Hi Jason,

First off I love my new fuel packs they are the best! Attached are some photos of my Arctic Cat TRV 1000 with the two 3 gallon cans mounted. They are going to see a lot of use as the 1000 is a thirsty beast!

Thanks and keep up the good work!

Bob Nitkowski

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Well first let me say that I am more than happy with the money I have spent on this product. After my recent trip to NM for TOTH I am looking to purchase a set of the water packs as well from Rotopax...thats how impressed i was with their product.

I left from Houston, TX last Thursday night and filled with the Rotopax up at the local Costco as we headed out I-10. We were driving through the night and riding on trails as soon as we arrived Friday, so I figured it would be easier to fill them as we left Houston. Needless to say the Rotopax held up flawlessly on the 750 mile drive to Weed, NM. The only issue I had was the knocking of the straps which I hadn't tied off once fully tightened, but this was corrected by pulling off at an exit outside of Houston and tieing off the excess portion of the strap. Anyways we arrived in NM and I was happy to see that there was no sign of leaks on the fuel packs or the roof after the 12 hour drive!

Needless to say I didn't think this was a tough enough test yet for the rotorpax. Instead I decided to leave them on the roof for the entire duration of our trail runs rather than remove a few and store them at the campsite. I figured being in the sun all day and the afternoon heat would really test the fuel packs out. However, I actually tested them even more than I expected due to the fact that I filled the fuel packs in Houston which is basically at sea level and then drove to about 9000ft. I hadn't left much extra room in the pack for expansion due to heat let alone the altitude change!

Needless to say during the trail run on Friday I finally took the time to inspect the packs when we were on top of hanglider hill (name should give an impression on the elevation). The packs had expanded to a considerably and it looked as if the ratchet straps were a size 32 belt trying to fit around a size 40 waist individual. The straps were definitely putting a good amount of pressure ("squeeze") on the packs. At this point I was quite concerned about the packs leaking, but when I inspected further there were no signs of leaks. I was honestly quite surprised since the expansion due to altitude and heat was quite considerable.

Here are a few pictures of how I had them mounted on the roof.










As you can see its a fairly easy setup and only take a couple minutes to have them secured. I'm fairly content with this setup and probably won't be spending any money on the rotopax mounts unless I put them on my spare tire.

The only modification I will make in the future is to put a rubber mat or similar material down on the rack before mounting the rotopax. This will keep them from rubbing back and forth on a metal surface (the rack) and minimize the effects of dirt and other debris that gets in between the pack and rack. However, even after a 1500 mile trip the packs did not show to much wear and tear.


Now pouring the gas from the pack into the FJ's tank isn't the easiest and is really the only disadvantage I can see to this product. However, I think anyone who is realistic about the shape of the product would see this.

The spout which is internal when the can is sealed and in transport is easy enough to loosen and remove once you have removed the cap. Simply flip the spout so it is external and then re-tighten the gas cap. The spout is fairly flexible so it does make pouring slightly easier than I expected. Basically I raised the tank up stuck the spout in, then loosened the breather cap, and lifted the gas pack up to pour into the FJ's gas tank.

Overall its a fairly easy operation, but a bit awkward when you first get started. Probably not as easy as pouring your typical jerry can. However, the low profile aspects and resistance to leakage make me give this fuel pack a thumbs up.


On a side note I did speak with two other individuals who were having leakage issues with their standard jerry cans while at TOTH. My thought was that it was likely caused by the heat and altitude causing the seal to fail. Anyways just wanted to let everyone know that all four of the packs which I took did not have any leakage issues.


I'll post up an additional update later this year after a few more trips to note if my review of the product has changed.

 

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Here is a review sent into us by Chris Salyer from Mesa, AZ. He also attached some photos of how they used our packs.

You can download his review here- it is in PDF.

 

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Guys (and Gals),

I recently decided to get rid of the large Kolpin fuel pack and water pack to get something smaller. After trying to figure out how to downsize, I took a look at RotopaX again. They recently came out with these new 1 gallon packs. After looking around, I gave them a call and talked to Jason. I learned a few new things.

RotopaX are made different. They are "roto" molded instead of blow molded like the kolpin. (The new Kolpin packs, not the old ones made by the RotopaX guys in the past) This means the mold is spun to ensure that the plastic gets around and coats everywhere to keep from having weak spots.

Most people have not owned the new kolpin packs AND the RotopaX. If you want to know what the difference is.. take an empty kolpin pack and an empty RotopaX pack and squeeze them. The RotopaX feels like it is AT LEAST twice the thickness. No joke. My one gallon feels bullet proof. When I pulled it out of the box I could tell that this thing could double as a skid plate. The kolpin feels like a thicker 2 liter bottle in comparison.

The pack mount I received with the pack is really solid. They look nice in the picture, but until you feel the weight and sturdiness of the mount, it's hard to describe. I was a little skeptical about it being able to take some punishment, but not anymore.

The RotopaX is hands down superior to the Kolpin. Please.. fellas.. don't throw any money away on Kolpin anymore. The RotopaX is the real deal. I am only ranting and raving about this because I feel like I threw my money away on the kolpin stuff, and I don't want you guys to do the same.

I never had a problem with MY kolpin packs.. other than the water one leaking. (this was before I had the gas one) I called Kolpin and they sent me the carb nozzles that don't leak. Sweet. I was ok in that dept. My friend bought a kolpin gas pack as well. He got a call from his apartment lease office about a gas smell coming from his garage. The kolpin pack was EMPTY. All of the gas had slowly seeped out. There was a small pin hole in the bottom corner of the pack. Not on the seam.. the corner. AND NO DAMAGE.. JUST REALLY THIN PLASTIC!! Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that I didn't switch over because the kolpin is a bad pack. But after getting the RotopaX, I know that it is by far and beyond a better product. It is like comparing the Grizzly to one of those side of the road pocket rocket bikes. One is great, and one is a scaled down novelty.

Adrian

 

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Read this review from motorcycleusa.com on RotopaX!

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And check out this review from overlandjournal.com!

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Jason,

My spouse and I just returned from an 8-month motorcycle trip through all the Americas. We wanted to say thank you for making such great products.

We mounted one 2-Gallon fuel Rotopax to one bike and the other bike had two 1-gallon Rotopax attached to it (gas and water).

The Rotopax were flawless and used them several times throughout the trip, especially in South America where gas stations are not always available in remote areas. We went from sea-level to 15,000 feet in altitud, from very cold temperatures to very hot ones (14 F to 110 F) and dropped/crashed the bikes several times. Not a leak or any single issue with the Rotopax. We are very impressed with how tough they really are.

I have a few photos of the bikes with the Rotopax mounted that I would like to share with you. Please let me know how I can send these photos to you.

Cheers,
Alberto.