I'm new to all this but I just bought a new but small motorhome.  Can anyone tell me where I might find the law governing carrying a Jerry can on the rear of a motorhome?
Some say it is against the law but I have seen many a 4X4 with a Jerry can attached to the rear of the vehicle  as well as a motor home or two. All responses appreciated.

g'day Launt and welcome to the forum, as far as I am aware there is no governance restricting you from placing a jerry can of fuel on the rear of your vehicle as long as it is a holder and is obviously secure I have done it for in excess of thirty years on and around various vehicles in ALL states and have as yet NEVER been been questioned by the wallopers as to the legallity of the containers I will stick my neck out and state that it is not against the law

Thanks Dave, I'll take it that it is an urban myth. I hope we are able to engage in small talk on the road someday. Best wishes Launt

I look forward to it

I'll get out the legislation and have a look for you, Dave may be correct; he usually is.
There is some rules concerning the carrying of fuel not in the vehicles tank/s and LPG has it's own set of safety rules.

Thanks, Basil. 'preciate it. regards Launt

As far as the "Road Rules" are concerned the only problem would be if  fitting the Jerry can made the vehicle exceed the "overhang" limit which is 60% of the wheel base. This rule also applies to towed vehicles which have special considerations and design certificates issued so that you are not allowed to increase the length of a caravan etc by adding a jerry can or in fact any thing else that sticks out further than the certificate states, you would be able to put a jerry can beside a spare tyre on a Caravan if it did not stick out further than the spare.
There are other rules though concerned with the carring of fuel external to the vehicle and I'm seeking clarification. will get back to you on this .

Many thanx, Basil.

Launt

This is the response to the question is it legal to carry diesel in Jerry cans attached to the rear of a vehicle; if you can make sense of it then perhaps you could explain it to me. Yet another example of beaureacratic hubris....
I guess it's a qualified "YES YOU CAN"

DECC has been asked this question before due I believe to our involvement with Dangerous Goods legislation and licensing. Diesel is not classed as a Dangerous Good and petrol (which is a Dangerous Good Class 3 and highly flammable) can be carried without a Dangerous Goods licence in amounts less than 250L.  This is the only definitive advice DECC can provide as it is the only piece of legislation that refers to petrol and diesel. It is possible that there is an Australian Design Rule related to vehicle safety that may control where on a vehicle any such external contraptions are fixed however I was not able to access the ADRs to check. You could try contacting the federal Dept infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development as they have both the ADRs and Vehicle Safety legislation under their general control. They have NSW regional offices in Newcastle, Orange and Wollongong see http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/utilities/contact.aspx  The NRMA may also be able to provide advice on this aspect.

 

I do not believe it is illegal to fix a jerry can to the rear of a vehicle in NSW however there is always an element of risk when carrying fuel. It is not sensible to fix jerry cans to the rear of a vehicle due to the inherent danger of a rear ended collision and the greatly increased risk of fuel spill and fire in such circumstances, particularly with petrol.  For caravans this is made somewhat easier by the potential to fix the jerry cans to the front of the caravan rather than the rear.  For a 4WD roof racks or a trailer are a preferable place to stow jerry cans. If you are going to be carrying fuel a lot, it would be worth investigating the installation of long range tanks to avoid the issue altogether.  Please note that any jerry can (plastic or steel) intended to be used for carrying fuel must comply with Australian Standard AS2906.2001. 

 

Wherever you decide to secure the jerry cans ensure they are well protected from impact and are secure. Some companies make special rigid holders for this purpose and I have seen some on the rear of 4WDs but you are likely to find that the makers will not generally endorse these rear door holders for carrying fuel cans and will likely say they are for carrying water cans or refer you to somewhere else to find out.

 

-- Edited by Basil Faulty on Friday 3rd of April 2009 05:34:50 PM

launt even though I still dont think there is any law against carrying jerry cans in any particular position I would like to add that in some cases it is obviously dangerous we went across to the laura folk fair last weekend and came up behind a caravan, obviously a long termer, now this feller had 4 jerry cans across the back on some sort of setup off his rear caravan bumper I just thought that perhaps that is not the best way to carry them, looked like a major accident waiting to happen

Don't you just LOVE allllll the departments (government obviously............living on our tax dollars) that are involved in this and yet...........not one of them can give you a definite yes or no.

Why do we pay them??  Go to this site or that department ??  Isn't that their job??

We ask them the question..........they get the answer for us................!!