Aftermarket Fuel tanks

[Ducman82]

Does any of you fine gent's know if anyone makes an aftermarket fuel tank for a 06 ram 4x4 quadcab SHORTBOX. . ? i know of the Transferflow long bed tanks. this summer i want o upgrade my fuel system but i seam to be cursed if i "alter" plastic anything... . let alone a fuel tank... ... ...

 

[Regcabguy]

Do a search for "tank vent mod" and inexpensively add 5-7 gallons to your existing tank.

 

[Ducman82]

well im not looking for the extra gallons, just a tank that i dont have to cut holes in.

 

[carson6]

my atta adds 66 gals and leaves room for my pop up hitch... . still running 2. 00$ fuel

 

[rbeyer]

Take a look at AeroTanks products. They are in Corona, CA. I believe they have a 60 gallon under the bed replacement tank for your truck. I have their 75 gallon tank system. Only problem has been seating of the fuel pump -- it would loosen with vibration so Loctite had to be used to keep it secure.

 

[231jasonS]

#ad


This is the one you have Bob?

 

[rbeyer]

Hi Jason,

I have a long bed, so I have the 75 gallon combination - 15 gallons above the spare tire and the 60 gallon replacement tank. The last 15 gallons are a little slow to fill due to air displacement. I regularly drive about 34 hours per tank and about 1100 miles - remember, I've a dually with 4. 10's. My fill-up this week was 68 gallons.

Brett at Left Coast Diesel looked at installing these tanks for me and recommended I go to the factory in Corona, about an hour from my parents. I did that a couple of Thanksgivings ago. It was well worthwhile.

My real need is for the weight for the snow, like this weekend since we don't tow very much - at least as long as I'm working. I'll top off about 20 miles below where chain controls usually start on Highway 108. So, far my snow traction has been just great with the 4 wheel drive and I've not had to use chains. Last winter I even got up a road some fancy Volvo all wheel drive couldn't make - he had nice highway tires...

 

[JBonpua]

Bob,



How is the 15gl filled? Does it have a tap from the filler neck hose? I was thinking of just getting the 15gl and somehow feed it into my OEM tank by way of the pluged vent hose sinve I've done the tank vent mod. Since I've moved my spare tire to the bed I have plenty of room for a tank where the spare tire was. Has anyone installed a 4500/5500 rear tank? I wonder if it will fit... does anyone know?

 

[rbeyer]

The 15 gallon tank is filled through the main tank via the stock filler neck. That is why it takes a little time to displace the air.



I maintain my spare immediately below the back tank and have not had any issues - there's plenty of clearance - but I run stock size tires.

 

[Jwskj]

I've got an '08 short bed, and I just finished installing a pair of custom designed transfer tanks in the bed. They fit on each side of the main cargo area, and each hold a full 30 gal. I must have been running on fumes when I filled up the factory tank a couple of months ago, and I took a hair over 39, so that gives me an honest total of 99 gal in all 3 tanks. I can provide details if you are interested.

 

[231jasonS]

Yea Pics of your set would be cool.

 

[Jwskj]

Here are a couple of photos of the tanks that I had made. I've had the bed sprayed with the Line-X coating, so I had the tanks coated as well before I installed them. The real nice thing about them is that they don't reduce the main cargo area, they just use-up the odd space on either side of the main bed.

 

[231jasonS]

WOW... those are nice looking. How did you plumb them? Gravity feed i assume. You could market those.

 

[Ducman82]

very nice lookin. how many gallons?

 

[Mishkaya]

Here are a couple of photos of the tanks that I had made. I've had the bed sprayed with the Line-X coating, so I had the tanks coated as well before I installed them. The real nice thing about them is that they don't reduce the main cargo area, they just use-up the odd space on either side of the main bed.

Wow! That is absolutely awesome!Oo. Any chance you would be willing to sell a set? If so please send me a PM.

Thanks

mishkaya

 

[JerryNelson]

wow those look great ! are there baffles in it ? what is it made of

 

[Jwskj]

Here's the details on the custom tanks for those of you who may be interested... .



My tanks are for my '08 shortbed, but the changes necessary for a longbed are minimal. These carry a full 30 gallons each, and I estimate that the longbed version would hold about 40 gallons each. I made a model of the tanks to insure fit into the bed, and made the construction drawings from the model after I was sure that everything was correct.



The tanks are made of 1/8" thick aluminum, with two baffles in each tank. They have unvented caps, and a check-valve vent to allow air to enter the tank as the fuel is drained out. The tanks are transfer tanks which are plumbed into the factory tank through individual solenoids. Since the tanks fit over the wheel hump, they each need 2 drains in the bottom, one forward and one to the rear of the hump. I plumbed the 2 drains for each tank together, and then tee'd that line to a solenoid valve. The plumbing is symmetrical, and as a result, each tank will have the same level of fuel, and the front and rear of each tank would be exactly the same level, as well. The lines from each of the tanks are tee'd together to provide a common "dump" to the factory tank.



I installed a vent kit to the factory tank to allow faster and more complete filling [That mod really works well... . it only takes about a minute to obtain a complete fill in the factory Dodge tank. ] Anyway, I used the origanal factory vent line to be used as the fill line for the aux. tanks, and that works well.



I tried to find a local fabricator here in Tucson to do the fabrication for me, but wasn't able to find someone who wanted to the job. I found a marine tank fabricator on the internet in Florida who was happy to do the job.



The tanks weren't cheap, but considering the way they turned out, I'm not unhappy with the results. The pair of tanks from the fabricator were about $1400, plus another $150-$200 for the tank caps, filler necks, and threaded weldable inserts. Add about $200 for Line-X.



I'm a retired engineer, and had a ball putting the project together and bringing the project to fruition. I'm not interested in patenting my design, or in any profits associated with marketing the design. I think that it is an interesting design, and anyone else who wants to have a similar set of tanks fabricated for their truck is welcome to use the plans.



I've tinkered with Auto-Cad and that's the software I used to make the drawings. If anyone would like a copy of the drawings and has the ability to read Auto-Cad, I can email the file to them. If they would like a set of printed drawings, I will be happy to mail those to anyone interested in having them. Please send requests to -- email address removed --.



I will be happy to provide additional photos and answer questions on the construction details to anybody who contacts me via my email.

 

[JBonpua]

Good fab job Jeff. I can't wait to get mine made.





Juanito

 

[mberry]

Jaunito,

Can you let me know who in Sac, or wherever, you have your tanks fabricated? Thanks.

 

[fox]

Plans for fuel tanks

Jaunito, I tried to e-mail you by clicking on the link, and it failed. Can you e-mail them to me, or PM them?

Thanks