long range fuel tanks

meetoo · Guru

long range fuel tanks

macka17 · Guru

They vary from custom Steel under chassis tanks.
to commercial Steel\Plastic in tray.cab on rear tanks. and bladders.
To Jerri cans.

If not going the expensive built under steel starting at $1600ish up tanks.
I'd be looking at the moulded Plastic in tray on floor, behind seats units.

Cost and efficiency wise.
I can't see the point in all that money for a tank that'd be mostly half empty unless permanently touring with it.

A Coupla shaped Water\diesel tanks in tray and water\diesel "bladder" on floorpan in cab.
would be my choice.
Install or remove for space. According to usage of vehicle.

My D-Max with 79ltr tank and coupla plastic jerri's cover anywhere I'll go with my van nowadays.

Have a bladder from yacht? somewhere in shed I think.

STD Ptrol tanks gave me over 1100km's on Bitumin. and near 700 with 3 ton van on back.

Realistically figure out where you're likely to go. WITH what behind you. regularly.

B4 figuring fuel capacity.

Buy more tank if needed . For your general averages.

then you can add moulded Plastic 35\55ltr Tray, floor, or side tank,

or coupla jerri's to suit.

WHEN needed. IN SHED when not.

-- Edited by macka17 on Monday 27th of February 2017 11:48:54 PM

The Belmont Bear · Guru

Hi meetoo, I looked at fitting a long range tank in the Pajero Sport for the exact same reasons that you mentioned and opted not to do it. I carry 2 x 20 ltr jerrys which gives me the same range as a bigger tank and I will fill none, one or both of them depending on the distance I am planning to travel in a day. As Macka said the outlay for a factory built tank fitted is around $1600 and you will lose a number of your trip computer functions when you fit one. Currently I have a safe range of around 350km even with the worst fuel consumption 2 jerrys it is closer to 550km, around town when I'm not towing (which is 90% of the time) I have a range of 750km and that is more than enough. I also found that if I tow on the highway at 90kph rather than 100kph I can cut my fuel usage by about 2ltr/100km which probably gives me another 50km (pulling around 2.6T ATM, 5.2T GVM). Hope that helps BB.

lizard · Veteran Member

I looked at long range tank also , was quoted $1800 supply and fit , I use the two jerry can option in tub when we tow van

macka17 · Guru

Unless you doing desert work or long trips fishing in bush.
They really, a waste of money.
Heyyy. "I got a long range tank)".

the premoulded plastic units are very fittable in tray and under,
at sensible prices.

But for temporary use.
Coupla Jerry's and maybe a Bladder are fine.
Fuel supply's Nowadays. Are not normally much more than 300km;s apart. Anywhere.

I bought a stainless impellor fuel pump off net for $35ish .
has a 1,1\4in outlet hose of coupla three mtrs on end.
Drains a jerry from rear of tray into tank in a coupla minutes.
79 (690km's usable) in tank plus 50l in jerry's does me around 1100 driving.
700ish with van (on flat)

$60 + $35 pump.
is a LOT better than $1600 plus for occasional usage thank you. .

madaboutled · Guru

I had a long range tank when we first bought the motorhome, but when refitting the lugguge lockers, I decided the space could be used better so we took it out and carry a 10lt jerry can just in case. So far the closest we've been to running out was on our "lap" trip, we were about 80k's out of Tennant Creek, added the 10 lt's to the tank plus drained the genny got another 1.5 Lt's.... Pulled into the servo and took on 67 Litres in the tank..... It holds 68.

Delta18 · Guru

For the number of times the extra fuel is needed, e.g. Tanami Track, savanna way, to a lesser extent Nullarbor Plain it is just not worth carrying 150 - 200L of fuel around doing the shopping trips at home.

As suggested, take a couple jerry cans when really needed.

macka17 · Guru

Steve. You Petrol?.
All the more reason to carry more.
they use more.

