Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Living in Africa and planning a camping trip to parts remote, I want to fit an extra fuel tank to my defender. The workshop manual shows an optional side tank is available, but a L/R dealer in RSA tells me they are no longer available and LR get twitchy if you even mention this.

The after market people say the only place to fit one is under the rear seat, but I don't want to lose this valuable storage space, and they want the equivalent of 500 quid for the job.

Is it possible to fit a fuel tank under the driver seat in this vehicle? Does it have to have a side mounted filler, or can I fill it under the seat? Do LR still produce the parts; if not I can always try second hand if it is possible? Is this an easy job?

Grateful for any experiences or advice

Sean

I have a sill mounted tank under the floor of the drivers seat. In Oz, Opposite Lock sell a 55L tank made by Outback Accessories in Perth WA. It is filled from the same filler as the rear tank, difference is that the filler pipe is replaced with a 'Y' filler and you point the nozzle of the bowser into the opening you want.

My tank is well made but the mounting kit was poor, leaving the tank sit about 20mm below the chassis rail. Had to fabricate new brackets to fix this. An electric fuel pump transfers fuel from the aux to the main tank on demand.

The aftermarket replacement rear tanks I have seen seem to compromise ground clearance at the back. I like having the extra weight closer to the front axle and ground clearance uncompromised. I did see a home made aux tank fitted inside a 110 in the rear footwell. Supposedly held 200L. Not to my liking though.

i think you can modify a series tank to fit under the seat??
there was a post on the "d90 source" about how to do this.
the front radius arm mount might be in the way, but a small chop in the tank would cure this.
at least in a 130 the trailing arm mount is back further, so no mods there.
if you bought a cheap tank secondhand you may be able to gal it.
in aus you can get tanks that fit with the toolbox or with the toolbox removed (greater capacity)
i don't know how to list web sites but look at "4wd systems" and "longrange automotive" and "browndavis automotive" and "arb"($$$$$)
good luck,
david.