5 Year Trip in a Grenadier Across the World towing a Patriot X3 Which We Live In.

[Tom D]

Could have been something as simple as a container was filled with fuel at a low altitude and then the pressure differential at high altitude allowed the fuel to leak past a seal.

 

[ADVAW8S]

Could have been something as simple as a container was filled with fuel at a low altitude and then the pressure differential at high altitude allowed the fuel to leak past a seal.

That fits with the water issue they had at beginning of the episode. Rapid expansion of the water tank.

 

[BenTN]

The fuel was in a bladder on top of the trailer. In earlier parts of the episode, you can see one or two bladders shifting around on top of the vehicle. After they leave the village, there is a bladder visible on top of the trailer. It must have punctured in transit on the trailer, fuel leaked down, and was ignited by the stove. Tragic.

I agree with this hypothesis. Fuel bladder(s) are clearly visible strapped to the top of the trailer. Leah's description of fluid pouring down from above her as she stood at the stove would be consistent with this. There is also the following statement that now appears in their summary text below the video on youtube:

I would invite Matt to correct us, of course.

 

[Zimm]

The issue I can envision with a bag is friction. Get a stone from travel wedged under there and you're screwed.

 

[Tom D]

I think they might have ditched the bags, after having issues… it was mentioned in an earlier video I think.

 

[CRH]

I think they might have ditched the bags, after having issues… it was mentioned in an earlier video I think.

I was thinking the same, just couldn't find it

 

[Matt P]

Finally sat down to watch it. I was wondering why you were there so long. I see you're in china now, so the trip is still moving.

I have an EE with a forensic background. I wish I could have him inspect that. I'd love to know the cause.

It all definitely adds a dimension to the story line. I can't wit to see how you'all move on from here.

Hi Zimm. We'll provide more info in the next video, which will come out very soon. We know the cause. It was a catastrophic seam failure of the fuel bladder we were carrying on the trailer...

 

[Matt P]

A long working life in military aviation on the engineering side. Some in uniform but mostly industry. It's a community of brothers from other mothers, even the ones you haven't met. Sisters too of course but that doesn't rhyme

I get a sense there are quite a few in the forum standing by to help you guys get on your way. It's a tough setback but hopefully you can continue the journey when you're ready.

'Do not fear failure but be terrified of regret'. Deshauna Barber.

That makes a lot of sense! As for the community, I totally agree! Talking about communities, it's great to feel the love from all over the world, we'll circle back on specifics soon.

I love that quote too, it rings very true! You want to smile at the end of your life, not have the same regrets most end up having.

 

[Matt P]

How many cracked windshields have you experienced @Matt P ?

Believe it or not, only one so far! And it's still holding..

 

[Matt P]

Matt,

Catching up on your trip I was sad to see what happened and relieved to find out that you guys are OK. I look forward to hearing what the problem was and how you will proceed. The members here will do what we can. Are you on the Patriot forum? I wonder if they can help at all. The company might be able to do something to get you setup again. That is a long shot but worth a shot.

I lost my home in a fire in 2017 and we were left with only the clothes on our back as our city lost over 8000 homes. Losing your possessions is difficult but we were grateful as you are that we all made it out safe and now years later we have rebuilt our lives but the experience is traumatic and I hope you are able to take some time to heal.

I wasn't actually aware there was a Patriot forum. Do you have a link? A few things come up when you google...

As for losing your home, we can relate a little now I guess. That did go through my head, seeing all those people on the news lose their homes, now we have a little idea of what that must feel like. I'm so sorry to hear about yours back in 2017, I can't honestly imagine. It's gutwrenching to think about, it's great to hear you've rebuilt your lives and hopefully someway to getting through the trauma you all experienced. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

Time is a great healer, but this will no doubt stay with us for quite a while...

 

[Matt P]

Thanks I missed it.

Great news, that was a real stress test for the batteries.

The top of the Patriot is well built and largely helped to protect the batteries from the fire long enough for us to get it out in time.

 

[Matt P]

Finally watched the latest last night. Gutted.

This must have happened a couple of months ago though @Matt P ??

Yeh it wasn't yesterday, as making a video about it would obviously not be the priority, but we've now had a bit of time to gather our thoughts, and decided it was time to get the video out and see where we go from here.

