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Let's see your fuel tank set-ups.

nedly05

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2006
Messages
1,801
Location
Adk. Mtns, NY
Please post up some pictures of your fuel transfer tanks, I have a 74 Gallon aluminum "L" tank/tool box combo from TSC. It's leaking now for the second time, I have had it repaired once already. I'm tired of always worrying that it's going to leak so I'd like to replace it with a steel one. We had steel tanks for years and never had any trouble with them. I will be putting in a 52 Gallon "L" tank until I figure out what I want. I don't want to lose the capacity as I am used to having it now. I kind of like the idea of putting a rectangular tank across the front and two shallow bottom tool boxes along the side.

Please help me out, Thanks!
 

Pecord Exc

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2008
Messages
181
Location
Westchester, NY
Nedly, we have a 88 gallon weather guard from 1998 still works perfect, as for the transfer pumps..... well thats another story.. the L tank with the saddle box is now in out 2010 F-350. We did have to notch out the corners a wee bit though as the Ford is a short bed and this tank wouldn't have fit. Ill try to grab some pics when we put the tank toolbox and ladder rack back in.. this week
 

nedly05

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2006
Messages
1,801
Location
Adk. Mtns, NY
The pump I have on my tank is from 1990 or something like that. I bet we have had 7 other pu
pumps that didn't last 2 years!
 

ctkiteboarding

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
386
Location
sw ct.
ned , get that leaker out of your fleet and in the scrap yard asap small horror story, had a alumi tank, that started to leak, i took it out of service, it sat for 5 years , then i needed a tank so i sent it out to be inspected and repaired so i wound be comfortable filling it, well the shop did thier thing and tested it said it had a small leak in the corner,, i looked at the repair seemed legit,
long story short fuel guy filled it at my yard friday, rained all weekend tank leaked out fuel made it to the river dep. fd, pd, state. enviro cln up ..... EVERYONE..... cost to me 36k, insurance said FU, had to go to court for discharging without a permit ,,, lawsuit,,, legal fight,,, lots of cash and stress get a new steel tank NOW
 
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dirty4fun

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2010
Messages
1,188
Location
N. IL
Nedly, I have an old steel L tank, it isn't pretty, but has never leaked and always worked good. One day I am sure it sill give up as it is over 30 year old. I had thought about a nice shiny aluminum, but guess they may not be that great. When it dies maybe I should retire also.
 

nedly05

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2006
Messages
1,801
Location
Adk. Mtns, NY
Holy crap. thats not good at all. Shouldnt the tank repair people have to eat it? what a pain in the butt. Hopefully it all work out. I will not be repairing this tank again now.

Definitely dont get an aluminum one dirty. they look all pretty and nice but they suck compared to a steel one!
 

ctkiteboarding

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
386
Location
sw ct.
yeah thats what i said , had to hire lawers and that cost $$$$ i made a mistake by not having a certification document etc.
**** like that the lawyers and insurance just love to hear, the dep only cares about the clean up and who pays for it so that was on me and i hadn to pay. they used the legal system to hold my feet to the fire so to speak, 2 years of lawyers court payments hassle , grief and lots of stress , what a PITA , bottom line, steel tanks only and review all insurance with a trustworthy agent and review that again with your lawyer, sucks but anything other is a gamble,

as for your post i had a rectangular steel tank custom built to fit my truck bed, extra thick with the bottom doubled up , works well ,18gpm pump .second one in 6 years ,
so far so good
 

Pecord Exc

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2008
Messages
181
Location
Westchester, NY
IF you really want it to look nice and shiny like a chrome aluminum one, you can have someone fab up an aluminum diamond plate cover just to fit over the little bit you see, I'm sure it would be cheaper than an aluminum tank still and you'll get the same look. I would never go with an aluminum tank, too much fear or putting something through it like a steel bar or something, I know be careful but stuff happenes!
 

dayexco

Senior Member
Joined
May 21, 2005
Messages
1,224
Location
south dakota
we don't haul fuel to site anymore too much...take this tank empty to job site, have our supplier fill once there. one, two day jobs we'll fill out of pickup tanks, but not often. can pick this up with excavator, loader w/forks, etc...works well
 

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shopteacher 1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
153
Location
Delaware
If you want a nice looking tank, and are considering a custom job - go with stainless! I know that is expensive, but you will only need to do it once. I know of a guy around here who wanted extra fuel capacity for when he pulls his 5th wheel camper, had one made for the back of his F-350. According to him, it holds around 70 gallons. He does not have a transfer pump, but he had a fitting installed in case he ever wanted to. He has not returned from his winter run, otherwise I would get a picture.

