If it Genright Builds it, will you buy it? Story of an Aux tank

[Beowulf]

I have been looking at Aux tanks for quite a while. Unfortunately it seems only Landrovers have a source here in the states and only Australia make units for Jeeps.

If Genright were to make an Aux tank like the ones from Long Ranger would you be willing to buy one. (based on final price of course) Genright has made a great larger than OEM tank for TJs and LJs. But, there is so much space between the frame and the driveshaft that it is just begging for an Aux fuel or water tank.

As long as the ones someone in the US made were manufactured with the rugged components and quality design that LongRanger produces, I would definitely add this to my undercarriage.


TJ

JK

Home Page:
http://www.thelongranger.com.au/longrangefueltank.html

Take a look at the details on this tank:
http://www.thelongranger.com.au/ta64d/index.html

I particularly like the Gauge
http://www.thelongranger.com.au/Features/switch_gauge.htm

And the transfer pump
http://www.thelongranger.com.au/Features/transfer_pump.htm


I am not affiliated with Genright, but happen to own their Safari tank for LJ's and would love for them to make an Aux tank. The concept for the safari tank seemed to start on a forum. Then a small run of 10, so why not an Aux Tank?

Long Rangers TJ tank is 43 liters. 10" could be added to the length. This could be up to 60liters of more fuel.

Right now I trying to see how much interest there is so I can use it to talk Genright into making some.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

I would love to see an Aux tank (I own an XJ) but I don't see where it would go?? Plus it would probably not be in my price range. I'm the kind of guy who builds most of his own stuff due to cost.

Great idea though.

 

[adventureduo]

My buddy was there today and asked them about making some. He's good friends with them. Anyhoo, he said in the KJ the problem lies in the exhaust routing. That's as far as i got today with the questions. Maybe my friend will chime in, he's on this board but doesn't post much.

 

[Beowulf]

More info on Aux tanks over here as well.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10387

 

[Beowulf]

SOCALFJ,

Have your friend use the arguement that if having to cut the crossmemeber out of the LJ was not an issue, then a little exhaust re-route should not be a problem. Frame vs. Exhaust is a no brainer.

 

[1leg]

If they built a 20+ gallon for a 2007+ JK 2Dr. It would be on the top of my must purchase list. Will they build custom tanks? Like drop the jeep off and they build a tank and install it. I was going to install a trooper tank like scott but a custom tank would be better.

JD

 

[madizell]

SOCALFJ,

Have your friend use the arguement that if having to cut the crossmemeber out of the LJ was not an issue, then a little exhaust re-route should not be a problem. Frame vs. Exhaust is a no brainer.

My guess would be that no aftermarket supplier is going to suggest that an installer remove a factory frame piece, no matter what the situation, unless a suitable and well engineered replacement is a part of the installation package. This would require extensive (and expensive) R&D in order to provide proof of concept. Otherwise, there would be too much liability involved.

One problem you will face in finding a place for auxiliary tank for a modern, unibody vehicle is that all of the underbody space has already been utilized by an engineer. In older vehicles, or those of recent construction but body of frame rather than unibody, there is more space available as a rule.

Then there are the modern Jeeps. Even those which are still body on frame are crammed underneath with suspension, exhaust, and whatever so that little usable space remains. The TJ is an example of this. I discussed a larger tank for the TJ with the folks at Trailquest back in 2002. They stated that they could make a tank that replicates the original tank (which would be better than the original plastic tank) but making one that was larger would be problematic because of all the odd angles and spaces to be filled, and in the end, the increase in size was only on the order of 2 gallons at best, not worth the effort or the cost. The only direction in which the TJ tank, at that time, could be made substantially larger was to make it deeper, which would decrease ground clearance already challenged by a too-deep tank.

Fabricating fuel cells is not as easy as it may appear. At the very least, the welds have to be sound, bubble-free, and leakproof. For the average welder, this might be more of a challenge than it would seem. Most of us don't weld as good as we think we do. Using aluminum as a medium for the tank would only make the matter more difficult because welding aluminum cleanly is tough without a TIG unit.

Lastly, keep in mind that although the need for an auxiliary tank is obvious to us, we are in the great minority of Jeep owners nation wide. Even if every Jeep owner on this forum bought one tank, that volume would probably not be sufficient to warrant the cost of development and production.

