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A teenage friend of mine had a pickup truck that had two tanks connected to the two filler caps, which was interesting, almost aircraft like. We're talking abo

by VLM 10y ago

A teenage friend of mine had a pickup truck that had two tanks connected to the two filler caps, which was interesting, almost aircraft like. We're talking about a 70s beater pickup truck modified as only a 80s/90s teenager has spare time to modify, so I have no idea if this was normal for construction grade trucks or not. The theory is he could operate his gas powered generator/welder or gas powered air compressor off one tank at a job site, and even if he ran it dry he could drive home on the other tank. There was also some manner of fuel transfer pump(s).

chadgeidel 10y ago
It was pretty common in trucks of that era. My father who -owns a construction company - has owned several of these. Never had any external devices, just used it as a "range extender". And then you forget to fill both and you are stranded... :-D
jschwartzi 10y ago
You can still get that on anything 3/4-ton or larger. It's useful for towing long distances too, because hauling heavy loads tanks your fuel economy.
theandrewbailey 10y ago
My family once had a '92 F250 that had dual gas tanks. They appeared factory installed. I remember plenty of larger pickups had them.
brokenmachine 10y ago
A friend of mine in college had an ancient VW bug that had no fuel gauge, by design. When it ran out of gas, you had to switch a foot pedal to the emergency tank, then you had maybe 10km to get to a Petrol Station before you were stranded.
- gambiting 10y ago
  Huh, interesting that having an emergency tank with some mechanism to switch between tanks was a cheaper/easier solution than just having a fuel gauge.
  - brokenmachine 10y ago
    That's exactly what I thought. Seemed bizarre to me. Also stressful for the driver, I'd imagine. She didn't seem too concerned about it though.
- douche 10y ago
  My first car, we couldn't keep the gas gauge working reliably, so I had to reckon the mileage from the odometer to keep track of whether it needed to be filled. At least it did have dual gas tanks, so in the worst case, you'd notice the engine was chugging and trying to die, and have to flip the switch to the other tank in time. Filling up both tanks kind of sucked, back when gas was $3.50-4.00/gallon.

by VLM 10y ago

chadgeidel 10y ago

It was pretty common in trucks of that era. My father who -owns a construction company - has owned several of these. Never had any external devices, just used it as a "range extender". And then you forget to fill both and you are stranded... :-D

jschwartzi 10y ago

You can still get that on anything 3/4-ton or larger. It's useful for towing long distances too, because hauling heavy loads tanks your fuel economy.

theandrewbailey 10y ago

My family once had a '92 F250 that had dual gas tanks. They appeared factory installed. I remember plenty of larger pickups had them.

brokenmachine 10y ago

A friend of mine in college had an ancient VW bug that had no fuel gauge, by design. When it ran out of gas, you had to switch a foot pedal to the emergency tank, then you had maybe 10km to get to a Petrol Station before you were stranded.

gambiting 10y ago
Huh, interesting that having an emergency tank with some mechanism to switch between tanks was a cheaper/easier solution than just having a fuel gauge.
- brokenmachine 10y ago
  That's exactly what I thought. Seemed bizarre to me. Also stressful for the driver, I'd imagine. She didn't seem too concerned about it though.
douche 10y ago
My first car, we couldn't keep the gas gauge working reliably, so I had to reckon the mileage from the odometer to keep track of whether it needed to be filled. At least it did have dual gas tanks, so in the worst case, you'd notice the engine was chugging and trying to die, and have to flip the switch to the other tank in time. Filling up both tanks kind of sucked, back when gas was $3.50-4.00/gallon.