Do these short bed trucks really have a 26 Gal tank? When my truck is on empty I can squeeze 14 gal in it? Do I really have 12 left in the tank? That seems like its a little too much reserve. Something doesnt seem right. Anyone else have this problem?

Do a little searching. Been hashed many times before.

Some feel gauge is right on, others have your experience.
Get it checked out if it really bothers you.
Know your truck is the best policy. Use trip and mpg monitors (must reset every time) in conjunction w/ fuel gauge and you should have a big picture.

Yup....when my warning bell for low fuel comes on Ive got 5.5 gallons left..Thats on my 09...on my 04 its was the same.......5.5 gallons....GM misses the boat on fuel tanks with short beds...my neighbors dodge short bed has 34 gallons........

my short bed tank is only 20 gallons its really wierd i know its 20 but its the only diesel i ever seen come with that small of a tank mine is a limited addition but i dont really know whats different about it though

I think the gassers are 26Gal.. Why would your tank be less than everybody else's truck? How did you figure 20 gallon tank?(Short bed)

I think the gassers are 26Gal.. Why would your tank be less than everybody else's truck? How did you figure 20 gallon tank?(Short bed)
Indeed, it is a 26gal.

I would love to be able to move up to a larger tank - 26gal. is just around 400miles - less if you're towing.

-bZj

Ive ran the tank to empty and only fills up 2 twenty and there a sticker on the truck where it says its a 20 gallon tank dunno y.. it is weird i aint figured it out yet

Ive ran the tank to empty and only fills up 2 twenty and there a sticker on the truck where it says its a 20 gallon tank dunno y.. it is weird i aint figured it out yet

Its 26

no ive gotten under the truck and everything and looked its a 20 gal tank wierd i know but its only a 20 gallon tank ive ran it dry before and had to redo the filter n everything only takes 20 gallons

Strange. I ran mine down to just under 30 miles left on the DIC, and I was able to get about 22.5 gallons in on my 2010 CCSB. If they weren't so expensive, I'd do a Titan tank, but for the cost, I'll just stop more often. :)

My DIC reads empty after using 18.5 gallons. I ran it dry with the DIC indicating 24.5 gallons used. When empty, I put 26.3 gallons in it.

no ive gotten under the truck and everything and looked its a 20 gal tank wierd i know but its only a 20 gallon tank ive ran it dry before and had to redo the filter n everything only takes 20 gallons
Must be one of the special "GM just decided to use a one-off item on a production vehicle" trucks.... :rolleyes:

-bZj

Did you get a 4.5L Duramax to go along with your 20 gallon tank? ;)

There is no way. And if there was.........I'd be at the dealership first thing in the morning. But there is just no way. Can you snap a couple pics for us of this one of a kind twenty gallon tank? This is up there with the loch ness monster and big foot.

Not saying it isn't true,.......we all just want a peek at it.

no ive gotten under the truck and everything and looked its a 20 gal tank wierd i know but its only a 20 gallon tank ive ran it dry before and had to redo the filter n everything only takes 20 gallons
Where under the truck does this 20 gal tank mount? Also, where on this tank is the capacity written? Take a picture of it. If you really have a 20 gallon tank from the factory, you have a collector truck. Park it and sell it in 20 years. You'll get a mint for it because GM never made an LMM yet with a 20 gal tank. Maybe this is one of those Obama tanks? Saves on fuel by taking less?

I just got a flyer from GM yesterday that says that all 2011's will come with 36 gallon tanks. That's for both long bed and short bed trucks.

I just got a flyer from GM yesterday that says that all 2011's will come with 36 gallon tanks. That's for both long bed and short bed trucks.

Son of a bitch! I want 10 more gallons!

I just got a flyer from GM yesterday that says that all 2011's will come with 36 gallon tanks. That's for both long bed and short bed trucks.
I wonder of that tank would retro fit to my truck?

An interesting side note from the same article. While GM has never released MPG numbers for the 2500/3500 series trucks, they are claiming that with the new 36 gallon tank a Duramax can have a range of up to 680 miles between fill-ups. Doing the math gives 18.9 MPG.

Any pictures for the Gallon Truck?

I also have a 20 gallon tank. It sucks something horrible. Before the tune, dpf delete, etc. I was only getting 240 miles to a tank. After the mods I'm getting well over 300 but still a little pissed about such a small tank.

I wonder of that tank would retro fit to my truck?

That is what I want to know also. I would love to have a 36 gallon tank.

A 20 gallon tank on a diesel would be really stupid for GM or any other company to install in a truck that is "supposed" to be a "towing" vehicle or a work truck! I thought that the 26 gallon was a real dumb idea but a 20 gallon? I pulled my 26gal out and installed a 52 gallon Titan and I must say this thing is sweet especially when towing.

To those couple of guys with the 20's, you're welcome to my 26 if you want to pick it up or pay the shipping. But for 6 more gallons it would hardly be worth it!

