A couple of years ago I purchased a spare fuel container from Rotopax
(www.rotopax.com) in the 3-gallon size and mounted it in the luggage
rack of the Westy. I pulled it down two months ago and dumped the fuel
into the van's gas tank and refilled the container and put it back up.

Two weeks ago, during a hot spell, I smelled gas and traced it to the
container, which was making a hissing sound and spilling gas down the
front of the van. The van was parked in the driveway at the time.

Inspection revealed a hairline crack which had opened up on the side of
the container. After I removed the container I sent an email to the
company describing the problem. I received back a contact name at the
company and I called and left a message.

Twenty minutes ago the nice lady returned my call and explained that the
containers have a one year warranty but because I wasn't yelling at her
or anything, she'd send me a replacement container.

I inquired about whether this was a common failure and she said that on
hot days one should vent the container.

Now I note that their website has the following in all caps:

PLEASE NOTE: WHILE ROTOPAX STANDS BEHIND ALL PRODUCTS AND ANY FAILURE WE
CAN NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGE DUE TO FUEL LEAK. A LARGE NUMBER OF
CUSTOMERS CARRY OUR FUEL PACKS ON TOP OF OFF ROAD VEHICLES WITHOUT ISSUE
BUT THIS IS AT YOUR RISK. PLEASE ALWAYS REMEMBER TO VENT THE FUEL PACK
ONCE PER DAY IF THE ELEVATION OR TEMPERATURE CHANGES SIGNIFICANTLY.

But since it's on the roof of the van and laying on its side, she agreed
that that isn't really practical and said that the next best thing is to
not fill it completely. So it's just something I'll need to be aware of.

Anyway, I'm pleased that she was willing to ship a new container to me,
no charge, even though I didn't follow the instructions.

--
Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
1984 Westfalia, auto trans,
Bend, Ore.