Highboy Rear Fuel Tanks
 

I am in the middle of a restoration of my 1977 F250 highboy and will need a new fuel tank. I have seen all of the work arounds and every one of them required custom fabrication, whether it be to the truck or the tank.

The primary design challenge is a result of the location of the cross member between the shackles on the rear frame.

My intent is to break the cycle and have a bolt in kit made and availablefrom a retailer.

READ THIS!

My question goes to all of the truck owners who still have a gas tank in their cabs due to this issue. If I can get a company to build a kit, how many of you would seriously be willing to purchase one?

I'm pretty sure some had a aux rear fuel tank from the factory so there's your bolt in kit.

Here is one:
Ford : F-250 Explorer | eBay

Negative, highboys never came factory with anything other than the in-cab tank...

Only other option at the time were aftermarket saddle tanks.

Absolutely correct. I have done plenty of digging, there are no kits available. I just need to know how many people are interested.

That's what I thought. However the truck I'm working is a early 77 F250 Hb and has been owned by my buddies dad since practically day 1 and was completely orig and it has the bed just like the one linked from eBay. What's up with that?

Highboys used the same bed as 2WD (mounting holes are on a narrower spacing) but had a factory installed block off plate to cover the fuel filler.

Interesting

73-76 highboys had the round block off plate, or 'plug' if you will, 77's had the square fuel door, though it too led to nowhere, it was just a dummy door.

D3TZ-9080-A .. Fuel Tank Filler Cover-Approx 4" round (steel) / Use to cover hole when mid-ship fuel tank isn't used.

1973/76 F250 4WD Regular & Crew Cabs / 4 available NOS unless you include the 22 that Collectors claim they have. :-X15

PA74F250: 1973/76 Styleside Beds have exposed fuel caps, 1977/79's have fuel doors.

33 1/2" distance between the inner frame rails behind the cab: 1973/77 F250 4WD (High Boys) / 1973/79 F350 Cab & Chassis / 1973/79 F350's on the 140" wheelbase.

All other 1973/79 F100/350's have 37 1/2" rear frame rails.

There is a more or less bolt in tank made. It's expensive, but works. I have one.

AeroTanks - Ford 1028

Attachment 201256

Buck, you yourself complained about the price and fitment of that tank. If these tanks were stamped or made of plastic they would be half the cost.

Still waiting for a number of people.

Ya, I wasn't impressed with the filler neck placement which was too low and I had to modify it a bit and for over $400, it should have fit like a glove. It would be nice if a company would make something for much less with no modifications necessary. I was just pointing out that a bolt in tank does exist. The filler neck issues withe mine could have been a defect on my tank I don't know.

There was a thread a while ago about using a mid 80s cab-n-chassis tank. It was something like 86 with a 6.9 diesel, but I can't find the thread.

Does anybody know/remember this?

I did that with my truck. it was an 83 diesel f350 not sure if it was a cab n chassis, but it was a poly tank, I used the original straps to hold it up, and a second set to hold it down. I did use a 2" piece of square tube to form another cross member for the front of the tank, making sure to clearance the rear diff.

This is the only picture I have though, and it wasn't hooked up yet. http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...kfromabove.jpg

I wound up cutting the straps and shortening them, and then went back and re-bent the others to fit. I'm looking at going back in and putting in a skid plate off of a bronco to hold the tank up from the bottom.

Thanks! Just curious, do you know how many gallons it is?

Build it and they will come
 

Hey buck is your tank notched out for that cross member?What did you have to do to modify fuel filler?

I also used the cab chassis tank from a 87' with a 6.9 worked out great its either 19 or 21 gallons can't remember. I did basically the same just used a piece of angle iron instead.
The tanks look basically the same as the scs rear tanks only thing that is noticeably different is the sending unit and the filler neck other than that looks like it was meant to be

Ya, the tank is notched for the crossmember so there is not modification there. The fuel filler neck sat too low. I had to basically cut the weld and bend it up to clear a filler neck hose. Not too much trouble, but for the money it shouldn't have been that way.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...y/IMG_0660.jpg

It's a very study tank and the mounts are nice and strong. The other thing is that the mounting brackets on the tank can interfere with a receiver hitch. Again, not much of an issue, but things to consider.

Hey Buck,

I'm considering buying this tank for my 75 4X4 CC project and your posts have been very helpful.

I've contacted Aerotanks and recieved a drawing which shows the front mounting tab as 5 3/4" from the top of the tank, and the rear mouting tab as 6 1/2" from the top. The guy there claims that the drawing has been modified but did not have the previous one to verify what changed.

Any way you could measure your mounting tab locations to see if they changed the location some time since you bought yours?

Regardless, I need to get a rear tank for my truck, and so far the Aerotanks unit is the only bolt on I've located. If there were other options available now I would be interested, but I'm trying to get my truck put back together and this is one of the few major issues left that I need to resolve.

Here is the drawing of the tank. It looks like my mounting tab dimension is the same as what it is today. I do remember a while back where someone else had modified their mounting tabs to raise the tank up so the filler neck cleared the frame rail. That was when I was looking into the tank before I bought it. I just modified the filler neck figuring that would be easier and I think it was or would be. It's too bad there is a design flaw. Maybe I was sold a tank that had previously had the flaw and now the tanks don't. I don't know. Hopefully, someone else will get a tank and see what they have. I haven't seen many people buy this tank. Most people have install either a fuel cell or a small Bronco II tank.