 

[Matt P]

Leah mentioned a petrol leak in the video. @Matt P said earlier in this thread that he chose a petrol (gasoline) Grenadier over a diesel Grenadier based on legitimate concerns about the availability and quality of diesel resupply in the areas they planned to travel. The bitter irony is there is a good probability that diesel wouldn't have ignited in the same circumstances. Diesel in liquid form is hard to ignite. Petrol flash point is around -45C (-49F) and diesel is typically 52C to 96C (125F to 205F). Petrol is volatile and diesel is combustible which makes diesel safer for storage and transport.
But that's of no consequence to Matt because his choice of engine and fuel was necessarily based on logistics. He really had no choice without accepting a risk of no fuel or dirty fuel. It's still a kick in the nuts though.

Yup. There's always going to be pros and cons with any decision. This time we got that kick in the nuts you mention!

 

[Matt P]

Actually, I'll rewind a bit. I played that clip back and Leah talks about water gushing down, so it was something in liquid form, then she smelled fuel. Leah didn't say petrol, that's my memory and an association error. Matt carries fuel jerrys on the roof rack but I don't know what's on top of the trailer. Leah said they don't carry water on there.

Hi @Matt P Your hands are currently full but when you're ready if you have established the sequence of events leading up to the fire there's likely some good safety lessons learned if you feel like doing so.

Yup, we want to help and be as honest and as factual as we can. We were carrying a 18.9L fuel bladder on the top of the trailer as we had been for many months now. On this occasion, we had stopped to cook some lunch. We were at just over 3400M and it was 18C. The fuel bladder had a catastrophic seam failure, fuel gushed over the side of the trailer towards where Leah was cooking. The fumes caught fire before the actual fuel touched the stove. We managed to turn the gas off, which was fuelling the stove, but this all happened in seconds... the whole trailer went up very quickly. We will provide more details in the video coming soon.

 

[Matt P]

I just found this thread yesterday and watched all your videos in a row last night, excellent “content”, this is what YouTube is for.

So sorry to hear about your recent troubles of course, can only echo what everyone else has said about your positive outlook and that as long as you and family are safe then everything else is secondary. Best of luck getting going again

Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed the marathon and you're all caught up! It's an interesting time to join us on our journey, but welcome aboard!

 

[Logsplitter]

Matt if you are carrying extra petrol you should try the Wavian explosion proof Jerry cans. They are

super robust.
All the best for future travels.

 

[Matt P]

Could have been something as simple as a container was filled with fuel at a low altitude and then the pressure differential at high altitude allowed the fuel to leak past a seal.

It did a little more than leak past a seal...

 

[Tom D]

It did a little more than leak past a seal...

Sounds like it! Petrol has a habit of expanding big time in the heat. We use combi cans for our chainsaws. These have quick fill nozzles which release the fuel when pressure is applied pushing the can against the saw fuel tank. In the summer you have to remember to vent the can before inverting it otherwise the fuel comes out under high pressure and can spay everywhere.

I guess the altitude plus a sunny day was enough to over pressurise the bladder. Even so you’d think that they would be designed to cope with more pressure than that? Pretty dangerous design fault IMO.

 

[Matt P]

I agree with this hypothesis. Fuel bladder(s) are clearly visible strapped to the top of the trailer. Leah's description of fluid pouring down from above her as she stood at the stove would be consistent with this. There is also the following statement that now appears in their summary text below the video on youtube:

View attachment 7896349

I would invite Matt to correct us, of course.

We've included this under every video that includes footage of us using the Giant Armadillo Bags, as we don't want anyone else to experience this same issue - we were lucky, all things considered.

This is the very beginning of doing our bit to inform the community and hopefully getting this product removed from the market.

 

[Tazzieman]

Those fuel bladders were discussed elsewhere on this forum. They seem to be popular in The US offroading community; a different risk appetite I guess.
Never seen anyone use one in Australia. Probably not even legal.
Matt we're all really hoping you can keep your stuff together and continue on your life altering adventure.
Many of us are living vicariously through your adventures , for better or for worse.
A trip becomes an adventure when something goes wrong , in my experience.
But nothing ventured , nothing gained. All the best , as you get stuff sorted.