I bought my first new truck a several months ago.(a Dodge Ram 4X4 Quad Cab HEMI) There are a lot of advantages to having a 4x4 Truck in an emergency. Fuel economy however, is not at the top of this list. As my truck is the single most important piece of equipment in my bug out gear I wish to store a little more fuel than I usually do. Where I live there is little chance of having to evacuate. Unlike our friends in the USA we do not have huge hurricanes or earthquakes and the like here in Alberta. There is no current risk of floods or forest fire where I am currently living. Although most of my mentality is geared toward bugging IN upon the event of an emergency, there is always some possibility of having to leave in a hurry. I am looking to store at least 200L of gasoline for my truck to give me 2 more full tanks of fuel while on the road. This will up the total distance that I can travel considerably. I am also looking to store an additional 200L for using my gas generator. Do to space constraints, this is all the available space I have for the storage of fuel. I have searched through the old posts and have not come up with anything of much use. Normally I cycle each container by fuelling my truck, and then filling up the cans fresh at the pumps. Quite honestly though, It is becoming a real pain to do it that way.

What I would like to know is:
1. What is the best type of stabilizer to add to gasoline for long term storage ?
2. How long will Gasoline store with added stabilizers ?
3. Are there any ill effects of such ?
4. Am I better off sucking it up and just keep doing what I am doing ?

Any info on this is much appreciated. Thanks.
Mac

Have you considered an auxiliary fuel tank for the truck?

I was looking at this option but it takes a lot of useable space out of the back of the truck(I only have a short box) If I needed to bug out I simply plan to throw 4 50L containers in the back with my other gear. The aux tank would be rather difficult to remove and replace for those times when I don't need it, such as hauling fire wood and hunting where I need all the space I can get. Thank for the link though, I actually found some other goodies I may purchase later.

Sounds like you need a "tidy tank" (or equivalent). It's a fuel tank that can slip into (or out of) a pickup truck bed.

Here's a link: http://www.tidytanks.com/origtank.html . These types of tanks are not hard to come by. Lots of people who live/work in the country have them. They don't always transport them around; put them on railway ties, well away from buildings. You can even find them used at auction.

The question, though, is: do you live in an urban or rural area?

Storage of this much gasoline in an urban area may violate all sorts of fire codes.

If you are in the country, though, you can get a local bulk supplier to top off your tank (on site) with a phone call. Very convenient.

I buy regular old Canadian Tire fuel stabilizer (the red stuff) and use it in my generator and my motorcycles. I don't know exactly how long gas will last 'stabilized' but I've had the same gas in my generator for 8 months and every time I test it, it fires right up.

From the Sta-bil website:
"One ounce of STA-BIL Fuel Stabilizer will keep 2-1/2 gallons of fuel fresh for 12 months. Using twice the recommended dosage will keep fuel fresh for up to 24 months."

-Blast

I always use more than the recommended dose. When winterize one of my motorcycles I'll put in enough for 50L worth of gas then run the engine to make sure the fuel in the carbs is 'stabilized' too.

i don't know if anyone has really done a real study on
how long gas will last sealed and stored..military maybe??
but---my snowblower started up a few days ago with gas that
was left in it from last winter--same with the lawnmower--fired
up with gas left in it over the winter when i got it out in the
spring..i have cans of Coleman fuel--which if not "gas" is close
to it---and its years old--open and closed..it it burns just fine..

In all my years with the Military I have never covered the topic of storing fuel, as that is undertaken on a huge National scale by fleet management people who are far above my pay scale. I actually store a good amount of Coleman camp fuel as well. I honestly have never considered if anything needs to be added to that to keep it stable over long term storage. Food for thought thought, now you have me thinking about that as well.

Hey HS, do you notice any difference in performance when mixing it to that level???

Canoedogs,

I've also left gas in my lawnmower over the winter and it still ran (unfortunately ). I think small engies like these can run on much dirtier gas than a car would need.

There are two problems with old gas:
1. Loss of volatile components which results in the gasoline having a higher ignition temperature. A hotter-firing sparkplug may help there.
2. Polymerization of heavier molecules into ultra-heavy components (varnishes and gums, think paint drying) which clog up fuel injectors, valves, and other components.

You can run your car/truck on old gas, but after a while you'll gum up your fuel system something aweful. I don't know if any of the current fuel additives help much with cleaning out this varnish.

-Blast

There is also another good thread on gas storage here.

Maybe you should give some thought to a small trailer....even if it's just an extra (large) fuel tank mounted on the trailer. A permately installed siphon pump, hose, and nozzle and you can yank that thing down to the pumps after transfer to your truck's tank. WHen you get home, back it under an open-sided shed, unhook it, and you're good to go.

Not sure what the local regs are where you are at but oxygenated fuels have a shorter shelf life. Personally, I wouldn't go past 1 year even with adding sta-bil.

White gas has a longer self life (5+ years)

YMMV

How much modification are you planning to do on the truck, keep stock or build up more off road capabilities? Reason I ask is I want to mod my truck some so adding an extra tank is in the plan. I want larger tires which could mean the spare might not fit under the bed. So I want to build a rear swing out rack to carry a spare behind the tailgate. This frees up the space under the bed which is the place where the gas tank for the full size two door SUV's was located. Chevy Blaer or ford bronco both had rear tanks and some long bed trucks had a second tank there so my eventual plan is to buy a tank intended for replacement in one of those and mount it there.

