Community Forums

Wes Magyar · 07-14-2009, 12:56 AM

i have a 1978 Beaver Class C its a 23 foot on a dodge chassis with the 7.2 litre 440 v8. its on the dodge b300 sportsman chassis. I looked around online and i cant find any information on what gas tank i need to replace it and from what i can tell its not the standard gas tank for that chassis. i tried contacting the manufacturer but they went bankrupt in march. I went to a few RV dealers and they gave me a blank stare... my gas tank is rusted out and im going to be living in the thing at the end of the month so i gotta figure something out. any help would be appreciated. if it helps here is a picture of it.

also if we cant figure this out any tips on repairing the current gas tank could come in handy as well.

-Wes-

wa8yxm · 07-14-2009, 10:27 AM

Unless the tank has holes in it you can stick your fist in you might try having it lined.

Many radiator shops will do this for you,,, You (or they if you pay) drop the empty or near empty tank, take it to them, they will blow it dry, patch any obvious holes and pour in a chemical that coats the inside of the tank, this chemical leaves a rubber like coating which is impervious to gasoline or diesel fuel, once it's dry (takes a few days) you pay the bill, bolt it back on the rig and re-fill. Cheaper than a new tank when it can be done. but shop around for someone who can do it.

Oh, paint the outside of the tank with something rust controlling (ACME rust control paint?) and it should outlast you.

Wes Magyar · 07-14-2009, 03:11 PM

i called the only radiator shop in town and they wanted 400+ bucks to do it.
and frankly i cant afford that... i was going to go to a junk yard becuase our local u-pull it yard it costs 10 bucks for a tank. i just need to figure out what kind the tank in there is. or what kinds will work.
there arent any holes in the tank its just full of water and dirt and rust. its so bad i cant drive my rv a mile without the fuel filter clogging solid. i am also very poor im surviving on SSI which is 674 bucks a month... so i gotta find a cheap solution. i dont plan on driving the rv much. at most 10-20 miles at a time for now.
-Wes-

RedneckExpress · 07-14-2009, 08:50 PM

Sounds like you need to salvage a tank off a later model Dodge Van. 1990 and later had plastic tanks, no rust. Not certain what they'd go for at a pull-a-part place.

Ya need to get under there and get a few pictures of how it mounts and what its size is. Odds are its probably not in the stock location, but who knows?

Wes Magyar · 07-14-2009, 08:53 PM

do you know if the fuel lines and all that will hook up? im not to mechanically knowlegable but i can generally figure it out eventually.
-Wes-

RedneckExpress · 07-14-2009, 09:43 PM

The newer tanks had the pump in the tank. You'd need to drop yours and see if it has a removable straw assembly on the top. Then measure it to see if it will fit on a newer tank. If you can get a good deal on a tank with a pump, get it. You can tie the electrical pump in to run at the same time from a 12 volt lead that is hot when the key is in the run position. This is normally done on folks restoring older vehicles as it helps prevent vapor lock.

Another alternative is to drop your existing tank and drain it and flush it out. An earlier poster mentioned how to have the tank treated so that it won't rust up anymore.

Also. Another thing you're going to need to do is to flush your fuel lines out. You do this by removing the fuel line going to the carburetor, and pipping it off into a jug. You'll probably be able to do this at the point where the fuel filter goes in the line (if its post pump) .

Put about five gallons of fresh fuel into the clean, fresh tank, then have someone crank the motor for you while you watch the color of the fuel coming out of the line.

Once it becomes mostly clear, you've flushed the line out. Install new filter. Add fuel to tank.

mechanic1 · 08-18-2009, 04:23 AM

hi wes
i would do like the other guy said and drop the tank . its gotta come outta there sooner or later. and like he told you take some photo,s of it . i don,t know if you have an autozone whear you live or not ?however most part stores carry or can order you a new tank . from a co called spectra. and there kinda not to over pricey . you can allso look on the net like a place called rock auto.com .the parts store will have a book you can match your photo,s up to . i replaced the tank in my 1998 ford pick up cost me 86,00 but i get a discount . yes i buy allot of parts of theam. i have a 1977 ford motorhome 28 footer with twin tanks . they carry new tanks front and back for my motorhome. i looked the other day i need a front sending unit for mine .they had the rear sender but not the front. go figure.no matter how you slice it you need a new tank .or have your old one repaired. the only other thing i can suggest is if you look in the book . or on the net it will tell you what years will fit your unit say 1976 to 1978 and so on. go back to the bone yard see if he has any of the years mentioned in the book and whaalaa hope this will help you out. one more thing . some parts stores do carry the stuff you need to coat your tank with. but ive never had any luck with it .good luck dave sr

