i have an early 77 f250 4x4 (build date 12-76) with an in-cab gas tank. i have recently started smelling gas fumes while driving, and being a smoker this worries me alot. i can't seem to find a replacement tank for it anywhere. is the reason for this a safety issue? liability, or whatever? just wanting some input before i replace it. my truck also came from the factory with a fuel filler door on the bed, but no tank. should i scrap the cab tank and just put one in the rear? whad'ya think?

 

I would just get a rear tank. The in cab tanks scare me too.

 

Hiboys have a narrow frame, good luck finding a rear mount gas tank. The side tank may work though.

 

There is a guy on E-Bay that is suppost to be designing a 30 gal rear mount gas tank conversion for are narrowed frame High Boys. I will let you know when he has them.

 

Maybe it's not the tank that's leaking. Do you see gas on the floor? It might be the rubber hose that connects the fill tube to the tank.

 

If it's the orginal fill tube/tank rubber hose it could be dry rotted by now. I replaced my in cab tank with custom aluminum tanks I built myself. I had to move a rear cross member to make it work. I replaced the left bed side with one that has the dual fuel doors & junkyarded the fuel fill parts. The side tank is 15 gal. the rear is 25. I have a pic of it in my picture gallery.

 

Take a little advice from a retired fireman. GET THAT TANK OUT OF THE CAB. I still have nightmares over pulling un-identifiable bodies (or I should say pieces of bodies) out of wrecked pickups with in cab tanks.

 

thanks for the info. was wondering if the cab tank was a significant safety issue. seems it must be, since i know of no modern vehicles with tanks in the cab. i think i'll try to replace it with a rear mount tank, even if i have to have it custom fabricated like InAlaska's. nice green rig, by the way.

 

I like my in cab tanks due to the fact that theres fewer problems with them rusting and less likely to be punctured while off roading. They are a simple design and there arent many parts that wear out. Just figure out where your leak is. Its either at the filler tube, Gas cap, supply line or the sending unit seal. Whatever the problem is its going to be a lot cheaper and will save you a lot of headaches then figuring out how to install a tank that the truck wasnt designed for. A little maintenance will save a lot of safety issues.

 

You could be creative and use a fuel cell back there. There are filler necks that allow remote mounting...

 

Many years ago a young man in a early Chevy pickup. (49,50's) Was merging onto the Riverside/Pomona freeway interchange. Some idiot side swiped him and it turned him around and upside down and crushed the cab binding the door closed. The gas was spilling out inside the cab and naturally the thing caught on fire. They say he screamed for about 20 minutes before we got there. We cut the doors off after we got it cooled down enough to work on. It took us half the night to pull all the pieces of burnt meat out of the seat springs on the back of the seat. We out of respect for the individual have to try to get all of the body parts removed from the scene and into the bag.

Now I realize that the chances of this happening to you are one in a million. But, because of my rotten luck, I wouldn't want to take that chance.

I know a man named Paul that lives near me in Lancaster California that was fortunate and got out with his life. After about 20 surgeries he can now walk into a restaurant with out every body fainting. If you think I am BS'ing you you can email me and I will contact Paul and have him personally tell you what he thinks about in cab gas tanks. I hope I didn't make anybody sick with my graphic description, But it sure make me sick everytime I recall that horrible night. If you want to go on running an in cab gas tank, be my guest..

 

I agree that a fuel tank behind the seat isnt the safest thing in the world but when maintained properly it will function just fine. Plus in the event of an accident it sits high enough in the vehicle to avoid damage from most collisions. Look at all the problems Chevys had with the side saddle tanks. They werent in the cab but if the truck was hit just right it "might" blow up. There have been several vehicles made over the years that if they were hit in the right spot it would cause the fuel tank to rupture. You are right that the odds are pretty slim that your cab will get crushed enough to cause a fuel leak. The best thing anyone can do is drive safely, pay attention to traffic, put down the cell phones and avoid accidents.

 

Hey sparky if you want I can send you more detailed pics and dimensions of my tanks. That way you can decide if you realy want to get that deep into it. They cost me about $1000.00 to have a local shop fabricate them for me out of 1/8in. aluminum. I had baffles installed in both tanks. My only regret is I didn't sump them so I would have the option of drawing fuel from the bottom of the tank. It would also make it a lot easier to drain the tank if necessary. So you like the green? The truck was originaly that light ford green that I felt didn't have much character. The theme for my truck is what if Ford & Jhon Deere had merged and built a truck... Kinda sick huh? I'm thinkin 21/2 ton axles & a big block are in this trucks future...

 

Try AeroTank or Transfer Flow. Both make auxiliary in-bed tanks that are DOT approved for flammable liquids - i.e. gasoline. Aero also appears to make an aft-axle tank for the pre-'77 F250 4wds, and they make saddle tanks as well.

I'll probably go with an in-bed transfer tank and one of Aero's aft-axle tanks when I get around to putting my highboy back together.

 

i really like the looks of these custom fabbed tanks (customized stuff makes me drool like my dog) and would appreciate any specific info you could provide. maybe you could also include this info in your gallery, as i'm sure other droolers may be interested as well. thanks