Does anyone know how much the pickup bed (unloaded) and tailgate weigh? Meaning, if I was to remove them, how much lighter does my truck get?

Also, how much physical space does a gallon of diesel fuel consume, in cubic inches? Lets say I want to build a fuel tank that will hold 100 gallons (which I do) how many cubic inches do I need to make it's capacity?

Finally, if there is water in the fuel in a fuel tank and the bottom of the tank comes to a point (think of a pyramid turned upside down) and at the very tip of that point there is a drain ****, opening the **** until fuel comes out instead of water should be effective in permitting removal of water from the fuel tank, provided that the vehicle has not been recently moved, i.e. the water (which I presume emulsifies itself with the fuel due to vibration when traveling down the road) has had a chance to separate and settle, i.e. being parked overnight, correct?

 

13.3 cubic feet for 100 gallons.

23,100 cubic inches for 100 gallons

No im not smart, just looked it up.

 

I am not sure of the bed weight, but driving without it is downright squirrelly.

I like your low point drain idea. Sounds good to me.

 

i aint sure on the exact weight but it took only 3 guys to move my truck bed off of the frame.

 

Took a 77 8' bed with tailgate to scrap and rolled out 432# lighter. I am sure the older bed weighs more than the newer ones but is probably a close estimate.

 

ive lifted it with 3 people, id guess 350ish

 

Well, smarter than me apparently, 'cause I tried to look it up and couldn't get Google to give me a proper answer.

Fair enough then. Figuring its a 1992, I am gonna say 350# due to lighter metal. Diesel weighs 7.3# per gallon, subtract 350# for the removed bed and 219# for deleting the factory fuel tank (thats a total of 569# lost), and then my 100 gallon tank is only adding 161# after all is said and done, plus my bed and boxes. If I do all that out of alum, I should be able to keep my total weight gain under 500# to 700# and my fiberglass bed topper weighs that much I am betting.

Well, I fully intend to replace it with something else (a flat bed with custom storage boxes on the side). And my bed is in tip top shape, no dents and no rust other than some light surface in the bed, so I should be able to help it find a thankful owner as opposed to scrapping it. How much does a good bed typical go for?

I like the tank idea too, but I am not looking forward to building it. What I am going to have to do is get four pieces of aluminum diamond plate from the metal place and have them sheer it into four triangle shapes, then each of them is going to have to be welded inside and out. Dad has the welder and can weld aluminum, but this tank is gonna have an awful lot of welds and they all have to be good otherwise its gonna leak.

Hmm, so then about 350# it sounds like.

 

7.5 gal per cu ft

 

Kieth, The tank drain is a good theory but you have to ask yourself ARE YOU REALLY GONNA CRAWL UNDER THERE AND DRAIN IT!!!! There are commercial filtration /heater systems that tap inline of your fuel system that perform the same function. You can check a commercial salvage yard for used one or purchase new at a commercial dealer (Pete,Kenworth,etc.) heck Napa might even have a system. I don't deal to much with them but i know they sell commercial parts. Check around you will find something. I like the 100 gal. tank idea Merry Christmas! Don't forget he was born to save us from our sins!!

 

Well, the inline filtration systems keep the water from getting from the tank into your fuel system and causing problems or breaking things, but they don't get rid of any buildups in the tank. Most of the time, the water never makes it into the fuel system as most tanks are fed from the top through a straw or whatever that stops short of sucking from the very bottom of the tank. That just means that the layer of crap (water, whatever) lays there without harming the system or getting removed by the filters unless by some freak of nature the crap winds up sloshing into the suck straw, then you are screwed. So I would not say that the inline systems do the same thing, they work together yes, but I don't think one can rightfully be considered a replacement for the other.

Will I be under there draining weekly? No, no I will not. But I will be under there occasionally purging the water from the tanks. Plus, it will give me the option of draining the tank without removing it and even that will be a great improvement over what the factory tank offers.

 

Don't forget to incorporate baffels into that tank. 20 gallons sloshing in a 100 gallon tank ain't good.

I'm sure you can plumb in a drain that is convenient to access, like the frame rail. Kind of like the air tanks on semis. I'd rather drain a tank ocassionally than have a little more new crud deposited every time you fill up.

 

It's not a bad idea to use a good fuel additive that absorbs moisture, just as a preventative maintenance step.