Transfer Flow 54

[Sasquatch]

I'm hovering on the verge of ordering a new Transfer Flow tank, and having it installed. Need a little moral support from previous customers, who've had great results with their tanks.



I want to replace my current OEM tank, and install the new under-bed tank, but the only thing that's making it a tough sell (to the ol' lady, for one... ) is the very high cost of the product and install labor.



The 54 gal. tank costs $736. 00, plus $125. 00 shipping, plus $225 installation. I also have to replace the OEM sending unit, another $44. 77.



So, in order to add 20 gallons of on board capacity to my existing 35 gal. tank, I'm looking at an expenditure of $1,126. 77. Anybody else have a hard time justifying *that* on a purchase price, vs. potential fuel cost savings (e. g. , buying at truck stop once a month) basis?



I told my "better half" what a great deal it was, and how I could save, say $5 per fill-up by buying more fuel at a cheaper place, and driving longer between stops. She said, "Great news! At that rate, you'll break even about 5 years after we're dead and buried!"



She's heard all the rationalizations for hangin' stuff on my rig, and gets that "look" in her face whenever I mention a new "project. "



I'm wondering if anybody has any other thoughts/suggestions about alternatives.



Thanks

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Great product, quality, fit, completeness of the kit.

I don't know where you are, so I can't comment on installation cost. It really isn't too bad to do; see TDR #32, p. 142.

Extra fuel capacity allows you to pick a reliable station like a truck stop more readily, to get from a to a farthere away b, and occasionally to save your bacon if there isn't any fuel where you thought there would be some. The best value cost/gallon is the cross-the-bed system of course.

 

[BillGotthelf]

Joe's right. I have the 98 gal bed tank. Thats a long way to go to fill up (134 gal total). Word to the wise-have the transfer pump relocated to an accessible location as the stock location cannot be accessed unless you have a well trained squirrel. My pump is dead as we speak and siphoning out 98 gallons literally sucks. My new pump will be located in an area I can access without removing tank and also I will add a filter so the fuel pumped to the truck tank is clean.

 

[Sasquatch]

Joe and Bill,



Thanks for your replies.



My truck has twin, side mounted tool boxes on the rails, and a cross bed toolbox, too. All are very high quality, diamond plate aluminum. I've invested about $1000 in all three, and they're welded up with sufficient bracing that I can walk around on them, and my 265 pounds doesn't even flex the tops.



I'd prefer to keep the stock OEM tank, and add a cross-bed Transfer Flow, 50 gallon, combo tool/tank, too. What'd be really hard to chin is the thought of spending $2,000 for the new tank, (shipped and installed) and removing a perfectly good $350. 00 toolbox in the process.



Not whining—"you pays your money and makes your choice"—just trying to wrap my mind around (and justify) the expense of these suckers. It's mindboggling to me that nobody east of the Mississippi can weld up comparable quality, baffled aluminum tanks, and sell them for less than $1,500 apiece. I wonder how much of the cost is explained by their California manufacturing (local labor costs, taxes, EPA regs. , etc. ) Don't mean to take a shot at Californians, per se ('salt of the Earth'), but the state isn't running a 30 billion dollar deficit for nothing. Somebody's gotta be paying those huge taxes (witness the fuel prices), and it sure ain't the three million illegals that flood in each year.



I talked to "Rocky" at Transfer Flow this morning, and he couldn't have been any nicer. He said that developing another, proprietary fuel sender (for Dodges) wouldn't be cost-effective, and he said, "I tell everyone who buys a tank from us, with the Dodge application in mind, that our system is only as good as the OEM sending unit... "



My sender cratered about 50,000 miles ago, and I've been using the trip-set ever since.



What's motivated my ass, recently, have been the soaring fuel prices, and the likelihood they're gonna go higher. Also, I gotta admit that all this talk of war, escalating 'threat levels' ("orange" —whatever the hell that means... ), and so on, has me feeling the same way I did during the "Y-2K" scare, when everybody was hoarding dehydrated foods and bottled water.



I want to be able to get myself and my family as far as I need to go, in the event of an emergency. 85 gallons on board would be pretty nice. More than that, for my purposes, would cross that fine line between the excess weight, performance penalty. Plus, it'd definitely exceed my driving time bladder capacity, anyway.