Not trying to rain on the parade. if a tank manufacturer can be persuaded, that would be very good. Just that persuasive arguments have to deal with feasibility and cost of production, and not include removing structural parts of the base vehicle.

 

[Lawrence]

Besides the limited space available madizell mentioned, the other problem I see is fitment for various applications. For those with a Long Arm suspension, it gets very tricky to fit things where you are showing the Aux tank. There is a great possibility that the tank would be in the way of the UCA. So, if it only works for a limited amount of folks, is it really worth it to the manufacturer?

 

[86cj]

I have been looking at Aux tanks for quite a while. Unfortunately it seems only Landrovers have a source here in the states and only Australia make units for Jeeps.

If Genright were to make an Aux tank like the ones from Long Ranger would you be willing to buy one. (based on final price of course) Genright has made a great larger than OEM tank for TJs and LJs. But, there is so much space between the frame and the driveshaft that it is just begging for an Aux fuel or water tank.

As long as the ones someone in the US made were manufactured with the rugged components and quality design that LongRanger produces, I would definitely add this to my undercarriage.


TJ

JK

Home Page:
http://www.thelongranger.com.au/longrangefueltank.html

Take a look at the details on this tank:
http://www.thelongranger.com.au/ta64d/index.html

I particularly like the Gauge
http://www.thelongranger.com.au/Features/switch_gauge.htm

And the transfer pump
http://www.thelongranger.com.au/Features/transfer_pump.htm


I am not affiliated with Genright, but happen to own their Safari tank for LJ's and would love for them to make an Aux tank. The concept for the safari tank seemed to start on a forum. Then a small run of 10, so why not an Aux Tank?

Long Rangers TJ tank is 43 liters. 10" could be added to the length. This could be up to 60liters of more fuel.

Right now I trying to see how much interest there is so I can use it to talk Genright into making some.

Beowolf,

I was in some of the original conversation prodding Gen-Right to build your Safari tank. They build some real works of art.. I just never pulled the trigger due to funds mostly, and removing the crossmember a little.

My original idea was to raise the top of tank also, but put a notch across top to clear the crossmember. It would have been harder to make and would not have held as much, but I never thought 30+ gallons was possible either..

So to answer your question: Yes, I am commited to this Gen-Right mid ship aux tank, moving weight forward is the big motivator. I will not let you guys down twice, good luck..

The area has room for a nice size tank, it is also has the driveshaft between the tank and muffler so exhaust issues seem unfounded...A USA copy of the longranger TJ tank 10" longer for the LJ would be just fine...

 

[over2land]

I'm So Cals' buddy, the guy that was there talking to them about it.

I sent Tony the link to this thread, cause I was kinda clueless.

The way he works is if he gets enough orders to cover the layout on initial development and initial run of them, he'll build em.

He's got a ton on his plate right now. That said, he's always interested in hearing ideas.

He's also got like 200 dealers across the country... and if enough of them bought in for just one, likely he'd make it.

 

[Beowulf]

Over2Land,

Did Tony ever comment on the Aux Tank Idea? I have not heard anything back from my emails.

 

[86cj]

I would think this tank could have broader appeal than the Safari. It allows the stock tank to be unmolested for reliability and Liability concerns, the aux tanks location also helps with the later. It also allows you to go back to stock easier and should offer a larger capacity.

This could even be marketed as a "homeland security" issue to the plain vanilla Jeep crowd that leave there Jeeps all stock. I say this because I was in a town called Pinedale WY at a store loading my cooler for a week in Yellowstone on the morning of 9-11-2001.
It was my first trip out west and my unbelievable excitment turned into a constant fear of fuel availability, "people were getting goofy". I was 2000 miles from home and Fuel was a huge and constant concern....

 

[cybercat]

Beowolf,

I was in some of the original conversation prodding Gen-Right to build your Safari tank. They build some real works of art.. I just never pulled the trigger due to funds mostly, and removing the crossmember a little.

My original idea was to raise the top of tank also, but put a notch across top to clear the crossmember. It would have been harder to make and would not have held as much, but I never thought 30+ gallons was possible either..

So to answer your question: Yes, I am commited to this Gen-Right mid ship aux tank, moving weight forward is the big motivator. I will not let you guys down twice, good luck..

The area has room for a nice size tank, it is also has the driveshaft between the tank and muffler so exhaust issues seem unfounded...A USA copy of the longranger TJ tank 10" longer for the LJ would be just fine...

I'd be first in line for an additional aux tank for the LJ.