Tapping stock fuel tank for accessories/utility motors

Finally got the fuel line hooked up this afternoon.



I decided to drill the hole in the top of the sending unit, as that would be cheaper to replace than the whole tank, should the worst happen. And I managed to do the whole operation without pulling the tank (perks of having a flatbed).

I used a through-bulkhead fitting off Amazon:

$9 Beduan 1/4" Hose Barb Thru-Bulk Bulkhead Straight Hex Union Stainless Steel Fitting

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07TS1B27D?ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

and an appropriately sized Nitrile o-ring from an assortment pack:

$10 BUSY-CORNER Oring Kit 396 Pieces 18 Sizes SAE Inch Car Air Conditioning A/C O Ring Seals Rubber O-Rings Green & Purple

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08R711FTJ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Ditched the washers that came with the bulkhead fitting, and used blue threadlocker on the nut, so hopefully it doesn’t come apart on its own.

Measured down to the bottom of the tank: ~11 inches. Cut my pickup hose at an angle, and about 9 inches long. I figure it has to go around the bottom of the sending unit a little bit, so in the end it’s probably about 3” off the bottom of the tank. I’m going to be filling this tank religiously now, though.

Removal of the retaining ring was not nearly as hard as youtubers make out. I had a spare ring on hand, so I felt comfortable winging things a bit. First I tried making a wrench out of plywood. It snapped, lol. Then I decided to just use a piece of the broken wood and a hammer, and tap at the edge of the ring. It worked!

All the talk about needing to apply downward pressure while removing it is a farce! You just need to apply appropriate lateral force. (At least on these newer trucks with the single fuel line. But examining the ring, I saw no means by which it could lock itself into place until downward pressure is applied. So I think there’s some faulty info floating around the interwebs on proper removal of these Toyota retaining rings, in general)

Once I had everything hooked up and reassembled, I fired up the truck. No codes! Yay. We’ll see how it fares over the next couple weeks, before I declare it a complete success, though.

Then I shut off the truck, and fired up the Honda. It also hummed along beautifully. Ran it at full throttle for awhile, then half throttle, and it didn’t skip a beat.

I have a fuel shutoff valve right by the new machine, that I intend on closing each time I’m done with the pressure washer. This is more out of fear of fouling the fuel pump on the Honda, than throwing a code on the truck. These motors are so new, that it’s practically impossible to find people to work on them. My best bet would probably be to bring it to a motorcycle mechanic, but many of them book out a month or more this time of year.

 

Quick update:

I’m now on my 4th fill up since installing the pick-up line in the tank. I have been forgetting to close the shutoff valve fairly often, with no noticeable side effects.

I did have one issue pulling from the tank, when I was parked downhill. The machine was starving for gas. I turned the truck around, and all was good. Since then, I’ve shortened the fuel line by about a foot, and taken to letting the air out of the passenger side FireStone airbag anytime I’m on a downward incline. No more issues, so far. It takes just a minute or two to fill it back up with the 18v Ryobi compressor I keep in the truck.

I’m sure it’s purely coincidental, but fuel mileage has been up since the mod. Last tank was 20.4 mpg, and the previous one was 19.6. I usually average 18.5 on non-ethanol this time of year. And I cannot remember ever having a tank that exceeded 19.5 after installing the flatbed.

Here’s a screenshot at the first 74 miles on this last tank.

 

Best place to tap into a fuel tank? Right where you want it to leak.

 

Duly noted. I think my next update on this topic will be in a year from now, unless I experience other (predictable) issues before then

 

Surprised the tiny fuel pump can pull fuel that high!

 

probably why I had issues pulling on a slight incline.

 

Do other states use summer blends? Mines bumped a couple mpg’s the last few tanks.

 

I think I’ve already been running summer blend for a couple months at this point. I get horrible winter mileage. I always see a bump from around 14-16 to the 18-19 I am accustomed to during my busy season.

This most recent bump, I can only attribute to my getting more practiced with driving the truck, as well as maybe the combination of routes I ended up driving on these last couple tanks. I had some more distant, multi-day jobs that were on particularly easy-going drives. And any chance I get on those bigger jobs, I’ll leave my ladders there to reduce drag on the return trip.

 

@infinity Any new updates or issues? Wanting to do this for a petrol heater in my camper on my 15 tacoma. I like what you did better than using a standpipe.

 

none so far

 

What type of heater and link please? I've only used diesel heaters.

OP did a nice job- In addition to having fuel for other motors, also wanted to extend my range so I ended up just buying a 15 gallon titan auxiliary tank that fits over the wheel well. To transfer fuel I use a hose from it to the fuel filler.

 

Espar B4L
https://www.heatso.com/espar-airtronic-b4l-am2-petrol-12v-4kwl/
Unfortunately not the cheap heaters on Amazon

 

Wow! It looks just like my diesel powered one, down to all the accessories. Thank you for the link. I guess I better stick to diesel though, that one isreally too rich for my wallet! I wonder what the main differences are between mine and that one, different size jets in the burner perhaps?

How did you mount yours in your truck? I ended up putting mine in metal toolbox and run the heat with a dryer hose up to my RTT.

 

Only difference is probably where it's made. The ones on Amazon are all knockoffs of espar and webasto.

I just received this heater on Friday. Trying to figure out where I'm going to put it. I had it all planned out but I'm rethinking the install.

 

Make it portable- that way you keep it safer on the ground away from your truck and just have it available in winter...