What is everyone using? I have a measly 26gal tank in my truck. Extra cab short bed. Gas powered, and my range when towing is a mere 200-250miles max. when i have a light load. I have looked at the in bed aux. tanks, but they are only for diesels. Any suggestions.
What classifies them as diesel only tanks? They should work with both types of fuels, as they are just reservoirs. I've thought about adding some sort of extra capacity, but there are a lot of things I want that i can't afford.:doah:
They are rated only for combustible fuels, and not flammable fuels, and therefore are not DOT legal when used with gasoline. There are some heavy fines if caught. Something I'm really not willing to risk, especially since I travel through NJ alot, and they are real PITA's about that kind of stuff.
I really considered installation of a transfer flow 40 gallon tank under the truck were the spare tire goes. Would have to carry the spare in the bed under the trailer overhang or fabricate something to carry the tire under the fiver. When I traded by KZ Sportsman for the Carriage, I now have, I don't have the room in combined weight. The Carriage is 1000lbs heavier. So, I guess it was a good idea. The extra fuel is about 300lbs behind the rear wheels. Transfer Flow makes a larger tank to replace the stock tank, but you must have a 4x4 to use it. (ground clearance) My normal cruise in Towing Gear is around 325 miles/tank. Having the extra range with more fuel would save alot of time in fuel stops. It normally takes about 20 minutes or more to fuel. Dave
Thanks for the info so far, the 45 gal. unit that replaces my stock tank looks great, that would work out perfectly...now all i need is an extra grand to buy it.
I think the cost of just about anything you do is going to be the down fall of your plan. I looked into this just like are and decided to stop a few times more and save a thousand dollars. I just don't go long distance enough to justify the cost of an expensive fuel system to carry more fuel. I figure my bladder can only go 3-4 hours without being emptied so I should just stop and get fuel anyway. I have always wished I could carry ten gallons that I could get into the truck tank without stoping. This would put me inline with everybody that I travel with and make stops easy for the group.
There's another advantage to having the extra fuel capacity, being able to buy fuel in cheaper locations. I installed a 50 gallon tank in the bed of my F-350 so that I can buy fuel in SC as it's 15 to 20 cents a gallon cheaper down there. I have to go there every month to 6 weeks anyway so I can pull my 5th wheel down there for a week and top off the 38 gal main tank and 50 gal aux tank and that usually lasts me till my next trip down. I made my tank out of 2-27 gal aluminum marine tanks that I bought a couple of years ago at a thrift shop for $35 ea. These tanks had never been used and I cut the top out of one and the bottom from the other and welded them together. A 32 gallon/minute pump transfers the fuel to the main tank via the fuel filler vent hose. I also installed a fuel gauge but it is pretty unreliable. My original vent left much to be desired as it would slobber fuel and so I changed the vent and connected it from the aux tank filler to the main tank filler and now when I leave the pump on too long the fuel returns to the aux tank instead of overflowing out the main tank filler cap. Don't ask how I know about leaving the pump on too long, while transfering fuel the first time I left the pump on while parking the camper in NC and got out to check something. While walking back to the truck fuel started pouring out the filler and I had to run to shut the pump off. Lost about a gallon on the ground. From the start I wired the pump through the ignition switch to a lighted rocker switch thinking that the red light would remind me that the pump was on...it didn't. A couple of weeks ago I stopped at a hardware store and told my old lady that I'd be right back, since she didn't want to go in I left the truck running. She called me on the cell phone to tell me that the fuel pump red light switch was on, should she turn it off. Hell yes, turn it off...I screwed up again but at least it didn't overflow. One problem is that the main tank fuel gauge is slow to react when tranfering fuel so I shut the pump off when the gauge reads 3/4 and after a while it will climb to past full. On edit... I spent about $125 on my tank install with $50 of that the fuel gauge and sender. Good Luck, Old Trucker
Here's some pictures of my set-up. The vent in the piece of plywood is no longer there. I resized all these pictures to the same and yet the first 2 still remained large...Sorry.
