and a spare tire and a spare fan belt. If I wanted to go for a hike, I wouldn't have driven in the first place.

Wow…thank you for that! It makes sense to carry extra gas if you got a range of 170 miles.

 

[ObiShawnKenobi]

I’m thinking about just driving over to Missouri where gas is usually 30 cents per gallon cheaper and stocking up. :)

 

[El-Dracho]

My experience is that the need to carry extra fuel is very dependent on the type of trip and the region traveled. In addition, the range of the vehicle is of course a decisive factor. It is important to plan the trip carefully and clarify in advance if and where fuel is available. Then always consider some kind of safety buffer.

An example: I can bunker 120 liters of diesel in the fueltanks, which is equivalent to about 32 US gallons. My range is thus about 1,000 km or 600 miles. So far, I've gotten by just fine with that almost everywhere. Additional diesel in jerrycans I had only with me on a Central Asia trip (and even then not really needed).

Fuel in jerrycans can also lead to problems at borders, and in many countries the rules for carrying it are very different (what kind of container is allowed and what quantity). This should always be considered and researched beforehand and then stick to it.

 

[smlobx]

I built my Gladiator for long range remote travel. In doing so I decided to add the Long Range America 17 gallon auxiliary fuel tank which brought my capacity up to about 40 gallons.

I usually keep it almost empty but on a long trip last year from Virginia to Colorado and Utah I found that I was able to use the Gas Buddy app to let me buy gas in relatively cheap areas and not have to stop in higher priced areas. I probably saved $200 on that trip alone.

I almost ran out of diesel a couple of years ago in my F-350 while overlanding in Canada even though I had a 38 gallon fuel tank. Thank God we found a station with about 1/2 gallon left in the tank. Now my SOP is to never get below 1/2 tank when traveling in remote, unfamiliar areas.

 

[armyRN]

I carry extra fuel. It gives me peace of mind - I don't like stressing watching the gas gauge go down and worrying about running out of gas. When I get to half a tank, I'm looking for a gas station. I do a lot of solo overlanding.

My Jeep has about a 19 gallon gas tank. There's a five-gallon Jerry can on the back of the Jeep. There's two 2.5-gallon Jerry cans on the trailer (sometimes one of them has pre-mixed gas in it for a chainsaw, but the Jeep will run on it), and there's a Kolpin container behind the cooler on the front of the trailer with almost four gallons in it. So that's what... an extra 13 - 14 gallons of extra fuel.

I've never run out of gas. I've given gas to folks who have run out of gas. I've put gas from my Jerry can into the gas tank more than once because I was afraid I was going to run out of gas in the tank itself soon, and I did it at a place that was safe and convenient to do so (and you could argue afterwards whether or not I needed to do so, but that was in hindsight).

Seems like the rule of thumb when up in northern Canada and Alaska is that you get gas when you can. I've played that game of "I've got enough gas to get to the next town" and then I'm not so sure. Even carrying extra gas, it is a pain to free the can and pour it into the tank.

 

[armyRN]

My answer is yes. One trip on mostly paved and nice gravel road, we side tracked to a town called Eagle Alaska after doing the Top of World Highway and the station in Eagle was closed, so to get a fuel station I needed my extra 10 gals of fuel I had. My trip last year, we could of side tracked to a station 60 miles out of the way, but it wasn’t in the plan, so we needed extra fuel. The trip was the Pony Express Trail across Utah and Nevada. I almost away carry an extra 10 gallons with me.

You bring back memories. We did the Top of the World Highway years ago, camped at Chicken, dropped the trailer at the campsite, and for a day trip drove to Eagle and back. I don't remember stressing about gas on that trip, so we must have filled-up in Chicken before heading to Eagle.

There's just something about starting off with a full tank of gas.

 

[Billiebob]

Towing I get 15mpg. 19gallon tank..... under 300 mile range..... I plan to gas up every 200 miles. Even in Northern Canada that has never been an issue. I don't carry a Jerry Can period. But I gas up often and first. I overnighted in High Level, gassed up first, woke to go for breakfast and the restaurants were closed due to a power outage..... leaving town looking at the line ups at the gas pumps I had to be thankful for the foresight to always gas up first.

I'd love a 36 gallon tank.... like the old Corvettes, or auxiliary tank like my F250s had.

