1000-Mile Fuel Tank

While do-it-yourselfers can do a tank swap if they have the right tools, most of Aero's customers have the installation done at the factory. That may be because the warranty on a factory job is slightly better, three years/50,000 miles, versus two years/30,000 miles on a DIY install.

Long-Range Results
Our particular application on a '96 Dodge Ram required some custom work, in order to clear the mounting plate on a Gear Vendors gear-splitter. For a modest extra charge, Aero can custom-weld a tank with a recessed area to make room. Even with this modification, the tank capacity went from 36 gallons for the stock unit to nearly 60 gallons in the underbody tank. How much does that affect the driving range? The 12-valve Cummins in this truck typically consumes about 20 mpg on the highway, so that's more than a 1000-mile range between fill-ups!


Here's one other point to consider when changing out the tank. The sending unit on the fuel pickup assembly on older Dodges is known for wearing out as soon as 40,000 miles or so, and that was the case on this truck. That meant remembering to reset the trip odometer at fill-up time (in order to estimate the fuel level by miles traveled), which was getting annoying, so we were really glad that Aero swapped out the sending unit with a newer type made of a more durable material.


There's one difference, however, in the gauge readout after upgrading to a larger tank. The fuel needle will stay on full for the first 15 to 20 gallons, because Aero uses the factory fuel pickup and does not make any adjustments to this part. But look at it this way: Even if you're not actually improving your fuel efficiency, it at least seems like you're getting more miles to the gallon!

Resource
Aero Enterprises, 1780 Pomona Rd., Corona, CA 92880 800/783-4826, www.aerotanks.com