Gas tank upgrade

[taylor-rob]

Hello All, I just finished upgrading my 2011 Serrano 31Z with a new fuel tank. I Removed the Old 40 gallon and Replaced it with a Workhorse 75 gallon tank. As many of you who know the Serrano has a Diesel maxxforce 7 engine front mounted..(fred) We live in Texas now but still have our home in So Cal. If I don't have to get California gas I will be very Happy. Our first trip will Start July 2, 2022.. Would like to thank "Mill Supply Inc" and "LKQ" for making it all possible!!! Hope to update with photos in the furture when time permits. Would be glad to answer any questions about the project

[ducksface]

For others:
There's room between the rear frame rails of a Vegas on a 350/450 for an added 50 gallon tank.

[taylor-rob]

This is the NOS stock from LKQ basic P30 Workhorse chassis tank used in earlier Motorhomes. Staps and Hardware from Mill supply ..They are a step van supplier since the Chassis was used for step vans. W20-W22-W24 chassis

[taylor-rob]

The Fuel pick-up is a striaght tube due to the pump being on the Frame Rail
and a problem with the gauge sender.. but it was worked out...

[taylor-rob]

using a couple of furniture dollies and a car floor jack I was able to lift the tank myself, hook up the hoses that were change out to match the fuel pickup. ( quick connect). Oh and also made sure the Generator tube in all the way down..(less one inch, Ill carry a gas can if i need to ) I Adult enough to watch my own fuel levels !!

[taylor-rob]

I started investigating this project years ago and at the time it was to cost prohibitive.. but Diesel now up to $7.00 a gal the time was Right...I got lucky and found a new tank for $305.00 and Freight was $215.00..and a lot of time checking into how to hook it up or modifying it to work right..
Everything seems a go . I'll follow up during or after this Texas to Vegas and on to LA trip.... thanks to this form. I have learned a lot from it. and now it time to give Back. Thank you
Rob T.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by taylor-rob

Hello All, I just finished upgrading my 2011 Serrano 31Z with a new fuel tank. I Removed the Old 40 gallon and Replaced it with a Workhorse 75 gallon tank. .....cut....

Nice project.

What do you expect the normal driving range to be? Minus a 5-gallon reserve you’ve doubled distance. I’d guess +/- 800 miles may be possible?

I’m also curious about your 31Z. Is that the floor plan with extra large garage compartment in rear? If so, what do you carry (or can carry) back there?

[The Gritz Carlton]

WOW...it took big "nads" to do that! Mine has a 40 rear and a 28 front with a range of about 600+. Your new tank puts you in charge now and will pay for itself with a little price planning. You can always top it off when you see a good price but you can't go back 50 miles for the good price you passed. Nice job!

[taylor-rob]

Originally Posted by Chance

Nice project.

What do you expect the normal driving range to be? Minus a 5-gallon reserve you’ve doubled distance. I’d guess +/- 800 miles may be possible?

I’m also curious about your 31Z. Is that the floor plan with extra large garage compartment in rear? If so, what do you carry (or can carry) back there?

Hey Chance, I am pulling a Toad.. 1999 chevy tracker two door . I'll hoping for at least 750 miles.

As for the Rear It Depends on the Trip ? If I'm Camping, a stove, wood, toys, fans. This is a visiting trip so I'm returning a 11 foot market umbrella. I always keep a spare Tire in there. and my small storage compartments for maintenance stuff and nick-naks.

[txc2936@yahoo.com]

Yes must agree with the Gritz. Nice work and NADs for even starting something like this...make sure that hose going into the tank doesn't Kink on ya.

[taylor-rob]

The hose i removed did have a kink. Not good. Bought a new hose with a pre bend in it from O'Reilly auto parts and line the input nipple better.
It seemed to fit better. The research showes me that the frame was made for this tank. Not the Fourty!!!! They went with the fourty to reduce wieght

and get a higher MPG.. I also have always felt the Fourty hangs to LOW .

[txc2936@yahoo.com]

Nice, this will save you countless hrs at the fuel pump. The kink we restrict flow into the tank and shut off the gas pump. To ensure I never get a kink, i installed a hose clamp on top of the kink. Just tight enough to force hose round, and not clamp up. This will keep the hose round. The picture below shows a additional worm clamp.

Your new hose will stay firm for the first 6 mo. then soften and the entire tube run from the nozzle to the tank will sag from the weight of the tube assy's. The fix for me was to tie wrap the entire run to the floor structure. 2nd photo below.

Might be overkill on my part (many tie wraps), but there is so much vibration back there, I wanted to ensure nothing comes loose.

BTW, Do you have a Miles to Empty indicator on your panel. Mine shows around 610 miles with 80 gal, a good feeling when you hit the open road.

[Hork]

This awesome, thanks! My one complaint on our Serrano is the tank is too small; definitely looking into. You mentioned that you thought the 40 gal hung too low. I assume the new 75 is shallower then? Do you happen to have dimensions of the two tanks for comparison?