150 gal. Mack tank, wanting to mount in bed

[funnyman141]

I picked up a white 1986 f350, 6.9l, n/a, 4x4, 4spd, standard cab, long bed, single rear wheel, with duel tanks.

The P.O. swapped out the standard front tank for a smaller tank ~5 gal filling from empty, and the rear tank is rusted out, I was thinkin of swapping out the front tank for an old mack semi tank we have out at the farm, I was wondering what all i would need to do to mount it into the truck? I've heard mounting straps to the frame and cutting out a part of the bed, and building a cage that sits on the bed but bolts through it.

Just wondering what you all thought of this idea.

 

[BDCarrillo]

Dimension, photos, or more info on that mack tank may help.

If memory serves, you can get new replacement steel tanks for about ~$125. Or free if you come take the old ones off a parts truck I have.

 

[Shawn MacAnanny]

I'm not sure about the legality of using it, any container that holds over 119 gallons of a hazardous material needs to be placarded with a UN number as it's conisdered a bulk container, and that means at minimum a DOT inspection on the vehicle, Class C CDL, DOT healthcard, and Hazmat endorsement. The 1,001lb plus rule doesnt apply when dealing with bulk containers. You even have to placard them when they are empty until they have been triple rinsed. There are some exceptions to farmers but i am not familiar with them. To legally use that tank it also has to have an ID plate with the volume and certification.

 

[laserjock]

Stock replacement tanks are cheap or do yourself a favor and do the 38 gallon rear tank swap eliminating the middle tank and the fsv that can be a nightmare.

Legality aside for a moment, that's going to be a very large tank, why on earth would you need that much fuel unless you are either transporting fuel or driving cross country? That's a lot of real estate to devote to a fuel tank.

 

[funnyman141]

The main reason why I even thought of using it is because the tank is free, and taking up space at the family farm. About the bed space issue, the truck is basically going to live in front of a trailer while i own it, so bed space doesn't bother me that much.
Dimensions of the tank are
56 1/2" width
26" diameter

 

[Shawn MacAnanny]

I got 129.7 gal with those dimensions just real quick figuring

 

[funnyman141]

I was going off of what my grandfather wrote on the tank, I just cleaned off the tag and it says 120 gal, guess I should have double checked before I posted

 

[Greg5OH]

120 gal is a whoole lot better than 38 gal fuel up once every 2-3 months thats pretty awesome. Sometimes I feel my 44g excursion tank isnt big enough..

 

[BDCarrillo]

Well... since the return lines are essentially a gravity drain, elevating the tank for a bed-mount might be an issue.

Chopping up the bed is certainly an option, but I wouldn't do that unless I knew I was driving that truck to the grave.

I'd just mount that big round guy in the bed as an aux tank and pop in a proper replacement tank. My .02 worth