New Aero D-60 installed!!. writeup and pics

[EricBu12]

Hey all. Finally got the big beast installed and filled up. . a bit of a chore but not too horrible. Was able to do it on the ground and by myself. . you will see how I did that latter part in a bit. .



So ordered the tank and it arrived on truck, covered with cardboard and strapped to a long pallet. . perfect shipping. .



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OK, First thing is the tank was painted, not powder coat. . good thing I planned on bedliner coating it. . scotch it down and use spray kind. . can add more later if needed. . coated the whole thing with about 2 coats.



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This pic is with the coating on it. . notice a neat thing that the rear elevated section has a vent hose so that part will fill. . this hose goes over the crossmember...



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Jack up rear of truck as high as your Jack stands will go. I had 1/4" clearance on new tank sliding under frame on cardboard. .



Old tank removal. . Piece of cake. 2 nuts, 2 straps, drop driveline, disconnect hoses and wire. . all done. . I had 7 gal left in my tank and it wasn't bad to drop with a floor jack. just balanced it.



Pic of old to new tank compare...



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Now first thing is to modify the truck... have to cut a body loop off the bed next to the frame. . used a cut-off took. . then they say to cut the bolts from the old straps. . found out you don't need to cut the front one. . just the rear...



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This is the front one. . as you can see there is enough room for it to remain



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When you take the lines off the top of the pump unit, the innards of the connector stays on the unit. . very carefully take off these things and replace to the lines. . they provide extenders with Dodge lines but different ones. . so snap on the extenders to old lines then these will go on the unit top. . no modify to electrical connection...



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See the blue and grey plastic? there are little keepers you use a tiny screwdriver to get under and slide off then insert into old lines.



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Unit coming out of old tank easy just lower part a little tight coming out. . a little more room on the new tank. . Re-use O-ring and bolts to snug down top. . not too tight. . don't crush. . See above pic.

 

[EricBu12]

Now to lift a 100# tank into position by myself, I used straps. . one under the front, and one under the rear. . hardest part is getting the straps under the tank with no leverage to lift. . but was able to. .

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This worked pretty well. . the only thing it was a little tedious as I had to lift it a ways, put a couple 2x4's under it, reset the straps and lift again. . Now the frame side of the tank has these brackets that use the stock hanger on the frame. then there are 2 U-Bolts that go on the crossmembers. .

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When you get close enough, hook up the fuel lines and elect. connections, tey say to make sure it is as close to the frame as possible. . also watch out for the front of the tall piece that goes just behind the cab body. . it is a little tight. .

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Space between tank and driveline

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You have to cut the fuel fill hose and the vent hose a little as the new tank is higher. . Vent hose has a curve to it so it needs to come off. . almost straight line to openings...

Also now there is another vent line coming off the top of the new tank. . I tied this into the mod I did with the other vent I did on the old tank. I had a hose going up near the top of the fuel fill and through a valve that let air pass but not liquid, then down to the open hose you see. . this worked out good.

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Here is how low the tank is as seen from the side. .

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Wow. . took a total of 7 hours between last night and this morning. . I say 3-4 hours of it was getting it lifted and adjusted just right. .

Had a measured 24 gallons of Diesel in cans and just for info, I put in 5 gal. . right on the red line, empty. . added 5 more, just about 1/8 th. Added 6 more, above 1/4. . added rest to total 24 gal. just under 1/2. . . Perfect. . so drive around a bit, then spotted a good diesel price. . $3. 95. . most around here is $4. 09 or so. . so filled it up. . takes fast speed til last 6 gal. . last 6 filled on 1st click. . took whole 60 +. maybe a smidge more. . no leaks and truck primed and started right up. .

Overall I am happy with it. . if you want to g back to stock tank, you would have to drill or press out the bolts on the cross members and use regular bolts... I am going to use 2 cans I have totaling 11 gallons as reserve in the bed for a total of 71. . Not bad. . total of tank on Feb. special (10% off)was $930 shipped. pretty good value.

 

[NIsaacs]

Good pictures and write up. Looks like a clean install. Did you notice how many baffles were in the tank? It doesn't look like it has a sump so I wouldn't run less than about 10/15 gallons in it. With slosh and or steep off highway use it might suck air. If you are like me that is not an issue anyway. I always run on the top half of the tank.



Nick

 

[HBarlow]

Nice explanation and photos.

 

[EricBu12]

Just in the middle section near the opening it has 2. . I'd say maybe 3 or 4 total. . during the drive when it had 24 gal. i didn't notice any sloshing.

The pump sits right on the bottom. there is a little cup surrounding the pump so fuel can get in there. I would be sure to fuel up before the red. . Just nice to know you can use at least 55 gal. which would be under 1/8 Th . . Id call that Empty.

 

[FParisi]

I have had mine for a while now. Love it + no problems! I have run it down + put 59+gal in. I guess it holds more than the stated 60!;-)

I had it installed at the "factory" since I'm pretty close.

Nice exlanation + photos!

 

[EricBu12]

Towed with it this last weekend. Had a B**** of a headwind heading south on I-15. Pput 45 gal in it after 350 miles. On the return trip. Less wind so went almost 400 miles and still have 1/4 tank. So it looks like around 500 miles towing in good conditions is rigbt. On longer trips i will have 10 gal i gas cans as a reserve to total 70 gal. . so my last tank, i went from cedar city, Ut to Saint George, ut to all the way back to Salt lake city, ut... yes there are numerous hills. . average about 7-8. mpg guessing.

 

[FParisi]

Eric Just wondering if your speedometer is corrected for the larger tires?

 

[EricBu12]

They are a little off. But the tires are worn down so they are pretty close. . thinking of going to 225/70 r 19. 5". Which is close to the stock tire size.

 

[EricBu12]

Seems like I need an anti-slosh valve in the fill pipe. had a little drool out the cap when tank was full and did a right turn... . Any Ideas where to get one? the one on the stock tank was molded to it.

 

[EricBu12]

Just got this on amazon. seems like it might work good.



Amazon.com: RDS Diesel Install Kit for Auxiliary Diesel Fuel Tank - Fits 1999-Current Ford and Dodge, and 2011-Current Chevrolet and GMC Trucks, Model# 011025: Everything Else

 

[Allnew2Me]

Eric, that RDS unit is designed for a gravity-feed system and will cut off the fuel coming in through the smaller 3/4" pipe only, it won't stop fuel in the main fill tube. When the fuel in the main fill tube rises to the level of this unit, the valve in the small inlet will shut off the feed from the aux tank that is gravity feeding the main tank through this device to keep from filling the fill tube to the cap.



If your fuel cap leaks it might need to be replaced. Other than inserting some sort of flap valve in the main line I don't know how you would keep the fuel in any tank, stock or otherwise, from contacting the cap when driving.

 

[CUMMINZ]

Eric, You will love your big tank. We installed ours a while back and it is great on those long trips.

 

[EricBu12]

Well if the part is as you say, maybe I can modify it to have a flapper valve or I can just return it. . who knows, maybe I'll keep it in case I want to add to the 60 gal in the bed.