External fuel tank mounted in bed - thoughts??

[PAAK]

Have been thinking about adding an external fuel tank in the bed so that I can go longer distances and not to worry about stopping for fuel as much. Also, we all know fuel prices go up around tourist destinations. Has anyone got the tank installed? Has it been an issue with weight?

[Passin_Thru]

I have a 100 gal in bed and 39 under. I hauled TTs and Boats and use a farm pump to fill the main. I can go from VA to OKC and buy 2.29 diesel and run back. It paid for itself in 1 trip. 100 gal diesel weighs 8lb/G. My 3/4 T can gross 22,000 and I weigh 19500 with TT loaded and fueled. I get 10.8-10.9mpg at 67 MPH. Anyone who says they get better than that can hook on my trailer and we'll see about that. No one has ever come and hooked on it to prove their 20 MPG Dodge Cummins, Ford or Chevy.

[davisenvy]

If at all possible, can some of you with aux fuel tanks post what you paid, where you got it and maybe some pics of your set up. Northern Tool is the best deal I can seem to find.

[Gdetrailer]

rbpru wrote:
I would consider the following.
• Do you want an extra 30 gals of gas behind you in the bed?
• What does and extra 240 lbs. of gas do to your max cargo capacity?
• If you saved 30 cents a gallon verses purchasing the gas on the road, you would need to purchase 1000 gallons to offset the cost of a $300.00 tank installation before you started saving money.
• At 10 mpg towing, your breakeven point on a $300.00 tank installation would be 10,000 towing miles; assuming you can save 30 cents a gallon.
• Optimistically 25 gals. in the truck tank and an additional 35 gals. in the bed; would get my rig about 600 miles before I needed to buy gas at the local price. 600 mile is less than half the distance to many of my camping distinations.

Why is there such a concern of saving money per gallon?

I typically find not much more than $.20 per gallon "differences" from state to state. Yes, there are a couple of states that are super tax happy that I typically travel through but that IS part of the game and I plan accordingly.

I NEVER considered or reasoned to save money on the gas prices.. I BUDGET PLENTY for my trips..

I added my tank for CONVENIENCE SAKE..

Towing a 26ft TT makes for a lot more challenges with finding gas stations that are RV "friendly"..

I have got into a few that backing out was the ONLY way and that makes for quite a few unhappy motorists BEHIND YOU..

I have also found a few stations in which the ONLY way to get gas was to park the truck just about as far as the pump hose will allow..

I have also run into a few stations in which I was able to get into OK, but when leaving I darn near high centered the trailer scraping the tongue jack AND the rear "skids" at the same time grinding off a 1/4" of the tongue jack and bending up and breaking the spare tire mount behind the jack in the process..

I also had to "short hop" (use only 1/2 or 3/4 tank)on repeat trips to the same destination since there are often a lot of long stretches with very few RV friendly gas stations.. This caused us to make many more fuel stops which wasted a lot of time in the process.

Adding 15 extra gallons doesn't sound like much to you but to me that allows us to drive nearly 450 miles instead of 275 miles before looking for fuel station..

Priceless to me.

As far as carrying extra weight in fuel goes.. For me 15 gallons plus the tank weight is peanuts.. my truck has 3415 lbs of cargo weight, trailer tongue is 875-900 lbs, have 110 lb gen, some bikes plus 3 passengers.. I am nowhere near my trucks max cargo..

As far as "safety" goes.. That tank I used is constructed out of 1/8" steel.. It is far "safer" than your own vehicles plastic tank, thats for sure.. It is more likely to stay together without spilling its contents than those cheapo EPA gas cans you only can get now days..

I have no "installation" cost and my setup cost me about $230 since I was able to pickup a discontinued brand tank for $100, fuel pump was $80, fuel line $6, some brass fittings of $20 and a filter $6.. Wood, bolts, wiring and such I had laying around..

Just in ONE trip, I eliminated at least 4 - 5 fuel stops, typically each fuel stop wasted at a min about 30 minutes.. That cut at least 2.5 hrs from nearly 28 hrs of driving for the entire trip..

I get to my destination quicker and get back home quicker all without driving faster.. :B

[rbpru]

I would consider the following.
• Do you want an extra 30 gals of gas behind you in the bed?
• What does and extra 240 lbs. of gas do to your max cargo capacity?
• If you saved 30 cents a gallon verses purchasing the gas on the road, you would need to purchase 1000 gallons to offset the cost of a $300.00 tank installation before you started saving money.
• At 10 mpg towing, your breakeven point on a $300.00 tank installation would be 10,000 towing miles; assuming you can save 30 cents a gallon.
• Optimistically 25 gals. in the truck tank and an additional 35 gals. in the bed; would get my rig about 600 miles before I needed to buy gas at the local price. 600 mile is less than half the distance to many of my camping distinations.

