rick deckert Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 I have 1989 dolphin and im planning alaska trip in the near future!it does not have onboard gen. so compartment is empty!moeller marine permanent mount below deck fuel tanks sold by cabelas have two sizes that will fit this compartment! one is a twelve gallon the other is thirteen!tank has three openings fuel fill -fuel vent- fuel line out!was thing of installing electric self prime fuel transfer pump and linking this tank to main tank!these tanks sell for little over $200.oo!thought it would be good way to increase fuel capacity!any suggestions would be great!thanks Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 I had looked at many different methods of an aux tank and extra fuel for our Alaska trip.. We always carry a 2 1/2 gallon can, But for the Alaska trip, I decided to simply carry two additional 5 gallon cans (total of 12 1/2 gallons of extra fuel) Buy one of long gasoline funnels (about a foot long) You will need it to get the gasoline out of the cans and into the tank. The EPA approved gas cans SUCK BIG TIME. The moron who came up with this brainstorm should be SHOT. Word of Advice if you need to fill your Toyhouse with an EPA approved container. Take that fancy EPA approved gas can filler nozzle off, put the foot long funnel into the tank, and dump the gas into the funnel, you'll spill ZERO gas. Here s a link to our Blog for the trip http://iflyez.com/alaska/ We were forced to use the fuel on a couple occasions, when a fuel stop didn't have gas, John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I have 1989 dolphin and im planning alaska trip in the near future!it does not have onboard gen. so compartment is empty!moeller marine permanent mount below deck fuel tanks sold by cabelas have two sizes that will fit this compartment! one is a twelve gallon the other is thirteen!tank has three openings fuel fill -fuel vent- fuel line out!was thing of installing electric self prime fuel transfer pump and linking this tank to main tank!these tanks sell for little over $200.oo!thought it would be good way to increase fuel capacity!any suggestions would be great!thanks Rick I just put a 15 gallon aux tank in my 1978 Toyota Chinook. A Jeep CJ3 tank fits perfectly into the spare-tire area. In my case, I did not want the spare tire there anymore so it worked out fine. The CJ3 tank has the filler just in the right spot that goes behind the rear spring perch. I used a filler-assembly with cap from a 1988 Chevy Surburban. Fit nicely and gives a recessed filler on the outside. My rig is carbed and I installed with an electric diverter valve and a 2nd fuel pump. An alternative is the way you mentioned. Just add a small electric transfer pump and fill from one to the other once #1 tank is empty. On my set-up I now have two fuel gauges which I would of liked to avoid. But to have one gauge work on both tanks I'd have to buy a 2nd sending unit that had an ohm range that matches Toyota. Instead I used a new universal gauge and sender kit that cost $30 new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I had looked at many different methods of an aux tank and extra fuel for our Alaska trip.. We always carry a 2 1/2 gallon can, But for the Alaska trip, I decided to simply carry two additional 5 gallon cans (total of 12 1/2 gallons of extra fuel) Buy one of long gasoline funnels (about a foot long) You will need it to get the gasoline out of the cans and into the tank. The EPA approved gas cans SUCK BIG TIME. The moron who came up with this brainstorm should be SHOT. Word of Advice if you need to fill your Toyhouse with an EPA approved container. Take that fancy EPA approved gas can filler nozzle off, put the foot long funnel into the tank, and dump the gas into the funnel, you'll spill ZERO gas. Here s a link to our Blog for the trip http://iflyez.com/alaska/ We were forced to use the fuel on a couple occasions, when a fuel stop didn't have gas, John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Hey John I buy my gas cans in Canada they thought the nozzle was pretty dumb too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Hey John I buy my gas cans in Canada they thought the nozzle was pretty dumb too! We took a long trip up into northern Canada and wanted more fuel capactiy in the diesel Chevy Blazer. Not a self-contained RV. We were pulling a camper trailer. I stuck a 100 gallon "side-tank" from a big rig into the Blazer. Just sat it on the floor with wood skids to keep it from rolling. When in back it sits higher then the OEM frame-mounted tank and gravity fed to fill. In retrospect it was a silly thing to do but I've done many silly things. At the time fuel was much higher in Canada then in the USA and that added incentive. OEM tank was 32 gallons so we had 132 gallons of fuel total when we left NY. We drove 1500 miles round trip and never bought any fuel. Overall MPG average was 13.2 with the 379 cubic inch diesel V8. The extra 800 lbs. of fuel in the back made no measurable difference in fuel mileage. We took many more trips without and still got 13 MPG. I later found that a pickup truck with a slide-on camper on back does better. My Dodge diesel gets 17-18 MPG with a pop-up roof camper on the back and it holds 82 gallons of fuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I spent 8 years working in NY, including when the $(CDN) was worth about 60 cents(US). Every time I did the calculation ($US vs $CDN and Gallon(US) vs litres) gas in the US was always about 65% of the price in Canada (Quebec). FWIW, diesel in Quebec is a couple of cents/litre more compared to gas. In Ontario it's a couple of cents less. About 10 