Extra diesel tank.

[Squantobon]

I have a new F-350 diesel on order and I believe that comes with a 48 gallon tank. I live in San Antonio and [moderator edit ]fuel prices here are pretty bad and when I go elsewhere it's even more shocking. So I'd like to bring as much as can to at least skip over some of the super ridiculous places if possible. I know I can swap the factory tank with maybe an 80 gallon tank but I think it around $2K for the extra 32 gallons. Is there a good tank to put under the bed or in the bed just behind the cab 60-80 gallons? I don't want to muck with trying to connect the reserve to the stock tank and would just need some way to pump it over.

What are the best options.

[Diesel-Lover]

Check out Northern tool catalog: truck bed fuel tanks

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...20fuel%20tanks

[Mod Edit]

[CecilD]

I have an auxiliary tank made By Aluminum Tank Industries. I found the quality to be good and the prices were reasonable. They have many configurations and sizes. Mine is gravity feed, but ATI offers may styles of transfer pumps. You can go a long way with 130 gallons on board.

Gas Buddy President reported this morning that they expect Diesel/regular prices will be around $4.00 by Memorial Day. Refinery capacity and fossil fuel exploration are way down. Oil companies don't want to invest while the government is paying to convert their customers to electric. [Mod Edit]

[MCCOHENS]

If you have the cash to buy a new truck what is the problem with another 2K for the tank option? [Mod Edit] Once again we are being ripped off by the Saudis who lost money in the pandemic shutdown and now are trying to make up for it.

[Spk64]

Thread Warning!
Many post edited or removed.
Keep the politics out of the conversation!

Site Staff

[Nwcid]

You have a ton of choices in the 50-100 gallon range that will fit below your bed rails.

Next you will have to decide how you want to connect it, or not as your post mentions. Keep in mind that connecting is super simple and took me about 15 minutes. 2 cuts, 2 hose clamps and aligning.

Your other option is to have an external fuel nozzle like you see in trucks for working on heavy equipment. The down side is that the pump will be sticking way over the bed if that is a concern for you.

[MADP4301]

I have the Titan Travel Trekker 50 ga in bed and really like it. I only have 36 gallons factory and that with the extra 50 gives me enough range for a full day of towing. My 4500 mile trip last summer I never had to use a truck stop. I always fueled locally near the campgrounds detached.

I originally wanted to go bigger but at 7.1 lbs per gallon of fuel it really starts to eat up carrying capacity. Even with a dually I didn’t want to add more than the ~400 lbs the 50ga trekker adds when full.

[igave]

We put a transfer flo tank in three different trucks over the years. However you do it, having that extra capacity is worth every penny. As someone stated above, there are quite a lot of options out there and if I’m not mistaken there may even be a sponsor on here. In my experience you are wise to add for a variety of reasons.

[Squantobon]

Originally Posted by MCCOHENS

If you have the cash to buy a new truck what is the problem with another 2K for the tank option?

2k would be ok if I felt I was getting something near 2k value but adding 32 gallons is about 6 Jerry cans of fuel so while more convenient, it doesn't seem worth it.

[cletesingler]

Been there done that, and it saved me a very little money, e.g. driving from DFW to FL to work, and passing through Gulfport MS with the cheapest diesel prices in the US. I had a 125 gal aux tank in all my trucks until my present 2017 F350 with a 50 gal fuel tank. Now I feel older and wiser, and I need to stop at least every 3 hours, so why not at a truck stop and refuel. My 125 gal aux tank filled the space such that I needed a aux tool box at the tailgate! Any way the initial cost and reinstalling for 3 new trucks...... and then the aux fuel tank company quit, and I had a 2017 F350 with plenty of fuel on board, even enough to run the engine at high idle on a cold night while I sleep, so no more aux fuel tank and yes fuel is expensive every where so you can NOT save by loading up an extra 125 gal when it's cheaper by a few cents. I remember several times I never used the aux tank and worried that the fuel in it was months old!

[Nwcid]

Originally Posted by cletesingler

Been there done that, and it saved me a very little money, e.g. driving from DFW to FL to work, and passing through Gulfport MS with the cheapest diesel prices in the US. I had a 125 gal aux tank in all my trucks until my present 2017 F350 with a 50 gal fuel tank. Now I feel older and wiser, and I need to stop at least every 3 hours, so why not at a truck stop and refuel. My 125 gal aux tank filled the space such that I needed a aux tool box at the tailgate! Any way the initial cost and reinstalling for 3 new trucks...... and then the aux fuel tank company quit, and I had a 2017 F350 with plenty of fuel on board, even enough to run the engine at high idle on a cold night while I sleep, so no more aux fuel tank and yes fuel is expensive every where so you can NOT save by loading up an extra 125 gal when it's cheaper by a few cents. I remember several times I never used the aux tank and worried that the fuel in it was months old!

