Spare gas tank ?

[kenn]

Hello I will be driving to Alaska after I retire and I want to make a quick trip with my truck and leave it there. I want as few stops as possible so I was thinking about a 20gal temporary gas tank in the bed.

I will plumb it in with a valve in the cab.

It will be secured so it doesn't move.

Is this legal ?

Is this legal or not in Canada?

I have a year or two before I go but I don't know where to get the answers.
Thanks K.E.N.

[best view]

I would go down south on i 95 to Florida plenty of gas stations and a lot warmer lol

[kwmech]

I would get a combo tool box and tank that sits in the bed. Or find somebody here that has some extra side tanks and just mount it in for keeps

[1976gmc20]

You can always stop and siphon gas from a tank in the bed down to the truck gas tank.

Or for just 20 gallons, just carry four five gallon jugs and pour them in the tank as needed.

Knowing Canada though, they will probably charge you a tax at the border for bringing extra gas into the country

Right now of course you can't cross the border at all. No idea when/if that will ever change.

[Boog]

I knew a guy who put a cross bed tool box on his truck and inserted a fuel tank from a Pontiac Sunfire inside the tool box. He had a FI 350 engine and that tank held the OE fuel pump already. Clean setup.

[Steeveedee]

We are limited to 16 gallons of fuel, if it isn't "permanently" mounted, here in California. Maybe that's just a local thing, though.

[kenn]

Thanks for the help
I have been told that I am overthinking this problem.
I was told that if I am securing it in place and if it's plumbed than it is no longer temporary which makes cense I guess.
I will have to box it in so it is not clearly visible and I will be using a filler neck from an s10 so the cap is good I would think.
I just don't want to stop every 250 miles, its a long way from CT to Kenai.
I'm still concerned about this going thru Canada though.
Thanks Again. K.E.N.

[1976gmc20]

I'm still concerned about this going thru Canada though.

My understanding is the border is closed right now (?)

But I don't know if they are letting people drive thru to Alaska, nor what's happening with commercial traffic? (could be why lumber is scarce and expensive right now) I went up and back in 1977/1979 and it was a beautiful country and nice folks but even back then the border guards were grumpy. I can say that the stars and stripes were nice to see again

What vintage pickup do you have? Installing a permanent second/third tank seems like a good idea, especially if you have a single 20 gallon cab tank. Back in the 1970s I worked for an RV place for a while and we installed a lot of those outside the frame saddle tanks. They were all manual valve switchover and no fuel gauge. You used the extra tank(s) first and your factory tank with gauge for reserve.

I had a 73 K20 with dual factory tanks back then. Never got too low on gas but never passed a station north of the Yellowhead (went up/back the Cassiar Hwy). I had a heavy load in the bed and was towing a 5K# travel trailer so getting about 8 mpg.

[kenn]

I plan on going in a year or two.
I will be driving my 72 LB
I plan on the same , use the bed tank first than switch to the in cab tank with the gauge.
I drove the Alcan in 91 and remember fuel was not a problem but I'm sure the road has changed since then.

[1976gmc20]

I suppose those aftermarket saddle tanks aren't even available anymore?

[mongocanfly]

Dont know about Canada..but here your limited to 100gal in a tank that's not factory...
I would think youd be alright with only 20 gals..

[Steeveedee]

The reason for the limitation on a stock vehicle's tank size has to do with how far a person would be normally expected to drive before fatigue/hunger became a factor in their driving attention/capability, which works out to 250 miles. Kind of makes one wonder about why camper trucks got auxiliary tanks, doesn't it? Last time I measured the mileage on my truck while towing my 6000 pound trailer, I got 7 MPG. With 53 gallons of capacity, that's 371 miles. I've made some fixes, so it's probably better. I wouldn't want to tow a trailer that far without a break, anyway.

[72c20customcamper]

My 72 had two saddle tanks I took them out . Driving 125 - 150 miles without air and a stiff ride I'm ready to stop for gas . The 85 has dual tanks I can drive it 300 plus and not feel too bad .

[1976gmc20]

No reason you can't stop for a bit even if you're not low on gas.

My pickup can go about twice as far as I can

Fortunately Wyoming has a lot of those truck pull offs. Need to stop and get out and check the tires. Sometimes they're a quart low.


I remember way back when coming south from AK and stopping at the Nass River bridge in BC. It wasn't all fixed up nice with parking areas like I see in pictures now. The trees came right down to the road. I stepped off into the bush for a moment and there was a big long log lying there. I figured out later that it was probably part of the timbers they used to build the bridge.

[kenn]

Thanks for all the input, My truck is coil springs and has air the ride is comfortable on the highway doing 60-65. I drove to Montrose CO in Oct of 19 under 2 days in my 2012 1500 Silverado 4x4, stiff ride but it was ok. I don't mind driving as long as there is a radio.
It would be nice to get some info from Canada, or I can look elsewhere.
If there is a trailer it wont have much in it.
I figure it will probably take 8 days for the trip (5500 miles) that's most of my vacation time, and fly back.
The wife doesn't drive on the highway or I would have her drive the Silverado and I would drive the c10 and not have to make 2 trips.
K.E.N.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by kenn

Thanks for all the input, My truck is coil springs and has air the ride is comfortable on the highway doing 60-65. I drove to Montrose CO in Oct of 19 under 2 days in my 2012 1500 Silverado 4x4, stiff ride but it was ok. I don't mind driving as long as there is a radio.
It would be nice to get some info from Canada, or I can look elsewhere.
If there is a trailer it wont have much in it.
I figure it will probably take 8 days for the trip (5500 miles) that's most of my vacation time, and fly back.
The wife doesn't drive on the highway or I would have her drive the Silverado and I would drive the c10 and not have to make 2 trips.
K.E.N.

