Aux fuel tank idea

[XJSuperman]

For those of us who have the short bed trucks we have the issue of either replacing the stock tank... which it seems no one really makes a 'big' (say 80 gallons) tank to do so( I blieve the new tank shown in TDR this month is in fact only available for the 4x4 SWB trucks)... . and anyone who would make such a tank would want big bucks based on the current prices of them.



So I have the same issues with installing an aux tank in the bed... not enough bed. So far I Just carry a couple 5 gallon cans or so of diesel when I drive and when I am at my destination I fill up and can usually make it home without having to stop and refill. BUT carrying an extra 40-50 gallons instead of 15 or so would make things even better... especially if when I got home I could simply remove the tank and have full use of the bed until I needed it again.



What does everyone think of a removable (easily) 40-50 gallon aux tank? Essentially it would just be one giant gas can... and would require some sort of pump to get the fuel from it to the main tank. BUT I have seen 50 gallon boat tanks run less than $200 new and some sort of electric pump shouldn;t be that expensive.

Have the mounting setup where you undo the straps (or whatever) and just remove the tank when not in use. Obviously it couldn;t be full or 1 person would not be able to move it... but in my case anyway it would be empty or close to empty when I was to remove it... so for me this is not an issue.



Just kicking around ideas for not only a more feasable option for SWB trucks BUT it seems it would also be much less expensinve than buying a pre-made tank specifically for the truck.



Thoughts... is it a dumb idea... ???

 

[Buffalo]

You're idea sounds good to me.

Does anyone make quick-connect, self-sealing fuel line connectors? That might make installation/removal easier.



I'm not trying to "Flame" anyone, here but, why do people like the shortbeds, anyway? Seems like there are limitations with them. I have a longbed with a 115 gal. tank in it & still have plenty of room for hauling.



My Duramax buddies have shortbeds & complain about the 25 gal. capacity. However, they like the shortbeds for their ability to turn around on "two tracker" roads, up in the mountains. They were disappointed that they couldn't get regular cabs with the shortbeds & the diesel option. They were able to have that option with their Z-71, 1500's.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[BMH95]

I have a short bed quad cab, because a long bed doesn't fit into my driveway, and it's too long to park in most normal parking lots. That 18 inches makes a huge difference in menuverability. If I only used my truck for towing an RV or something like that, then I would have gotten a long bed. I drive my truck every day, so I needed something that was more menuverable. I also don't ever need an 8 foot bed. If I have to carry long boards or drywall, I just put the gate down. Fiver's or goosenecks will still work fine if I need them too, so I guess that's why you don't see many longbeds around town.

 

[BMH95]

Also, I can fit damn near 40 gallons in my tank.

 

[Slingblade]

Aux Fuel Tank

I was thinking of using a tank from a bronco or van. I figured it would fit in place of the spare (I have not checked to see how much room there is). It would be even better if it was the rear fill type as you could use a hinged licese plate to access the filler neck. A dual tank electric valve with return from a ford F series truck could work to switch tanks. JC whitney has the new tanks and valves. The existing auxilary fuel pumps would work if valve was before the pump. Just an idea I had. I havent checked into fitment of the tank yet. The spare would fit in the bed. Easy enough to move around to accomodate whatever you haul as well.

 

[GECCO]

I have a short bed quad cab, because a long bed doesn't fit into my driveway, and it's too long to park in most normal parking lots. That 18 inches makes a huge difference in menuverability. If I only used my truck for towing an RV or something like that, then I would have gotten a long bed. I drive my truck every day, so I needed something that was more menuverable. I also don't ever need an 8 foot bed. If I have to carry long boards or drywall, I just put the gate down. Fiver's or goosenecks will still work fine if I need them too, so I guess that's why you don't see many longbeds around town.

these are pretty much the same points I thought of when I decided on a shortbed... . I wanted a 4-5 passenger truck with enough balls to pull my 3000lb enclosed motorcycle trailer (my truck is definitely overkill LoL) and don't really car that much about bed capacity. I went with a shortbed because:



- a longbed wont fit in my garage, the shortbed does

- it's easier to park

- lighter (slightly, but still)

- if I want to, I can still toss the dirtbike in the back and forget about the trailer

- lastly, IMHO the shortbeds look better



it's all about how you wanna use it... .

