Fuel Wagon

[LakesideRec]

Hey Bevo-

This is how a man hauls 110 gallons of sweet nectar for my baby; it fills at faster rate than a filling station pump. 70' of fuel line takes it right down to the Nautique/Sea Doos. .. RDT.

Men with smaller boats (SAN 210) can use a smaller 55 gallon fuel wagon like this one I built for myself with parts from Northern Tool. Not towable at highway speeds, but it is towable at low speeds by lawn tractor or ATV down to the lake and then small enough to be rolled out on the dock by hand.

My dock is less than 1/4 mile from the marina fuel dock, but I hate paying $4 / gallon.
Also, my teenagers are murder on the boats with dock rash when they dock for fuel.

[Gtsum2]

^^^^thats awesome. I was looking at flo fast systems but those max out at 21 gallons (dual 10.5 containers on a cart).


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[LakesideRec]

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Its under 400 lbs full which is light enough for one person to load in and out of a pickup (with ramps), and as mentioned can be moved by hand or towed with an ATV, UTV, or lawn tractor. We were looking at making it into a product and selling on our website as a PWC accessory, but did not get much interest.

Also prototyped a design without the steerable front wheels which distributed the weight better on the sand, but was not easy to maneuver on the tight space on the dock. Wanted to keep the CG low enough to avoid any risk of it rolling over when towed down steep shore slopes and stay narrow enough to roll down a 4' wide dock.

[mooneywa]

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This is awesome. Pretty sweet build.

I had looked for something like this for a long time, but I ran the math at the end and figured if I put 50hrs/summer on the boat and burn 8 gal/hr, that 400 gal x $1.25 premium for marina gas = $500/yr in extra cost and figured it would take me 4 years to break even. Plus the cost of the time to take it somewhere and fill up. I could see it being really good for jet skis though - our neighbors are constantly using the rolling red tanks and having to fill them up all the time. I think the biggest draw was the marina is a 15-20 min boat ride away, so this would save gas if we were staying in our part of the lake.

[MG94]

We have a 100ft bluff to walk down. It’s a bit of a chore and rolling tanks so we use the VP racing 5 gallon tanks (which hold almost 6 gallons). I’ll typically carry two to the boat and I’ll leave out 2 for my first to carry down when they come. It works pretty well whenever we just go out for a wakeboard set. The biggest hassle is filling them up since I don’t live at the lake. It’s min 30 min round trip to the Marina by boat or gas station by car. If the thing works out I’ll have the gas barge fill me up at 4 per gallon. He’s awesome but I have to plan ahead a bit.


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[MG94]

This is awesome. Pretty sweet build.

I had looked for something like this for a long time, but I ran the math at the end and figured if I put 50hrs/summer on the boat and burn 8 gal/hr, that 400 gal x $1.25 premium for marina gas = $500/yr in extra cost and figured it would take me 4 years to break even. Plus the cost of the time to take it somewhere and fill up. I could see it being really good for jet skis though - our neighbors are constantly using the rolling red tanks and having to fill them up all the time. I think the biggest draw was the marina is a 15-20 min boat ride away, so this would save gas if we were staying in our part of the lake.

We have a 100ft bluff to walk down. It’s a bit of a chore and rolling tanks so we use the VP racing 5 gallon tanks (which hold almost 6 gallons). I’ll typically carry two to the boat and I’ll leave out 2 for my first to carry down when they come. It works pretty well whenever we just go out for a wakeboard set. The biggest hassle is filling them up since I don’t live at the lake. It’s min 30 min round trip to the Marina by boat or gas station by car. If the thing works out I’ll have the gas barge fill me up at 4 per gallon. He’s awesome but I have to plan ahead a bit.


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[LakesideRec]

Some more pics. As I mentioned, I have a small company that sells lakeshore accessories, and we considered making a product to fulfill this need. I would love to hear if there is a need/interest for a smaller non-highway fuel wagon like this. Large enough to haul a useful amount of fuel, but small enough to fit down a walking path, through gates, on the dock, etc.

[Gtsum2]

That is awesome. How many gallons and where located?


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[LakesideRec]

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As I mentioned, I am contemplating making this into a product for my company to sell, but not selling them yet..

Trying to get an idea of how many customers may be interested in something like this, what size they would desire, how long of hose, what kind of hitch or vehicle they would use to tow it, what kind of vehicle they would use to carry it to be refilled, etc.

The prototype has a 55 gallon tank that nets 50 gallons or so when filled with proper expansion space. It weighs about 400 lbs full. The hose is 15 ft long, so it can reach across boats that have the fill on the far side from the dock. The hand-crank pump flows fuel plenty fast and avoids the downside of needing to charge a battery, explosion hazard, etc.

Would hope to get the price down under $2000 (with shipping), but have no idea what people might want to pay.

We are located in Prior Lake, MN (but ship across the U.S.)

[shag]

It's cool, but at that price point I just don't think you'll get too many interested... just my opinion though, maybe I'm way off.

[LakesideRec]

Well, yes, that has been our conclusion so far that the price point may end too high. Our costs would be about $600 for the tank, $200 for the pump, $50 for the hose, $35 each for the wheels, $50 for the frame and handle, and $250 for shipping. Doesn't leave a lot of room for profit at anything much below $2000 retail price. Could maybe get it down to $1500 if we had high enough volumes, but not going to come down much below that.

The problem is that a DOT-approved tank for that much fuel needs to be sturdily-constructed of thick aluminum welded by certified welders and tends to just be inherently somewhat expensive. Could maybe cut costs with cheap plastic wheels and a cheaper pump, but seems a shame to downgrade on the quality.

[XBIGPUN66]

How bout a plastic tank with a metal "cover"? You could use a large fuel "gas can" or an automotive fuel tank.


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[swankster]

Two questions.
1. Is that a gasoline approve tank?

2. Is it legal to haul in the back of a pickup? 400 lbs is 50 gallons so I think you meet most state laws.


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[LakesideRec]

Yes, the tank itself is purchased from a vendor who specializes in making fuel tanks. It is DOT-approved for transport and transfer of gasoline.
119 gallons or 1000 lbs is a key limit in DOT regulations for transport of flammable liquids. Above that and you are into the "bulk" transport classification.
Commercial usage also would add significant requirements as compared to individual usage.