Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

Maybe the Suspension forum is an odd place to ask this question, but for those who moved your tank out of the cab to the rear, did you notice a change in the way your truck handled?

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

I have the boyd welding tank in my 66 along with a host of other stuff done and the ride is good. Can't say the tank alone made it better but it does make the weight split better. Good springs, shocks. a lower stance and a long track bar all work to improve the handling.
Jimmy

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

Its probably hard to get a definitive answer as it will be somewhat subjective but moving the weight rearward and lower certainly makes sense.
Dave

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

I know, kind of a hard thing to confirm. I'm thinking it should help.
Should also help with rear traction.

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

Moving the weight rearward also can mess with ride height. A kid i did work for put a Blazer tank there, and a full tank was almost a inch lower then empty.

Other then that it seemed to help traction a fair bit too. Although we put a 4.3 in there for him. Since he rode 3" off the ground at the frame he could get in trouble quick even with the 6 gun.

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

Yes, it felt better, lower center of gravity so less roll and better weight distribution.

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

Not only is it subjective, each truck will be different. Different spring rates, shocks, wheel base, tire sidewall height, & tank volume would all impact the ride.

If one wants to know for 'their' truck, put a similar amount of weight @ the end of the bed & burn a tank of gas for the best answer.

The weight can be 50# bags of mulch or whatever. Buy it @ Wally-World, keep the receipt, & return it on your way back from the testing. Estimate your required weight @ 7lbs per gallon of capacity (6.x per gal of fuel; the extra weight would be tank materials weight).

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

I'd agree it's subjective.
But my question was for those whose variables hadn't changed.
They moved the tank to the rear, what did they notice.
Good idea on throwing 50#'s in the rear of the bed.

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

My point was also maybe their set-up was already better or worse than yours. The results would only reflect what they had & how it was impacted.

Adding 3-4qty 50# bags is easy enough for someone to test their exact set-up to know what they think.

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

Yeah, I already have a tank I plan on putting in the rear. So my question was really general curiosity. And it's a good chance having the tank in the rear won't be enough to notice anyway. I'm just sitting around the house thinking of threads to start. 😷

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

:lol:
No problem. Others will see the info so it might help their decision process.

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

Interesting question and one one in my head. My truck is stock height but have an ECE 23 Gallon stainless steel rear tank ( bought in 2003 for my other truck and never used it ) and one of their hidden hitches to mount as well and a Hellwig Rear Sway Bar to mount too. Future plans are to do a 2 1/2 Front Spindle Drop and a 4 inch Rear Spring drop with adjustable Trac-Bar and repositioned shocks which will level the truck out somewhat without the extra weigh of my rear accessories. Thanks for the idea of loading up the weigh in the box to see how far she drops with the extra weight cause I sure dont want the front of the truck higher than the rear when the gas tank is full. I'll take the sway bar and hitch to work and weigh them on the industrial scale, and I think the gas tank is sixty pounds empty but will take it too. I love how there is always ideas to pick up and things to learn when scrolling the different threads and posts.

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

That's why we're here. When people share ideas, good things can happen.

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

When I moved the tank from the cab to under the bed of my 67 C10 I didn't really notice a difference in handling. The biggest difference was that the ride was less bouncy with a full tank of gas. I have the 17 gallon tank and prefer to drive it with the tank as full as possible.

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

.
Thanks, that was my thinking.

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

Good idea Scoti on the extra weight for testing.

I've driven a few trucks with coilovers on the rear all right about 1,600 lbs for rear axle weights. The trucks with rear mounted tanks ride very well with 200 lb./in. springs. If the fuel tank is mounted ahead of the axle like the '73 & newer GM trucks I prefer a little lighter 175 lb./in. springs. The added leverage on the suspension makes a noticeable difference.

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

Adding weight pass the rear axle, in a vehicle that is prone to oversteer, can make it worse , The fuel slapping the tank side, helps wanting to turn(oversteer) the rear off the truck

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

I moved mine to the rear (in cab to Camaro gas tan mounted behind rear axle) and I didn't notice much of a difference dailying it. Did notice it improved rear traction when accelerating (as one would expect).

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

Here we are a year later and had my rear tank installed in May. At the same time I had a Hellwig 1 1/8 inch rear sway bar installed too. Cant say if its from the tank being in the back now or because of the rear sway bar but my truck is much more stable and rides better now that it did before. Can't wait to get my 2 1/2 dropped spindles and 4 inch drop coils installed on the truck as I'm sure that'll make the truck handle even better..

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

I am rolling down this path but won't really know about ride improvement since I didn't drive it before I changed everything. It has a 2-1/2 and 4 drop and just put the Boyd tank in last weekend. Starting the plumbing this weekend I hope.

I decided to move mine to the rear for safety and I had a 70 model stepside as a teenager and it always seemed light in the rear. Thinking the extra weight behind the axle should help. We shall see.

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

I don,t worry about the truck being lower with a full tank, I can,t afford a full tank LOL. I have the large blazer tank

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

And your pic also answers my other question in another thread. Exhaust routing:

Re: Rear Tank - Difference in Ride?
 

I did notice on my Blazer with a full tank and on certain sections of a hiway it would start to rock alittle like a boat in the water and my short box truck of the same year didn,t do that. Could be suspension related or not but just something I thought when I saw this thread on the subject