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

[Zimm]

Now that I consider it, I Have this weird thing about fuel. I always have the fuel cans on the back, and prior to firing up cofefe I would remove them from the truck or set up a table away. I had my multifuel leak once, (my fault) and I made a sacrifice out of a state owned picnic table in Vermont. I also burned down my kitchen with a pressure cooker. All that was left of the cardboard 6 pack holder behind me were 6 disks under the bottles. It went up all around me and shot out the windows, and all I had was a body covered in melted hairballs. No clue how it missed me. I guess the lid somehow. I shouldn't be here. So, I've declared myself fire incompetent. I'm always paranoid about my rig going up.

A bursting bag of fuel could have ended much worse. Thank goodness no one was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jesus.

 

[Commodore]

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.

Have you contacted the manufacture of the Armadillo Bag yet? It would appear that they have some liability in this.

 

[Zimm]

Have you contacted the manufacture of the Armadillo Bag yet? It would appear that they have some liability in this.

Thats where a forensic engineer would come in, and the scene is gone. Not that the Insurance company was going to send someone to Nepal. Also...

They appear to cover their ass. They say it's hydrocarbon compatible, but then say it's not for fuel... or potable water... so, wtf is it for???

 

[LeeroyJ]

I really, really, appreciated my long-ranger second fuel tank on my last trip. I highly recommend it if you can figure out a way to get one installed (not particularly easy) before (if) you take off again.

The more I think about it, the more I am incredibly relieved that this didn't turn out worse. Fortune was on your side that day even though it probably doesn't feel like it right now.

The only time I've seen fuel bladders used has been for ocean crossings on yachts, and then they are typically filled with diesel. I just wonder if all the bumping and shaking and resulting abrasion from a year and 37,000kms offroad was too much for them.

I'm looking forward to the next video and learning where you choose to go from here!

 

[Matt P]

Have you contacted the manufacture of the Armadillo Bag yet? It would appear that they have some liability in this.

You'd think so wouldn't you. I contacted them and copied in a few members of staff to ensure it wasn't ignored - of course it was ignored. I then sent a follow-up and the Manager got back to me and said he'd received everything I'd sent and he'd review it and get back to me. Since then, I have a feeling they have received legal advice, and have since stonewalled us. We haven't heard anything from them. The crazy thing is, we're not the only ones and this has happened in far more benign places. (If this Amazon review can be trusted) I wish I'd checked Amazon as part of my research because if I'd seen this, I wouldn't have touched them... Such is life, we are where we are.

 

[LeeroyJ]

Thats where a forensic engineer would come in, and the scene is gone. Not that the Insurance company was going to send someone to Nepal. Also...

They appear to cover their ass. They say it's hydrocarbon compatible, but then say it's not for fuel... or potable water... so, wtf is it for???

View attachment 7896502

Saying they are not portable fuel containers is asinine. They can say it all they want, but its 100% clear that is what they are being designed, built, advertised, and sold for. They can also just look at customer usage and see how they are actually being used. I suspect that disclaimer would have very little, if any weight, in court.

 

[Matt P]

Thats where a forensic engineer would come in, and the scene is gone. Not that the Insurance company was going to send someone to Nepal. Also...

They appear to cover their ass. They say it's hydrocarbon compatible, but then say it's not for fuel... or potable water... so, wtf is it for???

View attachment 7896502

This also only applies to US only apparently. Yet they still advertise as if it's an overland product, designed to be used for the most obvious case... Check their Instagram.

This is pretty much our exact case. I'm not sure what else you would be pouring into the fuel tank? What's beyond insensitive is that they posted this AFTER knowing about what happened to us.

Here are more examples (click the links) of their advertising for this product. One , Two , Three , Four , Five , Six (this one is a video) There's a good chance these links will be taken down soon but I have videos and screenshots of them all.

It seems it started out as a Fuel Bladder so I can only assume something happened in the US and they changed the name of it. They clearly know they have a product that could potentially harm people, yet they continue to sell it...

We actually really liked the product initially and were talking to them about helping to spread the word as it was easier to use than jerry cans and folded away. We were very clear about what we'd be doing with them and what conditions we'd be taking them in and they were all for it. I would never normally do this but I feel we now have a moral obligation to ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else. We couldn't live with ourselves. It's a real shame as I'm all for innovative products but when we're talking about the transport of fuel and people's lives, you can't cut corners.

 

[Matt P]

I really, really, appreciated my long-ranger second fuel tank on my last trip. I highly recommend it if you can figure out a way to get one installed (not particularly easy) before (if) you take off again.

The more I think about it, the more I am incredibly relieved that this didn't turn out worse. Fortune was on your side that day even though it probably doesn't feel like it right now.

The only time I've seen fuel bladders used has been for ocean crossings on yachts, and then they are typically filled with diesel. I just wonder if all the bumping and shaking and resulting abrasion from a year and 37,000kms offroad was too much for them.

I'm looking forward to the next video and learning where you choose to go from here!

This was always the plan from day one but they weren't available when we set off...

 

[Tom D]

Is this the same product that Scott Brady used on his Africa trip in the Grenadier?

 

[Zimm]

The funny part is, if you look at the trucks in the series of pictures, it's pretty clear the pickup they are filling has US plates in another photo. The photo's are not copacetic with the directions. Too bad you're not on US soil. Even if you mistreated the bag, their own documentation and advertising admits guilt.