Question regarding MPG

[WildBill]

I have been watching a lot of expedition/4wd stuff on YouTube and see guys traveling vast distances and one of the most common mods it seems in the foreign SUV and mini truck world seems to be additional gas tanks under the vehicle. Often in certain parts of the world small diesels are chosen for the reliability, performance, and MPG. Things are obviously different over here in he states and I was was wondering what some of the larger guys are doing to curve the guzzling V8 they might have. My 05 Powerwagon May only truly average 8-10 mpg. Just lookin for some input here on this subject. NOT a thread on how to improve a gas guzzling vehicle just how do you handle the subject more of less for a long range trip?


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[Renntag]

Either a transfer tank or a bunch of Jerry cans. The cans being the easiest. The only power I'd use for a full size is diesel. Looking to repower our toyota and Suzuki to mercedes and vw diesels.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Where do you plan on traveling? Out east and Midwest it's tough to not find a gas station with relative ease- maybe a 5 gallon Jerry to help ease your fears.

Out West...... could be a different story. I did the Kokopeli Trail from Fruita, CO to Rose Garden Hill outside of Moab with the Top of the World trip thrown in. I needed to take on fuel on Rose Garden Hill. This was in my Explorer with a 21 gallon tank. I haven't pushed my Expedition like that in the back country. I may have been running my Explorer too much in 4lo when I didn't need to.

 

[rayra]

32gal factory tank. 400mi cruising range. Jerry cans. Topping off at some mid-sized town before I get off the pavement.

https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/jerry-can-mwc-mfc-stowage-box-build.135929/

 

[Tex68w]

A larger after market fuel tank from Titan or Transfer Flow, an auxiliary transfer tank, or lots of jerry cans/rotopax are your options. The latter is obviously the cheapest solution, but it is more time and energy consuming and you must find a place to securely store all of that extra fuel. Not all vehicles are represented in the aftermarket tank game, usually just domestic diesel trucks and they are quite expensive to say the least, but they sure do make keeping plenty of fuel on hand a breeze.

I have a Power Wagon as well and it gets between 10-14mpg depending on the conditions, with a 31 gallon fuel tank that's 434 miles at best, not exactly the longest distance. For the foreseeable future I plan to run two to four of the four (4) gallon Rotopax, that'll give me an extra 8-16 gallons of fuel, effectively extending my range another 80-220 miles. Even in the most remote areas of the western United States, that should buy me enough range to find my way to another filling station. If Titan ever comes out with an underbody extended range tank option for my particular truck I'll have to seriously consider it.

 

[Dalko43]

Honestly, any stock 3/4 ton pickup, whether it be gasoline or diesel, is going to be somewhat limited on range for 4wd-type driving. But trucks with those payloads should have no problem carrying extra fuel in their bed: jerry cans or a transfer tank.

The only places I've found where I've needed to carefully plan out my fuel were in the remote parts of Ontario. In most areas of America, fuel stops should be available, perhaps excepting parts of the west and Alaska. If you really want the best compromise in terms of fuel range and payload, look at the newer 3.0l diesels coming out for the 1/2 ton trucks.

 

[Martinjmpr]

That's where (a) knowing your vehicle (and being realistic about the MPG - people lie about MPG as much as they do about HP) and (b) a little simple planning really helps. With the Intertoobz, we literally have a world of information at our fingertips so there should be no excuse for not knowing when and where you can refuel, at least in the US and Canada.

In other parts of the world where information is more sketchy and subject to change, a bigger fuel tank is more prudent, and local variations of common vehicles seem to reflect this: The Middle Eastern version of the Toyota Prado that I drove in Kuwait in 2004 had a 1200km (720 mile) fuel range, at least according to the onboard computer.

I do think that US market vehicles tend to have annoyingly small gas tanks. I assume this is to save weight and space, and is a recognition of the fact that "fuel range" is probably one of the least important features most Americans look for in a vehicle. From my limited research it seems that most US market full size 1/2 ton trucks (the only ones I've researched) are "stuck" at 26 gallons for some reason. I don't know why this is but from what I've seen the Chevy/GMC 1500's, Ram 1500's, Nissan Titan and Toyota Tundra all seem to have gas tank sizes fixed at or near 26, which IMO is way too small. Ford is the outlier here where AFAIK all of the F-150 4x4's after about 2012 seem to have been fitted with the 36 gallon tank, IMO a much more appropriate capacity for a "full sized" truck.

3rd Gen 4runners and 1st gen Tacos are the worst in this respect (I;ve owned one of each.) IIRC they have a pitiful 18.5 gallon tank.

 

[TexasSixSeven]

The 36 gallon tank on the Fords is an option and not standard. Toyota has been putting a 38 gallon tank in all the Tundras since 2016 now. GM and Dodge are still behind the eight ball.

