Extra petrol
As I write this regular unleaded gas is under $1.75 a gallon. The friend that I was talking with commented that he hoped that the prices would stay down for the trip he has planned for this summer. I asked him if he had his fuel storage as well setup as he had his food and water storage. [He has a full year of food and water put up.] He said he did not and asked what I meant.
The following is the gist of what we discussed. Once this system is set up, it will not cost you any more to maintain it as what you would normally spend on fuel for your vehicle. Start off with 5 gallon fuel cans [gas or diesel whatever your vehicle uses]. Given the about half off what we are used to paying for fuel I would think that you could start off with 12 fuel cans. If you want to get more cans great, if you want to get fewer fuel cans… whatever… that is up to you. Number the cans 1 to 12 so that you can rotate them. Depending on how much you drive, you can use one can a month and you will have rotated all of your fuel out in one year. The procedure for this would be to transfer the fuel from the can to your vehicle prior to heading to the filling station and then filling both your fuel tank and the can.
If you have the space to safely store the extra fuel you have and depending on how many vehicles you are storing for, you may want to store more than 12 cans.
When it comes time for the trip, load up the extra fuel cans and take them [all] with you. During the trip or at least the first part of it, use the stored fuel. When he gets home from the trip or during the extended lay over he can start refilling the gas cans and place them back into the rotation cycle.
To make transferring the fuel consider having either a large funnel or siphon pump OR both. It is way easier to transfer the fuel if you have a helper. Given that 5 gallons of fuel weighs about 40 lbs you may want to consider 2.5 gallon cans. Also the transfer pump is easier to use than a funnel.
Are there safety concerns with storing fuel? Well.. DUH, of course there are. Keep in a well ventilated space away from sources of ignition and avoid breathing the fumes. Also, I would not want to transport it inside the passenger compartment of your vehicle. Check with your local fire department for the rules on storing and transporting fuel.