[Gdetrailer]

Southedistoman wrote:
Gdetrailer, thanks for the information. I'm seriously looking at that setup for a trip this summer.

Your welcome!

If you didn't mind the tank top standing above the bed rails a bit, you might be able to siphon draw the gas out of the tank.

Siphon can work as long as the hose has enough fuel in it and the tank outlet (which is on the bottom of the tank) has some elevation to allow the fuel in the hose to start pulling out of the tank. Siphon should continue until the tank outlet or hose gets too much air.

Might be worth experimenting with and with the size of the hose (3/4" or there abouts) would drain pretty quickly.. Might not drain the tank completely but might be worth a try..

I needed mine to fit under the bed rail cover so a pump was the only way to go.

I am thinking about adding a second pump in parallel which would get the transfer time down to 6 minutes or so..

Alternately I had considered various marine tanks but they tend to be more expensive for the larger 15+ gallon sizes.. I did find one that looked a lot like a flat pack which would have run across the front of the bed..

I did have another thought also.. Back in the 1960's up to perhaps '72, many pickup trucks had the fuel tank inside the cab behind the seat.. Those tanks were not much deeper than 6"-8" and fit under the rear window (they stand "up")..

You could put one of those in the BED of the truck..

Not sure how DOT "friendly" that would be but I would think it would be far safer than a bunch of those garbage EPA gas cans..

You would have to rig up some brackets and mount them to the front of the bed. Pretty good chance you can find tanks like that in reproduction parts catalogs..

On edit..

57-72 Ford F100 reproduction tanks are available.. up to 19.5 gallon running about $200. You would have to buy a sending unit to get the dip tube or make your own dip tube (this goes into the top of the tank so you would need a fuel pump)..

LINK TO 57-72 Ford tank

[Southedistoman]

Gdetrailer, thanks for the information. I'm seriously looking at that setup for a trip this summer.

[CavemanCharlie]

Gdetrailer wrote:

CavemanCharlie wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

PAAK wrote:
Have been thinking about adding an external fuel tank in the bed so that I can go longer distances and not to worry about stopping for fuel as much. Also, we all know fuel prices go up around tourist destinations. Has anyone got the tank installed? Has it been an issue with weight?

Perhaps a "fuel station" might work for you?

HERE

Basically a 15 gallon "gas can" with a pump style nozzle.. Doubt that you could plumb it in but add a fuel pump and filter it wouldn't take much time to pump it into your truck tank at a rest stop..

I bought one (different discontinued brand for $100) and used it last summer for my gasser, added about 150 miles to my range. I was able to eliminate at least 4 gas station stops on a 1500 mile round trip..

Makes it much nicer knowing I can choose to not turn into those really tight gas stations and pass them up for ones that are more suited for travel trailers..

That looks like viable alternative.

I would suggest figuring out a way to secure it well though. I wouldn't want it sliding around in the bed of the pickup.

I would agree.

Tank does have predrilled holes in the "feet" for mounting it.

In my case, I mounted the tank to a couple of 2x6s that are about 2ft long to create "skids". I offset the tank on the 2x6s so the tank hugs the front of the bed. The 2x6s prevent the tank from rolling over and when I put my other gear (bicycles, grill, generator, patio rug and some other blocking) into the bed the tank has no place to move. I have a bed hard topper that goes over the hole shooting match so nobody knows whats under there.

When not traveling I empty the tank and remove from the truck bed.

Worked out good for me, especially when I was looking for something that is gasoline rated.. There are tons of in the bed tanks for diesel but for gas it is either carry a bunch of gas cans or this style.. Interesting enough this tank is rated for gas or diesel so it could work either way. Fuel pump adds a bit more to the cost but I am happy with the results.

Thanks, Looks like you figured out a good set up. 🙂

[Gdetrailer]

Southedistoman wrote:
Out of curiosity, what pump did you end up using? The fill neck on my truck is above the level of the bed, so gravity feed wont work for me.

Correct, since the tank sits below the fuel door I had to use a electric fuel pump..

Ended up buying a Carter P4600HP

HERE

Pumps about 1.2 gal per minute and takes about 11-12 minutes to empty the 15 gallon tank.

You can get higher GPM pumps but they are considerably more expensive.

[Southedistoman]

Out of curiosity, what pump did you end up using? The fill neck on my truck is above the level of the bed, so gravity feed wont work for me.

