150 Gallon Replacement tank

[SmokinJoe]

If you could swap your stock tank for a 150 gallon unit how much would your be willing to pay?

 

[stick]

$14. 00!!

(you asked)

 

[Bigsaint]

Okay Joe, you have my interest ????



Scott W.

 

[The patriot]

Depends, what's it made of, is it made well, baffled, etc. etc. ?

Eric

 

[rrausch]

That's 1,200 pounds of fuel!



I just installed a 45 gal aux. tank in the bed, right between my cab & toolbox and I can feel the difference when I take off, but it is real nice to have 80 gallons!

 

[Bigsaint]

I had a 110 gal. aux. tank in the bed last winter. Rode like a cowboy caddy when full. When 1/2 full, it felt like Rosie O'donnel and her mate where mud wrestling back there .



Scott W.

 

[The patriot]

LMAO at the rosie o daniel comment... .

 

[Bigsaint]

She reminds me alot of my sister in law and my truck... big and loud , 'cept I love my truck .



Scott W.

 

[hdtrukn]

Alot of Fuel

Hey, I gotta ask.

How many miles to a gallon do you lose hauling that much fuel.

Dont know about you, but I can go 550-600 miles on a tank.

And let me tell you, by then I am ready for a pitstop.

JMO

Scott

 

[Bigsaint]

I didn't see a great loss in MPG, hauling the 110 aux. tank, maybe . 5 MPG in town, didn't get on the highway enough for a good read.



My MPG in town with the winter blend diesel is around 12-13, with the summer fuel, I see about 14-15 in town. That's typically unloaded, with the exception of the of the toolbox, which maybe weighs in at about 300 lbs. with all the gear I keep in same.



1200 lbs. in the bed is nothing for the Cummins, could hardly tell it was there.



Scott W.

 

[Lurch]

Weight has very little effect on mileage. Wind resistance is what makes or breaks mileage.



Lurch

 

[Powder Extreme]

How the heck are you going to put a 150 gallon tank where the stock tank is? I'm going to have my quadcab longbed stretched 3 feet and we figure the biggest custom tank they can fit will be about 100 gallons. It would be worth a pretty penny if you could do it, but I'd have to see it to believe it.



Jerry

 

[Peter Campbell]

150 gallons MMMMMNNNN. Lets see 7. 48 gallons per cubic foot= 20 cubic feet. I presently have an AERO tank (bad idea) that replaces the original with a 50 gallon capacity and a transfer flow ( good idea lots of $$ and quality) spare tire spot tank with 38 gallons. So you could put the exahaust on the other side of the frame rail and put a tank there. Or maybe get a 3" body lift and make a large flat tank and/or that is make to fit in all the nooks and crannies and over the frame. Outside the frame rails was done by GM safe as long as you dont get into an accident with lit flares under your truck. It would be possible but the best bet so far is the transfer flow large replacement. But it is a lot of dollars. For me avoiding New york taxes was the winner. Not really saving money but I am not paying the taxes that do not go to roads ( to crack addicted baby machines in NYC). If you could do it inside the frame rails that would be interesting to see. But I am done with fuel mods.

 

[rrausch]

Peter, why don't you like the Aero tank?



I bought the Aero DP45, an in-the-bed alum. diamond plate tank and I love it. The only thing was the inside was a little dusty, when I picked it up, but I washed it out and installed it. I hooked up with NAPA's elec. valve, pump and their nice big fuel filter/h2o separator. I hooked up a neat little switch next to my frog-eyes gauge pod, and a little green led to remind me the switch was on and it all works great. Now, when my main tank gets low I just fill 'er up with a flip of the switch.

 

[Peter Campbell]

Whhoo-Boy (from Quantum leap series) Where do I start. Installed in my truck is the AERO 50 gallon reoplacement and the Transfer flow 38 gallon spare tire tank. First tank in was the AERO stock replacement. My issues: The as built sender unit sealing did not seal, or even work as built. Used the stock sender cover and lots of beads of silicon until I got a seal. Dodge service manual says DO NOT drill flanges on the truck. For mounting things you are supposed to drill the web (center part) of the frame staying 1 1/2" away from the flange. Big 3/8" diameter holes required to be drilled right on the flange basically in the midspan of the frame. So who has the smarter engineering team? I think it is the ones who ran these trucks into wall so the frame folds in predictable places. Just because it holds up does not mean it is sound. My first spare tire spot tank was the AERO 40 gallon. The 50 gallon tank was an engineering achievement in fit and finish compared to the POS 40 gallon tank. The fill neck required that the filler tube be in the wheel house (wheelhouse surgery on plastic and sheet metal. The filler tube on the tank pointed straight at the spare tire crossmember. It coud not be raised up enough due to an iterference in the corner. Cutting the filler tube, adding blocks of wood, having this dorky filler neck in the wheel well and I could not get the butchery I had to do to stop weeping fuel. In the dumpster it went and a transfer flow went in. This is not a plug but they do thier homework. Good fit and finish, nothing to manage, no leaks and filler neck next to stock. My thought- if you have a 10 year old truck without a straight body panel and want to add fuel capacity call aero and have cooter (dem duke boys mechanic) get his sawzall to "make it fit" But I know what I want for a truck costing $35K and it is not that level of quality.

