Water tank under cargo area floor?

The route I took is both elegant and cumbersome. I ordered the Terrafirma's swing away wheel carrier (not yet installed) and x3 Universal 6 Gallon "Spare" Tanks from trailedonline.com that sit where the spare used to be. Very sturdy, weight on the vehicle is low, easy to clean, can use for fuel or water. Down side is they are a bit of a hassle to use.
Firstly, I now will be taking my cordless drill with me so I can quickly unspool and spool the cable to lower and raise the tanks. (the last synching up needs to be done with a wrench). The hole in the center of the tanks is bigger than the LR4's wheel carrier dohicky thing that holds the spare wheel up, so I had a spacer machined from aluminum to fix that. (Design attached...there definitely is a cheeper way to fix this as mine cost $250 to make.) There is a trick to mounting the tanks, unspool the cable all the way, stand the tanks up leaning against the bumper, thread the cable through and start reeling them in. Wiggle the tanks so they center into place. I dont know what the wheel carrier is rated to hold but I think it unwise to put x3 tanks under there (150lbs ish). they fit (just) but I have opted to go with two...12 gallons (45L) is enough for me. I use a strap wrench to open and close the very tight cap on the tanks. Pictures below show x3 tanks in place, each is 3" in height and 29" in diameter.
I prefer to use collapsible bladders to store water inside the LR4 as the sound of sloshing water bugs me.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0qGfnH8tGGoO7N

Sitting here in Canada I warn against putting a large volume of untreated water in your vehicle if you are going to see sub zero temperatures

GibboUSA said:

The route I took is both elegant and cumbersome. I ordered the Terrafirma's swing away wheel carrier (not yet installed) and x3 Universal 6 Gallon "Spare" Tanks from trailedonline.com that sit where the spare used to be.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0qGfnH8tGGoO7N

Click to expand...

Thank you for this. I've been looking for a solution like this for awhile.

I have one of these mounted behind the second row of seats, with a Shurflo pump feeding water to a small faucet in the trunk: https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.c...s-mounts/front-runner-slanted-water-tank.html

It works well and is easy to fill. The biggest issue is the sloshing sound. I've been looking for small food-safe baffle balls to put in the tank to eliminate the sound, but haven't come across anything yet.

HarryO said:

Here it is - project not 100% complete yet but its enough to give you the concept.

Let me know if you have any questions...

Click to expand...

Thanks so much, HarryO, this is very inspiring. I’ll mull this over still as raising the floor by 10 cm (I thought at first you said 10 mm, my mistake) would probably mean I have to get rid of my current setup. It consists of a Front Runner drawer set with a fridge slide on top… But I’ll do some measurement and just maybe it’ll work. I’ll sure be in touch when I bring it all to Australia, which is on my list (as is every continent). Doubt it will be any time soon though, I’m thinking the Americas first, and even they have to wait for Covid to pass, of course.

GibboUSA said:

The route I took is both elegant and cumbersome. I ordered the Terrafirma's swing away wheel carrier (not yet installed) and x3 Universal 6 Gallon "Spare" Tanks from trailedonline.com that sit where the spare used to be. Very sturdy, weight on the vehicle is low, easy to clean, can use for fuel or water. Down side is they are a bit of a hassle to use.
Firstly, I now will be taking my cordless drill with me so I can quickly unspool and spool the cable to lower and raise the tanks. (the last synching up needs to be done with a wrench). The hole in the center of the tanks is bigger than the LR4's wheel carrier dohicky thing that holds the spare wheel up, so I had a spacer machined from aluminum to fix that. (Design attached...there definitely is a cheeper way to fix this as mine cost $250 to make.) There is a trick to mounting the tanks, unspool the cable all the way, stand the tanks up leaning against the bumper, thread the cable through and start reeling them in. Wiggle the tanks so they center into place. I dont know what the wheel carrier is rated to hold but I think it unwise to put x3 tanks under there (150lbs ish). they fit (just) but I have opted to go with two...12 gallons (45L) is enough for me. I use a strap wrench to open and close the very tight cap on the tanks. Pictures below show x3 tanks in place, each is 3" in height and 29" in diameter.
I prefer to use collapsible bladders to store water inside the LR4 as the sound of sloshing water bugs me.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0qGfnH8tGGoO7N

Click to expand...

This is very interesting, too, especially budget-wise. Maybe I’ll get these tanks as a backup. But for more permanent usage, I think they wouldn’t be handy during long overlanding trips, which are my primary goal. And for fuel, there is the custom-made tank from Front Runner - pricier, for sure, but a whole 80 L. I admire your ingenuity, though!

Nick Schoeps said:

I swear I've seen one for sale by an Australian company - it was a welded steel insert that fits where the 3rd row seats would live.

I've often wondered whether I could just do a soft-sided bladder in that spot . . .

Click to expand...

I've just registered at AULRO and will look there but if you find a link to that tank, please share... I also believe I've seen a bladder to put on the hood of a Defender - logically there should be no reason not to put one on a Disco, right?