RDS Auxiliary fuel tank question

**piper guy** · 02-07-2018, 06:05 PM

Time has come now that we're headed west and since I've ready almost run out of fuel twice, I need to carry more. While I would love to put a Titan tank under the truck or one of the brands that has pumps and gauges and will fit perfectly around my Roll n Lock, Becuse I'm now a poor retired person I have limited funds.
I keep looking at the RDS tanks and how simple they are. They make a 40 gal that would do exactly what I want.

Reviews online are mixed. Some love, some hate. I'm wondering if the ones that hate didn't do the install and venting correctly.

Anyone have any personal experience with this tank setup ?

Highcountrybarry · 02-07-2018, 06:23 PM

I have the RDS 60 gal with the 6” toolbox on top of it and I love it. I have not had any issues at all. Make sure the cap is on tight and the hose is protected where it goes thru the bed. I put a sleeve on mine. Works perfectly, just open the valve when you are low and at a rest stop and it goes from there. I did learn that you can’t just leave the valve open when you fill both tanks. The onboard computer freaks out when you drive a lot of miles and it perceives via the fuel gauge that you burned no fuel. Gauge then just drops to empty in frustration. It recovers by itself when you let the gauge run down though. I just don’t like towing and not seeing fuel on the gauge.

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xtasee · 02-07-2018, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Highcountrybarry

I have the RDS 60 gal with the 6” toolbox on top of it and I love it. I have not had any issues at all. Make sure the cap is on tight and the hose is protected where it goes thru the bed. I put a sleeve on mine. Works perfectly, just open the valve when you are low and at a rest stop and it goes from there. I did learn that you can’t just leave the valve open when you fill both tanks. The onboard computer freaks out when you drive a lot of miles and it perceives via the fuel gauge that you burned no fuel. Gauge then just drops to empty in frustration. It recovers by itself when you let the gauge run down though. I just don’t like towing and not seeing fuel on the gauge.

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I have this exact setup and I totally love it. 35 Gal Factory and 60 (rated I think it actually holds between 55 and 58) gives me 95 gal. Figuring a conservative 8.5 MPG (I do better) gives me at least 800 mile range.. Fabulous!

As far as the reviews are concerned, I think a few people had issues when they installed the check valve in the wrong position in the fuel filler for the truck. Also the fuel gauge issue Barry describes will cause some to give a bad rating. It is not bad if you know about it. I manage it the same way.

If you follow the instructions when installing, it is a very quick easy install

Randalf · 02-07-2018, 10:38 PM

I installed the 50 gallon/tool box combo in our 2017 Ram 3500 and am happy with it. I ordered the 60 gallon model, but we got the 50 gal instead. I don't know if the installer ordered the wrong one, or the factory shipped us the wrong one. If I had to do it over again, I would have gotten the 80 gallon version. The cost difference is negligible, and you can't have too much fuel on hand!

The scary lesson I learned is that the gravity feed is VERY slow, at least on my truck. It takes several hours for gravity to do it's business. On our first trip we were going through Santa Fe when the fuel warning light came on. I couldn't find a gas station to pull through, and by the time I found a safe place to pull over and flip on the auxiliary tank, the dash gauge said we only had 18 miles of fuel range remaining. For every five actual miles we traveled, the dash gauge only added one mile to the estimated remaining range. If we'd been pulling hard through the mountains, gravity might not have been able to keep up with demand!

xtasee · 02-07-2018, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randalf

The scary lesson I learned is that the gravity feed is VERY slow, at least on my truck. It takes several hours for gravity to do it's business. On our first trip we were going through Santa Fe when the fuel warning light came on. I couldn't find a gas station to pull through, and by the time I found a safe place to pull over and flip on the auxiliary tank, the dash gauge said we only had 18 miles of fuel range remaining. For every five actual miles we traveled, the dash gauge only added one mile to the estimated remaining range. If we'd been pulling hard through the mountains, gravity might not have been able to keep up with demand!

I attempt to use the factory tank until I am down to about 1/4 tank then open the valve. It does feed slightly faster than use but not much. I am sure driving conditions would have a lot to do with that.

travelin' texans · 02-07-2018, 11:50 PM

You guys apparently travel further daily than we do! My truck has a 36 gal tank, conservatively that's about 300 miles on a tank full, but typically were only going to do about 250 miles or less a day, stop early, park/unhook, go into town & find fuel much cheaper than on the highway.
An older fulltimer told us when we first retired that you travel 2x2x2, drive 200 miles, stop by 2pm, & stay 2 days, so far in 10 years we've done pretty close to that. So in our case no need to haul 250 to 500 extra lbs of fuel. In our 10 years there's only been 1 time I was starting to sweat, but according to the truck computer we had 4 more miles left til empty, NO problem. LOL!

