Forum Discussion

lawnspecialties's avatar
lawnspecialties
Explorer
Jun 16, 2017

2017 Fords and RDS Tanks

I'm in a predicament right now. I ordered my 90 gallon RDS combo tank the week after I brought the truck home. It arrived at the dealership and the following week, I took it to the dealer to have the tank installed. That's where the problems arose.

The new aluminum bed for the Super Duties does not work well at all with the RDS design right now. The tabs at the bottom for bolting to the bed do not line up with the ridges in the bed so they are not touching the surface. The RDS tank also is made to fit underneath the front lip of the bed. But the new aluminum bed has a much larger surface so the tank will not fit underneath. This just takes up more bed space.

I called Northern about returning it and they also gave me the RDS number to discuss this issue with them. The guy I spoke with understood the problem and said he would be passing that information along to the guy who designs the truck tanks. Last night I got an email from Northern telling me how to return the tank. It also stated I had to pay the shipping costs (over $100) plus pay a 15% restocking fee. Needless to say, I'll be calling Northern today.

But until RDS redesigns these tanks for the new 2017 Super Duty bed, I pass this along to spare others the aggravation.
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  • lawnspecialties's avatar
    lawnspecialties
    Explorer
    Jun 17, 2017
    Dave H M wrote:
    Ever hear of Nationwide Wholesalers?

    I got my aux custom made to my measurements by RDS through them for less that I could have bought it from RDS.

    It was shipped direct from RDS to me.

    My drawing was of an RDS tank with notations and indicated changes i wanted. Came exactly as I wanted.


    I like that idea. May have to go that route next time. Thanks.
  • Dave_H_M's avatar
    Dave_H_M
    Explorer II
    Jun 17, 2017
    Ever hear of Nationwide Wholesalers?

    I got my aux custom made to my measurements by RDS through them for less that I could have bought it from RDS.

    It was shipped direct from RDS to me.

    My drawing was of an RDS tank with notations and indicated changes i wanted. Came exactly as I wanted.
  • lawnspecialties's avatar
    lawnspecialties
    Explorer
    Jun 17, 2017
    OK ladies. I'm not blaming Northern Tool. This tank is built differently from the picture. The tool box on top is smaller than the tank. It is built that way so the tank can slide underneath the front lip of the bed of the truck. But on the 2017 Super Duties, that small lip on the bed is now a large wall. It does not fit underneath the lip so there's now that space between the tank and the front wall. Add the fact that the tool box is set back and you have a pretty large distance back to your tool box from the front of the truck bed. Looks goofy more than anything.

    I have already dropped off the tank at a local welding shop and we discussed how to reshape the tank the way it should have been built. I imagine RDS will change it to be very similar to how I'm doing it if someone wants one for a 2017 Super Duty.

    As was stated in the last line of my original post, "But until RDS redesigns these tanks for the new 2017 Super Duty bed, I pass this along to spare others the aggravation." That was the point of this thread.

    So spare me your moral sarcasm. Nobody blamed Northern Tool. The fees would be between me and RDS. Northern is only the go-between.
  • Adam_R's avatar
    Adam_R
    Explorer
    Jun 17, 2017
    Grit dog wrote:
    I feel your frustration, but I wouldn't expect NH to eat the cost of returning a large heavy item that you bought by mistake. They didn't guarantee fitment.
    FWIW, I've had to modify, in some way, the last 3 tanks I've put in my work trucks. None of them the tank mfgs fault. I knew the dimensions of the tanks before I bought them.
    The previous gen super dutys have a curved reinforcement on the front bottom bed corners that prevents having a flat surface wall to wall up there. Makes mounting wide tanks a challenge. Other times I was just trying to cram 10' of stuff in a 6' bed, lol.


    Crazy talk right there. Taking responsibility for your decisions? Come on, that is so....extinct!

    Many aftermarket products I buy have to be "re-engineered" to some extent. I don't like to have to do so, but think of the cost of manufactures making an exact fit widget for every conceivable body and style of truck manufactured since 1990. Either modify your tank slightly with a stack of washers or a spacer to make it fit or custom make your own tank. Blaming Northern is not the right answer.
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator
    Jun 16, 2017
    I feel your frustration, but I wouldn't expect NH to eat the cost of returning a large heavy item that you bought by mistake. They didn't guarantee fitment.
    FWIW, I've had to modify, in some way, the last 3 tanks I've put in my work trucks. None of them the tank mfgs fault. I knew the dimensions of the tanks before I bought them.
    The previous gen super dutys have a curved reinforcement on the front bottom bed corners that prevents having a flat surface wall to wall up there. Makes mounting wide tanks a challenge. Other times I was just trying to cram 10' of stuff in a 6' bed, lol.
  • lawnspecialties's avatar
    lawnspecialties
    Explorer
    Jun 16, 2017
    The 90 gallon combo has a larger fuel tank than the tool box. The tool box stops short of the front wall of the tank by several inches. That allows for the tank to be mounted all the way to the wall but the tool box lid won't come close to hitting the back of the truck cab. Now that I can't put it all the way forward, the tool box sits even further back. It almost looks goofy.

    These things are indeed not an "end all" scenario. But for $1000, I wish I could get a tank that fit as well as it did for my 2015 truck.
  • Dave_H_M's avatar
    Dave_H_M
    Explorer II
    Jun 16, 2017
    I found aluminum blocks (scrap) lying on the floor a the machine shop I frequent.

    My RDS don't fit under the front lip of the 2012 either. Didn't bother me at all to donate that wee bit of bed space.
  • Bumpyroad's avatar
    Bumpyroad
    Explorer
    Jun 16, 2017
    austingta wrote:
    My RDS tank tabs (60 gallon) didn't line up with the ridges in my 2016 Denali bed either. I just added a stack of washers under each tab as a spacer so it fit tightly. Easy.


    that was my thought for the one issue. just get a spacer of some kind. but the rest??????
    bumpy
  • austingta's avatar
    austingta
    Explorer
    Jun 16, 2017
    My RDS tank tabs (60 gallon) didn't line up with the ridges in my 2016 Denali bed either. I just added a stack of washers under each tab as a spacer so it fit tightly. Easy.

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