[Gdetrailer]

CavemanCharlie wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

PAAK wrote:
Have been thinking about adding an external fuel tank in the bed so that I can go longer distances and not to worry about stopping for fuel as much. Also, we all know fuel prices go up around tourist destinations. Has anyone got the tank installed? Has it been an issue with weight?

Perhaps a "fuel station" might work for you?

HERE

Basically a 15 gallon "gas can" with a pump style nozzle.. Doubt that you could plumb it in but add a fuel pump and filter it wouldn't take much time to pump it into your truck tank at a rest stop..

I bought one (different discontinued brand for $100) and used it last summer for my gasser, added about 150 miles to my range. I was able to eliminate at least 4 gas station stops on a 1500 mile round trip..

Makes it much nicer knowing I can choose to not turn into those really tight gas stations and pass them up for ones that are more suited for travel trailers..

That looks like viable alternative.

I would suggest figuring out a way to secure it well though. I wouldn't want it sliding around in the bed of the pickup.

I would agree.

Tank does have predrilled holes in the "feet" for mounting it.

In my case, I mounted the tank to a couple of 2x6s that are about 2ft long to create "skids". I offset the tank on the 2x6s so the tank hugs the front of the bed. The 2x6s prevent the tank from rolling over and when I put my other gear (bicycles, grill, generator, patio rug and some other blocking) into the bed the tank has no place to move. I have a bed hard topper that goes over the hole shooting match so nobody knows whats under there.

When not traveling I empty the tank and remove from the truck bed.

Worked out good for me, especially when I was looking for something that is gasoline rated.. There are tons of in the bed tanks for diesel but for gas it is either carry a bunch of gas cans or this style.. Interesting enough this tank is rated for gas or diesel so it could work either way. Fuel pump adds a bit more to the cost but I am happy with the results.

[CavemanCharlie]

Gdetrailer wrote:

PAAK wrote:
Have been thinking about adding an external fuel tank in the bed so that I can go longer distances and not to worry about stopping for fuel as much. Also, we all know fuel prices go up around tourist destinations. Has anyone got the tank installed? Has it been an issue with weight?

Perhaps a "fuel station" might work for you?

HERE

Basically a 15 gallon "gas can" with a pump style nozzle.. Doubt that you could plumb it in but add a fuel pump and filter it wouldn't take much time to pump it into your truck tank at a rest stop..

I bought one (different discontinued brand for $100) and used it last summer for my gasser, added about 150 miles to my range. I was able to eliminate at least 4 gas station stops on a 1500 mile round trip..

Makes it much nicer knowing I can choose to not turn into those really tight gas stations and pass them up for ones that are more suited for travel trailers..

That looks like viable alternative.

I would suggest figuring out a way to secure it well though. I wouldn't want it sliding around in the bed of the pickup.

[Gdetrailer]

PAAK wrote:
Have been thinking about adding an external fuel tank in the bed so that I can go longer distances and not to worry about stopping for fuel as much. Also, we all know fuel prices go up around tourist destinations. Has anyone got the tank installed? Has it been an issue with weight?

Perhaps a "fuel station" might work for you?

HERE

Basically a 15 gallon "gas can" with a pump style nozzle.. Doubt that you could plumb it in but add a fuel pump and filter it wouldn't take much time to pump it into your truck tank at a rest stop..

I bought one (different discontinued brand for $100) and used it last summer for my gasser, added about 150 miles to my range. I was able to eliminate at least 4 gas station stops on a 1500 mile round trip..

Makes it much nicer knowing I can choose to not turn into those really tight gas stations and pass them up for ones that are more suited for travel trailers..

[MarkTwain]

trail-explorer wrote:
Plumbing it can be a challenge, so that it still meets EPA requirements, unless you have one with a pump and hose with nozzle on it - but usually those style are only on farm trucks.

If I ever have the cash to add a tank, I will replace the OEM tank with a larger tank from Titan Tanks, that way I still have full use of the bed for hauling extra camping gear, firewood, etc. on the long trips I take.

http://www.titantank.com/

Suggest you do some price comparison with fuel tanks from "Transfer Flow" in Chico Ca.

[trail-explorer]

Plumbing it can be a challenge, so that it still meets EPA requirements, unless you have one with a pump and hose with nozzle on it - but usually those style are only on farm trucks.

If I ever have the cash to add a tank, I will replace the OEM tank with a larger tank from Titan Tanks, that way I still have full use of the bed for hauling extra camping gear, firewood, etc. on the long trips I take.

http://www.titantank.com/