 

[rrausch]

Yikes! bummer.

 

[SmokinJoe]

$14?

Ok,



It would have to be $1,000 I think. As much as the existing hardware would be re-used. No new holes anywhere or body lift required. Yes it would be inside the frame rails. No it would not be for trucks that we cannot get our hands on or gassers. Yes the exhaust would have to go outside the frame. Moving your exhaust for adding more than 100 gallons is cheap.



The fuel would be for the guys who have sickly running RAMs that get poor mileage. For the guys that want to win in a tug of war by making their truck 750 pounds heavier. For those that want summer fuel all year or who what to buy fuel long BEFORE a holiday weekend so as not to get gouged.



The tank would be stainless steel with baffles. The company I work for has made fire trucks for the Midwest.



No leaks would be a guarantee. It is time to raise the bar on fuel tank options for the Cummins Powered Dodge RAM. Obviously the first model with the tank will be my 2001.



How many TDR member would be interested? Any?

 

[mvaughn]

Inbed Tank?

Originally posted by rrausch

Peter, why don't you like the Aero tank?



I bought the Aero DP45, an in-the-bed alum. diamond plate tank and I love it. The only thing was the inside was a little dusty, when I picked it up, but I washed it out and installed it. I hooked up with NAPA's elec. valve, pump and their nice big fuel filter/h2o separator. I hooked up a neat little switch next to my frog-eyes gauge pod, and a little green led to remind me the switch was on and it all works great. Now, when my main tank gets low I just fill 'er up with a flip of the switch.

I'm thinking of getting the Aero 65gal bed tank. Can you tell me if you considered tying into the fuel system with an electric valve and did you sit the tank on the bed or a rubber mat. Do you still know the part # of the napa items? Thanks!

 

[Extreme1]

A little more off topic but...

Originally posted by Peter Campbell

Big 3/8" diameter holes required to be drilled right on the flange basically in the midspan of the .

I understand your concerns, but the center of a beam web (in this case a channel web) is refered to as the neutral axis. The stresses are very low in this region and a 3/8" hole would have no effect in the way the section performs when loaded.



As for your Aero install, don't you love the way some companys turn out stuff that doesn't work? I've built a few hi perf street cars and MOST of the "fits all" parts don't work on ANYTHING unless you cut and bend it.

 

[rrausch]

mvaughn, I didn't think of a rubber mat. Although I have a Rhino liner, so maybe that cancels out the need for a rubber mat.



Are you going to get Aero's installation kit? They wanted about $280 for the kit for my 45DP. I said no and got my own stuff together. I didn't want their sending unit and another gauge to clutter up things in the dash (I have 3 extra gauges now!) If I want to know how much is in the tank I step up on the running board, open the filler cap and peer into the tank. Works for me!



The fuel filter base I got from NAPA was part # 4309. Cost me $27.

The NAPA filter is a little bigger than our stock filter. NAPA # 3123 Cost $12.

I like it because it has a drain-cock on the bottom of the filter, so you can drain water if needed.

I also got an electric valve, but not from NAPA. It is the kind of valve trucks with dual tanks use, to switch back and forth between tanks. Cost me $41.

Also got hoses, fittings, etc.



One thing... Aero did not have a block-off plate available for my tank, since I didn't want to use their sending unit. I made my own, out of a plate of 1/4" alum. They say to epoxy it in place... don't use silicone. So I did. 1/8" Alum might be better.



I was a little bothered that the tank they wanted to give me, sitting on the showroom floor, had a lot of dust in it, because the sending unit hole had not been taped. (None of the tanks on the floor were taped, possibly so people could see into them). Anyway, I asked for a fresh one, from the back and they got me one. It had less dust, but I definitely washed it out with diesel. But with 2 filters in line now, maybe that wasn't necessary. Better safe than sorry with an expensive injection pump I say!



I considered going the "auxillary tank" way, the Aero is set up for that, but I ended up going the "transfer tank" way, as it was easier to figure out and do. So now, fuel flows out the bottom of my tank, thru a 12 volt valve, thru a pump, thru the filter and goes into the stock filler tube. While I was at ATS transmissions, in Denver, I pulled my filler tube and drilled a 3/8" hole into it, then got a piece of 3/8 brake tube, pushed it into the hole just a little bit, and asked ATS's welder to weld it in. He did and it works great!



I mounted my switch on my "frog eyes" gauge pod, and connected it to a green led indicator light mounted on the bottom of the same pod, and when I throw the switch, it fills the main tank at about one gallon per minute. I wired up mine so it will only work with the key on. So in the unlikely event I ever forget it, and walk away with the switch on, it won't pump out all over the ground and get me in trouble.



I placed my tank in the bed pushed as far toward the passenger side as practicable. Now I have a little space about 10" wide on the driver's side to keep my diesel additive etc. I use Stanadyne Lubricity formula, and it comes in plastic bottles about the same size as sport water bottles. So I got a sport water bottle bicycle bracket, from a bike shop and screwed it to the front of the bed, right beside the Aero tank. So now my lubricity formula is right there and doesn't fall over and leak all over the place like it did before.