I know this is your experience and I agree and disagree with your thoughts on this one. My experience has been a bit different.

No, if you spend ~$2500 on a transfer tank you are very unlikely to break even. I lucked out and got a very nice Transferflow 50gal/toolbox combo for $350.

On the flip side it is pretty easy to "save"$0.25/gallon with some simple awareness. While the that is only $12.5/50 gallons that buys lunch or snacks at your stop.......

With my current tow vehicle I have 275 gallons and typically fill 150-200 gallons at a time. I save an average of about $75/fill up. On my last 170 gallon fill up, I paid $170 less than the nearest truck stop was adverting or and about $100 over the average fuel price in the area.

Even if not going for fuel price the range is nice. Even if I choose to stop every couple of hours I do not have to fuel up. I can park where convenient not having to get into a possibly busy fuel station. Maybe I hit a rest area or restaurant instead, or even a grocery store.

Even now when I have not pulled with my pick up for over a year I still use my aux tank. I fill up when it is convenient and that is typically when my aux tank is getting low. Even if my aux tank is out I have the OEM tank as "reserve". Mine is plumbed but the electronics were for a different brand/model/year of truck so I just put a manual switch under my dash. When the truck gets down to 3/4 of a tank I run the pump for about 15 min and my OEM tank shows full again.

[kdauto]

Originally Posted by Squantobon

2k would be ok if I felt I was getting something near 2k value but adding 32 gallons is about 6 Jerry cans of fuel so while more convenient, it doesn't seem worth it.

My setup cost me around 900$ CDN in parts and shipping. I did install it and fabricate the transfer part myself.

Going from 34 to 74 gallons total makes all the difference in the world. No Range anxiety, ability to fuel when I want, at cheaper stations using a gas buddy or other app. It allows travel to super remote locations like we've done a few times, where fuel stops are hundreds (like 400) of km apart, all without getting out to refuel with a jerry can. I just flick a switch and refuel as I drive!

Bonus is I get a nice, lockable storage compartment for tools, shovels and other stuff. It's also a bench seat for tailgate parties!

[Squantobon]

Originally Posted by MADP4301

I have the Titan Travel Trekker 50 ga in bed and really like it. I only have 36 gallons factory and that with the extra 50 gives me enough range for a full day of towing. My 4500 mile trip last summer I never had to use a truck stop. I always fueled locally near the campgrounds detached.

I originally wanted to go bigger but at 7.1 lbs per gallon of fuel it really starts to eat up carrying capacity. Even with a dually I didn’t want to add more than the ~400 lbs the 50ga trekker adds when full.

That one looks pretty nice. Is it not too difficult to use that tank to fuel a genny or something?

[xrated]

I put a RDS 60 gallon "L" shaped tank in the bed of the Dually. The top of the tank is low enough to use a bed cover if you have one. The bottom part of the "L" shape is low enough for me to be able to use my cross-bed toolbox. I don't have a bed cover, but the fact that the bottom of the toolbox can fit over the top of the horizontal part of the "L" shaped tank was important to me. 60 gallons at 95% full still gives me around 57 gallons, and when I combine that with the truck tank of 37 1/2 gallons, I'm right at 94-95 gallons at the start of a trip.

My reasoning for this was not having to stop for FUEL on long travel days...AND being able to refuel where I wanted to refuel...i.e. non truck stops with more reasonably priced diesel fuel and many time, no Bio Diesel. Every truck stop that I know of has Bio Diesel only in the truck lanes, and I refuse to use the Bio if I don't have to. So in our 5000+ mile trip out west and back this past September, I used ZERO truck stops for my fueling. With an aux. tank, you can get to the campground, setup the campsite and disconnect the truck, then go get fuel anywhere that sells diesel and no be dependent on the Pilots, T/As, Loves, etc. and you don't have to worry about whether your 5ver and truck will fit into the fuel stop pump areas.

I already had a 12V fuel pump and hose/nozzle/filter from my old steel tank, and I moved it to the new RDS all aluminum tank...Plus...I added a gravity feed to the new tank so that I have choices....gravity feed while driving or pull off the road and pump diesel from the aux/trans tank into the truck. Here a a few pics.