Aux fuel tank idea

[Flyboat]

I have a 96 k1500 gmc suburban. I have the big tank between the frame rails behind the rear axle.(38 gallon I think) My wife had a 99 yukon that had the 28 gallon tank in along the side of the frame. Do you think there is anyway that the 28 gallon might be installed in addition to the 40 gallon one. Would it be better to have the smaller one pump into the bigger one or run complete dual setups. Dual setups would be quite involved with the fuel injection return lines etc. Anybody else thought of this or pulled it off.

I know this seems like overkill, but I am planning to serve on a national response team that deploys during disasters. Getting to the rally point and back with fuel to spare and not having to depend on any fuel stations inbetween during times of unrest would bring me peace of mind. (think katrina) And with time being a factor any stops I could avoid would help. Thanks so much for everyone's help.

 

[adrenaline503]

I am thinking of putting an aux tank in my Frontier and I have had some of the same questions in regards to one tank pumping into another vs. a dual setup.

 

[HenryJ]

I would use the auxilary tank to refill the main tank. Much simpler.

Here is what I did: Auxilary Fuel Tank
Scroll down to part "deux" for an OEM tank install.

The Izuzu tank uses the stock fuel pump and sender. I transfer fuel from the aux tank to the main. The main I keep above half all the time. I have fuel gauges for each tank. I watch the aux drop and the main fill. This system has worked great for many years now.
Use high quality line. As much steel as you can. The new 10% ethanol fuel is hard on rubber parts. I did have to replace one section of line as it began to weep. I replaced it with steel braided line. That was at the transfer switch.

This was inspired by Scott Brady's install : Auxiliary Fuel Tank System

 

[Flyboat]

very cool write up, thanks!

 

[RocKrawler]

That was nice, looking for a bigger version of the same for the Super Duty - I think the Excursion has a 45gal version that mounts in the same spot & already setup for diesel. I'm keeping an eye on this thread for more ideas...

 

[Fish]

My '99 F-250 has a 46 gal Transfer Flow replacement tank. I dig it. Admittedly, my bladder is smaller than my fuel tank so it doesn't save me all that much on stops.

 

[BBsound]

My '99 F-250 has a 46 gal Transfer Flow replacement tank. I dig it. Admittedly, my bladder is smaller than my fuel tank so it doesn't save me all that much on stops.

true, but you dont need electricity to pee :Wow1:

 

[t0mills]

I have a 96 k1500 gmc suburban. I have the big tank between the frame rails behind the rear axle.(38 gallon I think) My wife had a 99 yukon that had the 28 gallon tank in along the side of the frame. Do you think there is anyway that the 28 gallon might be installed in addition to the 40 gallon one. Would it be better to have the smaller one pump into the bigger one or run complete dual setups. Dual setups would be quite involved with the fuel injection return lines etc. Anybody else thought of this or pulled it off.

I know this seems like overkill, but I am planning to serve on a national response team that deploys during disasters. Getting to the rally point and back with fuel to spare and not having to depend on any fuel stations inbetween during times of unrest would bring me peace of mind. (think katrina) And with time being a factor any stops I could avoid would help. Thanks so much for everyone's help.

That's a great idea, and one that i've had for a while now.

I have a 1995 2500 suburban, and I noticed that there is a lot of room just in front of the rear axle, on the drivers side of the driveshaft for another fuel tank. One from a yukon would probably fit perfectly.


I'm going to call around and see if any local salvage yards have a fuel tank from a tahoe/yukon.


I'm pretty confident that the tank will fit, but how will it be filled?

 

[ntsqd]

If legality is a concern, check into the transfer methods. I recall this being made illegal for passenger cars and trucks way back in the 70's fuel 'crisis'. Too many folks managed to set themselves on fire with such a system.

TransferFlow used to market an "intrinsically safe" unit that could manage such a transfer system, but I've not seen it on the page the last couple of times I've been there.

--------------------------

There is a 6 port tank switching solenoid valve on the market. Commonly found under Ford EFI 460 powered pick-ups and GM EFI 454 powered pick-ups with dual tanks. If the sender in each tank has the same resistance range then a change-over relay running in parallel with the solenoid valve would make the system simple to set up and operate.

 

[Flyboat]

I was thinking about making the filler tuck up under the wheel well like the GM pickups from the 70's. the 80's had dual tanks from the factory, my neighbor had one. I might look into what it took to make these work, how they were plumbed, wired, etc.

 

[ntsqd]

Non US spec LC80's had a dual filler neck under the single cap. Probably can't pull that off if you need to pass emissions as one of the things KA (& presumably others) checks for is that you can't fill from a leaded fuel filler. Like those are still common in KA!!!

 

[RocKrawler]

I know my old 87 Toy PU had a Downey aux tank (made by Northwest) that was a gravity fill... it just took forever to have the main tank leave the full mark, once it started moving you knew the aux tank was empty & you were now on the main tank. IIRC it was smog legal as well as the "T" in the fill tube was past the filler neck (& restrictor), once the main filled it overflowed into the aux tank.

 

[Flyboat]

kinda like dual tanks on a harley. They are connected at the bottom but only fill from one side.

 

[Flyboat]

tOmills, I haven't had much time lately either did you locate a wrecking yard tank. I am working on my bumper right now. I am only able to spend about an hour on it at a time it seems. Going so slow......

 

[Mike S]

My '96 Landcruiser has an 44 gal. aux tank with parallel, redundant fuel system all the way to the engine compartment. It has the non-USA dual filler neck and has always passed CA smog. The operation of the system is simple and reliable. The wiring and switching is more complicated than a single line system.