Wes Magyar · 08-18-2009, 04:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mechanic1

hi wes
i would do like the other guy said and drop the tank . its gotta come outta there sooner or later. and like he told you take some photo,s of it . i don,t know if you have an autozone whear you live or not ?however most part stores carry or can order you a new tank . from a co called spectra. and there kinda not to over pricey . you can allso look on the net like a place called rock auto.com .the parts store will have a book you can match your photo,s up to . i replaced the tank in my 1998 ford pick up cost me 86,00 but i get a discount . yes i buy allot of parts of theam. i have a 1977 ford motorhome 28 footer with twin tanks . they carry new tanks front and back for my motorhome. i looked the other day i need a front sending unit for mine .they had the rear sender but not the front. go figure.no matter how you slice it you need a new tank .or have your old one repaired. the only other thing i can suggest is if you look in the book . or on the net it will tell you what years will fit your unit say 1976 to 1978 and so on. go back to the bone yard see if he has any of the years mentioned in the book and whaalaa hope this will help you out. one more thing . some parts stores do carry the stuff you need to coat your tank with. but ive never had any luck with it .good luck dave sr

Yeah i dropped it and took photos of it and went to every place i could think of and no one had anything. it is a custom job.
i cleaned it out as best as i could banged it around with a rubber mallet rinsed it out with vinegar and C.L.R and so far so good. the rust was only on the inside the outside was fine.
first 6 times i rinsed it out tons of rust and dirt came out... it was BAD. im amazed it ran at all. a testiment to dodge engineering and fram fuel filters!
i just hope it holds for awhile. till i can locate a replacement tank. i got my ear to the ground.
-Wes-

RedneckExpress · 09-08-2009, 05:41 PM

Hey Wes, do you have a link to those photos, I may wind up trying to find a similar tank to salvage to use as a larger replacement gas tank for the tiny 30 gallon currently on my truck (only 225 miles per fillup).

Is your gas tank bigger than 30 gallons?

JimElliott · 09-08-2009, 07:09 PM

If you ever visit the "Quartzsite" RV show in January a person who makes custom tanks was there last year....
My custom 82 gallon tank was made out of aluminum for $600.00 and R&R was $300.00.....Had to drive over to Havasu city in Arizona.
Weight difference was about 90 pounds hanging over the rear axle...Sweet.

Jim

RedneckExpress · 09-08-2009, 07:21 PM

That sounds nice, do you know the gauge on the aluminum? I know how to cut metal and use a brake press, so I can get the sheet aluminum and cut the pieces and make the bends, then have a certified welding buddy weld all the seams up. Most of the transferflow tanks I've seen are basically rectangular steel boxes.

JimElliott · 09-09-2009, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedneckExpress

That sounds nice, do you know the gauge on the aluminum? I know how to cut metal and use a brake press, so I can get the sheet aluminum and cut the pieces and make the bends, then have a certified welding buddy weld all the seams up. Most of the transferflow tanks I've seen are basically rectangular steel boxes.

Gauge wise I have NO idea but it is around 1/8 inch or better, Reused the original holding straps with a layer of .100 thick rubber stuff.
Saved/shed about 90 pounds of weight cuz the old tank was very thick and costly plus another fact we captured another 2 gallons of capacity.
One of my buddies found out what I was doing and had to drag his 75 gallon "Boat" tank along for a new build ($ 500.00)
Sender unit on mine was re-used (calibrated with the old tank) which was 14 inches tall.
The boat tank had a new sender installed, Please pay attention to your old tank baffles IF this is a new tank....

Jim

RedneckExpress · 09-09-2009, 05:08 PM

When I dropped my original tank to swap the fuel pumps, I took a peak inside and as best as I can tell, there are no baffles in the tank, at least not as far as I could stick my arm into the tank.

The current tank is plastic.

JimElliott · 09-09-2009, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedneckExpress

When I dropped my original tank to swap the fuel pumps, I took a peak inside and as best as I can tell, there are no baffles in the tank, at least not as far as I could stick my arm into the tank.

The current tank is plastic.

I have NO answer for that.....My new tank has two and the pickup is in the center of both.

Jim