Hannibal jerry can holders

[Bender]

Last year I bought a set of the Hannibal double jerry can holders for my rack. My thought was that since both were Hannibal the fit would be a bit better than if I had pieced together different brands/styles.

About 4 days into a trip last fall I noticed that the bolts which attach the holders to the rack were tearing up my jerry cans (steel, Wedco). I loosened the bolts and tried moving the holders around to get a better fit, but no matter what adjustment I made the bolts still rub at least one of the cans if not both. It seems damn near impossible to get good enough alignment to fit the bolts in the center channel of both cans (per each holder).

So I just wrapped all the points that were rubbing with duct and electrical tape and that seemed to minimize the problem through the rest of the trip. I don't like this solution as I feel like I'm prolonging an eventual disaster. It would suck to punch a hole through one of the water cans, but it would REALLY suck to punch a hole in a fuel can. And never mind the money wasted or that this just looks like shit. :banghead:

From the pics attached you can see the damage. Today I tried re-mounting the holders but no matter how much paitence I use the jerry cans and mounting bolts don't line up perfectly. You can see I've also added some self-adhesive weatherstrip to stop some of the other rubbing which was taking place. Primary problem of bolt/nut rubbing on can continues...

Anyone else using these jerry can holders with their rack? Similar problems, or did you mount them in a different manner?

 

[JeffM]

Unless Hanibal are completely brain dead I would of said that those self-tappers should be going the other way.

Just me but I prefer the Jerry can holdres from Slee Off Road OOpps probably gave at least one or two vendors secrets away

 

[kennith]

As long as you have them, you may as well make them work.

Try shorter hardware. Same type, but short enough that it won't poke through that recess.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[kennith]

Oh, wait a minute...

Do you have to slide those things down the rails of the rack? If this is the case, do they screw in from the bottom for this reason? If they are screws, you could still try a shorter one, or call Hannibal or the retailer for assistance.

That damage on the jerry cans is unsafe, I would discontinue use of those holders until you sort the problem out. Surely they were not designed to punch holes in fuel cans.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[Bender]

Yes, the bolts are inverted with the head of the bolt fitting into the channels on the flooring slats. The bolts then slide fore/aft for placement and the washer and nut screw on from above. This is the hardware supplied with the holders.

I was thinking the same as you, Kennith, that I'll try a shorter bolt (1/4 or 3/8" shorter). That should help some. I'll see how it goes from there.

Of course I could turn the holders 90 degrees and then the bolts could be placed at the edges or the middle where the cans meet, but then I'd have a pair of spoilers that would make the Disco's already stellar gas mileage that much better. Hmmm, self-perpetuating business??? Less MPG equates to a need for more jerry cans and holders...

I checked the Slee page but didn't see any jerry can holders. I haven't looked at EE's holders in person, but that could be a next step whenever I head up that way again or see somebody else's set on their rig. I'm doubtful that any of these other holders will work with the spacing of the slots/slats on the Hannibal (and I don't want to drill into the floor slats at this point). Next option to explore will be custom holders...

Thanks for the input guys!

 

[Asolo3j]

Did you try spacers (washers) between the rack rails and the jerry can holder to lift it up? Switching out hardware would be the easiest or drill some holes and thru bold it to the rack.