So far I have bought new tires and have upgraded my lights to xenon bulbs for better vision in storms. Next plan is for a brush bumper and a back rack. I had the side steps removed, and a reflex spray in box liner put in (worth every penny) I am looking to get a good self recovery winch when I can afford it as well. She works excellent during off road trips already so I will not install a lift kit or bigger tires. The cost of tires will jump considerably once you get above 17 inch, and bigger wheels don’t always mean better performance. On top of that it would send my fuel economy through the roof and it is already bad enough.

As you guys have noticed I have changed my post name. My buddies at work noticed it and advised me it may be a good idea to change it just in case I say something that offends someone online. In that sense I wouldn’t bring discredit to the Army. The fact that no matter what you say these days offend somebody was enough for me to stop and think that they are probably right. Totally stumped for a dammed name that wasn’t already taken my kid suggested my zodiac sign and here it is.
I apologize for the confusion.
Mac

Two hundred litres for the truck and 200 for the generator for staying home...

Do you think you are likely to have a need for both at the same time? If you find a way to safely store 200l, it seems you could use it for either purpose.

Sue

Maybe the truck runs premium? Or diesel?

I can only fit 200L in my truck along with the rest of my bug out gear. I try and keep the truck topped up at all times but that is sometimes not possible, like when arriving back home late at night from a hunting trip etc. If I get caught with my pants down in this kind of situ, then I can top up the fuel(time permitting) and get my family to safety and still have 200L to toss in the back. It may seem like a lot of gas to have on hand, but to fill my tank it takes 125L, and this gives me 600K range on the highway so you can see why extra fuel is nice should I have to go any distance. If I bug IN, then I simply have extra for the generator. Better to have extra than not enough.

I'm glad I bought a 'small' SUV. I can go almost that far on 50L out on the highway.

I'm glad I have a diesel. 42 gallon tank (159 liters) and 22mpg highway. That means I can travel over 900 miles or 1400km to a tank. Plus I can use fuel oil (home heating oil or dyed diesel) in an emergency, which is easier and safer to store than gas.

Do they make the Mega Cab Dodge with the Cummins diesel? I know the old 5.9L cummins with the 3.42 rear would get about the same mileage as my truck and you could order that with a 52 gallon (197 Liter) tank [the regular tank plus an aux tank]. Tough to beat as far as overall range goes.

My wife owns the SUV and she won’t let me get my hands on it (LOL!!) If in a bad situation I would rather my truck over a SUV any day of the week though. The fuel economy of the truck is worst but it sure offers greater flexibility in more situations. For a bit more gas I get all the power of a HEMI, my quad cab has almost all the passenger room of the SUV and I have far more cargo space in the truck, plus the ability for better off road performance and to tow a very large camper or trailer. (I would need to have an entire gas station on hand for this though) I don’t really foresee having to leave in that great of a hurry where I live. Besides a chemical spill or a fire the greatest threat facing my area would be a tornado (very rare) or a massive power outage. Although leaving is always a possibility in the back of my mind, Most of my planning is geared toward Bugging IN.

That depends on the SUV. I've got a diesel Suburban which is basically an SUV on a 2500 truck platform. For bugging out I prefer it over a pickup truck. Pretty much the same amount of storage space in the back (and I can always put more stuff up on the roof), plenty of passenger room (holds 8 passengers), plus you can jump over the seats to get to your stuff in the back (whereas, with a truck you have to get out). Also, the back is carpeted and climate controlled, so you an sleep back there in a pinch. Off-road it's the same as a similar truck and it tows 10,000lbs (which is the same as a Hemi equipped 2500 Quad cab) plus it gets a lot better mileage doing it thanks to the diesel.

Each has their positives and negatives. A small SUV is going to have some advantages to a large truck and vice-versa. That's why I have quite a few different vehicles. A diesel suburban, a gas V8 GMC Envoy, a lifted Chevy K5 Blazer, two 3500 dumptrucks, a diesel E350 van, ect. Each one works best in certain situations, if one vehicle was perfect for every situation....everyone would own one.

Luckily, my garage is packed with lots of fun toys to choose from.

Small SUV's only get slightly better gas milage than bigger truck based ones and do so by compromising in other places. They may be unibody or front wheel drive or basically cars in some other way to get that better gas mileage.
I went with the full size truck because I can still get 20mpg which is the same as most mid to smal SUV's that are true SUV's but I have more rear storage.

Even without going to bigger tires, if your going to but on bush gaurds and racks then a rear tire/gar can carrier rack might be beneficial. A quick google search brought up this http://www.coloradok5.com/projects/beasttirecarrier2.jpg
I put a tall cap on the back of my truck so I could have soe covered storage and plan to build a rack something like that to get the spare out from under the bed. Then I can put an additional gas tank under the bed where the spare was and maybe eve still have a gas can or two on the rear carrier. I'm just trying to decide if I want to make the rear carrier plug into the trailer hitch which prevents me from towing a trailer or mounting to the bed (with reinforcement inside) like on the suv's or making a mount under or through the bumper or making a whole new off road style bumper and just incorporating the mount for it in it. I've put that project on hold until after I decide if I'm going to buy/build a truck camper or buy/build a trailer. If I go the truck camper route then I'll have to make sure any rear rack has enough clearance for it as they tend to hang back furthur usually sitting on the tailgate.