driving with your tanks

[J75]

I usually alternate the tanks in my truck, so they fit together more nicely. For instance, three valves facing me, three facing away from me. I guess in the event of an accident, both the guy behind me and myself are out of luck. Of course I do live in Jersey and if the tanks don't kill me, the insurance will. :11doh:

 

[StSomewhere]

I take my weight belt and strap it around a pair of tanks. No special rack needed.

 

[Hoyden]

Sideways is preferable - if you can't manage vertical.

 

[Derek S]

Single tanks go sideways, double tanks go vertical. That's just the way they fit in my car. :14:

 

[genxweb]

Well here is a good link to show what a tank can do to your car http://www.thescubaguide.com/gear/tanks/safety.aspx

I store mine sideways in the back of my truck.

 

[countryboy]

If you are in an accident bad enough to "break" a scuba tank... Do you really think the direction they start in will have any bearing (pun intended) on the direction they will end up in / fly off in?

Just make sure any tanks [read: ALL EQUIPMENT is] are secure.

 

[MichaelBaranows]

Mine tank goes in the front seat and gets buckled in with a seatbelt

 

[Wayward Son]

Mine go sideways or valve to the front in the tunk, usually vertical in my truck.

Accidents do happen. In my trunk, if the car gets hit from the rear it won't take a big hit to nail any valves pointed to the rear. The valve may not come all the way off, but a full tank if essentially a gas powered gizmo. If it does break off or cracks, the gas is coming out at the point & will drive the tank in the opposite direction.

The valve has no propellant. The only danger from it is immediate, when/if it breaks away clean. After that it's simply inertia. While that does pose a potential hazard, the tank is under power until it loses enough pressure to no longer move it. It poses a hazard for a greater amount of time & distance.

 

[speedhound]

I've made a tank "rack" for the boot (aka US-trunk)of my car using some off-cuts of wood and some old webbing. When travelling the the tanks slot it into it to stop them rolling and banging together, and then I wedge the rest of my gear around the tanks to cushion them more. When not in use, the "rack" just stacks in the care boot, out of the way.

I usually put the tanks in bottom-first as they're easier to lift in and out using the valves. I do usually put the tanks in line with the passenger seat though...

 

[Tom Winters]

After watching "Dr. Strangelove", I installed a Doomsday Device in my truck. If someone rearends my truck, my tanks are positioned on a rack that will shear off the valves and fire the tanks into the offending person's windshield.
I had to detune this wonderful device after an unfortunate incident while backing into a parking space in Miami. Thankfully, with all the gun battles going on down there, no one noticed one more little bang, although the owner of the vaporized Mercedes probably had a little cause to wonder about what happened.