So I was up unloading 2 cords of wood this past weekend in the mountains. As I was traveling out there my tank was a little over 1/4 tank. I have the 56 gallon midship tank. The driveway to get where I store the wood is at fairly steep incline(Maybe 6-7%). I backed up the trailer and my low fuel light came on. I thought, "OK so I should have about 10-15 gallons of fuel still in there" well That maybe true but if the pick up is at the top of the tank where the fuel ran away from then it does not matter. So I proceeded to unload all the wood out of the trailer and bed, when I went to start the truck it would not start(First time that has ever happened to me the truck usually fires in 2 turns of the motor) I coasted down the driveway until I got the truck somewhat flat. Truck fire up after quite a few cranks but to leave the property I had to go down another section of driveway about the same angle. Well when I got to the bottom and attempted to go, it died. So I opened up the prime screw and pumped away until I got fuel. Got in and it fired right up.


If you have a TFI tank please be cautious when at a serious angle with 1/4 tank of fuel. As it stood I drove another 100 miles with what was left and the low fuel light never came back on. I filled up and it took 48 gallons so in theory I still had some 8 gallons of fuel left...

i have similar experiences with my 45 gal TFI tank...

I was thinking why they cannot install a dual pick up system for the tanks, one front the other aft? This way angles would have no impact on fuel quantity

i think it all comes down to 1 thing---- MONEY$$$$$$

Well, it's not that simple. If they are on a common line, once either draws air, it's all over with...


However, Holley makes some fuel pickups for off-road trucks that set in the bottom of the tank. When covered in fuel, they are open. If fuel drains away, the close. You can use 2 or more of these to deal with fuel starvation caused by slosh or angles, and they can be added to most any tank.

I almost made the same mistake on a down hill grade on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere. Parked on a down grade got out to relieve myself, got back in and the low fuel light was on. I knew I had 1/4 tank and luckly I was able to get back on the road before it stalled.


For you guys running the midship TFI 42 gallon tank what are you seeing as actual useable capacity?


I ran mine empty the first tank by mistake and was only able to put 38gal back in http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Ermm.gif.


I called transferflow and they said they only see about 40 gal of usable capacity due to the large area of the tank. Over the past year I average about 35 gal before I fill up. I am scared to go much further. I only have about 15 miles once my low fuel light comes on and if I come to an abrupt stop all the Diesel runs to the front and it will stall. Many of times I've had to jump out and prime the system to make it to the next station.


Anyone else had these problems, and more importantly any solutions???


CJ

You should be able to add one Holley pickup in the front and one in the rear to eliminate that problem and pretty much empty the tank.

On my 56 Gallon TFI Midship tank it was calibrated by TFI at their place and it stated that when the low fuel light came on I should have about 10 gallons of fuel left. How much of that is useable is unknown. I would hope 6-7 gallons which would mean I should be able to go another 100 miles or so, However that would have to be on flat land. So far the best I have gone between fill ups is 788.6 miles. However it is BRUTAL at the gas station when filling it....http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Cry.gif.


I am going to inquire with TFI and find out some options to fix this issue. I saw BadDogs info about Holley but I feel for the price you pay for the tank you should be able to use it down to the level like the factory GM tank. I was always able to get down to about 2-3 gallons. I do not do this routinely but it is nice to know you have some room to work with. Sad to think you could have 10 gallons of fuel in your tank and you cannot start your truck...That just seems wrong to me


JeffEdited by: Duramax Dually

Bad Dog, I have used the Holley pickup in other situations with success but I do not see how it could be intergrated into the factory pickup. If I remember right factory pickup is a large canister that acts like a baffle. The canister houses the guage sender and there are small openings at the bottom that allow the diesel to enter the canister.


Anybody else done this with success??

Actually, I've never seen the factory pick up. But given the number of people who have adapted these things to all sorts of factory pick ups in the off-road crowd, I would bet there is a solution. No idea what it would be. Can someone post a pic of the sending unit/pick up?

How bout a floating pickup? The float would be set so that the pickup is at the bottom of the float. This way the pickup would stay where the fuel is until it is so low that it can no longer float. All that would be needed is enough flexible hose and a float so that it could reach every spot in the tank.


How much would that cost? $3.95 max?


As it is now, you pay $1000+ for a much larger tank to get a little extra usable fuel. Make no sense I tell ya!http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif

the only problem i see with that is it might get hung-up... the tank is long and relatively narrow...

Thanks for all the ideas, but I do not see the floating pickup working because the tank has two interior baffles that cut the tank into three sections. These baffles are what causes the problems on hills. All the fuel slowly seeps to the front of the tank and the baffle keeps it from returning to the center of the tank where the pickup is located. The diesel will eventually seep back into the center chamber but it takes a little bit.


hdmax, you hit the nail on the head!! I paid for a 45 gal tank and in reality I got 36 gal tank. Yes, the tank will hold 45 gal but you can only use 36 of those gallons safely http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Ermm.gif. I understand because of the shape of the tank you are not going to get all the fuel but at this point I would be happy with 40 or 42.


I will keep searching for a solution........................

Another problem with the floating pickup on the oversized midship tanks, the tank dips down to go under the cross member in the front. I don't think the float would ever get through... Edited by: BadDog