OEM 50 gal fuel tank

[Joseph Donnelly]

I installed a 75 gallon cross-bed Transfer Flow tank back in 2013 (see Issue 83). It does take up some bed space but the added capacity is welcome. I use a trailer if I have to haul a lot.

 

[Wiredawg]

Used my 60gal aux tank for the past 3 weeks, just cracked the valve at 1/4 tank when we stopped to stretch legs etc, and kept driving, DTE would rise as the tank filled in transit but I found I drove / burned it faster than it could re-fill so generally speaking I would burn the whole aux tank off before completely filling the main tank from 1/4.. In a 500-600 mile day I would start with both tanks full and end with about 1/2 ~3/4 remining in the stock tank and the Aux was empty.

Probably me not understanding correctly; are you saying you are burning fuel in the main tank at a faster rate than you are filling it from the aux? If so, it seems the DTE would actually drop as you are adding fuel, but maybe at a slower rate than if you were not adding fuel from the aux tank.

I made my own gravity fill kit using 1/2" fittings and ball valve... not only does my DTE rise, so does the fuel gauge. I usually open my drain ball valve between 1/4 and 1/2 full. It always filled faster than consumption, even when estimated 38 to 40K GVW pulling 400KW trailer mounted gensets with 400+ gallons of diesel in them. I also emptied my aux tank before my main tank as it is designed/configured to do. The RDS kit I think comes with 1/4" hose, but could be wrong, if that's what you installed.

Anyhoo, I guess you're overall happy with the setup? Thanks for sharing.

Cheers, Ron

 

[bcbender]

No, I meant that running for hours on end, I never was able to fill the tank back full, so the stock tank over 4 or 5 hrs would rise from 1/4 --> 3/4 but I would totally drain the 60 gal tank in the bed... So I suppose it was incorrect to say faster than fill but the 1/4~3/8 gravity line never overfilled the tank in use. And yes I am happy with it, once I empty it now I will likely pull it back out until I need it again. I will post the install later, but I used L track and AN fittings so I could easily remove or install as needed since there are times I would like the full 8' bed.

 

[Wiredawg]

No, I meant that running for hours on end, I never was able to fill the tank back full, so the stock tank over 4 or 5 hrs would rise from 1/4 --> 3/4 but I would totally drain the 60 gal tank in the bed... So I suppose it was incorrect to say faster than fill but the 1/4~3/8 gravity line never overfilled the tank in use. And yes I am happy with it, once I empty it now I will likely pull it back out until I need it again. I will post the install later, but I used L track and AN fittings so I could easily remove or install as needed since there are times I would like the full 8' bed.

OK, got it, great. I went bigger line not from operational necessity, just was less expensive to put the kit together myself and I already had the ball valve. You can't really overfill the stock tank, unless you use a pump, and I did that on my former 09 4500. Not pretty blowing out the backflow valve on the tank and dumping 20 gallons of diesel under the truck and 5th wheel. That's why on my 5500 setup, I went with gravity feed. When the valve for the aux tank is open, the whole combo functions as one tank, with no leaks. I like carrying 112 gallons. Thought I would be installing an aux tank on my MH, and still may, but 70 gallons with 8.5 MPG avg is really good range.

Glad you like the setup, had the exact same thing on my '00, moved to my '02, then to my '09. Went an bought the exact same one at Northern Tools for my '17, except the CM hauler bed being 7" taller then the JTM bed on my 09, so cut the welds and unstacked the tool box to behind the fuel tank. Happily, it works good on the 9ft 4" bed.

Anyhoo, thanks for posting... in bed fuel tank/tool box combos aren't for everybody, but they are an economical way to carry extra fuel, and nice space for tools, especially on a pickup.

Cheers, Ron