Titan sells a larger tank but they are pricey. http://www.titanfueltanks.com/GMC_Chevy_Fuel_Tank.htm

Yeah I'm still trying to wrap my head around the 20 gal tank. I've ran my truck as far as I can without running it out of fuel and when I fill up I put 19.5 gallons in it. I didn't want to be that guy that ran out of fuel in a diesel. I started reading this thread and got a little excited thinking I have a 26 gal and maybe my guage was off. I'm offshore working right now but will def crawl under the pickup and look at it when i get home. I don't see any reason to have less than 30 gal on a diesel truck used for towing.

I got tired of frequent fill ups while towing with the small 26 gal tank, so I put in a 60 gal RDS aux tank. So far no problems with it, no leaks, and the extended range is amazing. After towing Aarons truck to NM, it dang near paid for itself on the first trip.

A 20 gallon tank on a diesel would be really stupid for GM or any other company to install in a truck that is "supposed" to be a "towing" vehicle or a work truck! I thought that the 26 gallon was a real dumb idea but a 20 gallon? I pulled my 26gal out and installed a 52 gallon Titan and I must say this thing is sweet especially when towing.

To those couple of guys with the 20's, you're welcome to my 26 if you want to pick it up or pay the shipping. But for 6 more gallons it would hardly be worth it!

gm doesnt have a 20 gal tank for these trucks. however, i wonder if he mean 20 usable gallons.

how much does it cost to fill your truck up when its empty with that big o tank? mileage range? ball park

All I know is when my fuel gauge is all the way on empty I can only put 19.5 gallons in it. If there are 6 more gallons in it I'm not willing to take the chance of running my truck out of diesel. The guage will be in the red and the DIC says 25 miles left on tank. Both indicate the tank is empty to me.

All I know is when my fuel gauge is all the way on empty I can only put 19.5 gallons in it. If there are 6 more gallons in it I'm not willing to take the chance of running my truck out of diesel. The guage will be in the red and the DIC says 25 miles left on tank. Both indicate the tank is empty to me.


OK, so the truth starts to emerge. You are letting the DIC and fuel gauge scare you.
Sending unit may be off a little but its mostly engineered to do just as you are experencing and reacting.

If you get to know your vechicle; track miles and gallons, reset your trip odometer, pay attention to the type of driving, etc you will begin to know the true range limitations.
If you drive further, the DIC will stop displaying miles and simply give a "low fuel" warning and light. As you know this is with 6+ gal or so left in the tank.
I have the LB with 34 gal but it is no different. After my light comes on I have atleast another 100 miles (assuming no regen :banghead: )

This week, after the light came on, I towed 30+mi (12mpg), drove another 20 and still only put in 31.9 gal with a little packing.

I was sweating a little toward the end since it is winter. Between the winter blend, extra idle and the towing I was not as confident as normal.
In the end, no problem; DIC just doing its job - making sure it gave you every opportunity to not run out of fuel.

Well, I was going off the Low Level alarm I was getting. My past trucks meant I only had a gallon or two left so I wasn't sure. I do reset my trip every tank and watch the different mileage i get on the highway, city, towing, etc. It is something I have always done. Now I know and will push it a little further. Thanks for the heads up.

All I know is when my fuel gauge is all the way on empty I can only put 19.5 gallons in it. If there are 6 more gallons in it I'm not willing to take the chance of running my truck out of diesel. The guage will be in the red and the DIC says 25 miles left on tank. Both indicate the tank is empty to me.

I have driven mine until the fuel level was too low to measure and the fuel gauge was below empty. When I finally found an open fuel station (I was in rural Montana) I put 25.9 gallons in. That was the lowest that I ever let the tank get. I am sure that you could have safely gone 50 more miles before you really had to sweat it.

That is a little more reassuring. Once my DIC indicated low fuel I was looking for the closest fuel station, I don't intend to stretch it further than what I have been but it is nice to know that I can if need be. Thanks for the info guys.

Do we know if we can reprogram trucks to be empty at 23 or 24 gallons? at 20 gallons now on my truck its not registering int the DIC or the gauge. I am safe to say I have 6 gallons left

My 2008 dmax allison 6 spd sb cc 4x4 ltz when the gauge says empty and the light comes on I fill up and can only get 15.5 gallons in it :mad: I'm thinking something is off or my tank is very small for a 2500. I never let it run out of fuel so I'm not really sure seems kinda of crazy...:rolleyes:

I'm just spit ballin' here, but is it possible that by putting the lift kit on your truck and leveling it, the tank is now tipped back and is registering empty when there are still 6 gallons left? When mine is on empty, it takes 22 gallons to fill, but mine still has the nose-down rake.

I am new to EFI Live, but I saw a table where you could change the volt readings for the fuel gauge. Not sure about the "low fuel" alert, or when it comes on.

Yesterday my low fuel light came on and continued to drive it a little longer before refueling when suddenly my edge cts started to alert me I was down to 4% fuel remaining which is about 1 gallon left. 1st time I ever heard it...pretty cool.