Auxillary Gas tank install

[HueyPilotVN]

Update:

They started this morning at about 7:30. They are sure that it will be at least a 25 gallon tank. I am staying at a Hotel nearby because they will take all day and part of tommorow. They will put together a kit for "outside California" that will be complete. I anticipate that Ross will be able to add this to his product line. I asked them to take pictures and left my camera with them. The tank will have a skid plate under it. It may run off both tanks until the back tank get to a lower level and then I can pump the back tank into the front tank. They will each have gas guages. With an additional blitz can on the back I should have close to 50 gallons of fuel for exploring the back country.
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[HueyPilotVN]

I am going to let Ross respond to the pricing issue. Tomorrow we should know what the kit full of parts will cost and Ross can decide how to proceed. I am just the facilitator for getting this kit available. This is kind of like a "Black Stealth" project where it is being done. The owner does not want to admit to installing it for me. The Kit is not illegal or anything and he is installing it on an out of state car, (my Commander) from Vermont.

New Update: He just called and said it is going very easily, no problems. Because of the connections between the tanks he does not need to split the fuel inlet line. He says the rear tank will fill first and then it will continue the fill the front tank. He is mounting the gauge to the right of my right knee under the dash and the switch will go in the console.

The tank will have a full skid plate. He said that he has taken many pictures.

The plan right now is to fill it in the morning about 9:00 AM and see how much it holds.
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[HueyPilotVN]

I have not confirmed this yet, but I expect that I might get some really interesting results on the computer readout for both mileage and range. If the top half of the fuel tanks are linked as a common tank and the input for fuel tank level is comoing from the front tank sensor only, then the computer may calculate mileage and range on unreal numbers. I suspect that I will be able to photograph readings on the dash that will amaze you. They will not be real, but they might be interesting. I imaging that it might show double the MPG's and also inflated Miles to empty. Will see what happens, probably a learning curve on how to use this setup.

With this much gas onboard I might just have to ditch my JATO boosters.

[HueyPilotVN]

Quote:
Originally Posted by JeepDog
what would be the additional weight and wouldn't that cause sway issues?


I do not expect any sway or handling issues because of several factors. The third row seat weighed close to the same amount and it is gone now. The new weight will be at the axle level and will have much less effect than say 150 pounds on the roof rack. The spare was in this area before the fuel tank. I imagine that the movement of the spare to the tire carrier had more of a negative effect on the center of gravity than the gas tank will. The gas tank should actually lower the center of gravity of the entire Jeep. I also suspect that the new tank is baffled, but I have not verified this.
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[HueyPilotVN]

Quote:
Originally Posted by udoxx
Nonetheless 700-800 mile range if you are getting 14-16 mpg, simply amazing! That will cover a one way trip to LV from the Bay Area on one tank!

I guess if the weight is going to be an issue one can always upgrade to the OME heavy duty rear springs that support a heavier constant load.

I am glad to hear that it would be armored! I would like to know for sure if it is baffled but the only thing that is a downer will be how the computer handles the extra fuel and calculations...crossing my fingers!

I am not worried about the computer calculations. I will still have two gauges to show me how much gas I have. Funny how we survived before we had a computer to tell us how many mile to empty we had. I am looking forward to a display that tells me I am getting 40 miles to the gallon, even if it is faulty information. Might be the source of a good practical joke on someone riding along. Maybe make up a story about having solar panels on the roof or something like a hydrogen boost system.

[HueyPilotVN]

Ok, I have lots of new information on the project. It is done, I picked it up this morning and we took it to fill the tank and check it out.

First, The tank is going to be called a 25 gallon tank, but it actually holds close to 30 gallons. This gives me 50 gallons, 55 with the gas can on the back included.

The tank is custom made out of aluminized steel and it has two baffles, brackets especially for the Commander and ports. It also has a drain in case we ever have to drain a bad batch of gas.

The fill system is really slick. The filler tube was cut and turned to fill the back tank. The filler hose from the front tank was left attached at the tank and was turned and connected to the back tank. This way the back tank fills and overflows into the front tank while you are filling it. The tanks are connected directly for the first half tank or so. When the front tank gets low you turn a 15 minute timer mounted on the console and the back tank pumps gas to the front tank. With the double connection the front tank will overflow back into the rear tank if it is too full. There is now a second fuel gauge mounted under the dash. The rear pump is a heavy duty externally mounted transfer pump.

There has been no effect on the check engine light or on the computer MPG. What does change is that because the back tank flows into the front tank it tends to keep you front tank full and my distance to empty either stays the same or might increase a little. It is just like topping off your tank at every station yoou pass.

Here are some of the pictures:








First steps in building the tank with two baffles:

[HueyPilotVN]

More Pictures:





This picture show the connections. The gas goes from the filler tube into the large port on the right and then goes into the port on the left that is directly connected to the front tank. They used the existing filler hose to make this connection. The main filler tube was turned and connected to the back tank.

The brackets are for hanging the tank using "J" bolts that are hooked into the frame. The tank install was very easy, just drill four holes for the "J" bolts to hook to. The other tubes are for the vent lines and the hole is for the sending unit for the gauge. The bottom has a drain.

[HueyPilotVN]

More Pictures:

These pictures show the transfer pump and the four "J" bolts locations. The transfer pump is on a timer in case you forget to turn it off. It would just circulate anyway but the pump should not run all the time like if you forgot a switch was on.



Left rear "J" bolt:

right rear:

right front:

left front:

[HueyPilotVN]

more Pictures:

The departure angle is not reduced as you can see by looking at the rear frame rails.






Here you can see the left side of the tank. The transfer pump, the inlet hose and the two "J" bolts installed to hold the tank.

[HueyPilotVN]

more pictures:

Here you can see really well how the fuel filler works. The rust colored tube is the original filler tube turmed to the right, (it used to go to the left). The large hose at the bottom of the picture with a clamp on it takes the gas from the back tank into the original port in the main tank.



Skid plate welded under a similar tank:



On the way home I got a red Blitz can at 4 Wheel Parts for about $70. I found a surplus store down the road and got the Nato OD Green can for $30. Which one do you think I will use?