Fuel Cell Install Write-Up with Pics

[TIMSPEED]

First order of business was to get the bed off, so we could begin work.
Next, we measured the distance between the inside of the frame rails, which just happens to be 32”. Luckily, my friend had some scrap metal laying around. We used a 32” long piece of 1”x1” box tubing.
Next, we set the cell in, with the piece of box tubing. We decided to put the cell mounting straps on top of the rear crossmember, in order to get the cell to tuck in higher, and farther back. Putting this on, we noticed that we were going to have to make it drop a little lower in the front, in order to make it sit level. So, we got some 2”x.75” c-channel stuff, and we took the chop saw and cut the small pieces that we needed. We just made it so the c-channel would sit in the frame rails (Mostly because we didn’t have a piece long enough, haha)
So, after that, we tacked it on with the wirefeed, and went on to notching the rear bed support, to clear the sending unit. After we measured, we decided that we’d notch out a 5” wide portion, and go up 2” with it. After my friend got done cutting it with the Oxy-Acy torch, I took the grinder to it, and smoothed off the edges.
The next thing we had to do, was measure for the gas door. We decided that we’d cut it on the same plane as the rear bed support notch, except we were going to make it a 6”x6” square. (In my thinking, I thought that I could find a gas door off of a later model truck, and it would be more apt to be 6”x6”.)
After cutting the gas door, we had to remove the stock gas tank, and plumb/wire the new cell. This was fairly easy. Just undo the 8 bolts holding the stock tank to the frame rail (4 in front, 4 in back) and off comes the tank. We were going to pull out the stock metal tubing, but decided not to, because it was bolted to the frame rail along with the brake lines. So instead of unbolting it for nothing, we just decided to remove the rubber hoses that connected the stock tank to it.
Once the stock tank was out, and the lines/wires were removed, we ran the new 6AN braided line right along the inside of the frame rail, and up to the pump. Wiring the cell was fairly simple. We just had to run a new wire from the stock sending unit wire, to the cell, then we grounded the new cell sender to the rear crossmember.
So, now the only thing left to do, was set the bed back on. Now, the only hard part, is getting to the rear bed bolts, (Not the VERY rear ones, but the ones just in front of them) because of where the cell is at, it makes it nearly impossible to get to them with anything other than a SKINNY arm/hand and a boxed-end wrench. Luckily, my friends little brother has skinny arms and hands! haha