Robert brings up good points.
All ribbing aside I highly recommend you read this thread.
https://discoweb.org/forums/showthre...ghlight=Alaska
Guy drives his D2 from Louisiana to Alaska and back with a minimalist approach.
Sometimes less is more. Spend less, DO more.
How many trails have you done in this truck? What's the furthest you've driven it?
It seems to me you're spending a fortune outfitting your "rig" with everything you think you need, with zero experience to tell you what you actually need.

 

These pics illistrate that the caps can be removed and the cans filled up with fuel without the need to unstrap them. The caps are facing upwards. In my experience plastic gas containers leaked gas or vented fumes into the air and one spark BOOM. Is it worth the risk? For me the answer is no. And as you said yourself, they are a pain to unstrap and carry down from the roof to the fuel filler. Fortunately Ill be using a siphon and pump setup to feed fuel from the roof directly to the filler. No unstraping or walking up and down the ladder with bulky gas cans.



Yes Im still planning my road trip to Alaska and Im $3,000 away from my goal. If everything goes smoothly then I hope to begin the trip sometime between December 2016 and February 2017. For the majority of my trek through the lower 48 I doubt Ill even need the gas cans, but once I cross over from Montana to British Comumbia and make my way towards the Alcan highway the cans may come in handy. No this is not like your friends "around the world" expedition but it will be an unpopular time of the year for traveling this route and many hotels, shops, restaurants and some fuel stations will be closed for the season. So fill up when you can and be prepared in case the next fuel station is closed or "sorry no gas". Though Im not concerned with the poor fuel economy my truck gets the reality is that I will be filling up more often than most folks who drive up the Alcan. Cant afford to get stranded because I failed to be prepared with spare gas. But also you never know who you will meet or what you will see along the way. Maybe a fellow motorist will be stranded on the side of the road in the middle of the winter time without of gas; that extra fuel may come in handy.

Once I reach southern Alaska I plan on taking my time for the remainder of the trip and taking afew detours so I can visit some awesome places: Hyder, Mccarthy, kennecott, Valdez, Wasilla, Anchorage, Far North Rovers, Moose Pass, Exit Glacier then finally Seward etc. Many of these destinations only have one gas station, with expensive crappy gas. My goal is to fill up with the best gas and stock up when its cheap.

Another question that frequently pops up is my experience level and my choices regarding the outfitting of my truck. Have I hit the trails before? Yes but only in the winter time and only few times. Im still a rookie and still have alot to learn and perfect. I need to figure out for myself what works best for me and what does not work best. Maybe your buddy who went around the world without any spare gas cans and maybe that worked for him, but that does not necessarily apply to my situation. Have I ever slid off the road and gone into a ditch, unable to get my vehicle back out? Yes and it stuck with me. Have I ever ran out of gas? Yes and it stuck with me. Might I be over prepairing for this trip? Hell yeah. Hopfully I wont ever have to use the hi-lift or the cans but at the end of the day its about confidence, peace of mind and being self sufficient. If my truck breaks down, if I get stuck in a ditch, if I run out of gas or if I meet someone along the route who needs help I wont be able to call my buddies on the forum to come and rescure me and a tow truck charge that far north would be an abomination. Having everything I need will give me the boost I need. Keep in mind also that Ill be doing this trip alone. No second driver. No second vehicle etc.

On a final note I love these vehicles. Its rare to see a proper Land Rover decked out all ready for the next global adventure. The Camel Trophy rigs really stand out with me and have inspired my build. I do with my truck what I want, because I can and because it makes me happy; roof rack, hi-lift, gas cans, awning etc. I have high hopes for the truck and some big plans coming up for the next 5 years. Once Im settled in Alaska then Ill be ready for a more agressive trek through the Alaskan interior. Fortunatly AK has its own Land Rover enthusiasts club and an abundance of isolated trails just waiting to be rediscovered. I also want to hit some rough trails in the mountains of Washington and drive through the state parks. So much to do and so little time. In a way Id like to relive the Camel Trophy experience. Get my hands dirty and replicate some of the adventures those teams experienced with their Rovers.

There will also be skeptics, critics, trolls and people who just dont understand your logic, but okay with me. I do my own thing and learn as I progress. I see many Rovers treated like soccer mom rigs, others molested with huge life kits, wheel spacers huge fat tires and gutted interiors and I just want to cringe- but thats their preference. So the gas cans wont be coming down anytime soon

 

TRIARII, you are quite an enigma - on one hand you're paranoid about fires to the point where you want to carry 3-4 fire extinguishers in your Rover, and then 5 minutes later you tell us you fill jerry cans while they are strapped to the vehicle, which is a known safety/fire risk due to static electricity buildup...

