Rotopax on roof rack??

Willys Yella Jeep

Willys Yella Jeep

Rank V

Builder I

1,578
Castle Rock, Colorado, United States
First Name
Willy
Last Name
Sommer
Member #

40675

Ham/GMRS Callsign
KF0CEO
Service Branch
Army
I recently installed an UpTop roof rack on my 2018 jeep jlu rubicon and wonder if it would be practical to install rotopax up there. Probably two 3 gal rotopax instead of a 4 gal for ease of handling and fueling. I would appreciate any advice or sage wisdom.

Willy
 
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One thing I will say about rotopax is the rubber gasket dries out regularly so I bought a half a dozen extra and I check/change it pretty much every six months or so just to ensure I don’t have a leak on the roof. So that’s the one thing I can say about mounting it on the roof. I’ve had a 4 gallon on my roof and it’s giving me no problems. The heat doesn’t seem to bother it very much when it’s full. It may build up quite the fumes if it’s not full.
 

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Unlike many folks, I have no desire to put a roof top tent up there. Most likely all that will go up to are two pelican cases, rotopax, and recovery tools. Good advice on the rubber gaskets. I will add that to my tool kit. Most of the gear goes inside the jeep. Less to see equals less temptation for thieves.
 
Ubiety said:
Weight up high is the enemy of vehicle stability. That really chapped someone's hide last time I said that ;)
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Chaps my hide. Lol. Kind of. It is true, but you have to be somewhat clear. How and when it makes a difference. Everyone’s out there with all these RTT’s and it’s not like there’s millions of roll-overs now.

I put 2 fuelpaxx, 3.5 traction boards, and a pelican case with my recovery gear on my roof. I’ve run the maxxtraxx and a spare tire up top with a few small boxes and never had any feeling of losing “vehicle stability”. Not saying it can’t happen. But in a general sense I disagree. My $.02.

And when I put my fuelpaxx on, I strap them down with a ratchet strap and use zip ties as a 3nd line of defense and have not had a single problem yet.
 

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KAIONE said:
Chaps my hide. Lol. Kind of. It is true, but you have to be somewhat clear. How and when it makes a difference. Everyone’s out there with all these RTT’s and it’s not like there’s millions of roll-overs now.

I put 2 fuelpaxx, 3.5 traction boards, and a pelican case with my recovery gear on my roof. I’ve run the maxxtraxx and a spare tire up top with a few small boxes and never had any feeling of losing “vehicle stability”. Not saying it can’t happen. But in a general sense I disagree. My $.02.

And when I put my fuelpaxx on, I strap them down with a ratchet strap and use zip ties as a 3nd line of defense and have not had a single problem yet.
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I am glad that you have not had a problem with gear on your roof!
 
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If you do mount on the roof, keep in mind that Rotopax recommends venting the cans at least every 24hrs when full, if you do more off roading and they are shaken this increaes the time frame. They also state on the warranty page that failure to vent at recommended intervals could make a hole or separation not fall under warranty. I can speak from experience that when they are full and shaken they do bloat quite a bit and can cause problems.
 
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We used to carry two 5gallon Jerry cans mounted on the trailer and another 6 gallon “under the seat” boat tank up on the racks. We always emptied the one up top asap. As our 80 scaled out at 7,000lbs +/- I really never noticed the extra 35lbs up top for the first 60 or so miles. The boat tank also has a pressure relief valve. It was very easy to strap down. I think I paid 40 bucks for it.. ( Btw, not a fan of rotopax at all. They are great for motorcycles, and as I just learned, premature gasket wear & they must be vented every so often?) 0C05B599-A143-42BE-AE1D-2AFB5E129F10.jpeg
 
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MOAK said:
We used to carry two 5gallon Jerry cans mounted on the trailer and another 6 gallon “under the seat” boat tank up on the racks. We always emptied the one up top asap. As our 80 scaled out at 7,000lbs +/- I really never noticed the extra 35lbs up top for the first 60 or so miles. The boat tank also has a pressure relief valve. It was very easy to strap down. I think I paid 40 bucks for it.. ( Btw, not a fan of rotopax at all. They are great for motorcycles, and as I just learned, premature gasket wear & they must be vented every so often?) View attachment 240713
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Thanks for posting this, I’ve been thinking of trying one of these boat cans for awhile now. Great help!
 
We mounted one 4 gallon rotopax flat on our RTT, but I'm not very happy with it. I can't seem to tighten it enough so it doesn't leak, and it can bulge quite a bit in the heat of the sun (well within 24 hours), making it hard to loosen the large nuts. It doesn't leak a lot, but it's annoying and a bit smelly. I'm considering getting/making some sort of rear window mount which allows you to keep the rotopax upright (and lower center of gravity).

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I have 2 of those “ under seat” tanks ,9 gal. Each that I put on my Yakima Load Warrior on my then 80 series now GX. I use one of those rattle type siphon hoses to refuel from roof. They’re pretty awkward when full, little vent valve helps unless you’re really bouncing around. .
 

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I would have to agree with @Ubiety that weight up top is not a good thing. However, this is something that with some common sense can be worked with. I have a 6500lb Suburban, it is not lifted, a few pounds on the roof rack will not hurt anything. Now, a lifted lighter truck that already has a roof rack with a RTT, I would be very careful about putting anything up top.
When building and packing your rig, try to find ways to keep the packing to a minimum, always load or install the heavy items as low in the rig as possible. If you need to put stuff on the roof, think about how you can move heavy stuff down, and lighter bulky stuff up.
As for Rotopax on the roof, I’m not a fan. The leaking alone would cause me to rethink the idea. I would see if there are other options to mount to the rear, side or even get a larger main tank or an aux tank.
I can just see a spark from your camp fire drifting up and hitting the gas leak on the roof of your truck and now you have a huge problem. Thanks, I’ll pass.
 
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