Getting ready for March... Carrying 400 lbs of maple sap

[Frenchy906]

Going to be using the bronco for maple sap collecting this year. Hopefully it does the job well enough.

Went out and checked the trails this afternoon, and the weather the past few days (rain and 40°) has made the hard packed snow trails a huge mess.

So, hopefully I don’t get it stuck in the trails once the snow fully starts to melt and everything turns to a mucky mess.

The bungee straps are probably going to be a temporary thing for now… that way it’s not bouncing around in the back.

I got to figure out how to make it more secure still.

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[JPtapt]

Going to be using the bronco for maple sap collecting this year. Hopefully it does the job well enough.

Went out and checked the trails this afternoon, and the weather the past few days (rain and 40°) has made the hard packed snow trails a huge mess.

So, hopefully I don’t get it stuck in the trails once the snow fully starts to melt and everything turns to a mucky mess.

The bungee straps are probably going to be a temporary thing for now… that way it’s not bouncing around in the back.

I got to figure out how to make it more secure still.

How much weight will that tank end up holding?

 

[Frenchy906]

About 400 pounds.

I put the plywood down to distribute the weight more evenly.

I figured if I can fit two adults in the back, this should be no different.

 

[Whpony96]

How big of a tank is that? (400lbs of maple syrup is 36gal.) What ever you do don't use the OEM clips to secure that tank. You will break all 4 of them on the very first first turn. Those 2 side panels are quite pricey!

 

[Frenchy906]

How big of a tank is that? (400lbs of maple syrup is 36gal.) What ever you do don't use the OEM clips to secure that tank. You will break all 4 of them on the very first first turn. Those 2 side panels are quite pricey!

Oh I won’t be securing it to those once there's weight in it. it’s just for now to see how it all fit and everything.

And it’s maple sap, so, 8 pounds per gallon, it’s 98% water. It’s a 55 gallon tank.

 

[Whpony96]

Oh I won’t be securing it to those once there's weight in it. it’s just for now to see how it all fit and everything.

And it’s maple sap, so, 8 pounds per gallon, it’s 98% water. It’s a 55 gallon tank.

When I saw you using the plastic net clips, I thought to myself the next post of "How to clean out 55gal of maple sap from the inside of your Bronco Sport." was in the near future. LOL

 

[Frenchy906]

Nahhh.

That tank won’t tip once it’s full. We usually carry forty five gallon buckets in the suburban we have and they don’t move. I just gotta come up with a way to make the legs grip the plywood better so it doesn’t slide around is my main thing.

 

[Whpony96]

Nahhh.

That tank won’t tip once it’s full. We usually carry forty five gallon buckets in the suburban we have and they don’t move. I just gotta come up with a way to make the legs grip the plywood better so it doesn’t slide around is my main thing.

Automotive 3M double sided tape!

 

[Escape2Bronco]

Nahhh.

That tank won’t tip once it’s full. We usually carry forty five gallon buckets in the suburban we have and they don’t move. I just gotta come up with a way to make the legs grip the plywood better so it doesn’t slide around is my main thing.

I “wood” just screw down some cleats out of 1x2’s.

 

[TrueNorthSport]

When I saw you using the plastic net clips, I thought to myself the next post of "How to clean out 55gal of maple sap from the inside of your Bronco Sport." was in the near future. LOL

Or "How to get out of a very "sticky " situation with your Bronco Sport " !

Cheers

 

[NMhunter]

I've hauled 50 gallons of water in mine. I worried a bit about an accident that would push the tank up through the seat (and me) so I ran a heavy duty ratchet strap around the front of the tank and back to the two tie downs in the back. I taped the strap to the front of the tank to keep it from slipping down. Worked fine, but thankfully I didn't test it with an accident.

I'm very impressed with the capability of the BS in mud, snow, and sand, but the lack of clearance on rutted roads can get you in trouble. Good luck.

 

[Frenchy906]

I've hauled 50 gallons of water in mine. I worried a bit about an accident that would push the tank up through the seat (and me) so I ran a heavy duty ratchet strap around the front of the tank and back to the two tie downs in the back. I taped the strap to the front of the tank to keep it from slipping down. Worked fine, but thankfully I didn't test it with an accident.

I'm very impressed with the capability of the BS in mud, snow, and sand, but the lack of clearance on rutted roads can get you in trouble. Good luck.

Thank you for this! Good to know! I too, am worried, about any potential accidents, and then I noticed there’s the tie downs in the back. That made me feel a lot more comfortable with doing this.

I added the Bilstein b8s and 245/65/17 tires. I’ve got an extra inch and a half or so of ground clearance.

 

[CLR]

You must eat a lot of pancakes.

 

[Frenchy906]

You must eat a lot of pancakes.

Dad and I started making syrup for something to do during Covid.

We made like 6 gallons our first year, 19 the second, 46 two years ago (121 trees tapped), 33 gallon last year (reduced the amount of trees tapped to 82) and this year, we upped to 172 trees. Hoping to make 60+ gallons. We sell it. We also renovated part of his pole barn into a sugar shack.

We put up galvanized wall panels a few weeks ago.

He bought shelving units yesterday, and we had to move the reverse osmosis system and electrical up higher. Going to cut the upper arms of the shelving off level to the top shelf, so it’s not in the way…

I just bought material to take the reverse osmosis system from 500 gallons of sap processed a day, to 240 gallons of sap processed per hour.

 

[Quashish]

for better securing of tank i would just replace the bungee cords with ratchet straps and get a screw and washer through the ends into the plywood you got there. and ratchet them down.
The bigger question i have is how are you going to fill and drain the tank cleanly? i see the spout at the back for draining. maybe put a tarp down first underneath the plywood with a bit of an extra bib on it out the back to cover the bumper too.

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