FWIW I keep water and gas on my roof in NATO cans, along with a Kayak and other bulky items to free up more cabin space so I can appreciate the practicality of roof mounting gear.... just take the gas can off the truck before filling it!

 

Robert its nice to hear from you! Very interesting thing you pointed out about the SD roof rack and the roof top tent. How much do those tents weight about? One thing Im begining to reqlize about my roof rack is that there is little product support/accessory compatibility for the tubular desighn of this rack. Compeitor roof racks have flat beams with a innovative mounting feature built into the rack and consequently many accessories are easily compatible with it. I forgot the make model of this rack but Lucky8 uses it on their P38. I dont like how they look compared to the SD but theres no doubt about there superior functionality.

Ill probably do most of the driving during daylight hours due to better visibility however Im not sure how many hours of daylight I can expect during the winter months in British Comlumbia and southern Alaska. My thought is Ill sleep for 8 hours each day. I also have a propane powered space heater with built in safety feature that shuts off if it detects high levels of fumes or its knocked over. Between the space heater and a propane powered grille/stove combo Im thinking about getting a 50lbs propan tank vs those small Coleman canisters. Should be able to refill the tank at some of the gas stations along the way.

As for storing a full size spare in the truck, well it does sound like a good idea but probably not going to work for me. A small air mattress will be setup in the back and kept blown up for the duration of the trip. I also have 2 toolboxes, 3 jack stands, eatra oils and lubricants for the truck, bottle jack, all my possessions, clothing, possiable a ARB fridge/freezer combo, camera equipment, fishing gear, propane, cooking equipment, fire extinguishers, medical kits etc, rifle etc. So it will be somewhat congested as it is and a full size spare to top it off will not work for me. This trip will be a bit more than just a road trip for me. Im permanently relocating to Alaska and this I consisder this trek to be a big test for me and my truck.

 

This is the kind of stuff I'm talking about.
Think about this. 50lbs of propane plus the tank is a lot of weight. Add that to the 125lbs of gas and you're at roughly 190lbs of fuel, not including your gas tank. Some recommendations, or at least some thoughts...
- Ditch the heater and get a 0° or sub zero sleeping bag. You should have one anyway in case your heater craps out.
- Get a gasoline burning stove and ditch the propane altogether. At least you'd be able to use that 20 gallons of extra gas for something. And if you're really that worried just top off the can when you fill up.
- If you absolutely must have a heater and use propane consider two 20lb BBQ tanks instead. Its MUCH easier to find a BBQ tank swap than it is a place to fill a 50lber.
- I guess if you're moving all your sh*t up there then bring the jack stands. Otherwise NOBODY brings jack stands on a trip, let alone 3. Not sure how 3 is even helpful? 2 or 4 seems like the magic # to me.

 

They use a Baja rack if memory serves and it is an extremely versatile and well made rack

 

Nope the Baja roof rack is also a tubular design. The Front Runner roof rack is the more versatile rack with the innovative design that enables you to attach goods to the rack without the need for straps.




No straps are needed and its much easier to mount light bars, jerry cans, shovels, hi-lift jacks and even roof top tents.




Flat non tubular design





Here is an example of some of the mounting hardware options available

 

You might be right been awhile since I rode in the p38

 

The Discovery 2 full length rack retails $1,193.00 with free shipping directly from Front Runner: https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.co...imline-ii.html

 

Categorize me as a troll, or what ever you like.......but I'm a guy with well over 20 years of seat time in other makes, guided, lead, tail gunned, gone & supplied long distance, was a founder in what is still one of the largest off road clubs in New England, huge NEUROK supporter in the day, never a Rover showing up for competition yet factory fresh other brands would, including full size vans by Quigley....and my last roll over was 2 years ago at 45mph....it was a bloody mess. So, being a supplier of parts for 18 years, and a driver of 20.....non of what I say will mean much.......I'll just be 'that guy'....it's kool!

Much of what 'Fish says is correct........I'm pretty much 100% on board.
If you have a 'Hi~Lift' stored on the exterior of your rig, purchase '2' rebuild kits for the glove box, they fail fast and give you a reason for the first aid box.
Personally I'd just loose it unless it's your only extraction, I've used mine twice, once high centered and had to drive over it, once as a winch swamp bound, broken winch cable.....it's junk, needs total rebuild. Prior, as a jack, it's junk out of the box....the jack was designed for 2wd front axle TRACTOR repair originally, that's it....most unstable pos I've ever used....

Outside of that.....keep on keeping on.......get a triple A card.