If that's Your rig.
Yep, you could do with more fuel capacity.
big boxy front. small tank.

They'll never go well together.

I'd be finding space for another 35\50ltr tank in\under there somewhere.
or a bladder.

10l ain't enuff.
I like to carry around 100ltrs MIN. when we start out.
79ltr in Tank plus 1 or 2 x 20\25 ltr jerry's in tray.
With a D-Max and 2 ton tandem van.

I use the RED jerry's, and use Diesel or Petrol in them after a flush.

patrol03 · Senior Member

I think Macka is right.About 40l is about all you need. I am lucky as I have 140l tank. In the past I have carried fuel in cans.My point is thisand it pertains to travellers who carry fuel in the vehicle.If you do this don't use plastic fuel containers to carry petrol inside your vehicle. Metal jerry cans are OK and seal well but plastic "jerrycans" weep vapour into the cab. No visible evidence of leakage but petrol fumes do escape. Where possible carry fuel outside the tow vehicle. This has been my experience on several occasions.I even bought new plastic containers but they did it too. Full seal and no smell with steel jerries with petrol.

macka17 · Guru

Hence the beauty of Utes.

4 seats in sealed cab for you and pets.
grandkids too. But preferably the cats.

With an open or covered Tray on back

for Outboards. Genny. Fuel and wife (chuckle).

T'Wasn't me sed that. Honest.

ruffnut09 · Veteran Member

I own a patrol with long range fuel tanks.....giving a total 220 litres. This capacity was expensive but brilliant for all our dessert travelling (and Cape York) and it gave the bonus of a lowering the centre of gravity of the vehicle and give us space to use jerry cans for our water rations. The problem faced with touring with a van, read ball weight, is the GVM is being exceeded. I have the choice of only partly filling the long range tanks, which defeats their purpose or spending nearly $4K on a GVM upgrade.............

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

So expensive to get them fitted.. An extra 40litres or so can make a big difference.. My old work trucks in past .. One model had larger tank than previous model..What a difference ! It seemed like fuel consumption was way better.. Although much the same.. Had to fill twice a week instead of every second day!!!

Vince · Senior Member

meetoo wrote:
What are the pros and cons of long range fuel tanks, especially on vehicles like Mitsy Challengers, that have high fuel usage towing and small fuel tank
Cheers, John.

Pros - Longer distance without refueling , able to seek cheaper fuel on route. peace of mind if caught short.

Cons - Purchase and installation costs, extra weight

I have a 75L belly tank under my Maverick and combined with the 97L main towing the van can range around 1000km which

is passing many service stations, but I rarely fill the belly tank as choices are so many and not so far apart.

It's there from previously how we travelled this great island.

Cheers

Vince

madaboutled · Guru

macka17 wrote:
Steve. You Petrol?.
All the more reason to carry more.
they use more.

If that's Your rig.
Yep, you could do with more fuel capacity.
big boxy front. small tank.

They'll never go well together.

I'd be finding space for another 35\50ltr tank in\under there somewhere.
or a bladder.

10l ain't enuff.
I like to carry around 100ltrs MIN. when we start out.
79ltr in Tank plus 1 or 2 x 20\25 ltr jerry's in tray.
With a D-Max and 2 ton tandem van.

I use the RED jerry's, and use Diesel or Petrol in them after a flush.

Yep Petrol (V8 302 Windsor), space and weight is the issue for carrying more.

Cupie · Guru

In my old Petrol Patrol with its tiny tank, when touring I carry 3 PLASTIC 20L fuel cans in the front boot of my Jayco. Usually only the one in the center is filled as an emergency supply. The cans fit neatly in the vented front boot of the Westport. Gas bottles are on the A frame so no problem there, except perhaps excess ball weight.

I have got in the habit of NEVER getting down to the bottom 1/3 of the tank, filling up at every opportunity as I get down towards 1/2 full.

I once filled up all 3 drums when going over the Nullabor for the first time. Wouldn't bother again as like every where on the black top there are usually lots of fuel stops within the range of a tankfull.

