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Alternate gas tank mounting in a PU

C

Calclips

1/2 ton status
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Swartz Creek, Michigan/Flint while in school
Does anybody out there have any pictures of how they mounted a gas tank in the bed of a pickup? I *think* that both of my side saddle tanks leak and don't really want to pull the tanks out now. I would like to come up with a temporary solution to fully replacing the tanks right now so that I can get out an bog this thing. Its only a bogger, so extreme angles do not apply. I've heard of people using a keg to do this... I've got one of those in my room, so I could use that (how do I mount it securely?).

Thanks y'all...
Dan
 
I had a 22 gal RCI cell in the bed of my K10. I cut a hole in the floor of the bed big enough to let the sump hang down through, this left the rest of the tank belly resting on the bed floor.

The fuel guage wired up to the factory guage very nicely. The bad part was the plumbing, very expensive.
 
I was trying to avoid the added cost of a fuel cell right now. I'm no opposed to using one, I just don't think I can buy it right away. This is the reason that I'm looking for a cheap way to put a tank in it right now, and then I'll fix it up correctly at a later date.
 
Yeah, that's the same type of guage that was in my cell. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
The fittings average about $3~$5 each, sometimes it take 2 or 3 to make a complete junction. If you put a filter in line and/or a pump you can easily tie up $100 in just fittings. When I did mine I ran new 1/2" hardline thoughout (with a return line) so I spent around $200 on the plumbing (+ the filter and pump).

A hydaulics shop can be a great local source for AN type fittings and many times cheaper than Summit (or the like).

FYI - my fuel cell cost about $225.
 
Probably not what your looking for, but to give you an idea of what I'm doing, here is a pic of a tank a guy in Texas has just finished for me. It will fit against the headache rack of my flatbed. He can custom make anything you design. This one should hold 38-40 gallons!

28fuelcellaug09_17-med.jpg
 
Do you have to use the AN fittings? Or can you get a fitting that will screw into a AN fitting to convert it to something else? Also, do you have any problems with your tank sitting in direct sunlight being in the bed of a truck? I think if I get a tank right now I'll probably get a summit one that is sans-sender... its cheaper like that and I can always pick one up when my bank account gives me the a-ok.
 
You will most likely have to use AN fittings on the tank itself but you can get something like a nipple for rubber hose so you can avoid the more expensive fittings from that point on.

Funny you ask about the tank sitting in diect sunlight. I've had 2 cells, my first was a 12 gal plastic cell (w/out guage) that was uncovered in the bed of the truck. This cell would sweat horribly, it would create about a quart of water over a month. My second cell was an RCI aluminum 22 gal unit (w/ guage). I was so fed up with the water problem that when I got the second cell I also bought a tonneau cover and a water seperator fuel filter. With this set up I no longer had any condensation problems.
 
Was the water collecting in the tank? Was it causing you problems? I'm looking at buying a 32 or 22 gal summit plastic cell w/out sender for right now, should I get a water separator fuel filter (never heard of one of those, is it like whats on an air compressor?)
 
The water was collecting in the tank and causing some drivability problems. Since water is heavier than gas the pump was picking up the water and filling the carb with it, later on I also had problems with the electric fuel pump because of rust build up on the pump vanes..

Here is the water seperator filter that I used, it is about the size of an oil filter and it has a drain on the bottom to relieve any water collected.


Summit part #PRM-81794
prm-81794.jpg
 
No electric pump required. I used one because I was racing the truck in mud bogs at the time and had a very hungry motor. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
The plastic tank required straps because it had no built in provision for mounting. I cut a hole in the bed for the sump (only) to hang through, this let the remaining belly lay flat on the bed floor. I then made some straps to go over the top of the tank and bolted them to the bed floor.

The aluminum tank had mounting tabs on each of the lower corners. I (again) laid it on the bed floor with the only the sump hanging through the hole and then bolted the tabs to the floor.

BTW - I mounted the filter on the rear crossmember.

Glad I could help! /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
This guy will build a tank similarly sized for about $350 out of aluminum, baffled, TIG welded. Were still figuring out shipping options so I don't have it yet.
 
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