Fuel tank in place where the spare tire is located.

[NotBabb]

Has anyone replaced the factory fuel tank that is next to the driver side frame rail with a similar sized one in place of where the spare tire is located?

I've been toying with the idea of long traveling the rearend but the factory gas tank is in the way for the to triangulate the upper arm to the frame rails.

Any thoughts and discussion is welcome.

 

[swathdiver]

The 2500s have an extra tank above the spare back there. If you put 30 gallons or so back there it would surely mess with the balance and stability some.

 

[Rocket Man]

You won't get nearly as big a fuel cell in that area I don't believe. Take measurements and look at aluminum fuel cells to see what will fit. I'm thinking 15-20 gallon cell is about all that would fit but I could be wrong. The stock pump etc will still work.

 

[swathdiver]

You won't get nearly as big a fuel cell in that area I don't believe. Take measurements and look at aluminum fuel cells to see what will fit. I'm thinking 15-20 gallon cell is about all that would fit but I could be wrong. The stock pump etc will still work.

I was figuring he'd be cutting away the support for the spare to gain some more room to squeeze a big one up there. The older trucks carried a lot more back there then yours and mine which are only about 8-10 gallons.

 

[Scottydoggs]

my 03 2500 hd pick up had a 34 gal tank, ran down the driver side frame rail. its rather long, no idea if it would fit.

both the work trucks have dual tanks. the rear one is about 30 gallons, 05 and 2015 mason dump trucks and it hangs down pretty low from the frame. both have metal boxes that cover them from the bottom.

 

[Rocket Man]

I was figuring he'd be cutting away the support for the spare to gain some more room to squeeze a big one up there. The older trucks carried a lot more back there then yours and mine which are only about 8-10 gallons.

my 03 2500 hd pick up had a 34 gal tank, ran down the driver side frame rail. its rather long, no idea if it would fit.

both the work trucks have dual tanks. the rear one is about 30 gallons, 05 and 2015 mason dump trucks and it hangs down pretty low from the frame. both have metal boxes that cover them from the bottom.

He said he doesnt have room for the stock tank due to a long travel suspension setup he wants to do so he'll be losing all the area where the factory tank was. Even if he removes all the stuff that was where the spare is located and factoring he wont want the new cell to extend below the frame much if any for safety reasons there isn't that much room left. Thus my estimate for 15-20 gallon cell. Any time you have to use a rectangular container like a fuel cell it's not as efficient as a plastic factory tank that's molded to fit a certain space.His is a NNBS BTW or at least that's the section this is in.

 

[NotBabb]

Yeah, sorry for not being more specific.

All the hardware for the spare tire has been removed since I can't fit a 35x12.50 back there. Only thing that gets used back there now is I have 2 mounts for my drop hitch that has 2 bars that attach to them to stiffen up the hitch since I have such a large drop hitch.

There are only 2 support braces that cross to the frame rails where the spare was that I could easily remove and add in support to replace them.

I was just throwing around ideas and was wondering if anyone had ever seen it done and had some pictures.

 

[iamdub]

I did this in my S10 for much-improved weight balance and to have clearance for a 4-link. I never liked the idea of putting so much weight on the left side of the vehicle- the driver, steering controls, steering box, fuel tank, etc. all on the left side contributes to the ubiquitous "Chevy Lean".

I was able to use a fuel tank from a 2-door Blazer so I maintained the original ~20 gallon capacity and mounting equipment. Unfortunately for this situation, I doubt there is such an easy adaptation unless you're willing to downsize your tank capacity. Though, we could be wrong and there may be a tank that can fit with reasonable modifications to the cross member or even have a custom aluminum tank fabbed up.

I'm all for seeing this done!

 

[NotBabb]

I did this in my S10 for much-improved weight balance and to have clearance for a 4-link. I never liked the idea of putting so much weight on the left side of the vehicle- the driver, steering controls, steering box, fuel tank, etc. all on the left side contributes to the ubiquitous "Chevy Lean".

I was able to use a fuel tank from a 2-door Blazer so I maintained the original ~20 gallon capacity and mounting equipment. Unfortunately for this situation, I doubt there is such an easy adaptation unless you're willing to downsize your tank capacity. Though, we could be wrong and there may be a tank that can fit with reasonable modifications to the cross member or even have a custom aluminum tank fabbed up.

I'm all for seeing this done!

View attachment 201833

Nice s10 project! I'm actually currently building a square body but using all s13 suspension. And I'm putting the gas tank right where the body and bed meet.

And on the tank for the tahoe I'm definitely sure I'll have to loose a little bit of fuel capacity.

