Poll: How to carry more fuel?

[1leglance]

Ok with my Suburbasarus project I have some options for extending the travel range between fuel stops.

Currently I have a factory 21gal tank (or something like that).
There is room to add an aux tank behind it or go with 1 or 2 saddle tanks along the frame.
I could also get a custom tank made that goes behind the rear axle in place of the factory tank and would net me around 40+ gals.
And just so you know I am not a fan of jerry cans.

My thoughts are that 2 tanks & 2 fill points gives me the option of having a known quality fuel tank and then always add suspect fuel to the other tank....such as when in Baja. That way if I have engine trouble I can switch tanks and see if that helps. Oh I am used to using valves and such to switch tanks.

Of course 1 big tank is simple, but it puts a lot of wgt in 1 place (behind the axle).

All thoughts welcome.

 

[Schattenjager]

Jerry cans are easily stowed, portable to another vehicle if needed, and you can buy a lot of fuel for the price of rigging an extra tank.

 

[scrubber3]

Jerry cans are easily stowed, portable to another vehicle if needed, and you can buy a lot of fuel for the price of rigging an extra tank.

x2

 

[cnynrat]

Jerry cans offer a lot of flexibility, but finding places to carry them can sometimes be difficult. Inside the passenger compartment of a vehicle isn't really an option IMO. Do you plan to have a roof rack? Relatively easy to carry 4-6 cans on a roof rack with the right carrier, but that does affect your COG and probably fuel economy as well. But, how often will you need to extra capacity? If it's relatively infrequently that may be a worthwhile tradeoff.

One thing I wouldn't do is put a fuel tank behind the rear axle. I'm sure it can be done safely, but in a custom installation the engineering to ensure safety in the event of a rear end collision isn't going to be done.

Lance, I imagine you may have read about the trials and tribulations of people that have added a second tank to the FJ Cruiser. All that drama has left me with a jaundiced view of adding aftermarket gas tanks.

 

[Cabrito]

There is room to add an aux tank behind it or go with 1 or 2 saddle tanks along the frame.

And just so you know I am not a fan of jerry cans.

My thoughts are that 2 tanks & 2 fill points gives me the option of having a known quality fuel tank and then always add suspect fuel to the other tank....such as when in Baja. That way if I have engine trouble I can switch tanks and see if that helps. Oh I am used to using valves and such to switch tanks.

I'm not going to talk too much about jerry cans because I already know you don't want them.

If you have the means to obtain either an Aux tank or get a custom larger tank then I like your idea of the dual tanks.

The reason you stated about the possibility of tainted fuel in one of them and being able to switch tanks seems like smart thinking to me.

 

[Schattenjager]

I am thinking it is a Suburban...

 

[Cabrito]

I am thinking it is a Suburban...

Heh heh..

I'm thinking you are right now that I look closer at his first sentence. I'm going back to edit my post.

Gracias..

 

[bob91yj]

Either the aux tank or a larger main tank.

I took the tiny 26 gallon factory tank out of my Dmax, put in a Transfer Flow 45 gallon tank, and have never looked back. I was telling a buddy the other day that of all the mods I've done, that one is my favorite. Case in point, for the recent Baja 1000 we filled up in El Centro, drove south of San Felipe to BFG Pit 3, and all the way back to San Diego on a single fill up. Kind of funny, my buddy with a stock tank had to fill up in San Felipe on the way home, I considered getting fuel until I realized that I still had more fuel in my tank than he would after filling his rig!

 

[Dave Bennett]

Jerry cans are easily stowed, portable to another vehicle if needed, and you can buy a lot of fuel for the price of rigging an extra tank.

Yep. And jerry can holders can carry either fuel OR water cans so you can tailor your logistics to fit the trip.

But since it is a SUBURBAN... you need at least two fuel tanks

 

[TangoBlue]

I voted auxiliary fuel tank.

My thinking... although I carry 2 Jerry cans now I hope to noodle out an aux tank solution for the space formerly occupied by my spare tire under the bed; once I finally decide on a tank-filler strategy. The primary rationale to my thinking for an aux tank is I don't always need to keep it completely filled, thus saving on extra weight and keeping normal refueling costs reasonable, or fueling it up when prices are unusually low (recently 2.99 in our region). The current Jerry can carrier will then be relegated to MFC status.

 

[postalWagon]

I go for a bigger single tank first then jerry cans.

 

[bfdiesel]

Aux tank under the truck.

 

[dirty Bakers]

Jerry cans just fit my situation.

 

[locrwln]

I've done the jerry can thing and like you, I really, really dislike them. Probably because I have never figured out a way to make the transfer leak free and holding up a fully loaded jerry can while it empties is never fun.

I ran an aux tank in my 80 and it was the bomb, like as mentioned, one of my favorite mods.

Like Bob91yj, I too will be replacing the stock 26 with a 45 transfer flow on the duramax. I thought seriously about adding an aux tank to the chevy and even figured out how to do it so that the factory guage would read the aux tank, but after realizing that the complexity outweighed the benefit, one larger tank gets the nod.

I wouldn't worry too much about adding a larger tank behind the axle, chevy did it for years. If you can't get a factory tank from a later model to work, I would build one to fit.

Jack

 

[pyro4fun]

You already have one side tank, I'd say find another saddle tank! If you hunt the junkyards you might be able to find the dash switch and trim and wiring to go with it and at most all you have to do is add a custom fuel door to the other side.