Reversing a Burley Spare Tire Carrier to Carry a Fuel Can

[noganav]

Here's how to keep your spare fuel can in a Burley spare tire carrier.

It's a 9 liter BMW spare tire fuel can purchased from German eBay. These can sometimes be expensive, but if you keep at it you can find an OK price.
This one was $60 delivered to the US.

The first job is to modify the mounting post of the spare tire carrier so that the spare tire can be turned around 180 degrees. This leaves a space inside the tire that can be used. I cut the bolts, and the end of the pipe of the original Burley center post. Then I pushed some coupling nuts into lengths of black pipe to hold the lugs and welded a washer and nut on the center of the pipe to hold a Thule lock knob.

Everyone should have a friend who can weld.

The center post now sits in the opposite direction from the original. It holds from the outside of the carrier and the coupling nuts connect bolts from both sides to hold the tire in place. Nice and solid.

The spare can is held in place with a Thule lock knob and a safety strap around the center of the gas can and over the top of the tire. This locks the gas and the tire against a casual thief.

And there she is. (I adjusted the safety strap later to get rid of the little bump)

And there she is in an almond orchard.

[chase4food]

Very elegant. I suspect the German made can is actually gasoline vapor tight.

Missing is a bulleye says hit here. Of course it is a Pinto reference joke.

Canadian Westy.
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[photogdave]

Nice work!
BTW, is that a Gary Lee ladder?
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[noganav]

Thanks! Yup, that's a Gary Lee with a custom bike rack I had him make for me.
I should do a post about that sometime too. It's a great ladder, but the powdercoat isn't lasting like it should. Chipping all over the place.

[photogdave]

Cool. I'm working on improving my Paulchen bike rack for carrying stuff, but I really like your spare tire fuel can idea.
I'm thinking of a similar mod but with a Van-Cafe oversize tire carrier in the stock location and then attaching a skid plate underneath.
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[noganav]

Can't wait to see what you come up with! I put a VC spare carrier on mine, but I just can't quite make my 215 70 16's fit, so for now it's wasted space. For the life of me I can't figure out how the 215 75 15's fit there since the outer dimensions are almost the same, and I'm not even getting close with my tires.

[photogdave]

[noganav]

Dang! I hadn't seen that carrier before, looks sweet. Definitely you could mount a spare tire gas can in there. It'd be super protected from impact in that location too. Interesting that they list the 215 70 16 as a definite fit. I'd love to have a second spare under the front.

[Zeitgeist 13]

Mercedes also has a similar factory spare tire fuel canister, so that might help with the Euro-ebay searches. They're both made by Bernsbach

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[hans j]

Never understood why USA vendors don't do that. I built my tire carriers like that so I can put stuff inside. I do want one of those fuel cans though! I'll keep my eye open when I am back this winter.
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[ThankYouJerry]

Nice work! Would the BMW or MB can fit in a 15" wheel or just a 16"?
_________________
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[noganav]

Yup, the one I have fits in a 15.

[buttercupandfriends]

This is awesome!!

[shadetreetim]

Nice work Steve.
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[tjet]

This is a great idea that I'd like to replicate on my Burley tire holder. I got one of his "uncoated" ones when they were on sale Leap day.

The Thule lock you installed is pretty clever. Does it preload or maintain tension to keep the can snug & tight? Do you have the p/n of that lock handy?

It looks like a factory installed option.

I'll need to make sure that my wheels will fit with the mods if I use the spare (my spare is narrower, 6" wide vs 8" wide). I had my Passat ET37 rims widened to 15x8. The spare for my Syncro is a 215/75-15, & the installed tires (for now) are 235/70-15. Will be upgraded to 255/70 at a later date.

[noganav]

Thanks guys!

Here's the link to the Thule lock knob. It's a pretty handy little item.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Thule/753-1908-04.html

It doesn't look very strong though, which is why I'm also using a safety strap. The strap holds the weight of the can, and the knob keeps it from bouncing around. There's no preload, but it can be tightened enough to keep everything in place.

[tjet]

Or maybe use this ATV spare tire mount & somehow add that Thule lock into the end. This would give you a way to preload it.

link

https://www.everythingpolarisrzr.com/polaris-rzr-spare-tire-mount-by-hornet-outdoors.html

[tjet]

Thanks for the German Ebay tip. I did a search for "bellino" & found a clean one for a decent price. It's not the 9 litre can as the OP installed, it's a 7L. It seems like those 9L cans are not as common. There's also a 6L

http://www.ebay.de/sch/Auto-Motorrad-Teile-/131090/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=BELLINO

[Team WorldTour]

Looks like there are 'Original' VW gas cans around, too!
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Reservekanister-10-L-FAWI-8...fresh=true
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[tjet]

My gas can showed up today from my first German Ebay transaction

It pretty much fits flush into a stock Passat 15x6 ET37 rim.

Note, this a 7 liter can. The 9L ones are more rare/expensive. I think it was in a Benz.

Was around 110€ shipped

Thanks noganav