Larger aftermarket fuel tank upgrade

xcntrk · 03-17-2017, 04:47 AM

Hi campers, thought I'd share my latest tow vehicle upgrade. Why oh why does Ford equip their short bed diesel pickups with a 26 gallon tank and no factory options for larger capacity!? So I solved the problem by replacing my tiny factory tank with an aftermarket 50 gallon Titan mid-ship tank and doubled the capacity.

Side by side comparison. The Titan is slightly wider and slightly taller meaning it hangs down more. The Titan is substantially longer in the front section extending into unoccupied space along the frame.

Damn Ford quick release fuel line clips! This error when uninstalling the stock tank cost me $25 bucks to a get new one from the dealer

Reflashed my instrument cluster module with the new capacity in order to update the "miles-to-empty" calculations:

Over 550 mile range while towing!

Finished product. It's a big bastard weighing in at 355# when full!

Javi · 03-17-2017, 04:59 AM

Cool... I would like to do that some day.. but with a 37 gallon in my longbed it isn't a must have like your situation..

xrated · 03-17-2017, 05:17 AM

Nice job on the bigger tank. I had thoughts of doing the same thing back in 2011, not long after I bought mine, but I really wasn't towing very heavy back then. Last October I got rid of my 7' x 16' enclosed trailer to haul the motorcycles and bought a new Impact 303 Toy Hauler, obviously much heavier towing. I'm getting around 10 MPG now and with the 26 gal tank that I never run down lower than 1/4 of a tank, that came out to about a 180 mile range. I ended up deciding on an in the bed transfer tank with an electric pump and diesel fuel filter inline with the nozzle. Here are a couple of pics of the tank in the bed that I just installed last weekend. I got a 42 gal tank, so when I'm fuelled up and ready to roll, I'll be starting out with roughly 68 gallons of fuel. As you can see, it's an "L" shaped tank, so the lower portion of the tank fits under my bed tool box.

pawpaw · 03-17-2017, 05:34 AM

The 48 gallon tanks on the '17's with the 176" WB are nice. A lot better then the small tank on son in laws F-250 SB while pulling the Fuzion.

pawpaw · 03-17-2017, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcntrk

Hi campers, thought I'd share my latest tow vehicle upgrade. Why oh why does Ford equip their short bed diesel pickups with a 26 gallon tank and no factory options for larger capacity!? So I solved the problem by replacing my tiny factory tank with an aftermarket 50 gallon Titan mid-ship tank and doubled the capacity.

Side by side comparison. The Titan is slightly wider and slightly taller meaning it hangs down more. The Titan is substantially longer in the front section extending into unoccupied space along the frame.

Damn Ford quick release fuel line clips! This error when uninstalling the stock tank cost me $25 bucks to a get new one from the dealer

Reflashed my instrument cluster module with the new capacity in order to update the "miles-to-empty" calculations:

Over 550 mile range while towing!

Finished product. It's a big bastard weighing in at 355# when full!

Nice job!! Now you can pull that Fuzion a lot further before making a fuel stop...great looking rig.

xcntrk · 03-17-2017, 07:56 AM

Thanks for the comments all. I wanted to add some details of my motivation for this upgrade. The frequency of stops with the stock 26 gallon tank, while marginally inconvenient, aren't the issue. After all I travel with my family including x2 children and the reality is at least 1 person has got to pee once an hour anyway.

The real motivation is the clearance issue in seeking fill up's. With a 5'er in tow, I generally only stop at the big truck stops where I can use the diesel truck lanes for easy in & out. I live on the East Coast and to stop at your average Flying-J/Love's/Pilot on a weekend, will take you 30-min to get through those truck lines. Now amply that by stopping every 180 miles and suddenly your short 6hr drive just turned into a 12 hour one.

xcntrk · 03-17-2017, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xrated

Nice job on the bigger tank. I had thoughts of doing the same thing back in 2011, not long after I bought mine, but I really wasn't towing very heavy back then. Last October I got rid of my 7' x 16' enclosed trailer to haul the motorcycles and bought a new Impact 303 Toy Hauler, obviously much heavier towing. I'm getting around 10 MPG now and with the 26 gal tank that I never run down lower than 1/4 of a tank, that came out to about a 180 mile range. I ended up deciding on an in the bed transfer tank with an electric pump and diesel fuel filter inline with the nozzle. Here are a couple of pics of the tank in the bed that I just installed last weekend. I got a 42 gal tank, so when I'm fuelled up and ready to roll, I'll be starting out with roughly 68 gallons of fuel. As you can see, it's an "L" shaped tank, so the lower portion of the tank fits under my bed tool box.

That is a sweet setup, I like that L style to take advantage of all the unused space under your box. Can you automatically transfer while moving, or do you have to stop to fill the stock tank?

xrated · 03-17-2017, 09:59 AM

Thank you.....yours is a cleaner install for sure, but I guess the bottom line is they both get the job done of refuelling the truck without going through a ample clearance fuelling station (mostly truck stops). I do have to stop to pump fuel, unless I can talk my D.W. into going out the back window and hanging over the side of the truck while we are going down the road!

Seriously though, with a range of approx. 180 miles or so with the stock tank on the truck, I'm probably ready to stop for some coffee or to drain some previously consumed coffee. No small kids on this end, but I'm 62 and seem to need more frequent bathroom breaks

I did have one more reason for doing this, and that was to be able to fill up in town before we leave (diesel is $2.15/gal right now) and it's NOT Biodiesel, whereas a lot of the truck stops are selling some content of Bio.....and I'm going to stay away from it as long as I can.

theallde · 03-17-2017, 08:44 PM

We had the Titan 50 gallon installed several years ago to replace the wimpy 26 gallon as you stated. Since we live in Southern Utah, we decided to drive to Idaho Falls, ID for Titan to do the install. Great folks at Titan had me up and running in no time.