cents/US gallon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Maineah, PLEASE, DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THAT DARN NOZZLE.......If they have real nozzles in Canada, maybe we can get Derek to bootleg a couple for us down here. :-)JOhn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I spent 8 years working in NY, including when the $(CDN) was worth about 60 cents(US). Every time I did the calculation ($US vs $CDN and Gallon(US) vs litres) gas in the US was always about 65% of the price in Canada (Quebec). FWIW, diesel in Quebec is a couple of cents/litre more compared to gas. In Ontario it's a couple of cents less. About 10 cents/US gallon. Yes, we did a lot of calculating trying to equte Canadian Imperial gallons, liters, Kms, etc. and make sense of it when comparing to USA dollars and smaller Ale gallons. That being said there have been years when diesel was much cheaper in NY (as compared to Québec or Ontario) and other years there was almost no difference. Once thing I did discover is how much more expensive car and trucks parts are in Canada compared to the US. Huge difference - at least when I was in London, Ontario rebuilding the trans in my Ford F250. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 FWIW, diesel in Quebec is a couple of cents/litre more compared to gas. In Ontario it's a couple of cents less. About 10 cents/US gallon. Today in my town in central NY, regular gas is $3.65 per gallon and diesel is $4.36 per gallon. Farm diesel without the highway tax delivered to my home is $3.99 per gallon (all US gallons being referred to here). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Gas prices in Montreal swing wildly. Up and down 10 cents/litre every week is typical. Ignoring the exchange rate these days, that's 38 cents/gallon (US). I think that today it might be only $1.30/litre (x 3.78 = $4.91/gallon (US). But it could just as easily be $1.39 ($5.25). Hard to tell without going out and driving past a gas station! These wild swings don't seem to happen in Ontario. I live 50 miles from Montreal near the Ontario border so the gas prices are close to Ontario prices and change less. I feel 'lucky' to only pay $1.24/litre (S4.69). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Gas prices in Montreal swing wildly. Up and down 10 cents/litre every week is typical. Ignoring the exchange rate these days, that's 38 cents/gallon (US). I think that today it might be only $1.30/litre (x 3.78 = $4.91/gallon (US). But it could just as easily be $1.39 ($5.25). Hard to tell without going out and driving past a gas station! These wild swings don't seem to happen in Ontario. I live 50 miles from Montreal near the Ontario border so the gas prices are close to Ontario prices and change less. I feel 'lucky' to only pay $1.24/litre (S4.69). Northern Michigan is often the same. I live there every summer. Last summer when we arrived in July - diesel fuel was 20 cents more then regular gas. Two weeks later diesel was 10 cents a gallon cheaper and stayed that way for two months. Here in central NY, diesel has been substantially higher then regular gas since they started cooking the sulfur out of the diesel. The original cost projection to cook the sulfur out of the diesel and then add lubricants back in was supposed to add 5 cents per gallon. Did not seem to work as projected. Here in NY we just switched from high-sulfur heating oil (for home heating) to low sulfur. Price went up 30 cents per gallon in one day. Now heating oil is the same as off-road diesel except for the lube additives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Maineah, PLEASE, DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THAT DARN NOZZLE....... If they have real nozzles in Canada, maybe we can get Derek to bootleg a couple for us down here. :-) JOhn I have heard they are not allowed in the states and they will confiscate them. They were buried under a lot of other stuff guess they did not notice. Funny at least in the north east most of the gas cans come from Canada but only with the stupid nozzles. No way I could get them into the states I guess I look real guilty with out exception I have been stopped every time coming back from Canada.Don't get me started on the US border patrol!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Not being a diesel owner and I don't heat with oil, I don't watch much. I've got a 23k Btu kerosene heater I brought back from Plattsburgh for 'black-out' use. We were out just before Xmas so I went in search of some Kerosene. Seems nobody uses it up here. Nobody has a pump to fill my 5 gallon containers. The only place in town I could find selling it was Canadian Tire in a 10 litre (2.64 gallons(US)) container. Cost? $30!! $11.34/gallon(US). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I guess I look real guilty with out exception I have been stopped every time coming back from Canada. Don't get me started on the US border patrol!! I guess you do. Not long after 9/11, I commuted on a weekly basis across the border. At the time I was driving an Infiniti G20. For about a month I was driving with an MGB engine in the trunk, so it was hanging kind of low, even to a casual observer. Never got pulled over once. Best time to 'Import' 'things' into Canada? Game 7 of any NHL series with Les Canadiens playing at a small 2 man border crossing. They can't wait to get back to the TV. I suspect going into the US while the Superbowl is on might be similar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Not being a diesel owner and I don't heat with oil, I don't watch much. I've got a 23k Btu kerosene heater I brought back from Plattsburgh for 