I am wondering how many people have sucessfully reloacted their gas tanks to the underside of the vehicle where the spare was??

 

Lots have, but every one I've seen also has ditched the stock sheetmetal in favor of a tube bed of some sort. Couple guys over on the PBB are using a gas tank out of 92 Ford E-250 van that fits well back there and is much lower profile while having a bigger capacity than any stock tank.


http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...hreadid=156808

 

i'm gonna do the aluminum fuel cell thing when i do my flatbed, and locate it under the bed next to the cab

 

My 95 Toy pickup has two gas tanks. The auxiliary tank is under the bed. There is a hole in the center for the spare tire carrier cable to fit. It’s only fault is its gravity fed. If you’re going up mountains it doesn’t fill the primary tank. There is a one-way valve prevent fuel to return to the auxiliary tank. I would consider getting an inline out of the tank fuel pump. The pump should provide about 15psi. It would take just a few minutes to fill the front tank. My cost for the tank was around $435. If you are interested Downey sells this type of tank for around $450.

I also thought about having an auxiliary tank in the bed. The cons were safety regarding having gas the same height as the cab. Expose to fumes from venting were a concern. Also, in the event of a major accident the gas could spill over or on the cab causing a real bad BBQ. Diesel bed tanks are a non-issue to me because of the high ignition temperature needed to start a fire.

Fuel Safe, located in Redmond, Oregon is a great choice for a custom fuel cell.

 

Perhaps I should provide a bit more information. This is on a 1994 4Runner. Not a pick 'em up truck. Does that alter it? Also, I was planning on using an inline fuel pump.

 

Oh...... http://4x4wire.com/toyota/tech/gas_tank/

 

The under the tank auxiliary tank works for both 4runner and pickup.

The feed tube bolts to the back wheel well there are vents and a feed line going to orginal tank. What is important is the gravity feed system will not pass California emissions but, the fuel pump fed auxilliary tank will.

The rear auxiliary tank will make the spare tire sit lower. I resolved this by modifying the rear suspension.

Considering the pronounced lower rear of 4runners I would highly recommend resolving this problem prior to installing the tank.

In real numbers it adds up to 34 gallons of fuel and about 600 miles range.

 

I don't think he's looking for an AUX tank to supplement the original, now if it was possible to use one of those tanks as the main...

 

This is definitely something I'm planning to do on my 1997 4runner, because it's one of the main things I hit all the time. It will hang me up too, which sucks. I'm going to either use a pathfinder tank or custom fab one to fit back in between the frame rails.

Chris

 

Got any more info? Dimensions, capacity, fuel sender/pump compatability? This is also on my never ending list of things to do.

 

I am now setup to do alumimum, so I am biulding a tank for the new rig....

 

Here's a message directly from Steve S.:

It's a1995 Nissan Pathfinder. You'll have to cut the tire mount cross member out and weld in 2 supports for the Nissan tank. Not sure what you'll do for the sender or the hookups. Only thing I did was verify that it will fit. Tank runs $350 new from an online dealer, has a skid plate welded to the bottom.

I've found them cheaper on the web, and I'm also contemplating making my own so I can try to reuse everything but the tank itself.

I'd love to make mine out of aluminum too, but who knows what thickness of material to use? Also, Is just welding the seems good enough to prevent leaking? I would really like to make it out of aluminum, and then have a nice 1/4" skid plate underneath it for protection.

Chris

 

Found a thread about it on the wire with the physical size

 

Thank you all. That 4x4wire post was exactly what I needed.

 

Since I mentioned it earler here's the dimensions on the Ford tank

There's a couple pics of it in this PBB thread

 

I've been thinking about this today, and I'm thinking about fabbing up a tank to fit where the spare usually is, but have the rearward part only as thick as the frame rails, so I don't lose any clearance, and then angle it downward towards the front of the vehicle making sure not to interfere with the departure angle any. What do you guys think?

Chris

 

That's pretty much what most of the auxiliary tanks that fit back there look like.

 

Make sure if you're going to go aluminum, don't use thinner than 1/8th material. Also make sure that the edges are not just a corner to corner weld. THE WELDS WILL BREAK! On the main body of the tank, fold the top edges over and lay the top sheet on top of the folds. On the ends, have all four sides bent over.

 

One more thing. Most important!!!
Pressure test with soapy water and brush first at 1psi and then at 3psi. Insurance...

 

I'm not really clear on what you mean about folding the edges over. Do you mean that I should bend the tops of each side piece, and then lay the flat top piece on top and weld it or should I bolt it together with some sort of gasket? Also, are you recommending to use some sort of angle iron on the bottom edges for reinforcement?

Chris