I purchased a PowerfulUK right-hand MOLLE plate months ago, with the intent of hanging "stuff" on it, but mainly extra fuel / water for my overlanding trips since I don't have a roof rack and hate carrying extra fuel in the car. I was hoping PowerfulUK would come up with a custom mounting bracket of some sort for RotoPax or FuelPax cans, but they haven't so far. So, I ordered brackets and cans from RotoPax and mounted them myself as I had a recent trip that included 150+ miles in the boonies, no gas station in sight.

Attaching some photos (sorry about the dirt, I did give the setup a thorough test drive this past weekend up in the Eastern Sierras, lol.) I picked 2 FuelPax 2.5-gal cans, which are not the slimmest they offer (2-gal RotoPax are a tad slimmer, but they also hold less fuel), however at just 3.5" depth they are streamlined enough to be mostly out of danger when negotiating tight squeezes in our local canyons, and generate minimal wind resistance and noise at highway speed.

Used two RotoPax DLX as mounts and, to add strength and spread the weight on the plate a bit more, two backing plates behind the molle plate, also from RotoPax. Used the supplied nuts, bolts and washers to install the two mounts. The bolts don't come close to hitting the window, even under severe vibrations, which was a big concern of mine.

The can closest to the rear passenger door clears the gasket of the doorframe by less than 1 mm - I got lucky there. Took pictures without the cans to show where the mounts are on the molle plate as well, should someone else have the same intentions.

I am happy with the results, and having 5 gallons of extra gas not stinking up the interior of your car is quite reassuring - and much safer - when overlanding for days away from civilization. When back home, I just unscrew the DLX handles off the mounts and have nothing that can be stolen or sticks out too much.





Tight squeeze between doorframe and can.

Drilling for the mounts was challenging as you need to avoid all the pre-drilled holes on the molle plate.

Back of plate shows the nuts and bolts of the RotoPax mounts and the round backing plates added for extra strength.

 

Thanks, @umbertob ! I have the Molle plates on, but haven't added the rotopax yet. You have solved a LOT of my questions as I keep futzing around before purchasing. Just some Q's that you add to my list:
- Can you reverse the bolts so that the carriage bolt (rounded) side is towards the glass? If you do, will the nuts embed into the rotopax or will they clear in the indent of the containers?
- I was thinking of going the non-DLX. Why there? You like the lock or didn't want to use an external lock when "in town"?
- When you say two backing plates - two on each one or a pair for the pair of containers? (1 each rotopax or 2 each rotopax)? Sorry for being dense here. Couldn't tell from the great pics.
- Thanks for the heads up on the door. NEVER thought about worrying about that. I'll rig something up so I can check before drilling for the mounting holes. Really wish PowerfulUK had put mounting holes for these as they are common adds. No big deal, aluminum is easy to drill.

 

- Just by eyeballing it, I'd say the nuts would definitely embed into the plastic (and eventually perforate it!) if you reversed the bolt and mount the canisters the same way I did, with the spout facing the rear of the Defender. If you reversed them though - with the spout facing the front of the vehicle - there may be enough room for those nuts and bolts to fit without touching the plastic. That's because the round indent on the can is deeper on the "exterior" face (the one you see in my photos) than the interior (the one that's flush against the mounting plate). I'm assuming it was designed that way specifically for people wishing to reverse those carrier bolts, like you. However, by doing so your handle would stick out of the canister further. Also, you would make it easier for the opportunistic thief to steal not only your gas cans, but also the mounts by exposing the tightening nuts on the outside. With the exposed rounded head, someone would have to disassemble the MOLLE plate as well before being able to remove those mounts.

- Non DLX would be the standard mount, which would work fine, too. The RotoPax (not the FuelPax versions, which are not as strong) DLX version I bought makes it easier to tighten the cans on the mounts, it works very well and really secures those cans super tight on the MOLLE plate, minimizing rattling and vibrations (expect to hear some minor rattling anyway, even when everything is tight and secure the MOLLE plate is still made of aluminum and it will flex some over broken pavement or off-road.) The DLX mounts are well worth the few extra few bucks in my opinion. The LOX mount is the one you can lock with the key after tightening, and I didn't get that one. I know myself and would eventually lose the keys, and since I only plan on using these when I go places where I may actually need extra fuel, they'll sit in my garage the great majority of the time, so the possibility of theft is not something I am too concerned with. Plus Rotopax's website says the FuelPax canisters I purchased are not compatible with the LOX mount, so moot point.

- One backing plate RX-BP per mount, so I purchased two backing plates total.

- One tip: use a 5/16" drill bit. 1/4" bits are large enough for the supplied bolts, but unless the four holes you drill align exactly between mount, MOLLE and backing plates, you may have trouble getting all 4 bolts through. That extra 1/16" gives you the tiny bit of play you may need if the drill bit rides just a hair before perforating. FYI, I used a titanium coated bit and it drilled through the aluminum plate like butter, no problem. I did take the plate off the car first, much easier and safer to drill accurately than Simon's video of the "Faux Pax" mounts, where he left the plate attached to the car and put a block of wood behind it to protect the windows.

- Pro tip # 2: Install two small strips of self adhesive rubber or foam tape on the "square" trim behind the set of bolts of the RH Rotopax mount, the one closest to the rear door. Those four bolts will be very close to the square trim and may touch it occasionally on broken pavement, ruts, rough trails, etc. Over time, this contact may mar and damage the paint on those squares. The rubber strips will both protect the paintwork and minimize vibrations of the MOLLE plate. The bolts of the LH mount will be in front of the rear window, which is recessed compared to the square trim and well out of range, even under severe flex and vibrations.

 

Thanks! No WAY would I drill it attached...Good point, there.