Hey all,

I am considering a gas tank relocation on my 3rd gen 4Runner. I just can't believe how low it hangs...Anyhow, I am considering doing the conversion by placing a new tank where the spare tire goes. I know there are write-ups out there on this. My only concern is the safety of having a gas tank mounted in the rear of the 4runner. Could this be a bad idea in case of a rear end collision?

 

Check out my build. I put a ford tank in the rear and used my stock fuel pump with some mods to the fords sending unit.

Its plenty safe.

 

where do you think they are on Jeeps ?


However, it is NOT safe on your Toyota because the thing was designed to be safe
in a crash, and no hot metal, no sparky bits are gonna asplode your Toyota tank
in the place it was designed to be. same for Jeeps. Locating a tank in a non-tank-proof
area, then having a crash, all bets are off and the danger is high.

If you must have a tank, obtain a fuel cell designed for racing which has a bladder
and honeycomb system which is pretty safe.

again, deviating from the stock location will invite a new level of risk.

 

Some of this is true. But plenty of vehicles running around are not safe and they were designed that way. I do not think too many people are relocating gas tanks in vehicles that are still predominantly used on the nations highways. My tank was relocated to allow room for suspension changes and I still consider it safe. But I also added a lot of armor and while I hope to get the rig back to daily driver status someday, it will never be spending much time on the highway. The point is, almost ANY change you make to a vehicle will adversely affect its "safety" status. We change the leverage on the braking system and overall stability of our trucks when we put on oversize tires. We affect the stock handling by changing the suspension and often raise the center of gravity by lifting the truck as well. Adding lots of electrical components will increase the risk of a crash fire by providing more grounding/short circuit points under hood.
There are any number of ways we increase risks by modifying perfectly good vehicles. If you use some common sense and plan carefully, most risks can be effectively mitigated.
Ultimately, prudence in operation of our vehicles is the best way to minimize risks.