Attachment 201081

Cool thanks for the drawing. I may end up buying this tank. I am still working on what I want to do for one. I know in bed is the easiest but they sure take up a lot of room.

Remember guys there is also the poly tank out of the SCS trucks. I had one & sold it to a buddy since I wanted a BIG tank & was going to make one. I'm pretty sure it fits with the stock crossmember in there but I can't say for 100% sure since it's been a few years since I looked.

As for $400 for a custom tank - that's nothing given the time & materials involved in building one.

I've got about $250 in just materials to make my tank. So yeah, the time to make it makes up that other $150 REAL quick.

My tank doesn't answer the needs of the OP as I dumped the crossmember (I'm running chevy, 64" leafs so my shackle hangers moved back a bunch), but my tank does hod about 46 gals. & fits nicely...
One could easily be built to go around the x-member like the Aero tanks do.
http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/q...20Cab/x252.jpg
Attachment 201078
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Thanks for posting the drawing for your tank. This gives me hope that they actually did make an adjustment for our trucks. When talking to Jake at Aerotanks he speculated that maybe you ended up with a tank meant for a 4" frame. After looking at your drawing compared to the one they sent me I see they added an option for either 4" or 6" frames. I am thinking maybe the original tank design was incorrectly assuming a 4" frame and that after receiving feedback from Highboy installations about the filler neck positioning they added the option for 6" frames. Based on this, and the lack of good alternatives that fit within my budget and time frame, I'll probably be giving this tank a try. I'll be sure and post a follow up if I do.

Here is a copy of the drawing they sent me :
http://photos.stangit.net/photos/alb..._ford_1028.jpg

Aluminum 40 gal custom cost me about $600 i believe ready to install which included a sender :D Also had a skid plate.

Attachment 201063
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Attachment 201066

Given the cost of materials and cut fees. It would be cheaper in my case to run the Aero tank, over an aluminum one. Add time and it's almost a no brainer. The only hold up is I like to make my own stuff when I can.

Sometimes I just need to swallow the urge to fab, and just buy the damn thing. Saving time, money and effort isnt a bad thing. Other than that I guess my only hang up is steel rusts. I know diesel tends to retard that as long as water does'nt sit in there. I know there are tank coating products. I have had bad JUJU with those in the past though.

Ya Doug, it does look like Aerotank changed up their design according to their drawing. It would make sense that mine was meant for a 4 inch frame rail because if made for 6", that would have made all the difference in the world. So based on the drawing, you should have no trouble with the tank. On a side note, I didn't realize there was a difference is height of frame rails between the earlier highboys and the 73-77.

one rear gas tank solution
 

I have a 75 250, it had the inside tank. I put the plastic tank from a 74 Super camper special in it. Had to move the cross member and put a pickup on from Napa that is for a bronco. This reads from full tank to right on the E for 70 miles. there is still gas left but its a good start.
Good Luck.

I would be interested if the price wasn't to bad. Let me know what you come up with. I also have abuddy here that might be able to fab one. I will let you know when i get to that part in the build.

Tim

[My question goes to all of the truck owners who still have a gas tank in their cabs due to this issue. If I can get a company to build a kit, how many of you would seriously be willing to purchase one?[/QUOTE]

Count me in!!!!!!!

HB tank
 

I need a tank$

I am messing with this issue right now as I found a great 78' bed with the rear fill door that I modified to fit on my 74' and would like nothing more than to dump the tank in the cab. I would be in.

Also remember, the Bronco II tanks fit between the rails. The rear crossmember must be moved back a little bit and some angle iron or whatever placed forward to mount some tank straps. It's a smaller tank, but not much smaller if any than the in cab tank. For me, I just wanted a bigger tank or I might have gone that route.

Will the Bronco II tank fit between the rails on the 74'? Not sure if your 77' is the narrow or wider ones.

Yep, mine also has the narrow frame rail. Here is a pic (courtesy of armstrongfordtrucks I think) that I had saved for reference showing a bronco II tank in a highboy.
Attachment 201060

Perfect, thanks. I see that BG has a 33 gallon Bronco II tank as an option on their site, I wonder if I can get that wedged in there. Got a class 4 hitch to deal with too. Thanks for the info.

Based on the pic it looks like the 23 gallon option at BG that fits a 1985-1990. Do you happen to know if that is the one? Doesn't look like any of the others.

The one in the pic is out of an 84 Bronco II. Here is a link to armstrongfordtrucks gallery pic and what he did.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...150642&width=0

I haven't seen him around posting much lately in this forum. Maybe he will chime in or if anyone else has done this will.

If I remember right the STOCK BII tank was 23 gal - so even in stock form it's more capacity than the stock, in-cab tank on these things.

Ya, i did not realize that those bronco II tanks were 23 gals, so putting in one of those would be an upgrade.

Now if I could come up with a good way to put in a saddle tanks of some sort on mine. I have an open fuel door on my bed.