Ok so here was the process, first the items: 1 NATO 10L fuel can 1 Smitty holder from amazon 4 bolts 4 nuts 4 washers 2 steel bars with an L bend to them 1 3-ft piece of hard rubber (to prevent damage to the paint job First I thought I'd mount it onto this part of the frame, but you guys convinced me that with the right finess, the tub is strong enough Measured the placement of the holes, marked them and then proceded to first place the rubber, and then the frame after drilling 4 holes. Rubber on the inside of the tub as well. I like this paint job. Now the strong steel bars on the inside of the tub to keep the integrity of everything. And now tighten bolts. Hard!! I figured and wobbling is a really bad thing in this situation. Finished! Bye bye NYC! Hello Houston!
Good job, looks strong enough for me, at least until Houston One remark if I may, the can looks to be a little loose on the base inside the holder, try to put some foam or something to avoid the can to bounce sideway. Thanks again for sharing your build with pictures, and have a nice trip to TX.
The two new Smittybilt holders were at the office when I got to work this morning and I can not believe how heavy duty these things are compared to the ones I have now. I think that I am going to have to do some more reinforcing on the new tub when I start putting it together.
I used the 10L can that Sportsmans Guide had for like $29 and it fit right into a stock Ural can holder. http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/used-czech-military-nato-style-10l-jerry-can.aspx?a=1123986
It looks very loose to me. Praxguy, can you tell us how much of a difference in size the jerry can is compared to the Smitty holder? Also, does anyone know if the 10L and the 20L have the same dimensions, other than the height?
One word of caution to all; choose your mounting location wisely. Mounting between the hack and the bike provides you with a little more crush protection in the event of an impact/crash/rollover. The last thing you need is a can mounted on the right side of the rig and it losing integrity in an impact and spraying your monkey and possibly you with gasoline.
This is probably the last thing I am worried about I tend to worry more about the six gallons of fuel between my legs. First of all the cargo tub does not carry a passenger and I got punched in the right rear of the tub last year by a lady in a jeep who failed to yield entering a roundabout and despite the fact that she hit square in the side of the rear can and pushed it into the side of the tub she also pushed me across two lanes of the roundabout. This did absolutely no damage to the Jerry can but ut did destroy the mounting bracket. I suppose if I was hit hard enough to affect the integrity of that can I would have a whole lot more to worry about than that 2 gallons of fuel. YMMV of course.
Dana, Do you have the smitty mount? If so, does it keep the jerry can from rattling around? Also, what are the dimensions of the 10L can?
Hi yes I just got done with my trip from NYC to Houston (6 day ride). I can tell you that the Smitty is built like a tank, but yes it leaves about an inch of space with the NATO can. But the thing is that when the can is filled, I have not found it rattling at all. It's really a non-issue! But I will tell you what is an issue: using the standard spout. Oh man did I spill gasoline literally EVERYWHERE. I was so mad, it stripped the paint off my decals.
Hey Jason, I just bought a pair of the Smittybilt racks but I have not put the new tub together yet so I do not know exactly how they will work. I put one of the cans in one just to see and I will throw a couple of pictures up tomorrow when I get to the office. There is a larger gap between the rack and the can than I like but the way the handle of the rack fits the handle of the can it really does not move around like I would have thought. I think a strip of self adhesive weather stripping around the inside of the rack and it would be perfect for me. The can measures about 13 1/2" by 6 1/2" by 11" tall. All of the cans I have are Wedco 10 litre cans.
Looks good! So, the top strap on the rack clamps it down tight enough that the size difference is a non-issue?
Correct, the curved strap on the rack clamps down pretty tight on the handle of the can. If you put a cable tie or even a velcro strap around the strap and the handle the can would never touch the sides of the rack. The rack comes with these little rubber things that go inside the rack but the way they clip on they would fall off the first bump you hit so I will just go with the self adhesive weather stripping on the inside of the rack and it should be nice and tight. I have a nice set of brass locks that I used on my old cans and I will use them on these new racks and since they have two lock holes I will probably just put a carabiner in the other hole for backup.
I just got my smittybilt holder, looks good and sturdy. I just put some rubber foam weatherseal self stick tape 1 1/4" wide by 7/16" thick, on the side, botton and handle cause the can was a bit loose in the holder. Took a couple pictures, but no yet on the chair cause the rig is still in Claude's shop. I took off all the small rubber clamps that are loose and useless. Rubber foam in place secured with zip ties Nato can and rubber foam tape Can fermly in place
With these Jerry can type cans, how do you pour the fuel from the can into the bike without spilling? Is there a hidden spout or something?
There are several different Nato can specific spouts available. The Surplus Swiss Army type is my favorite. https://www.google.com/search?q=nat...JFIGbiAL_lYDoDQ&ved=0CFIQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=437