 

[GECCO]

To get back to the original question - what about installing one of the old pickup tanks that used to sit in the (regular) cab behind the seat? If memory serves me they held about 15-17 gallons and should be the right shape to fit pretty well in the very front of the bed and take up a bare minimum of bed capacity... 12 - 14" tops I would think.

 

[Bertram65]

I would look into boat fuel tanks, Tempo is a pretty decent brand, check out the last one on this page, the TP50N, http://www.tempoproducts.com/2004/bd_fuel_tanks2.html

I would build a box to house it and then secure it against the front of the bed with maybe some type of straps, as long as it could not move you should be ok. Put a fill fitting on the top of the box and a vent and then all you would need would be a pump to transfer to your main tank, I would just pump it in through the regular fill neck instead of trying to devise a way to transfer it automatically, I can go about 350 miles before I need to fuel when towing, I know I need to stop at least once during that time, the rest of the crew needs to stop a lot more than that.

 

[GECCO]

Good find, Bertram65. I think something like that would work great. My only thought is regarding the transfer... . if you have to stop long enough to run an electric pump to get the fuel from one tank to the other, why not just stop for fuel??



I was envisioning something like this: the 25 gallon tank (not the 50 gallon, I'll explain why in a minute) with a gravity feed from one tank to the other... . run a "drain" line from the aux tank into the filler neck of the factory tank right where the filler neck meets the tank. Obviously with some type of fitting that seals it all up nice. Put a shut off valve (manual or electric solenoid if you wanna get fancy) in that line.



Close the shut off valve, fill up both tanks and drive... with the valve closed the fuel will stay in the aux tank and the fuel gauge will drop as you drive. When you get down close to empty on the factory tank open the valve and let the aux tank drain into the factory tank. If you get a 25 gallon aux tank instead of the 50 you won't even have to worry about shutting it off before overfilling the factory tank (as long as you drain the factory tank low enough). *IF* you were to go with an electric switch/valve you wouldn't even have to stop, with a manual valve you only have to stop long enough to open the valve and start the drain.



If you did it right with quick disconnects, etc, you should be able to remove it pretty easy when you need the bed empty.



Thoughts?

 

[XJSuperman]

Bertram this is exactly what I am wanting to do. Have it totally self contained and just have its own pump on it to fil it as if I were at a station. I know I can easily make it secure in the truck but the pump part would be the trick... it seems the manual pumps take too long. Maybe a 12 volt pump mounted to the tank? Just run a 12V source to the bed.



I too went with the shortbox for the reason of where I drive and my garage space. Had I had the space and only saw hwy use I;d have a longbed dually... but I can easily tow anything I need to with what I have and it is much easier to get around town.



The reason a setup like this would work best for me is most of the time when I make a run (I do some driving for a friend of mine) I am within 500 miles of home when I make my delivery. So I just fill up while I'm being unloaded. Saves me the time and hassle having to stop again to fill up plus if I leave with enough fuel to make it round trip I already know what the trip cost me... . therefore knowing what my profit will be when all is said and done (I'm OCD like that)



Last trip I made was 830 miles round trip... I left with 6500# behind me... when I was unloaded the trailer weight was only 3,000# and I put in 20 gallons (from my gas cans) while I was unloaded and made it all the way home. All runs I make are at or near these weights (sometimes up to 10K total one way). So I know if I had the ability to carry 40 gallons extra (give or take) I would always be able to go round trip to any place I make runs to even if I ran a heavier load than what I listed above. Plus it would come in handy for vacations and such not having to stop... I could stop to pee at a rest stop and refuel the truck at the same time. Saves time and hassle for me.

 

[Crunch]

For those of us who have the short bed trucks we have the issue of either replacing the stock tank... which it seems no one really makes a 'big' (say 80 gallons) tank to do so( I blieve the new tank shown in TDR this month is in fact only available for the 4x4 SWB trucks)... . and anyone who would make such a tank would want big bucks based on the current prices of them.