John
 

nedly05

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2006
Messages
1,801
Location
Adk. Mtns, NY
I don't care about shiny anymore. I just want a good solid tank. I would like a 70 gallon +/- rectangular tank. I can't seem to find that configuration in steel.
 

CM1995

Administrator
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
13,399
Location
Alabama
Occupation
Running what I brung and taking what I win
I have always bought and used Weatherguard toolboxes and transfer tanks. They are IMO the best out there, they cost more upfront but give years of service. I have 2 100 gal square tanks and 3 L-shaped ones.
 

nedly05

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2006
Messages
1,801
Location
Adk. Mtns, NY
This 100 gallon tank is as close to what I want that I can find. I dont really need 100 gallons though.Does anyone know of a 70 gallon tank this shape? I think I will keep searching.Thanks for all of the replies!
 

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Randy88

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Messages
2,149
Location
iowa
On my service truck I had custom built 105 gallon tanks, three in a row and have them valved to a common pump, that way I'm legal and don't have to have hazmat endorsement, tanks are thick steel and have a 2 inch lip around the bottom to hold it off the bed of the truck so it won't rub and get a hole in them, had this problem with other tanks in the past, on my other four door freightliner with a flat bed we took one of the 100 gallon fuel tanks and had fittings welded into it and we put a 12 volt fuel pump on that for refueling equipment, all tanks have shut off valves on them. As for the tanks in the back of pickups I gave up on those years ago, most were not heavy enough and would wear holes in the bottom and corners from rub wear even if they were bolted down and took up too much room in the bed of the truck. My tanks are narrow, longer and tall, all in a row between the side boxes I had specially built for my truck and are bolted down to the bed and headache rack so theres no movement. Love the setup and also the hose reel with 40 feet of hose, thats the single best investment yet is the reel. As for fuel pumps that's a good question, had problems with every one I've ever had, what is a good unit to have?

I have a friend who swears by the 110 units and hooks it to his welder generator and uses those to refuel with, don't know if thats the answer or not but all the 12volt units always lose their prime and airlock for some reason, we've tried different check valves and other things but we eventually give up and go buy another pump, that or the motor burns out after a few years, tuthill seems to last the longest.

The best setup I've ever seen to this day was one local contractor used air pressure off his air brakes to pressurize the tanks he had specially built to fill equipment, I saw this after I had three tanks built, I've even considered the air pumps but haven't tried those yet for fuel, I figured they would be plagued with problems as well, if anyone has ideas or suggestions I'd like to hear about the pumps as well.
 

cheifrider

Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2011
Messages
21
Location
upstate ny
Occupation
contractor
i really hate to hijack here folks but im new here and couldnt find a spot to properly introduce myself , am i missing something thanks ,tom
 

Reel hip

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Messages
246
Location
San Diego
Occupation
owner operator bobcat"s and dump truck"s
Do you have bigger trucks? I use fuel tanks on my dump trucks. I seperate them one on road and one off road. I connected an air line to the tank and push air (small amounts) into the tank. I have a hose on the other end and fuel up my equipment. I also plumb an air outlet to run an impact or air up equipment.
 

mitch504

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
5,776
Location
Andrews SC
Here's mine, The trailer is temporary, I have been planning to build a better trailer out of an old service body I have for 10 yrs.

The round tank holds 157 gallons of diesel fuel, and the square tank on the front holds 50 gallons of hydraulic oil.

100_1388.JPG
I have a regulator set to 15 psi with a paint gun filter on the inlet, and a relief valve set to 18 psi; and there is another independent relief valve on the other end of the tank. The dispensing hose comes off a fitting on the bottom of the tank. I can plug it into the compressor on my service truck, the air system on one of my big trucks, or a 9 gallon air tank pressurized to 120 psi will dispense about 45 gallons of fuel. And, if all else fails, there is a 2 inch coupling welded into the top of the tank with a plug in it, and I have a hand pump. There is a 2' section of 2-inch pipe with a coupling on one end, and a cap on the other, that the suction pipe of my hand pump stays in.
 

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