Custom 35 gallon gas tank for '09 Tacoma
- Thread starter cwvandy
- Start date
Dave Bennett
Adventurist
Want.
Dave Bennett
Adventurist
IIRC all they do is hook up a hose to the exhaust and watch a monitor while they run the engine. It prints out a report at the end but they don't really poke around much at all.
Palehorse1
Observer
And to echo the others, I'd love to have one as well and appreciate your efforts to sort one out and to keep us updated as to how it turns out.
Once we get this think installed and working it would be fun to see if it could be reproduced. If it were made it out of a metal (either steel or aluminum) the key would be to first see if the underbody is the same on all of this generation of Tacomas so the shape is consistent (I believe it is), make a CAD drawing of the shape so the pieces could be laser cut rather than cut by hand and somewhat simplify the shape to make the welding process easier. The other route would be to cast a mold of the shape and have it molded/blown out of an appropriate weight and thickness of a material similar to the stock tank. Lets see if this things works first.......Seems like enough people share my desire to carry more fuel, for sure.
You could have a real winner here if you can find a cost effective way to build them. Molded plastic would be my first choice. Lighter weight, and no rust. The shape could be simplified a good bit and even a 30 gallon capacity would be outstanding. For most of us that would be real close to 500 miles range. Hardley anyone carries more than 2 extra cans anyway. The biggest mistake I see when people change materials, is not making the appropraite changes in the design to accommodate the new material. Steel is very forgiving in that it is easy to weld and has good fatigue resistance. If you go aluminum it will have to be TIG welded which is slow. Seam reduction will become a priority. Plastic will require molded in stiffeners, etc.
Just a word of advise about selling these. There are millions of great projects that never get off the ground in the US because of product liability. The cost of such insurance can outweigh all the profit in a small scale operation. I had one business where the word "engineering" appeared in the business name, and that alone made me basically uninsurable due to cost. It's a bitter reality. One possibility might be to sub this out to an established tank builder or even sell the design and a list of customers to someone already doing this. There is also the very real possibilty that someone is watching this right now and deciding whether they want a piece of the action. You could spend a bunch of money to get ready to build these and then find yourself in competition and severely undercut. Anyone who has been down this road knows how it goes. There are no protections for innovators. Patents aren't worth the paper they are written on, and this would be almost impossible to patent anyway. As much as the recognition and involvement sounds good, running any enterprise is a real headache. Hopefully you can find a way to make these available without becoming miserable in the process. These are the reasons why I do NOTHING anymore.
Just a word of advise about selling these. There are millions of great projects that never get off the ground in the US because of product liability. The cost of such insurance can outweigh all the profit in a small scale operation. I had one business where the word "engineering" appeared in the business name, and that alone made me basically uninsurable due to cost. It's a bitter reality. One possibility might be to sub this out to an established tank builder or even sell the design and a list of customers to someone already doing this. There is also the very real possibilty that someone is watching this right now and deciding whether they want a piece of the action. You could spend a bunch of money to get ready to build these and then find yourself in competition and severely undercut. Anyone who has been down this road knows how it goes. There are no protections for innovators. Patents aren't worth the paper they are written on, and this would be almost impossible to patent anyway. As much as the recognition and involvement sounds good, running any enterprise is a real headache. Hopefully you can find a way to make these available without becoming miserable in the process. These are the reasons why I do NOTHING anymore.
Downhill I could not agree more. In a former life I was an attorney and learned that liability (and fear thereof) makes much of the business world go round. I have never looked into it, but I can imagine that when you start messing around and "engineering" anything for sale that carries GASOLINE that the liability-o-meter pegs out. It is probably a big part of the reason no one has done this before. Just look at what has happened to simple Jerry cans and regulations from California.
I am not inclined to do this...at all. Would be fun only to see if we could get a dozen or so reproduced at a reasonable price for people that have some interest. I think it fair to say that there is market demand for a product like this. Not sure at all, for the reasons you state, whether anyone would want to commercialize this.
Anyway, a ton of progress today. The tank is off to the powerdercoaters. The welding was completed, the tank pressure tested (with gauges for a significant time and every seam, fitting and attachment "soaped" to look for leaks).
The tank was then fitted one last time before it was sent off. It fit like a glove (the results of so much time being spent on the mock-up) and will not reduce ground clearance more than the stock tank. Should be back later this week, installed, have a skid plate fitted and we can begin testing. More photos as we progress.
I am not inclined to do this...at all. Would be fun only to see if we could get a dozen or so reproduced at a reasonable price for people that have some interest. I think it fair to say that there is market demand for a product like this. Not sure at all, for the reasons you state, whether anyone would want to commercialize this.
Anyway, a ton of progress today. The tank is off to the powerdercoaters. The welding was completed, the tank pressure tested (with gauges for a significant time and every seam, fitting and attachment "soaped" to look for leaks).
The tank was then fitted one last time before it was sent off. It fit like a glove (the results of so much time being spent on the mock-up) and will not reduce ground clearance more than the stock tank. Should be back later this week, installed, have a skid plate fitted and we can begin testing. More photos as we progress.
Attachments
LBPtaco
Rendezvous Conspiracy
Does the Hilux tank fit?
TangoBlue
American Adventurist
I wouldn't bet money on it; not without taking and comparing measurements and mounting points from the two different trucks. HILUX and Tacoma platforms are not interchangeable.
WxMan
Adventurer
cwvandy,
Nice work. I too lust for more range. Best of luck with the project.
I had a Hilux LongRanger 140L tank shipped to me in Canada for my '07 Tacoma not long ago. When I went to install the tank I found that there are some minor differences in the mounting of the tank since the Hilux frame is different than the Tacoma. Unfortunately I didn't have time to fuss with it much and had to get the truck back on the road that day so I put the stock tank back in. The truck is my wife's daily driver so I can't have it off the road for long. A further wrench in the gears is that my work is moving me to another province in the very near future so I'm not going to be able to finish this project for a few months. From what I could see with the tank raised into position only a few minor modifications to the mounts will be necessary. Don't quote me on that though as it's not in there yet. I'll be sure to update you all on what exactly it took to get this thing in when it happens.
p.s. Don't ask how much it cost to ship from Australia. You don't want to know and I don't like to think about it.
Russ.
Nice work. I too lust for more range. Best of luck with the project.
I had a Hilux LongRanger 140L tank shipped to me in Canada for my '07 Tacoma not long ago. When I went to install the tank I found that there are some minor differences in the mounting of the tank since the Hilux frame is different than the Tacoma. Unfortunately I didn't have time to fuss with it much and had to get the truck back on the road that day so I put the stock tank back in. The truck is my wife's daily driver so I can't have it off the road for long. A further wrench in the gears is that my work is moving me to another province in the very near future so I'm not going to be able to finish this project for a few months. From what I could see with the tank raised into position only a few minor modifications to the mounts will be necessary. Don't quote me on that though as it's not in there yet. I'll be sure to update you all on what exactly it took to get this thing in when it happens.
p.s. Don't ask how much it cost to ship from Australia. You don't want to know and I don't like to think about it.
Russ.