'black-out' use. We were out just before Xmas so I went in search of some Kerosene. Seems nobody uses it up here. Nobody has a pump to fill my 5 gallon containers. The only place in town I could find selling it was Canadian Tire in a 10 litre (2.64 gallons(US)) container. Cost? $30!! $11.34/gallon(US). I don't heat with oil. We are 100% firewood. I keep 1000 gallons of oil here for mostly farm/off-road fuel to run tractors, bulldozers and backhoes. I also have a 20KW diesel generator that I can run a long time if I ever have to. 10 years ago farm fuel and heating oil were the same thing. They they diverged and were two different fuels (high and medium sulfur). Now they are the same again. "K1 clear" kerosene was the rage here 30 years ago. Kerosun heaters all over the place (and equivalents). Now - if I buy kerosene it's dyed and I have to sign for it. I suspect if someone decides I'm buying too much I get investigated? I suppose due to meth labs and bomb makers using it. We've had a lot of "diesel police" around lately. Friend of mine just got busted running is old fuel oil in his Detroit Diesel powered saw-mill and in his new Chevy Duramax truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Coming from Canada; "Do you have any non-EPA approved gas cans to declare"? :lips-sealed:JOhn Mc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Best time to 'Import' 'things' into Canada? Game 7 of any NHL series with Les Canadiens playing at a small 2 man border crossing. They can't wait to get back to the TV. I suspect going into the US while the Superbowl is on might be similar! I'm not even allowed in Canada anymore. Last year I was actually "deported" by a Canadian immigration judge by the Peace Bridge although I did not want to be there anyway. Never again. It certainly works both ways. There are jerks on both borders. Things have really changed. Back in the 70s I lived on the Canadian border in Newport Center, VT. At night I'd head across the border and first stop - run over to the US booth and hand them my .357 Ruger pistol. Then I'd drink all night in Sherbrooke, come back early morning and get my gun back. Not that easy anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 There are jerks on both borders. The worst I found were the young, fresh from Customs school ones. I remember one young guy who gave me a hard time about an old pair of skiis I'd bought at a Thrift Store for $3! Made me come inside while he tried phoning the store (they were closed), wanted a receipt (store didn't even have a cash register. Just a cash box), tried to find the same skiis on EBay (too old for anyone to be trying to sell them). Finally let me go. I suspect he was trying to impress his young, female coworker by being a 'tough guy'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 The worst I found were the young, fresh from Customs school ones. I remember one young guy who gave me a hard time about an old pair of skiis I'd bought at a Thrift Store for $3! Made me come inside while he tried phoning the store (they were closed), wanted a receipt (store didn't even have a cash register. Just a cash box), tried to find the same skiis on EBay (too old for anyone to be trying to sell them). Finally let me go. I suspect he was trying to impress his young, female coworker by being a 'tough guy'! That is exactly what happened to me/us. Two very young customs officers - a guy and a girl. My family had been crossing through Canada 3-4 times a year, evey year. It was our favorite way to get to Michigan from NY. We used to camp along the Ottawa River and enter MI from Sault Ste. Marie. Last year - when crossing the border with all the correct paperwork including NY Enhanced ID (equivalent to passports) - we were told to park and our van got searched. We had around $20K cash in the glove compartment AND . . . with their newly shared criminal records from the USA - discovered I had two arrests in the year of 1969. All kid stuff. Well tempers flared. Why did I have cash, how much time had I ever served in prison (none), etc. When I told the young guy that I had no arrests since 1969 he got furious and said maybe I was a "good" at being a "vintage crimnal" and just hadn't been caught over 40 years. Yeah, right. My little kid was crying, my wife was terrified, my old dog was in bad shape from the heat (left out in the van). It was a mess. They made me wait for a Canadian immigration judge to "deport" me. When the customs kid told me that I laughed at him and said if I spit out his window it would LAND in the USA. Why not just let me leave if they did not want me? Nope. They HAD to officially deport me. Thank you Canada. After that we take NY to PA to Ohio to MI and never leave the USA. Funny thing is a few months ago I got a letter from the Canadian Consulate inviting me to "come back" for a fee. They want me to fork up a bunch of money to buy a wavier, get interviewed at the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo, and then - all is fine according to them. NO thanks. For now on, I'm sticking to my native soil. My wife got her masters degree from the University of Toronto and also has no urge to ever go back either. And yes, I'm sure there are similar stories of US customs people mistreating Canadians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 I guess you do. Not long after 9/11, I commuted on a weekly basis across the border. At the time I was driving an Infiniti G20. For about a month I was driving with an MGB engine in the trunk, so it was hanging kind of low, even to a casual observer. Never got pulled over once. Best time to 'Import' 'things' into Canada? Game 7 of any NHL series with Les Canadiens playing