gas caddy

[Indianabarn]

I have a number of old cars and I am not capable of lifting those gas cans above the hood to fill the tank. I have seen the portable gas caddy's on the web, along with a number of other models that do similar things. I was thinking about 30 gal capacity with a pump, nozzle, hose and proper safety features. The ratings on these by consumers are all over the place along with the price. Can anyone share what they have or recommend a safe and reliable product or method that might work for me?

 

[steve308]

Check some of the boating catalogs like bass pro, cabelas or west marine. They have them. Marine use is generally over built.

 

[davidlee]

I have used them in the past and I am not a fan. They are extremely heavy when trying to unload from your truck and the one I used was a gravity unload and was very slow. They are also hard to secure in a truck bed. My father in law lost his rear truck window when the caddy went forward. I had rather use 5 gal cans.

 

[jtrace]

We had one at the rental store I worked at I wouldn't want to unload it off a P/U truck(we had a rack body with a lift gate) it was really heavy full.It worked good for us just didn't hold much maybe 20-30 gallons I don't remeber. It was a heavy metal unit with a ground wire and alligator clamp.


John

 

[fflintstone]

date a hot 19 year old woman strong enough to lift a gas can

 

[Car Collector Chronicles]

30 gal. weighs in at 240 lbs., per my calculation?

 

[BeachBoy]

I was about to buy one of these caddys, but ended up using multiple 5-6 gallons cans, I put them on metal shelves so the gravity can feed in the car.

Bonus is that I can plug the hose/pump in the car and leave, then come back when it's empty. When you have a big caddy, you need to stay there and monitor, since they don't have an automatic stop like at the gas station, you often overfill and it smells really bad inside the garage.

my 2 cents

 

[kbs2244]

I feel your pain.
(Can I say that? Did he copyright it?)

I also have given up on 5 gal cans.
I use 2 ½ gal now.
But that is no way to fill up a car.
But do you have to fill them?
2 to 5 gals should be enough for you to drive to a pump.

And everybody is right.
Those caddys are just too heavy.
My boy tried one for his boat and it was just too much.
Now he has a 20 gal barrel he puts in the back of the PU.
He has another in a 4 wheel wagon that he drains it into and then takes that out to the dock.
That one drains into the boat.
A bit of a hassle, but better than spending a extra dollar per gal at the fuel dock.

 

[pman1505]

I have one its 25gal i use it for race gas for my car. It works awsome. I installed a air valve in the top and aply a little air and works like at the gas station.

 

[FJ 432]

I found a 30 gallon for $40. I'm in the process of cleaning it out and replacing some of the used parts such as the hose. It has the ability to dispense and suction out.

The weight is a concern but I'm going to try it out for a while.

 

[Erampu]

I also have given up on 5 gal cans.
I use 2 ½ gal now.
But that is no way to fill up a car.
But do you have to fill them?
2 to 5 gals should be enough for you to drive to a pump.

I'm guessing many of his vehicles aren't registered or road ready.

Saying he's got to lift the gas can above the hood suggests they're really old vehicles, too. What do you have, Indianabarn?

 

[crewchief888]

we have several 30 gal hand pumped fuel caddys at the shop.

they are managable on concrete, they **** on gravel or uneven surfaces.

 

[Engineer61]

Do you have a pickup that can hold a tank in the bed? I see them on contractors trucks often, they hold 30-100 gallons and have a hand crank pump and nozzle coming out of the top and bolt to the bed of the pickup like a tool box does, if not for the pump and venting you might mistake them for a bed toolbox. Easy to take to the gas station to fill the tank, and it would be easier to fill an old car with the gas tank in the cowl than a more modern one with the gas tank under the trunk.

 

[sho92]

I had a 25 gallon caddy that I use to fill my boat from the dock behind our weekend house. Unfortunately, it was either swept away (it was empty) or someone found it and took it home with them during Hurricane Sandy. It was gravity feed, but since the boat was lower than the dock, it was never a problem. Plastic construction with pneumatic tires was very easy to roll across pea gravel and could be lifted in and out of our Trailblazer easily with 2 people. A grounding wire clipped to the hitch receiver allowed it to be filled without removing it from the vehicle too.

I'll be buying another one this coming season. They do seem a little pricey for what you're getting though, usually ~$400 new from the marine supply catalogs.

 

[Zelatore]

I've got a couple of them around my shop/marina in the delta and they're junk. One of them was older than dirt, came with the property so I don't know any history on it and the other we bought for some project years ago and still have. They RARELY get used as they are just too heavy to muscle around full. Both of these units hold around 30 gallons and have hand-crank transfer pumps. And both leak like a sieve. yeah, we could rebuild the pumps but it's just not been worth the effort.