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Aux fuel tank + fuel gauge

Dylly

Dylly

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Location
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
I'd like to build a auxilary fuel tank but instead of transfering straight into the current tank... i thought about going straight to the lift pump... is that possible?

If so... does anyone know where to get a gauge for an auxilary fuel tank?
 
I can see the ones you buy having it already set up with a gauge only thing is i would rather just build my own to my own spec... I want to build a fuel tank that would be low enough in my bed to fit a tonneau cover over and that would have another tank bolted to it for my water injection ... which is likely in the mail as we speak.

Not to mention the cost difference.
 
Look at a Transfer Flow tank. They will sit below the bed rail and have lots of safety features like baffles in the tank. Useful when you are regaining control after hitting black ice with a trailer. Fuel slosh can make the difference between ditch and control.

Otherwise you are doing a A/B tank switch with a valve before the lift pump and valve for the fuel return. One valve fails and you overfill a tank quickly. Not a safe idea.
 
WarWagon said:
Look at a Transfer Flow tank. They will sit below the bed rail and have lots of safety features like baffles in the tank. Useful when you are regaining control after hitting black ice with a trailer. Fuel slosh can make the difference between ditch and control.

Otherwise you are doing a A/B tank switch with a valve before the lift pump and valve for the fuel return. One valve fails and you overfill a tank quickly. Not a safe idea.
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Fantastic words of wisdom right there.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
I was going to put baffles in the tank anyway... and with that 6 port switch would i be hooking it up to my 98's gauge in the dash just on a switch between stock tank and aux tank? or pull the gauge out of the 1980's truck and use that inside the truck?
 
if you use a sending unit in the aux tank that is compatible with the oem gauge you can use your guage in the dash all it does is switch from one sending unit to the other. It's all done internally on the 6 port .
 
Dylly said:
I was going to put baffles in the tank anyway... and with that 6 port switch would i be hooking it up to my 98's gauge in the dash just on a switch between stock tank and aux tank? or pull the gauge out of the 1980's truck and use that inside the truck?
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haha yeah i got a chuckle out of the posts about the "saftey features". Of course you gotta weld baffles in there lol any tank u buy now has baffles. I plan on getting a bigger 128 liter tank out of a long box truck and put that in mine for extra fule. You got a real sharp looking truck by the way man.
 
DZZ71 said:
haha yeah i got a chuckle out of the posts about the "saftey features". Of course you gotta weld baffles in there lol any tank u buy now has baffles. I plan on getting a bigger 128 liter tank out of a long box truck and put that in mine for extra fule. You got a real sharp looking truck by the way man.
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Thank you very much good sir. It's only the begining...
 
I have a transfer flow in bed 50 gallon auxiliary tank that works just this way. The valve is pre-lift pump and a single toggle on the dash switches the valve and which fuel level sender is feeding the fuel gauge. The transfer flow tank bolts down to the bed, and mine has a storage area in the top which I put a 5 gallon water tank and 9 gallon propane tank in. It fits about flush with the bed rails and I have a Truxedo cover over it.

Unfortunately it takes up 1/3 of my long bed.
 
buddy said:
I have a transfer flow in bed 50 gallon auxiliary tank that works just this way. The valve is pre-lift pump and a single toggle on the dash switches the valve and which fuel level sender is feeding the fuel gauge. The transfer flow tank bolts down to the bed, and mine has a storage area in the top which I put a 5 gallon water tank and 9 gallon propane tank in. It fits about flush with the bed rails and I have a Truxedo cover over it.

Unfortunately it takes up 1/3 of my long bed.
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Your set up is EXACTLY what i'm looking at doing... couple questions though:

1. Is your tank a custom build or factory purchase?
2. Where did you get the system to flip between tanks? Is it just out of ~75-87 Chev with dual tanks?
3. Do you have a gauge set up for your water tank too?
4. How much water is necessary for your 50 gallon tank.. Ex) 1gal H20 : 5gal Fuel?
5. Do you have any photos of the electronic/ valve set up?
 
1) Mine is a regular transfer flow commercially available item, but pricey. It was there when I bought the truck, but have the catalogue it was ordered from.

2) The system is part of the transfer flow kit

3) I dont have a water tank level sensor. I just refill it when I stop, and the 5 gallons will get me 700 miles, plenty between rest stops.

4) I have small water misters, and dont use it much, only on long trips, and then I think I use about 1 gallon of water to about 8 gallons of fuel. small nozzles for the water.

5) I don't but could go take some pics later. The stock 34 gallon tank goes into one input, the 50 gallon auxiliary into another, with one output to the LP.

some pics of the bed tank are in this thread http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/showthread.php?t=14170
 
Here are some pics of the electic valve. It has the supply and return. Pumping the return back up to the bed doesnt sound like a great thing, and you could just keep one return line back to the stock tank, as long as you run it down before using auxiliary tank. I have ext cab and long bed so this thing is sitting on top of the rear crossmember for where the two driveshafts link up
 

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Would building a steel water tank be an absolute no-no because of obvious rust issues? I was thinking about building my 200L fuel tank and a 100L water tank bolted to each other...

Also if i gravity fed the fuel tank will it over flow if i dont pay attention or will it just fill to the cap and stop... That might be a really stupid question though.
 
Gravity feed - it will feed until both tanks are level, so yes it will over-fill a tank in stock location. You should set this up with dual fills and only put a transfer pump in place if you see a need to transfer fuel between the tanks, but with switching valves you probably will never need to. Or, if you plan to use the top tank for fueling other toys you'll have a pump set up anyway.

For my 2-tank veg system I have a 2nd tank in the left frame rail, I believe its 18 gallon. My valves all switch with one rocker on the dash, changing feed and return lines before the lift pump. And yes, if a valve fails you'll see the level rise in one of the tanks! I wanted a 2nd fuel gauge so the stock gauge is diesel level in the 18 gallon tank, and on the A-pillar I have a gauge for the stock 42 gallon tank that holds veg.
 
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