at a small 2 man border crossing. They can't wait to get back to the TV. I suspect going into the US while the Superbowl is on might be similar! Good ideal! I cross in Van Buren Maine at least once a year and ever single time I have been stopped they go through every thing. They even put every thing out in the street one time and kept me, my adopted daughter and her two young kids for 2 1/2 hours. last summer they accused me of caring pot and it took over an hour for me to give them a horticultural lesson about the difference between sweet grass and pot I mean they don't even look remotely alike. I have no issues with the Canadian side they ask me the standard questions and say have a nice time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Here is the Jeep CJ3 gas tank now bolted into my 1978 Toyota Chinook. I cleaned and painted the frame while easy before the new floor goes in. The Jeep 15 gallon tank is a perfect fit. Mounted with two transverse tube supports bolted to the frame rails. Also starting to put the dually FF rear together along with the brakes. New seals, hold-downs, brake shoes, adjusters, and master cylinders. There is the "first" seal in the axle end. This little seal keeps the gear oil out of the bearings. The 2nd seal that goes on later in the wheel hub keeps water/debris from the outside coming into the bearings. I've seen a few where the first little seal is omitted and the bearings then get some degree of gear oil lube to them. In that case, the 2nd seal keeps the oil in the bearings from leaking out onto the brakes. Good or bad, I can't say - it's a toss-up. Many US trucks do not have the 1st seal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 While you've got all the parts 'in your face', do you think a standard 17 gallon tank would fit on the driver's side (reversed, of course)? Not that I could ever afford 34 gallons. In the second picture, it looks like your shocks are made by Dell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 While you've got all the parts 'in your face', do you think a standard 17 gallon tank would fit on the driver's side (reversed, of course)? Not that I could ever afford 34 gallons. In the second picture, it looks like your shocks are made by Dell. Yes a 2nd standard tank fits easily into the "muffler" bay on the driver's side. I tried it already and would of been fine. Just meant rerouting the exhaust system. I was going to do it with 1 3/4" ID stainless steel marine-grade flexpipe and mount the muffler in back. But I didn't want the spare where it was anyway and decided on the Jeep tank since it fits so nicely. I'm still considering mounting a 30 lb. horizontal propane tank on the driver's side muffler area. We'll see. I just got a free 30lb. horizontal tank and electric fill monitor out of the junker Phasar I bought. By installing the tank, I'd have the original tank compartment free to put two batteries in and vent them to the outside. KYB gas shocks on the back . . . just messed up a little with paint overspray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 I don't know about any one else but about the time I need gas I need to get out and walk around! I agree with waiter if you are some where, where there may not be gas for miles a can or two of fuel would be a good thing. It takes fuel the haul fuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 I don't know about any one else but about the time I need gas I need to get out and walk around! I agree with waiter if you are some where, where there may not be gas for miles a can or two of fuel would be a good thing. It takes fuel the haul fuel. For highway driving it takes very little fuel to carry extra fuel. I've logged 1000s of miles with extra fuel and without and had no observable difference in MPGs. I suppose it would show up with a lot of stop and go driving that I rarely do with any of my RVs anyway. Besides - for someone who has an aux tank - there's no law that says it has to be full all the time. On our travels we' ve been in many places where fuel was hard to find and having extra was an asset. There's a place we camp in the NE tip of the Michigan UP that there are no fuel stations for 50 miles. We camped there one week and was glad to have enough fuel not to worry. If someone has a heavy Toyota RV getting 14 MPG, they are probably seeing the big E and stopping every 180-200 miles at highway speeds? That would drive me nuts. Even wife prefers to go further between breaks and she likes rest-rooms. Maybe it depends if your goal is the ride - or your goal it to get to a certain destination. My Dodge truck gets the same highway mileage with the aux 50 galllon tank full or empty. Same with my Ford truck with a 45 gallon aux. Might be fractions of a MPG different but I've logged the same MPGs, over and over. We've also driven our Dodge Grand Caravan with just passengers and with it loaded to ceiling with very heavy parts. Got 22 MPG either way. Simple answer is - if someone doesn't want one, don't get one. If you do - a few alternatives have been mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Having lots of fuel capacity gives you the option of making your 'stretch-your-legs' stops at a gas station or somewhere more scenic. Museum? Restaurant? Fishing hole? Shady spot for a picnic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 Having another 15 gallons would be very nice. we drive about 3 hours between stops and gas. (60 mph at 12 mpg = 5 gallons per hour, run 3 hours and the tank is on E.Drink a lot of water or coffee, and its a none, issue. :-) John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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