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Is there some DOT law that says that a rear mounted Jerry can must be painted red? I have two Vietnam era cans that are olive drab, and am going to mount them to my wag, but really don't want them bright red, that'll attract attention and thieves, no one would want crappy old green ones. Is it State mandated, or DOT, if there's even a law at all?

I highly doubt it. They come in every color under the sun, red is just the most prolific because it means gas instead of diesel, kerosene, or water. Run your green ones.

Well Redone, I called the Illinois DOT, and they told me in no uncertain terms that in the State of IL it is illegal to even put gasoline into any container that is NOT red. They said that the colors are specific to various liquids, so diesel or kerosene must be kept in yellow containers, gas in red, and water in blue, no ifs ands or buts. They really don't have any sense of humor about this at all, cuz I asked about Dr. Pepper, crickets. Lol

LoL, Dr. Pepper...

That's crazy. I've been running olive drab containers for years. Maybe that's only to be used for Olive oil?

Haha! All those army trucks are straight breakin' the law, putting gas and water in the same color Jerry cans!

(Military fuel and water cans are differentiated by the number of handles)

Well, I guess they're in violation of Illinois law at least. I've never been to ohio but I had a buddy who got popped for having blue dot tail lights, something like $325 for that, and he had to appear in court, he was just driving through. Ohio must need the revenue really badly. Anyway the local DOT guy here said it's up to each individual State, but I want confirmation on that. Or maybe I'll just piss em off and haul olive oil in em, good idea lump.

I have two...going to keep them Olive Drab

Man I hate those Illinois Nazis.

To my knowledge, this isnt just in that state, all 50 states have these same regulations. Although I believe white is fine for water as well.

I would think that it would be a federal thing, Every State having different DOT rules would be a recipe for chaos, but what the hell do I know?

Make gas cans great again. If you buy them from a Army Navy store as olive drab, is that my problem? No...

I'll cover mine in wood grain vinyl.

They won't even notice..

..

I do believe the color code is law. Of course Lawmakers and the military are not covered by those laws.
The color code is to help firefighters quickly see danger spots. Gasoline doesn't burn... it's the vapor that
burns at an alarming rate. Many fuel cans are not vented and the gasoline vapor pressure generates quickly
and bursting seams can let it escape. So paint your fuel cans with pink pock-a-dots or what ever.... it will be very cute!!!

I had a red one on the tail gate of my "76 for 30 years.

Good Luck.. Don S..

Don S wrote:..


I had a red one on the tail gate of my "76 for 30 years.

Good Luck.. Don S..

You had that sucker plumbed in too! I remember when I saw it in real life!

Back on topic, I just can't swallow this. All the metal Jerry can manufacturers claim they are DOT approved in 50 states and they all sell lots of colors. I think the person you talked to was blowing smoke.

DOT can colors (also inline with EU)
Red: Flammable liquids
Yellow: Diesel
Blue: Kerosene
Green: Oil (was diesel but was changed to match EU and UN HAZMAT id alignment 3 years ago)

I supposed they don't care if you put water in a red or green can. They will treat it like fuel if they are approaching it.

I'd say beat them at their own game. Buy a batch of 4" Hazmat labels with the correct "UN1203/flammable" logo and affix one label to each vertical side of the can.

I've been using old military cans for years in both OD and tan with no issues...yet. I guess it all depends on the 'right' cop.

Come to think of it I once ran out of gas in the middle of the night within sight of a gas station and walked over with my Jerry can. The attendant shut the pump off because it was an "unapproved container." She had a fit because it wasn't red. The station three miles down the road didn't seem to care

Milk jugs aren't red.

Grand_Wag_85 wrote:I'd say beat them at their own game. Buy a batch of 4" Hazmat labels with the correct "UN1203/flammable" logo and affix one label to each vertical side of the can.

I've been using old military cans for years in both OD and tan with no issues...yet. I guess it all depends on the 'right' cop.

This! Yes!

It definitely depends on the state and officer. CA even got it wrong in there official law enforcement suspicious person terrorism training video. They dont even enforce the approved noxxle law after it is bought. In OR they will wait till you have an accident then spend hours nitpicking the scene for every violation they can write you up for, the the ODOT officer will see if there was anything missed.