Highcountrybarry · 02-08-2018, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

You guys apparently travel further daily than we do! My truck has a 36 gal tank, conservatively that's about 300 miles on a tank full, but typically were only going to do about 250 miles or less a day, stop early, park/unhook, go into town & find fuel much cheaper than on the highway.
An older fulltimer told us when we first retired that you travel 2x2x2, drive 200 miles, stop by 2pm, & stay 2 days, so far in 10 years we've done pretty close to that. So in our case no need to haul 250 to 500 extra lbs of fuel. In our 10 years there's only been 1 time I was starting to sweat, but according to the truck computer we had 4 more miles left til empty, NO problem. LOL!

I like your rule and mine is just a bit more generous. I have had occasion to pull for six hours a couple times when I was running without the wife. I also find the extra capacity allows me to buy fuel cheaper. I can choose where I fill up and 20 cents a gallon time 100 is nice to get. I have saved 75 cents when I could move to another state. But the flexibility and peace of mind is priceless.

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Randalf · 02-08-2018, 01:29 AM

My wife and I haven't become full timers yet, so for now our trips are limited to 906 mile trips from Kerrville TX to Cortez CO to visit our daughter & grandkids. That means three 300 mile legs, and since we only have a 32 gallon tank in our truck, and average 9.2 mpg, fuel is an issue. I love having a 700 mile range to reduce my stress level.

We try to travel only on the weekends if passage through a big town (like Albuquerque or Santa Fe) is required so we have less traffic to deal with. On our last trip home my wife had a doctor's appointment on Monday, so we pushed through in two days-- Cortez to Carlsbad, Carlsbad to home. I never want to do that again, but it made the trip ever-so-slightly better knowing I only had to search for fuel once.

I'm also a bit of a prepper, so I make sure we have lots of food and water onboard, and I carry at least $2000 in twenties just in case I lose my wallet or our accounts are hacked and our credit is frozen. Having an 80 gallon auxiliary tank is the missing link-- it would give us a thousand mile range in case a man-made or natural disaster makes fuel scarce.

Ford truck guy · 02-08-2018, 01:40 AM

Danny, if I lived by that rule, it would take me 3 weeks to get to Disney from PA... just for my 1-2 week vacation !

then 3 weeks to get home...

Randalf · 02-08-2018, 01:55 AM

I would love to get to where the Travelin' T's are! When we finally hit the road full time we plan to travel five to six hours a day maximum, be off the road by four, and spend at least two days wherever we stop.

mhs4771 · 02-08-2018, 01:57 AM

Vaughan, I'm looking at the RDS-72775 40 gal Diesel and 10" Tool Box. Our Travel Friends, the Sykes who you met at last years Rally, have that tank in their Super Duty and love it. He has a electronic control valve tied into one of the "Up Fitter" switches on the Dash.
Let me know if you find some place that offers "Free Shipping", Amazon does, but their price is approx $200 higher than anybody else.
Best price I've found is at Tank & Barrel @ $577.99 plus shipping.
Or if you're in the Pan Handle of Florida the RDS Plant is up there, you might be able to pick one up and save the shipping.
Keep us posted on what you do.

travelin' texans · 02-08-2018, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ford truck guy

Danny, if I lived by that rule, it would take me 3 weeks to get to Disney from PA... just for my 1-2 week vacation !

then 3 weeks to get home...

Joe,
How well I remember those vacations! Leave in the middle of the night, haul a## to our destination, & wait til the last possible minute to haul a## back home!
Someday maybe you'll get to retire & take your time..

travelin' texans · 02-08-2018, 03:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randalf

I would love to get to where the Travelin' T's are! When we finally hit the road full time we plan to travel five to six hours a day maximum, be off the road by four, and spend at least two days wherever we stop.

I can highly recommend the laid back travel plan. The problem now with getting older is 200-250 miles towing now seems a lot longer than it use to.

Char & Steve · 02-08-2018, 03:58 AM

Just do it Vaughan.... I love having the extra tank and would never be without again. We can hold 109 gal. now and sooner or later once I slow down I can live by that 2 rule but for now I still do some 14 hours days to get were we are going quick.

Steve

Ford truck guy · 02-08-2018, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

Joe,
How well I remember those vacations! Leave in the middle of the night, haul a## to our destination, & wait til the last possible minute to haul a## back home!
Someday maybe you'll get to retire & take your time..

Some day Danny, some day !

spindrift · 02-08-2018, 08:56 PM

I've got their 35 gal. tank plus toolbox (this darn FL made me do it). I'd prefer more fuel, actually. The check valve requires proper orientation during install or it will never work. Same as others have said regarding the gauge. I never allow my main tank to get below 1/4 before the switch-over. For some reason, if I fill the aux tank and the main tank while the valve is open, the main tank will overfill. I don't do that anymore, lol.

With the current set-up, I can still use my tonneau cover when travelling without the camper. If you go that route you need to be sure you position the tank properly to allow for the install hardware associated with the cover. All in all, I love the set-up. No, it's not as sexy as having the Titan with another gauge in the cab but you can't beat the value.

ted 95 · 02-10-2018, 05:09 AM

I always carry a 5 gal yellow jug in my storage in the truck bed. When ever we are getting low and a truck stop is out of reach we just pull over and add the fuel to the tank. from there never had a problem. tank $20.00..