Transfer Tanks

[Flopster843]

Does anyone KNOW if this will work? Will the Ex tanks fit there? I have been contemplating this for a while now, as my spare is useless to me anyway, I can't fit a 38" tire under there.

I really want to put an Ex tank as an aux tank on my truck, Has this been done before? I really need more info on this, anything, ex tank dimensions, pics, the best way to support it, a way so I can flip a switch to use that tank and have the factory fuel guage work on it, etc......

I don't want one in my bed as I plan on putting in stacks, which won't leave much room at all for a fuel tank in the Short bed, plus I'd be concerned about the heat biuldup with a tank almost touching the stacks.

Thanks in advance!!!

If you look up under the bed of the truck where the spare tire goes you'll see the big X looking thing that holds the winch assy. That would have to be removed completely. Which would leave NO lateral support between the frame rails.

However, to compensate for this, the Ex has two other cross beams, one forward, and one aft of the fuel tank. And everything is riveted together. If you found a wrecked Ex somewhere, you could grind off the rivets and knock out the frame support pieces along with getting the tank and associated mounting hardware/skid plate.

Then cut spare tire mount out from under your truck and replace it with the pieces from the Ex. Some grade 8 bolts should hold just as well as the rivets. Then bolt the tank up just like it was under the Ex. The tank on the Ex is as tall as the frame rails and spare tire put together.

As far as the plumbing I see two possibilities for filling. You could either run a tee off of the other fill neck so when the front tank is full it would spill over to the aft tank, or you could put a separate fill neck in the wheel well of the truck. Engine feed could either be with a selector valve off of a late 90s truck with the dual tank option which would make the fuel gauge work as well, or wire a transfer pump in the aft tank to transfer it to the main tank.

That's about all I've found so far. I been looking for a wrecked Ex to take donor parts off of with no luck so far.

 

[Ironmerganser]

So on these gravity feed systems, you just leave the petcock open at all times and let the transfer tank flow into the main tank?

Pardon my ignorence (sp?) but won't that fill the tank all the way to the cap of the stock filler neck?

Because of this, I am assuming you never use the stock filler again. You just fill the transfer tank?

 

[Maxtor]

The setup that I want is to have the tank in the bed with a hose and nozzle, along with a 12 volt fuel pump in the auxiliary tank. I do not want anything plumbed in to the truck permanently , because the only time I will be using the aux. tank is when going on long trips. Carrying the extra weight all the time is not fuel efficient, plus taking up some space in the bed. Each night when I get into a campground, I'll just put the nozzle in the main fuel tank, turn on the 12 volt fuel pump, and fill the main tank.

 

[Nasty]

So on these gravity feed systems, you just leave the petcock open at all times and let the transfer tank flow into the main tank?

Pardon my ignorence (sp?) but won't that fill the tank all the way to the cap of the stock filler neck?

Because of this, I am assuming you never use the stock filler again. You just fill the transfer tank?

Correct...hardly ever use the stock filler. Generally fill at a card-lock so not concerned with anyone removing the wrong cap. I am not sure of the physics but it doesn't usually fill above where I have the aux plumbed into the original fill-tube.

 

[Ironmerganser]

Yeah...I like Maxtor's idea. I would really only use it for extended trips so why carry around the extra weight.

Good call.

 

[Kleetus]

It should be filled the whole way, once the air is displaced, then you open it, and SURPRISE!!!

 

[hheynow]

I have Northern Tool's 70 gal vertical tank. It's great. It only takes up 13 1/2" of bed space, is reasonably priced and is large enough. It is however taller than the bed rails, but is the same height as the top of my cross the bed tool box (which is not currently in my truck). Here are three photos of it. I did the diesel jug thing too, but since I've had the transfer tank I can only laugh at the hassles I went through prior to getting it.

 

[RoyBoy]

I had the idea of removing the spare tire and associated carrier assy, and mounting the fuel tank from an excursion in it's location. You'd have to re-support the rear frame section with some more cross-braces. I don't see any reason why you couldn't find a wrecked excursion somewhere, remove the tank and associated braces from the frame, and install them in a SD. The only down side is you'd have to carry your spare in the bed or on your trailer. That would add about 50 gallons to your capacity without loosing bed space.

My brother just did something like this in his 03, for WVO. He built a 60 gallon tank and removed the rear frame cross piece. Built 2 new channels for cross support and tank mounting. Ran the filler up inside the box under the rail. Seems to work just fine.

 

[caissiel]

I have a 25Gal Tank in the bed of my truck. its only 5 In thick and it is a drop tank. I read somewhere that a drop transfer is proper way to be legal. Well I use 2 lines connected in the filler neck. one 3/8 Tube from the tank and a shut off valve and the other is run up to the top of the Aux. tank. This makes the Aux tank an extension of the truck tank. I will put a valve under my seat to be able to open the transfer on the fly. This way the top tank can drain to the bottom tank and the bottom tank can vent to the top of the aux tank. I have found that this is the only way to do this and be sure of proper transfer. After all the bottom tank has to be vented and this way the air goes up while the fuel goes down.

 

[bushpilot]

all this legal tank stuff makes me laugh...a metal tank in the bed, bolted down
w/ a shut off (ball valve ?) would be AS SAFE or safer than the factory
PLASTIC TANk.

ANY tank can burst in an accident...the caps are air tight and they tanks
ALL have lines &that can come off or LEAK.

even "dot certified" tanks, hit right will leak.