 

[TexasSixSeven]

On my 17’ F-350 it came with the 48 gallon tank from the factory since I went long bed crew cab. The short bed crew cabs are fitted with 34 gallon tanks, as are the supercab long beds. I’ve also have a 40 gal aux tank in the bed, so I can carry 88 gal of diesel with ease.

 

[Dalko43]

@Martinjmpr, yeah overseas seems to have more uncertainty in terms of fuel than what we have in North America.

But even during some trips into parts of Ontario, I’ve found that fuel stations aren’t always open as advertised or that fuel quality is substandard. The extra fuel capacity, especially for a bigger truck, is pretty important to have in those scenarios.

For diesel truck owners, there are numerous options: jerry cans; auxiliary spare tire tanks; auxiliary in bed tanks; replacement tanks for OEM tanks.

For gasoline trucks, the options are more limited: jerry cans or replacement tanks for the OEM. Any storage behind the rear axle is not a good idea nor have I heard of any option that is DOT compliant.


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[Buliwyf]

The "foreign mini trucks" have pretty dismal ec and range as well. If your talking about the nicely outfitted Aussie trucks, and not the tiny stripped down little Mexican junkers.

38 gallons of gasoline is plenty for me. I always refill as I exit the freeway. I have 2 five gallon jugs in the bed, but they're for the DRZ400 (150 mile range bike). I have no interest in bug ridden canada, and have never really needed to worry about fuel in the states. Give or take the consumer induced fuel shortages during hurricane season.

If the expo bike guys, with our tiny 1.5 gallon tanks, can get by, trucks should have no problem. Although does anyone ride in canada?

Cave divers go by "rule of 3rds". 1/3 of your SCUBA tanks capacity for going into the cave, 1/3 to return, and 1/3 for reserve. You can apply the same technique to your truck off road. A simple computer and Delorme GPS help me map out my routes and fuel usage.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

I spoke with Titan about an aux tank for my Power Wagon and they don't have one and don't plan to build one. When I asked them about adapting a diesel tank, they would not discuss it. Simplest/best solution is probably RotoPaks on a roof rack, unless you are willing to give up bed space for gas storage. An alternative is to fit an aux tank in the spare tire well, but then you have to relocate the spare. Getting a 35" or 37" Toyo on and off a roof rack can be a real chore, so then you are looking at a swing-away tailgate mount for the spare. That gives you the ability to mount things like shovels and Hi-Lifts and more RotoPaks back there, but at a cost. Or, for real big bucks you could go to a race shop and have them build you a custom fuel cell. My PW has a 34 or 35 gallon gas tank, so I make do and fill before heading off the beaten path.

I am thinking about buying/building a heavier duty roof rack to accommodate more stuff, but I have to fight the urge.

 

[Dalko43]

If the expo bike guys, with our tiny 1.5 gallon tanks, can get by, trucks should have no problem. Although does anyone ride in canada?

Cave divers go by "rule of 3rds". 1/3 of your SCUBA tanks capacity for going into the cave, 1/3 to return, and 1/3 for reserve. You can apply the same technique to your truck off road. A simple computer and Delorme GPS help me map out my routes and fuel usage.

For the northern areas (Alaska, northern parts of Canada) fuel availability can be a real issue. If you go check out Canada's overland route directory at Gravel Travel you'll see that fuel stations are pretty sporadic in certain areas. Overlanders have to plan accordingly, especially bikers, but the site repeatedly emphasizes the requirement for carrying extra fuel for certain routes.

If you're just doing weekend trips in areas of the northeast US, I agree a jerry cans should suffice.

I spoke with Titan about an aux tank for my Power Wagon and they don't have one and don't plan to build one. When I asked them about adapting a diesel tank, they would not discuss it.

As I understand it, building auxiliary fuel tanks for gasoline trucks is far more difficult than building them for diesels. The big issue is placement and DOT compliance. I don't think the DOT is crazy about any onroad/legal trucks have gasoline fuel cells behind the rear axle, for obvious reasons. That's not really a concern for diesels.

I think there are in bed auxiliary tanks for gasoline if you want to go that route.

 

[gtbensley]

My 2500HD has a 36 gallon tank and that gives it plenty of range it seems. No company makes a factory replacement aftermarket tank for gas rigs that I know of. Would be nice if they could but I think emissions equipment hampers this.

 

[Martinjmpr]

My 2500HD has a 36 gallon tank and that gives it plenty of range it seems. No company makes a factory replacement aftermarket tank for gas rigs that I know of. Would be nice if they could but I think emissions equipment hampers this.

Emissions, product liability (remember the GM saddle tank fiasco?) and lack of demand would be my guess.