Just out of curiosity, has anyone approached this from a logistical perspective and calculated the maximum size a replacement tank could be for both the SWB and LWB trucks in the 2WD/4WD configurations? Even accounting for an abstract shape that takes advantage of every nook and cranny under the truck there is obviously a finite amount of space in which to squeeze a tank, and I would think that there are either legal restrictions, practical restrictions or both as to how low it can hang down underneath the frame. Within those parameters I don't think you could design an 80 gallon tank for a LWB/4WD truck. 80 gallons would be beyond *cool*! That would give us a 1000 mile range even with the truck configurations that have the worst fuel economy.

 

[DaveK98]

Let's keep the ideas coming...



3 days after Katrina I had to drive from Texas to South Carolina. Was worried about fuel and brough 3 of the 5 gallon gas cans with me.

 

[XJSuperman]

I think the only real issue is going to be a pump. I'd use a manual pump if I knew of one that would pump 40 gallons or so in less than 20 minutes (takes me 8 at the filling station ... granted that's different). BUT if there's an inexpensive electric pump that would handle it... ???



Mounting a tank would be easy and I suppose would depend on how each individual wanted to do it.



I'm glad I thought to post this... I am really going to research it more now.

 

[CRuth]

I wish there was a better answer. My camper stays in the bed permanently so the bed tank isn't an option

 

[Bertram65]

I think the only real issue is going to be a pump. I'd use a manual pump if I knew of one that would pump 40 gallons or so in less than 20 minutes (takes me 8 at the filling station ... granted that's different). BUT if there's an inexpensive electric pump that would handle it... ???



Mounting a tank would be easy and I suppose would depend on how each individual wanted to do it.



I'm glad I thought to post this... I am really going to research it more now.

Northern tool has a bunch of different manual and electric pumps, the manual ones look like they would be slow and require a lot a pumping. I would go with something like this http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...tDisplay?storeId=6970&productId=47671&R=47671

and make a power plug at the tank so I could disconnect it easily when I removed the tank. I looked into the gravity type of feeds but I do not trust them, the last thing I would want would be fuel spill.

 

[XJSuperman]

Bertram you're fast! That looks like it would be perfect. It says 'up to' 5. 25 gallons per minute. So the fill up time would be less tha 20 minutes even if it was half that.

Did you happen to see what the prices were on the boat tanks link you posted above? I could not find how to tell.

 

[XJSuperman]

http://www.marinedirect.com.au/catalogue/category1629/product89507



What about something like this? Just build a box for it to sit in and mount the pump to the box. It wouldn't be very large (the 52 gallon) and with it inside the box it would be very well protected.

 

[bagd99dak]

you could try checking out this website. they seam to have some good stuff their. i like the automatic refill on some of them.

http://www.transferflow.com/html/new_auxiliary_system.html

 

[MRector]

My Dad Uses A 50(approx. ) Gallon Mack Big Rig Tank In The Bed Of His 05 Ford. It Is Very Removable And He Has The Electric Pump From Northern Mentioned Earlier In This Thread. He Made The Cradle For It Out Of Treated Lumber--looks Ok.



I Traveled With Him To The Coushatta(spellcheck?) Casino In Louisianna This Past Summer And The Tank/pump Worked Well. His Whole Point Was To Save Money By Buying Cheaper Fuel At Home For The Trip. Ended Up Not Getting But About 10. 3 Mpg Out Of The 6. 0 So... he Wants His Cummins Back!

 

[XJSuperman]

you could try checking out this website. they seam to have some good stuff their. i like the automatic refill on some of them.

http://www.transferflow.com/html/new_auxiliary_system.html

Mainly because they don't make a replacement tank for the short beds that would be big enough to warrant the cost. And as I stated above in my posts I do not want a tank permanantly mounted in my bed (read short bed)... PLUS even if I bought one of their tanks and made it easily removeable I would still spend a lot more money than I want.



From the looks of it so far I can get a 40-50 gallon tank (mainly need to decide which one) that would be easy to make removeable, a pump, fittings, lines, and even a fuel water separator for well under $500. I just have to really figure out which tank to get and then get it mounted in the bed and plumb it from there.



The link I posted above for the 'bladder' style tank looks like it may be the way to go. Build a lightweight housing for it and mount the pump/filter right on the housing. Then have it bolt/strap into the bed. Simple, fairly cheap and should work like a charm.



I do want to do some more research on this type of tank though as I have never used anything like it as compared to a normal tank or fuel cell.