Rotopax?

I figured out I'd rather manage my fuel better than carry the extra weight or spend the big $$$ Rotopax seems to think $5 worth of blown plastic is worth. I've yet to run out of gas since I stopped carrying the two 5 gallon jerry cans my previous ORF spare tire carrier could carry. I might leave a couple extra gallons in the small gas container I use for my lawn mower at camp but I won't carry it on the trail.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
I figured out I'd rather manage my fuel better than carry the extra weight or spend the big $$$ Rotopax seems to think $5 worth of blown plastic is worth. I've yet to run out of gas since I stopped carrying the two 5 gallon jerry cans my previous ORF spare tire carrier could carry. I might leave a couple extra gallons in the small gas container I use for my lawn mower at camp but I won't carry it on the trail.
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It's probably not a bad idea to be wiser about fuel management. I suppose you just have to be smart enough to make sure that there's a fuel station wherever you typically go wheeling.
 
I had considered them for my BOV preps, but I think jerry cans are a better option and more likely to be found or scavenged if the need arises. They do look cool though.
 
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Chris said:
Damn...
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Here is a video showing the production line for a blow molded fuel jug. If you make one small change to the item, it has to be done to each mold and copied perfectly.

My cost estimate doesn't include the ancillary equipment like the line, the extruder for the plastic, raw material conveyor, or the line, just the costs to set the line up to run the molds and the molds. Nor does it take into account the injection molded bits for the screw cap, mounts, or vents. Each of those molds is minimum of 10 grand. If you decide to make a production plastic piece, you best have the design perfect and tested before you go into production. It is a very expensive set up to do and the cost of the item does not reflect the small material costs but the overall cost amortized over several production runs. They will probably have to sell several thousand units before they get out of the red.

 
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mrblaine said:
Here is a video showing the production line for a blow molded fuel jug. If you make one small change to the item, it has to be done to each mold and copied perfectly.

My cost estimate doesn't include the ancillary equipment like the line, the extruder for the plastic, raw material conveyor, or the line, just the costs to set the line up to run the molds and the molds. Nor does it take into account the injection molded bits for the screw cap, mounts, or vents. Each of those molds is minimum of 10 grand. If you decide to make a production plastic piece, you best have the design perfect and tested before you go into production. It is a very expensive set up to do and the cost of the item does not reflect the small material costs but the overall cost amortized over several production runs. They will probably have to sell several thousand units before they get out of the red.

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Goes to show what I know about making plastic. I guess you assume that because it's plastic it must be cheap to manufacture in China, guess I was wrong! With as popular as these seem to be, my guess is they won't have a problem making their money back.
 
Not to take away from what Blaine said, but I wonder if Rotopax owns their own blow molding equipment or if their products are manufactured elsewhere for them.
 
Bermudacat said:
Based on the name, I'd imagine they're rotational molded.

http://www.rotomolding.us/
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They are rotational molded. The good news is the set up is slightly cheaper, the bad news is the manual labor is higher and it looks like they are using a 3 layer system which likely means 3 trips through the oven with additional bits of various polymers added at each heating.

Cheaper to start with, much higher cost per unit.
 
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