WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRANSFER AND AUXILIARY FUEL TANKS

If you’re looking at additional fuel storage for your truck you’ll no doubt run into both transfer tanks and auxiliary fuel tanks, and often there is a pretty big price difference even though they look pretty similar. So what’s causing the price difference and which one do you need?

Transfer Tanks are for the transfer of fuels. This could be bringing extra fuel on a trip to fill up an ATV, or maybe you’re in construction and need to top off a generator. They are primarily used for diesel but depending on the manufacturer you can find tanks that are certified for other fuels. The big difference between a transfer tank and an auxiliary tank is the transfer tank has to have the fuel pumped out, but this can be pumped to your truck's fuel tank. But in order to transfer the fuel you will need a transfer pump. These are available as manual units where you either turn a crank or pump a handle or as 12 volt electric units that do the work for you. These pumps will add anywhere from $90 to $350 to your total expenditure.

Auxiliary Tanks are plumbed right into your stock factory tank. This is sometimes accomplished with the aid of a small 12v pump or gravity fed. Tanks almost always have a shut off valve so you can stop the flow of fuel if necessary or if wanted. Since a lot of the connections will be made under the trucks cargo floor you’ll want to make sure your tank and lines are sealed properly and free of leaks. With an electrical pump in your system, you would typically just keep an eye on your factory fuel gauge and when you wanted to refill, you would just flip the switch you would have mounted inside your truck and refill the tank as you roll down the road. If you use a gravity fill system, gravity will simply replace fuel into your factory tank as your engine consumes fuel. Because of the danger that you could forget to turn your electric pump off while filling and consequently overfill your tank, electric assisted pumps should have a return line installed to direct overfill back into the auxiliary tank.

Personally, we like the gravity fill system because of its long history of predictable performance, no moving parts and ease of installation.

Those are the main differences between an auxiliary tank and a transfer tank. If you need help finding the right tank for your needs or have any other questions just give us a call at 563-285-6003.