Well I broke down and ordered a replacement fuel tank for my truck. I got a decent price with free shipping and military discount.. but it's still OUCH. Thank you tax return. 

 

I didn't think that 3 fewer gallons would be noticeable, but let me tell you that it really is! I'm not quite sure what Ram was thinking here.. but I gather it's fixed for 2020 with an optional 50 gallon OEM tank. 

 

Towing last summer I got ±.5 mpgs as my 05 did on the same roads/speeds but found myself needing to get fuel in remote towns to make it between big towns...inconvenient and got me thinking about a larger tank. Hard to justify the cost just for this thou and it takes along time to pay for the tank at $0.30/gal different. 

 

Then I went elk hunting and the '18 sure does drink a LOT more fuel at low speeds than the '05... nearly double. I averaged just over 7 for the duration of the hunt vs ~10 in the '05, I was getting around 4 on the drive out vs 8-9 on the 05 (23K GCW on slow dirt roads). I attribute most of that to the auto and an unlocked torque converter. I ended up adding 15 gallons from cans and was still nervous on the drive out. So I decided I would bite the bullet this spring and get the 55 gallon tank. 23 extra gallons should be plenty!

 

It should be here sometime soon and I'll likely install it as soon as I burn thru this current tank of fuel. 

 

I'll make sure to post up some pics of the install and before/after ground clearance changes. With the skid-plate it should hang about 2.75" below the stock tank. 

Edited February 28, 20205 yr by AH64ID

That's one of my pet peeves with new trucks. My new GM half ton has a 90 liter tank. I don't like stopping for fuel when the only reason is my tank is empty. It's sure nice to spend more time on the road and less time at the pumps, especially when towing the camper around on summer road trips. 

The skid plate wasn't in stock... They think it should all ship out to me tomorrow. It's an Idaho company so it shouldn't take long to cross the bottom of the state.

 

I pulled into the shop today on E, so I'm ready to drop the tank. I have a fuel station 1.1 miles from the house if I need to use the truck first. 

I have been wanting to do the same thing,   I just need to put aside some money for it.   

 

 

Can you take pictures etc when you install this bad boy?

Yeah I'll get some photos. 

 

The skid plates are still out of stock so it looks like I'm waiting another week or so... guess I'll put some fuel in the truck. 

The wife is sending me teaser pics...

 

Well it's installed and FULL!!

The worst part was getting the front strap in the frame... WOW that was a PITA. I ended up taking a lot of its preformed arc out to make it work. Then it went easy and reshaped itself as I tightened it.

If you're doing the work on the floor you will likley need to jack the rear of the truck up to get the stock tank out and the new tank in. Even with 4-5" under the rear tires I had to push it under the truck on it's side. 

I lost 2.75" of ground clearance. I have the skid plate too. The bottom is very flat unlike the stock tank. It's still not the lowest thing on the truck, the exhaust and the running boards are lower. 

I put 5 gallons in the truck and drove to the local fill station, 1.1 miles. It took 48.375 gallons until it clicked, and then another 3.192 until it was at the filler neck. So I have just over 56 gallons in the truck. I'll take it!

I did fill in 5 gallon increments and monitor tank %age. The sender reads 100% with 45 gallons of fuel in the tank. It reads 50% at about 20 gallons in the tank so it is "top heavy". I should have looked to see how hard it would be to add a longer arm to the OEM float but I didn't.

All in all I am happy I didn't pay for the install and it wasn't a bad job for 1 man.

 

 

Man I want this bad.

37 minutes ago, Me78569 said:

Man I want this bad.

 

I'm pretty excited, more so than I should be for a fuel tank. 

I can hear my wife now when I am installing it

 

" you're gonna make me pee in a bottle just to see how far you can drive without stopping" 

 

 

me: "you know it"

I like it too. Darn thing looks like a mini submarine. My wife would have to take one gallon to pee in if I had one those.

I wish they still sold these for the older trucks!