Winter Storage - Fuel?

[Utah Dually]

I could use some advice on storing my truck this winter. Unfortunately I have to store it outside in the Utah winter. I put a battery tender on the batteries and that has worked well in the past.

 

The real question is the fuel. I have a 98Gal tank in the bed, which is out of the weather via an industrial topper. Should I fill up the tank? Should I burn out all the summer fuel and put in winterized fuel? Is there an additive I should put in the tank? What is the best way to take care of the fuel system while it sits in the winter? I don’t drive the truck in the winter because they use salt on the roads, and I want this truck to last until I am gone….. 

[rancherman]

I've  always  tried  to fill  tanks up   for long term storage.   This will limit the amount of  head space above the  fuel,  and   the  amount of  'breathing'  it  will do  when  temps  go up and down.    Wintertime is  probably easier to  keep fuel  in  good  condition..  lower humidity.

If you have  zero plans  on running the truck this winter..  I'd just fill it  with   summer fuel  (your big tank anyway)    It'll be fine  next spring,  

you may want to  fill the  actual  truck tank with  winterized..  'just in case'  you need the truck  (just don't forget  what's in the  big tank!!)

[TFaoro]

I agree. I've heard it is always better to leave a tank full when sitting that way the tank has very little air in it. With little air, it is difficult for water to condense on the walls of the tank and dilute the fuel with water. 

[Utah Dually]

Thanks guys.... I will do that... The price of Diesel is coming down so it might be a good time to fill the big tank up... 

[MnTom]

I had a 1994 Ram sitting in my garage for TWO YEARS with a full tank of diesel. Fill what you can, drain what you can't and you should be OK.

[Mopar1973Man]

I store fuel on the property in 55 gallon drums. As long as the fuel is stored in a air tight container the fuel will last nearly forever. Like my barrel of gasoline was over 7 years old when I started using it. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. As for storing fuel in the tanks or bed tanks most of then are vented so with diesel typically it will go a long ways but gasoline won't last very long at all in a vented tank.

[MnTom]

gasoline won't last very long at all in a vented tank.

The fastest my 16' boat has ever gone is on 87 octane mixed gas from the season before, so I PERSONALLY don't buy into the whole "gasoline won't last" theory.

[Mopar1973Man]

Sealed container yes. Open/vented container I won't give it too much after about 2 years. Around here gasoline is rather pitiful now with all the ethanol added. Like with all the fire trucks the pump engine that run on gas tend to get rather foul after about 2 years. We typically dump the tanks or attempt to consume it during trainings.

[MnTom]

Two years on gasoline I will agree with. There are some companies around here that claim 30 DAYS is all you can store it for. The last five+ years I have not even drained the three carbs or ran them out of gas or even fogged the cylinders in my boat. Just for the record it is a 1977 Johnson 70 HP. All I do is pull the plugs and clean them every spring and they are the 'anti-foul' type so it is easy. This spring I saw 32.6 mph on my GPS. It is rare to get over 32 mph with it.