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Old 09-04-2012, 10:25 AM   #1
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Location: Newark, CA
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Swing out jerry can box holder

It seems that most of those on this list have newer vans with Aluminess bumpers and their associated boxes. Our 2001 SMB has the then-available optional steel Reunel bumpers with the rear one fitted with a swing-out jerry can box. While the spring-loaded latch for the box seems up to the task of holding the box in the closed position under normal circumstances, the latch has a tendency to disengage while off-roading, resulting in the box (typically loaded with four 5-gallon jerry cans of water) swinging out while negotiating a steep or rough spot on the trail.

After the last time this happened (on a trip to Death Valley with some other SMB owners), I decided I needed fix the problem for good. I solved the problem by supplement the latch with an 18”-long gate cane bolt. Cane bolts are used to hold pairs of gates in place by dropping into pipes in the ground. They come with a couple of holders which are bolted to the gate to hold the cane bolt vertically. Here is my installation:





The holders were attached to the side of the jerry can box. The can bolt drops into a hole drilled through the top of the 3/8”-thick steel bumper. The right rear van door will hit the “handle” on the top of the cane bolt if it isn’t swung to the left to I dipped the handle in red Dip-It rubberized paint so that we’d hopefully not leave it in the wrong position. When we aren’t off-roading, I store the cane bolt inside the van.

Incidentally, the Reunel jerry can box was designed to fit WWII-era sized jerry cans. The cans that I purchased from Expedition Exchange many years ago gradually rusted inside (even though they were lined) and when I called a couple of weeks ago to replace them, I discovered that they are no longer available. After a lot of Internet searching, I found some nice ones at NRC (originally called Northwest River Supplies) which are listed as 6-3/8” wide. Many of the jerry/water cans that I found online didn’t list the width or were too wide for the total width I have available. These NRS cans are heavy duty but are just a little wider than listed. I can get four of them in our box but only if they are empty and are shoved into place. I won’t be able to remove them if full of water but I don’t do that and instead pump water from them into the inside water tank.

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Old 09-04-2012, 11:33 AM   #2
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Re: Swing out jerry can box holder

Jack, that's a lot of weight on that swinger, 160 pounds of H2O alone. It will eventually take it's toll on the carrier and it's hinges. Perhaps you can replace all the cans with one plastic tank that hopefully will fit in there fairly well:

http://www.plastic-mart.com/


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Old 09-04-2012, 11:46 AM   #3
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Re: Swing out jerry can box holder

True, it is a lot of weight but that weight is all carried by the rear bumper when the basket is swung closed. The water cans themselves are about 5 lbs apiece and a larger but single container is still going to weigh in at at least 10 lbs.

We only fill the cans when we are headed out to boondock for more than a day or so. Otherwise, they are generally empty. After 11 years of occasional use so far, we haven't had any problems.
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