1000 Miles on one S&B Tank of Fuel - Tow Rig Tech
Busted Knuckle Films
Pickup trucks have become much more capable in last 50 years. When I lived on the farm we had a Ford F-150 that had a carrying capacity of 500 pounds. You put three people in the cab and you are full up. Now we've got pickup trucks hauling goose neck trailers carrying backhoes. Apparently we also have pickup trucks doing long distance hauling now.
You wouldn't think that putting a bigger fuel tank in a pickup truck would be such a big deal, I mean they've got all that room underneath the bed. The only thing down there is the driveshaft and the exhaust pipe. Well, there is also the frame, and the frame is what makes it difficult. The frame is the structure that ties everything together. If you were the defense department you could undoubtedly build unibody trucks that could haul a ten ton trailer and have room for a hundred gallon gas tank, but out here in the civilian world where cost matters, it's quicker, easier and cheaper to build a truck using a frame. Squeezing a big gas tank in between the stuff that's already under the bed is a bit of a trick. Evidently there is a big enough demand for this kind of thing the S&B went to the trouble to master the trick.
My '67 Ford Ranger Camper Special had the standard 18 gallon tank behind the seat and optional 25 gallon under the bed. A mechanical selector sticking up through the floor between the seat and door would switch tanks and on the fuel gage also. 45 gallons was nice because that truck had a 4:10 detroit locker so running empty or with 3,000 lbs of camper/people, 25 mph or 65 mph, it got 10 miles per gallon. No ifs, ands, or buts, 10 mpg period.
ReplyDeleteI've run into dual tank setups before, I think I have probably even driven some.
ReplyDeleteMy '87 Chevy half ton has a tank on each side. Small, about 15 gallons each. A pain in the ass to fill up because you have to turn the truck around in the middle while somebody holds the hose or you have to pay twice.
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