 

[Advtres]

THANKS

You bring back memories. We did the Top of the World Highway years ago, camped at Chicken, dropped the trailer at the campsite, and for a day trip drove to Eagle and back. I don't remember stressing about gas on that trip, so we must have filled-up in Chicken before heading to Eagle.

There's just something about starting off with a full tank of gas.

Thanks for sharing , I am so new to this I did not even know what the Top of the World highway was, and had to look it up! - Now I have a name for one of my “future trips!” as Dawson has been on my radar for the last 2 years!

 

[OBDave]

I have a big cross-country trip this summer and yes, I will be carrying some extra gas.

 

[armyRN]

THANKS

Thanks for sharing , I am so new to this I did not even know what the Top of the World highway was, and had to look it up! - Now I have a name for one of my “future trips!” as Dawson has been on my radar for the last 2 years!

If you get to Dawson City (awesome little town), you're very close (about 30 miles) to the start of the Dempster Highway. And from there it is about 600 miles to Tuktoyaktuk which is on the coast of the Arctic Ocean. Another bucket list trip - plan at least 5-6 days to run the Dempster up and back. Buy the Milepost book (comes out annually) and plan your trip. This is the Bible for traveling in Alaska and NW Canada. You can spend hours reading it and planning multiple trips.

Home - The MILEPOST

I was actually planning to run the Dempster this summer, but Canada currently has very strict rules for tourists about crossing into their northern territories d/t covid. So much so that I'm having to postpone this trip. CHECK ABOUT COVID RESTRICTIONS BEFORE PLANNING A TRIP INTO NORTHERN CANADA THIS YEAR! It is possible you might be stopped at the Canadian border on the Top of the World Highway and not be allowed to continue into Canada.

(here's where I tie this back into the original intent of this thread)

From the start of the Dempster Highway it is 225 miles to Eagle Plains, which is your first place to get gas. There is nothing between the start of the Dempster Highway and Eagle Plains. The road is not paved. It is wilderness (with grizzly bears). Your whatever vehicle that gets half-way decent gas mileage on the highway will be getting less than that on the Dempster. So along with starting the Dempster with a full tank of gas, you're smart if you carry extra fuel. If you run out of gas on the Dempster, you're kinda SOL - hope someone smarter than you eventually comes along and will give you some of their spare gas to keep you going. And pretty much the same with the Dalton Highway in Alaska.

 

[leeloo]

Never need it. But I do look and plan, and always top off even if it is just a relatively short portion road off road. Does not matter if have to do 15 miles or 100. I hope a day will come that I will need it, means i will go someplace really remote.
If you need it very often perhaps is time to consider a long range tank. They are expensive, but than you can start picking cheaper places where you fuel up, and in time it will pay back at least some of the investment.
Or maybe is time to get something more fuel efficient.. :)
L.E.
BTW, my Disco 4/LR4 is a V6 diesel. I hate diesels, but in low range and off road they are still very fuel efficient. from around 10.5 L/100 km - 21-22 mpg on the highway, off road low range it seems to go to 13-14l/100 km so 17-18 mpg. Tank is pretty big.. 82 L so about 21 gal US, overall a decent range..

 

[NMBruce]

(here's where I tie this back into the original intent of this thread)

From the start of the Dempster Highway it is 225 miles to Eagle Plains, which is your first place to get gas. There is nothing between the start of the Dempster Highway and Eagle Plains. The road is not paved. It is wilderness (with grizzly bears). Your whatever vehicle that gets half-way decent gas mileage on the highway will be getting less than that on the Dempster. So along with starting the Dempster with a full tank of gas, you're smart if you carry extra fuel. If you run out of gas on the Dempster, you're kinda SOL - hope someone smarter than you eventually comes along and will give you some of their spare gas to keep you going. And pretty much the same with the Dalton Highway in Alaska.

this part is important. The last time I was up there, coming back down, the road had washed out and we spent the night in Eagle Plains. When the road did open, it was very muddy and my vehicle and 4 wheel drive system was working hard to keep going. This was in my GX470, so its a full time 4WD, but my buddy in his JLR did 2WD going up and had to use 4WD coming back down, with some vehicles this could make a big difference in fuel mileage. Carry the extra fuel