If the point is to get both pickups to Alaska permanently, then why not tow the C10 on a trailer or a dolly (must remove driveshaft if automatic) ?

You could probably buy a car hauler trailer and re-sell it in AK, and save money over the extra gas and airline fare. Not to mention use your vacation for something else.

(I'm trying to remember ... seems like it took us 10 days to drive from Gunnison CO to Chugiak AK, but as I said very heavily loaded. I had my friends' stuff in my pickup and towed my ~22' Holiday trailer, and they drove their little Chevy II. The Cassiar Hwy was under construction and very rough back then, and the Alcan in YT was very muddy.)

[kenn]

I thought about that but the stuff I will be bringing will be in a trailer towed by the Silverado.
I thought about buying a shipping container ($2800) and shipping it to my address in AK because I want one of those on my land when I live there anyway, I haven't received a price for the shipping yet.
I don't want to ship it in a car hauler.
I work 14hr shifts at work now so I think I should be able to drive that long anyway.

[dagnabbitt]

One thing you can do is buy a slip or jockey tank. They make some that look like toolboxes so they aren't an advertisement for thieves. You can sell it when you reach your destination, they are popular in oilfield applications in Alaska.

I've been told that plumbing a slip tank into your main fuel tank is not allowed/illegal, at least in Alberta, Canada. I found this out when I asked a truck accessory shop to do it for me and they flat out refused. So, I would get a nozzle and electric pump, and just fill the truck tank with it whenever I liked. Not sure if that defeats the purpose if what you are trying to do or not.

Alternatively you could install a stockish auxiliary fuel tank, I've seen our trucks wish as many as two extra tanks on them.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by dagnabbitt

One thing you can do is buy a slip or jockey tank. They make some that look like toolboxes so they aren't an advertisement for thieves. You can sell it when you reach your destination, they are popular in oilfield applications in Alaska.

I've been told that plumbing a slip tank into your main fuel tank is not allowed/illegal, at least in Alberta, Canada. I found this out when I asked a truck accessory shop to do it for me and they flat out refused. So, I would get a nozzle and electric pump, and just fill the truck tank with it whenever I liked. Not sure if that defeats the purpose if what you are trying to do or not.

Alternatively you could install a stockish auxiliary fuel tank, I've seen our trucks wish as many as two extra tanks on them.

The reason is that you can legally put red diesel in a truck bed tank (that's what they are for - to carry fuel to equipment) but not run red diesel in the pickup. So the shops don't want to be accused of being part of that scheme.

We used to set a five gallon gas can up on the hood of a tractor, or balance it up on the pickup bed rail or toolbox, and then gravity siphon it down into the gas tank. Should be able to do similar with the tool box tanks, as long as it's higher than the pickup gas tank.

Anyway just having one or two five gallon cans of gas allows you to run your pickup gas tank a lot lower than you would otherwise, increasing range even if you don't transfer gas from the cans to the tank. Generally when travelling in the western US I don't let my gas tank get below a half tank. And living in a rural area, we top off with gas every time we go to town even if it's only down 1/8 tank.


Also: when we drove to Alaska in 1977, gas prices in northern Canada were about twice what they were in the US at the highest!

[dagnabbitt]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

Also: when we drove to Alaska in 1977, gas prices in northern Canada were about twice what they were in the US at the highest!

Yeah, our gas is about $1.26 Canadian per litre at the moment, or about four bucks a gallon US. Not cheap.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by dagnabbitt

Yeah, our gas is about $1.26 Canadian per litre at the moment, or about four bucks a gallon US. Not cheap.

They were still on Imperial gallons in 77. Some places were litres in 79.

Gas was about $0.65 in Yellowstone NP which was horrendous, but usually about 50 cents. Up on the Cassiar and in the Yukon was $1.30 to $1.50 I think, but slightly bigger gallon and Canadian dollars were cheaper. Still it was a terrible $hock hauling all that weight (~14K) and getting 7-8 mpg. I had two ~20 gallon tanks.

I've got a friend that retired to Edmonton. Met him on a backpacking trip in Kootenay NP in 1979

[Axle]

Originally Posted by kenn

I want as few stops as possible so I was thinking about a 20gal temporary gas tank in the bed.

I will plumb it in with a valve in the cab.

It will be secured so it doesn't move.

Is this legal ?

Is this legal or not in Canada?

I have a year or two before I go but I don't know where to get the answers.
Thanks K.E.N.

Its a quagmire, but generally, 20gal will keep you out of any strict regulations pertaining to bulk fuel transport (logs, signage, inspections).

"I will plumb it in with a valve in the cab." Definately not legal. Unless you mean an electric transfer pump wired into the cab. No fuel lines into the cab or outside the confines of the vehicle. And no direct plumbing into your main tank. Gotta have a positive shutoff that the auxillary tank contents remain in the auxillary tank in case of accident or can't siphon out into the main tank.

And by secure it, it'll have to be bolted/strapped in. If you don't want to drill holes, carry jerry cans and affix them in place with the standard methods.

[kenn]

Thanks Axle, The valve I was going to use is the one used for the saddle tanks on our trucks so I thought that would be ok.
The wood bed in my truck needs to be refinished now, so I was going to screw down straps to secure it down and repair the holes when I refinish it.
Thanks for the input.

[Grumpy old man]

I'd be looking for something like this 50 gallon combo tank / tool box .

https://www.transferflow.com/shop/pr...6187#gallery-5