 

[Rocket Man]

Here's a couple shots of the 15 gallon cell on my bagged CC. It's kind of hard to see it that good with the bed on and the shape of it might not work in your case since I have more room above the frame (my bed is raised) plus the entire frame is custom but it's just an example. My fill is out the back but you could route it to the original location. Mine uses a stock fuel pump which you would need to measure for it's minimum height needed. The tank couldn't be too thin in other words.

 

[swathdiver]

The 2500s had an additional tank above the spare that fed into the main tank. It is 11.5 gallons. However, if the spare tire mount is cut away, that frees up a lot of space and a 20-30 gallon tank could fit in there and use the stock 2500 filler neck. The volume of a spare looks about the same as Chris' 20 gallon tank on his old S-10.

 

[Rocket Man]

The 2500s had an additional tank above the spare that fed into the main tank. It is only about 8 gallons. However, if the spare tire mount is cut away, that frees up a lot of space and a 20-30 gallon tank could fit in there and use the stock 2500 filler neck. The volume of a spare looks about the same as Chris' 20 gallon tank on his old S-10.

The 2500 is a longer wheelbase, are you sure it wasn't in front of the spare? I have been under mine and I don't see any way that big of a fuel cell will fit in there but I could be wrong.

 

[swathdiver]

The 2500 is a longer wheelbase, are you sure it wasn't in front of the spare? I have been under mine and I don't see any way that big of a fuel cell will fit in there but I could be wrong.

No, you have to drop the spare to get at it. I was wrong about the size, it is actually 11.5 gallons, just looked it up again. I was wanting to maybe someday add this to my 1500 but would require BCM programming as they have their own fuel pump.

Maybe the frame rails are taller back there too, giving them the room that we cannot see because we don't have it! LOL

 

[992dr]

I think this is a great idea and had pondered it in the past.

I'd love to see this done. I cant stand the tank on the frame rail, takes up so much needed space for any kind of suspension never mind a nice equal length exhaust set up.

Maybe a 2dr Tahoe tank would work, they were located out back. That was, if I remember correctly 26 gallons. You may even be able to utilize the factory fill to.

Nice S10 Iamdub
Nice CC Rocket Man
You guys have any build threads going on for them?

 

[Rocket Man]

I think this is a great idea and had pondered it in the past.

I'd love to see this done. I cant stand the tank on the frame rail, takes up so much needed space for any kind of suspension never mind a nice equal length exhaust set up.

Maybe a 2dr Tahoe tank would work, they were located out back. That was, if I remember correctly 26 gallons. You may even be able to utilize the factory fill to.

Nice S10 Iamdub
Nice CC Rocket Man
You guys have any build threads going on for them?

I have build threads for both of mine, the links are in my signature. If you're on a phone turn it sideways and you'll see.

 

[iamdub]

I think this is a great idea and had pondered it in the past.

I'd love to see this done. I cant stand the tank on the frame rail, takes up so much needed space for any kind of suspension never mind a nice equal length exhaust set up.

Maybe a 2dr Tahoe tank would work, they were located out back. That was, if I remember correctly 26 gallons. You may even be able to utilize the factory fill to.

Nice S10 Iamdub
Nice CC Rocket Man
You guys have any build threads going on for them?

I looked up a tank for a '99 2-door Tahoe. It looks promising.

I have a build thread on s10forum.com. The current owner is kinda picking up where I left off, although he hasn't done anything other than maintenance and a few repairs. Link: My Punching Bag

 

[Rocket Man]

I looked up a tank for a '99 2-door Tahoe. It looks promising.

I have a build thread on s10forum.com. The current owner is kinda picking up where I left off, although he hasn't done anything other than maintenance and a few repairs. Link: My Punching Bag

Man that forum sucks, so much advertising that it's hard to scroll through. Good stuff though.

 

[iamdub]

Man that forum sucks, so much advertising that it's hard to scroll through. Good stuff though.

This thread prompted me to stop by over there after a really long time. Yeah- the ads bogged it down a lot. It also didn't help that I was downloading a Windows update at the same time.

 

[NotBabb]

So I was thinking about this some more and said **** it and went and took some measure ments.

So between the frame rails is just over 36".

From the rear bumper to the next cross brace going forward that has body mounts on it that I wouldn't want to spend the time modifying is a little over 30".

And from the lowest point on the body to the bottom of the factory rear bumper cover is 10".

So just using those measurements you have a volume of over 46 gallons.

Excuse my dirty truck but you can see there is quite a bit of room there. You would need to remove the 2 vertical support beams that connect with the plate that goes across the top of the frame. Then you can just add another channel support near the rear bumper.

And the tank could be taller than 10", closer to the middle of the truck since the body raises up a little bit and it can hang lower since you wouldn't have to worry about it getting hit on anything.

 

[Rocket Man]

That's awesome, more room than I thought for sure.