You'll really enjoy the peace of mind knowing that you have the extra fuel onboard.

Great choice .... Don

canesfan · 03-18-2017, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcntrk

Thanks for the comments all. I wanted to add some details of my motivation for this upgrade. The frequency of stops with the stock 26 gallon tank, while marginally inconvenient, aren't the issue. After all I travel with my family including x2 children and the reality is at least 1 person has got to pee once an hour anyway.

The real motivation is the clearance issue in seeking fill up's. With a 5'er in tow, I generally only stop at the big truck stops where I can use the diesel truck lanes for easy in & out. I live on the East Coast and to stop at your average Flying-J/Love's/Pilot on a weekend, will take you 30-min to get through those truck lines. Now amply that by stopping every 180 miles and suddenly your short 6hr drive just turned into a 12 hour one.

Nice job. I had considered doing that once upon a time, but ruled it out as unnecessary in my circumstances. I too live on the East coast, and I avoid the Flying-J/Love's/Pilots all the time if I can. They are just not worth the trouble and time. I carry a 5 gallon yellow jug "just in case" but I seldom if ever have trouble finding a normal gas station that I can get into and out of easily. And for me, after 2-1/2 hours I'm usually ready to stop and take a break anyway. But I do understand others points of view.

bsmith0404 · 03-18-2017, 07:10 AM

Nice install. I added a 65 gal in bed to go along with my 36 gal OE. Having 100 gallons and over 1,000 range is nice. Haven't had a day yet where I have outrun the range. I just fill up after stopping for the night. Makes all of my stops during the day at rest stops where you typically have clean facilities and some nice picnic benches or something to relax at for a bit. The nice part about the in bed setup I have, the tonneau will close over it when I'm not towing and it transfers fuel automatically while I'm driving. You will love the new convenience that these tanks offer.

EVMIII · 03-18-2017, 01:57 PM

I just added a 60 gallon aux tank. It was only about 13" deep so I slid my toolbox up and put it behind it. My range now clearly exceeds my rear end. My plan is like Brent's. Plan to do most of my refueling unhooked in the evenings. Total range over 1000 miles might come in handy every now and then. Enjoy your new tank and range, safe travels.

xcntrk · 03-19-2017, 04:41 AM

Man I'm loving this tank. Check out this range when not towing the trailer. Had to do a 400mi/6hr road trip this weekend. No trailer but did have an ATV the bed. Went the whole way and only burned a half tank

xrated · 03-19-2017, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcntrk

Man I'm loving this tank. Check out this range when not towing the trailer. Had to do a 400mi/6hr road trip this weekend. No trailer but did have an ATV the bed. Went the whole way and only burned a half tank

That's awesome! I do have one question about your install/setup though. How did you reflash your instrument cluster module to get the larger capacity for the new tank? Was it a dealer thing or do you have something that will allow you to access it without dealer assistance?

cardinal96ss · 03-19-2017, 06:08 AM

Nice mods and suggestions. Thanks all.

CaptnJohn · 03-19-2017, 07:35 PM

That will be what I do this summer. Not sure if I want the 50 gallon replacement or a 30 - 40 gallon in bed tank. Both are a bit pricey but for the convenience...

xcntrk · 03-24-2017, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xrated

That's awesome! I do have one question about your install/setup though. How did you reflash your instrument cluster module to get the larger capacity for the new tank? Was it a dealer thing or do you have something that will allow you to access it without dealer assistance?

Let me introduce you to FORscan.

FORScan is a software scanner for Ford, Mazda, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles, designed to work over ELM327 and J2534 Pass-Thru compatible adapters.

You can modify a number of different values across all the vehicle CANbus modules including the instrument cluster module where the "miles to empty" fuel calculations are processed based on tank capacity size.

There's a sticky thread over at power stoke forum that details the process:
http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/gen...ut-dealer.html

Larry1013 · 10-15-2017, 10:10 AM

If you want to know more about the options you can modify with FORScan on the Ford's check this thread and this spreadsheet.

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/14...lt-data-6.html

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...AtI/edit#gid=0

Two mods I made was the Diesel Exhaust Filter screen and increasing the number of blinks for lane change. I upped the blinks from 3 - no trailer/5 - with trailer to 7 and 9.

hornet28 · 10-15-2017, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

That will be what I do this summer. Not sure if I want the 50 gallon replacement or a 30 - 40 gallon in bed tank. Both are a bit pricey but for the convenience...

I'm late with this answer maybe you already decided. But in case you haven't. When I bought my 50 gal in bed tank I looked at cost per added gal. So lets say the either tank cost $1000 with only 15 gal added capacity that's $66.666 per gal. But if you bought a 40 gal in bed tank it would only be $25 per gal added. Sure you lose some bed space but I love having an 84 gal capacity. Even towing I can go a long ways and pass those stations that are high price

CaptnJohn · 10-15-2017, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hornet28

I'm late with this answer maybe you already decided. But in case you haven't. When I bought my 50 gal in bed tank I looked at cost per added gal. So lets say the either tank cost $1000 with only 15 gal added capacity that's $66.666 per gal. But if you bought a 40 gal in bed tank it would only be $25 per gal added. Sure you lose some bed space but I love having an 84 gal capacity. Even towing I can go a long ways and pass those stations that are high price

Going with 32 gallon. Along with the Ford small tank that will give me 60 gallon or about 650 miles. I try to limit to 450-500 miles daily. Also will keep the weight down a little. I would have been happy with 20-25 gallons. Cost installed about $675.

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