I wrap the almost full cans in old chaff bags & then in sealed heavy plastic bags. I fit a piece of ply in front of the cans against the front of the boot & sit them on some dense foam.

My original metal cans (might have been cheapies as I got them from a couple of backpackers at the end of their trip) developed tiny splits in the reinforcing ribs due I presume, to expansion/contraction/flexing. So they got binned & I changed to quality plastics.

C00P · Senior Member

Our Land Cruiser came with a long range tank already fitted (165 litres).
Pro: Extra range- used it to jump over the really expensive stations across the Nullarbor. Don't have to lift/carry heavy jerries of fuel, and hold them while pouring into the tank. Uses space under the vehicle so no need to find places to store jerries of fuel. No risk of fuel contamination (dirt on funnel, etc.). Can take advantage of fuel price cycles by buying heaps when the price is down, and stretching it to the next cycle.
Con:Extra weight- has implications for GVM, GCM, and fuel consumption (however, carrying jerries has a similar effect). When pulling our van when tug's fuel tank is full we are limited to about 80kg in the tug to avoid exceeding GVM.

Overall, we reckon the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, but then we didn't have to pay to have it fitted....

Cheers

C00P

Cloak · Guru

If you have space then it's real hard to beat jerries.. If there's an incident and one is holed at least you have a plan B...

macka17 · Guru

Vehicles like the Patrol have 2 tanks standard
90\35 or thereabouts.

By itself, the 90 gave (I've done 870 on GPS and still running) near 10 kmpl.
With 3 ton van that tank was still good for 600ish kmpl.

All the 14 yrs I had that veh. and cruising 3 ot 4 months every yr.
Apart from a coupla bush camps when jerry's were used too.
I only ever used the main tank.

Just emptying wing tank every second or 3rd fillup, to keep fuel fresh.

Makes me a little jealous though when I see mileage I get with D-Max.

9 1\2 kmpl but tiny tank and can't use all of it.
Shows yellow light at 470\500ish and good for another150\170 past that point
79 ltr tank, on paper.

I always fill one jerry when travelling. Just in case.
And 2 if towing.

Unless seriously going bush. LR Tanks aren't really either viable or necessary in this country
While on roads.

Unless you one of the 50 ltr tank brigade.

Then I'd fit one or two of those yellow Plastic. profiled tanks in sides of tray. giving 25 to 55 ltrs each.
and around$175\250 ea.
There is another style that are "floor" tanks in tray. sit flat and load on top of.
plus ones that fit vertically at front of tray.
Look'em up on net.
they good and go up to around 110 ltrs.

There are also long flat ones that fit on floor of cab,
behind drivers seats. Hold up to 100ltrs too.
Pricing to suit.

Advantage of them being. Removable. Light. a LOT cheaper.
and just use\carry. when necessary.

Long Haul\heavy load\towing. like trucks. Regularly..
YES L\R tanks.
Otherwise I can't see the point.
Unless you already have,or it comes with one.

I'd always be scared of holing it though.
ALL your juice down the spout in one stroke.

You'd cry.

I would anyway.
The few times I double tanked the Patrol hurt.

iana · Guru

Another point to consider, which would favor Jerry cans or a separate tank, is getting a dose of contaminated diesel in the main tank. Having a supply of in contaminated fuel in separate tanks (and a pre-filter) may save the day. A fellow I know took of in his new van driving a Parado, got a dose of bad fuel, and many, many dollars later was able to resume his trip.

macka17 · Guru

Just the same as your water supplies lads.
after a few yrs.
You get to figure there's "safety in numbers"

One tank. whoops. ALL gone.

Multi storage. One gone.

Ah well. A bit less now.
have to stop\top up sooner..

ALWAYS have a back door. With EVERYTHING.

-- Edited by macka17 on Sunday 5th of March 2017 12:57:16 PM

Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.