Sinking Creek 4WD Association

I have considered the idea of running a fuel cell in the cab of my vehicle so that I could extend my wheel base a bit and not have my rear diff smash my current tank every time i go wheeling. (i doubt it will ever happen, just have considered it as an option) My main question is that if anyone knows if it is illegal to have a fuel cell inside the cab of a vehicle?

^hah

Since your Jeep doesn't have annual inspections in MD, you probably won't ever have a legal issue doing so. But, it really isn't a very safe idea to have one in an enclosed cab. You will be bypassing the vapor evaporation system and polluting more. You would need to vent the cell out of the cab and make sure it couldn't leak in the case of a roll over. It is an increased fire hazard and could probably be a legal issue if anyone ever got hurt in an accident due to it.

I would suggest either moving your axle back as far as possible with the tank still in place or finding a different size tank to go in the stock location that will allow you to locate the axle where you want.

for the smartass taco driver i did Google it and could not find much info about it out there people talked about it being dangerous but nothing about it being illegal. I do agree it could be very dangerous in many case, however done right it some of the dangers could be eliminated. purely curious about what other people think of the idea.

Alec is right on all fronts, but I say go for it. It gains you tremendous clearance (once you raise up that silly hitch back there). If you do it correctly it should only be marginally more dangerous than stock and in some ways it will be safer than the stock setup. You can get rings to mount the stock TJ fuel pump in it too, further simplifying the process.

yea if i do it i will make a new bumper with alot better clearance, right now it doesnt really matter to much because usually the tank will hit before the hitch mount or be very close when the hitch is hitting

Another option is to cut my current floor out and lift my tank straight up into the cab and create a new floor over top of the new tank placement so that it would still not be in the cab but it would not be in the way of my rear axle anymore. This would also eliminate all of the dangers of having it in the vehicle.

redneckrapunzel wrote:Another option is to cut my current floor out and lift my tank straight up into the cab and create a new floor over top of the new tank placement so that it would still not be in the cab but it would not be in the way of my rear axle anymore. This would also eliminate all of the dangers of having it in the vehicle.

Do you ever use your rear seat?

willhf1011 wrote:Do you ever use your rear seat?

Just buckle it up in your rear seat.

i use it very rarely and could care less about still having a back seat but all of my family for some reason is convinced that i need. Just need to convince them that i never use it then all will be good.


I like that idea alec seems like the safest and most professional way to do it.

An RCI 2161 will fit behind the seat and not intrude on passenger room, if that helps your argument at all. I think that is the best option.

yea that is the kind of tank that i had been looking at for a while now just a matter of getting it and all the materials needed for the set up.

Also another aspect that i keep thinking could be a problem is that i am starting to get a very high center of gravity by moving all of that weight upward in my rig. Do you think that would be a problem with current set up? i am more paranoid now than ever cause i felt how easily a TJ will go over.

redneckrapunzel wrote:yea that is the kind of tank that i had been looking at for a while now just a matter of getting it and all the materials needed for the set up.

Also another aspect that i keep thinking could be a problem is that i am starting to get a very high center of gravity by moving all of that weight upward in my rig. Do you think that would be a problem with current set up? i am more paranoid now than ever cause i felt how easily a TJ will go over.

Moving your gas tank would give you the opportunity to stretch your rear suspension. Problem solved.

willhf1011 wrote:An RCI 2161 will fit behind the seat and not intrude on passenger room, if that helps your argument at all. I think that is the best option.

I think this would end up being a slick setup.

willhf1011 wrote:Moving your gas tank would give you the opportunity to stretch your rear suspension. Problem solved.

I was in the middle of typing this. +1

I didnt think lengthening the wheel base would reduce the roll risk that much? from what yall are saying i am wrong, why is that?