Help request for people in Central Oregon.

Hey gang, I'm a TW member from Southern Illinois, and I want to purchase a custom made product from a small manufacturer in Bend, Oregon. Custom Exhaust Specialties in Bend makes a direct replacement fuel tank for 2nd Gen Tacomas that practically doubles the fuel capacity. I want this for my truck very much and Shane at C.E.S. is happy to make one for me but there is a catch.

All of the tanks made to date have been for single cab, access cab, and double cabs with a short bed. The brackets change when you add the long bed into the equation which is what I have here. I can't get my truck out west for measuring and fitting and I was hoping that one of you with a 2nd Gen double cab with long bed would be willing to help me out by allowing Shane and his crew to make those measurements using your truck.

What would be required of you:

One full day without your truck so that they can get accurate measurements of the space to input into their existing CAD models to allow them to make adjustments for fitting into our obviously superior configuration.

A second full day after the custom tank is complete to test fit before palleting it up and shipping it to me.

I understand that I am asking allot, and if required would like to find a way to compensate you for your time spent making this dream a reality for me.

Thanks in advance,
G.T.

 

Didn't know they made an extended range tank! I think @Usethe2nd was looking at some before right? Well I hope someone steps up, might be better to post in the Oregon/Washington BS thread, more people will see it.

 

Thanks for the tip, will do.

 

Yep, I was looking into extended range tanks. CES came up in the research, I know they had issues with rusting causing the sending unit to fail, I think the switched steel and have since resolved this issue. If I were to buy a long range tank, I'd probably go with Long Range Automotive, they are in Australia and require your tank to be shipped and cleared through customs. I know a member here has installed one along with the guys from expedition overland

 

The rust issue has been resolved as you've observed. The LRA tanks must be purchased directly from the manufacturer making the overall costs after shipping, duties, tariffs, and dock fees 3/4th the price of an American made product with an additional ten gallons of volume. The CES tank also comes with a skid plate and the ability to speak directly to the man that actually made it when or if required.

This is all considered before even referencing the improper fit, filler neck spew back, and charcoal canister flooding that Many have reported with the LRA tanks. While I'm ready to agree that most Australian made off-road products are top shelf, I don't feel that way about their tank due to the overall cost and above mentioned issues.

Being able to have 40+ gallon capacity for just a little bit more money and supporting a small American business with an excellent customer service record makes the CES tank a clear winner in my eyes. I'm sure the LRA tank will make many happy but since I'm spending a considerable amount of money to make this upgrade I really want to use the best option available. Thanks for your input.

 

I would totally help you out but I have a DCSB so that doesn't help much. It would have worked out pretty good too since I live in alton and going to portland OR in a couple of weeks for work and returning before christmas. Whats the cost on a tank?

 

I appreciate the thought, hoping that someone will be interested in this project as I won't be able to drive/send the truck to Oregon for at least a year or so. As to price, I'm optioning it up quite a bit by choosing stainless and adding a drain valve, as well as an armored skid and I'm looking at a bit over four grand.

 

Oh my, well when it's all said and done I'll be drooling over it

 

4k is awefully steep. IIRC the LRA tank was around $1600 after it was all said and done

 

I've helped install one - it was a ball-ache due to hangers being welded in the wrong places - and after it was "all said and done" it ended up being considerably more than $1,600.00 USD just to get it to his door. He ran it for three months and got tired of the spewback and flooded charcoal canister so he got a CES tank for his truck. When we installed it we had no problems at all and he reports that it still works perfectly.

I'm sure you'll enjoy your LRA tank but for me, the CES tank makes more sense and has a much higher capacity which in the end is what I'm after in the first place.

 

Have you found any one yet? I live in bend and have a 15 dclb i might be able to sacrifice for a day....

 

Right on, I'm finishing up some stuff here so if possible I'd like to get ahold of you in a few weeks when my cashflow comes back. I really appreciate your considering this.

 

For sure man. We have an extra car so its no biggie if i dont have my truck for a day or two.

 

Of course I'm sure you are getting this for the stock style mounting, but have you not considered a slim tank for the bed? I've had multiple ones for my diesel trucks that were piped into factory fuel lines and would open with the turn of a switch

 

I love auxiliary bed tanks, but sadly in my state and as well in many others, that type of fuel tank is illegal for gasoline. Some of the older/cruder - no pun intended - designs are also being outlawed for diesel as well as there is no way to stop the flow of fuel in case of a line separation.

However I am researching them. Both off the shelf, and custom made as I'm in the queue for a diesel engine swap. We are crazy about truck camping and now that I am retired we are trying to get our Tacoma setup exactly how we want it.