Anyone fabbed up an aluminum fuel tank?

[TWilkening]

I'm wanting to fab an aluminum fuel tank to put in the bed of my truck. I'll be using it for off road fuel for tractors. Wondering if anyone has done this and any tips you might have.

 

[Nate]

I made one for my truck, it's out of steel though since I'm not setup to weld aluminum. There's some pics on here.

 

[Unklmyk]

If you need something special done, I had mine built by KSH Marine in Lake Havasu AZ. I designed it and they built it exactly like I wanted it and it fit perfect. When I picked mine up, he's was building a 1,500 gallon jet fuel tank for helo support vehicle. They do nice work.

 

[JWChessell]

Many years ago a friend and I fab'd a 40 gal alum tank for my Ford Pinto sta wag -- it replaced the area occupied by the original tank and the spare tire well. Some things I remember: We put in baffles for side-to-side slosh, but not for front-to-back fore-and-aft slosh. We should have, because when I came to a stop with a half-full tank, the car rocked back-and-forth, front-to-back. We put in a drain -- a 3/8 NPT pipe plug in a boss welded to one corner of the tank. I don't remember ever using it, but still think it was handy. We installed a VDO fuel gauge sender inside the tank, with the gauge under the dash. We also installed a 3/4" vent in the top of the tank, and routed it to the top of the fuel filler neck.



I drove the Pinto for 282,202 miles. I saved considerable in fuel costs by only having to buy 1/4 as often. However, the extra weight behind the rear axle caused repeated premature wheel bearing failure -- I probably installed 4 sets of new rear wheel bearings during the time I owned the car.

 

[JGrefenstette]

if your not looking for anything really custom, Tractor Supply sells a good variety of alluminum and steel fuel transfer tanks. I've found that with stuff like this its a better use of time and money to just save yourself the trouble and go pick one up. Unless of course you want a specific design that cant be found. Im not sure if you've ever welded aluminum before, but its not that easy. and id be real hesitant to build myself a fuel tank if i was not 100% certain all my welds/joints/stop-starts where all perfect. i can see it happening... ... id make a really nice looking tank, set it all up, fill that baby to the top, and on a hot summer day that fuel finds a little air pocket i left in a weld by accident. then gotta drain the tank, rinse it down so its weldable again. i dont think id want to deal with the aluminum. maybe i just never welded it enough to get comfortable, but if i were you, depending on the design your looking for, id just buy one.

thants my 2 cents.

 

[TyThompson]

Where I work, (oil field construction company) all the pickups (almost 100) have custom made aluminum fuel tanks(of course to fuel the equipment), made by a local fabrication company.

1/4 inch aluminum plate, all corners radiused slightly to the welds, internal baffles for side to side slosh, not sure what you want to know.

After riding around in a truck for a long time, some have developed slight leak, but most hold up fine. Bigger square ones are more prone to leaks of course(more stress on joints), most of ours have a small aluminum tool box built on, with a spot for the pump. On some, the pump is on a lower L part, so the pump is below the level of the diesel most of the time.

I dunno, I rambled enough for now I guess.

 

[GHarman]

Did you start your aluminum fuel tank as yet? Will be glad to talk about the prep and welding of aluminum if you need help. Just ask. If you already started, I hope things are going well. What welding process are you going to use? I would also pay attention to the above posts about installing baffles. GregH

 

[rweis]

Aluminum from local fab shop. 55 gallon



Mechanical Tempo gauge, make SURE you orientate the gauge so the float will have a clear swing ie the length of the tank, NOT across the tank!



I put all gauge, filler, vent etc on DRIVERS side. Easy to swing by the gauge on the way to the drivers seat to check gauge level.



Mine sits below the bed rail so my bed cover will still work (everything below bed level including the filler cap, vent, mechanical gauge, 2" pump port).



Bob Weis