Which T-Flow tank to get: 38 or 54gal?

[Walker]

I'm ready for my fuel tank upgrade, and can't decide on the OEM replacement (54gal. ) or the aft axel 38gal from Transfer Flow.



(my) Pro's and Con's:



Price: The 54gal. is 1/2 the price of the 38gal. $667 to $1199.



Location1: It seems like the 38 aft would add a little wt. to the rear and make for a smoother ride.



Location2: I'm upgrading to 36" tires soon, so the spare will be taken out and put in the bed anyway.



Moving parts: The 54 is just a simple tank upgrade. The 38 has all kinds of working parts (sender, electronics-TRAX system, etc. . ); therefore a better chance of breakdown somewhere down the road.



Bang for the Buck: A 19gal. upgrade isn't to impressive ( I could of swore I saw a newer Transfer Flow 60gal. tank for the LB Dodge in an ad just the other day. Of course I can't find it now). Anyone heard of this? A 38gal. upgrade (73gal. total) would be more worth it, it seems). No bed tank for me. Already got a crossover box.



..... and I'm sure there's others. So, let the opinions fly.



Thanks

<')))<

 

[Ted Constantine]

Walker,



My choice would be the aft axle 38. It is very high on my wish list I don't see the point of the stock replacement but a lot of people are happy with it. The 60g tank you mentioned is made by aero tank not TF. You can find a bunch of info on it just do a search.



I like the article Joe Donnelly did on the aft axle tank in the new magazine.



I to am going to be relocating my spare anyway. Also the trax system is very cool and it would be very nice to have a fuel gauge that was worth anything.



1199 is very steep though any way you look at it and that is why I don't already have one. I can stop for fuel a lot of extra times before justifying 1200 for the tank



Ted

 

[jerryrigg]

Bang for the Buck

Look at it this way the 38gal is about $31 a gallon and you get the computer Trax-UFS system and your changing tires so no your spare won't fit under anyways

or

the 54gal which is only adding 19gal is about $35 a gallon and no computer.



Go for the 38gal then when you hit the lottery add the 54gal



-Matt

 

[Walker]

$1200 . But, the 38gal. would be a sweeter deal. Who's got one with some experiences?

 

[FDziurda]

T-Flow Tank

Matt,

I had the 54 gallon replacement mid-ship tank installed at th TF plant in Chico a couple of months ago, and it's great! They did a very professional job and we even managed to get a tour of the plant, to see how they make the tanks.



The new tank gives me over 700 mile range when towing and over 1100 miles, when running without the trailer. I guess it boils down to how far you want to go before having to refuel. I don't have any plans to change tire sizes, and will continue to store the spare in it's nest under the bed. The TF midship tank does stick down quite a bit, so I can see why it can't be installed in a 2WD truck. I really like their aluminized steel baffled tank over the plastic OEM unit.



The TF 54 gallon tank is rated at 54 gallons which is how much it will hold if you stop adding fuel when the pump "kicks off". It was explained to me that, by law, that's what they have to spec the tank capacity at, however they also are required to provide 10% volume for fuel expansion. If you "top" the tank off it holds 60 gallons.



I think it bascially boils down to what kind of range are you looking for. No matter which way you decide on going, I don't think you will be disappointed with TF.





Good Luck,



Frank

 

[Walker]

Frank, are you sure about that "6gal. " top off? Have you proved it yet? That sounds like a lot of extra space. It also sounds better to get another 25gal. instead of just 19. Especially for the price diff. (cost per gallon).



I'm not real crazy about all the working parts, and electronics for the aft tank. But, that could always be added later too. 1100 miles per tank sounds like plenty to me.



How hard did the install look? Did you get a chance to watch the whole thing? I'd like to do it myself. Anything I should look out for?



Thanks

 

[FDziurda]

Top Off

Matt,

Yes, I have confirmed that it really does take 5-6 additional gallons to "top off" the tank. It's kind of a pain to stand there and squirt a little fuel in at a time and wait for it to go down, but if you're heading right out onto the hwy, and want max range(fuel expansion should not be a problem), it's worth the extra five minutes it takes to "top off" the tank. I would not top it off and then park it on the street on a hot Summer day



They didn't let me stand there and watch while he changed the tank but I did get to talk to the guy who did the work, when I went on our tour. He was just finishing the install. The install facilites are SUPURB!



They remove all the fuel from the OEM tank when they remove it and run it thru filters before pumping it back into the new tank. After finishing the install, they go into town and fill the tank so it can be checked for leaks, etc. When they are filling the new tank, they track how many gallons of fuel it takes to make the stock fuel gauge read F, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, & E. They then provide you a calibration chart... Kinda Handy! I still have 7 gallons remaining when the gauge reads "E". They reuse the stock filler hoses, etc, so there is no visible changes to the exterior of the truck. The install took 4 hours and they had a special on it for $100, when I had mine done, which was too good to pass up.



I thought about installing a "Transfer" tank in the rear and opt'ed to replace the main tank with the larger one, that gave me more than enuff range to be selective about where I need to refuel. The midship tank does not require any additional pumps, wiring, etc and you only have one tank to worry about. I heard a story about someone who had an external tank, who was in the middle of nowhere and discovered his transfer pump didn't work... ooops! I would suspect that would be a real rare problem.



Good Luck with which ever you choose. The extra capacity is the main thing and either choice will give you that.



Frank

 

[jcbrown]

Additional Fuel...

I opted to carry extra fuel by using metal jerricans (and these do NOT leak!).



http://www.backcountrytrailers.com/Trailers/BackCountry/off-road/gascan.htm



Don't need to carry extra fuel ALL the time. Save major $$$.

 

[RADdodge]

I installed the 38 Gal. Aft Transfer Flow on my 3500 last summer. It did help with the truck bounce, although not as much as the Rancho 9000’s. There are a few gotchas if you’re going to install it yourself. Such as the enlarging the hole in the inner fender on a dually to fit both filler tubes through, using a 90 drill with a shortened drill bit to get in behind the rear braces for drilling, and getting the hoses over the top of the existing tank (after I got them over, I dropped the tank anyway and should have from the beginning). It makes it easier. The directions from Transfer Flow are very good, but it still takes a lot of time and some ingenuity at some points in the installation. I’m very happy with the results and now generally “wait” until I get to a truck stop to fill up. With the extra capacity, it gives you more choices about where to get fuel before you have to on a long trip. I installed a switch to turn off the system when I am driving locally and want to keep the rear tank full for the weight in the back. Anyway, I’d highly recommend it, but the install was not a typical weekend project. If you can’t afford some down time, I’d recommend having it installed by a shop that has experience in installing these tanks.

 

[dsather]

FDziurda



How do you feel about your midship tank hanging down? I've been thinking about one but would not like to catch anything on the tank and have it opened up!!



Dennis

 

[David Muench]

I've had the 38 gallon aft-axle on my 3500 flatbed for a little over a year now. I love it. Range is great, and it definitely helps smooth out the ride when I don't have any weight on the truck. My install was pretty easy, I did it before I installed my flatbed so I could get to the top side of the tanks very easily. If I were installing one in a truck with a normal pickup bed, I would consider removing the bed to do the install. . Would make it a lot easier.



The nice bit is that even though the trax-ufs adds some complexity, if the computer fails or the pump fails it will just fall back to the main tank and keep working.



I had also considered the 54 gallon replacement. . Decided that the improvement wasn't enough, and TF being out of stock on the 54's at the time also helped my decision.

 

[Walker]

Thanks for the input. Looks like a coin toss (or a credit card limit increase) in the near future.