Dual tank safety

[KCR]

I have owned several trucks and blazers in the past with dual gas tanks. I never had an accident where one caught fire from a ruptured fuel tank. I remember several years back when the 73-87 pickups with fuel tanks mounted outside the frame rails were allegedly dangerous to drive. Now that those trucks are no longer manufactured, I haven't heard anymore about the safety issue.

My son will begin driving next year. I have been saving a cream-puff 85 Silverado short-bed for him but it has the dual tank setup. Was anything done by GM to remedy the problem with fires on the 85 model? If not, should I do something to ensure the safety of the truck before I let my son drive it?

Thanks for your help.

KCR,
Hodges, SC

[chevy68388]

no nothing was ever done to fix it i just read about it in some ones post in 73-87chevy gmc message boared

[chevy68388]

here u go this is ithttp://www.autosafety.org/GM-CK/4-01press.htm

[KCR]

Hello j dawg,

Thanks for the reply. I read the post you referred to on the message board afterwards. Seems like the only viable solution is to relocate the tank(s) to someplace within the frame rails. I own a 72 K10 and have considered a Blazer tank install, not for safety considerations, but to give me more room inside the cab.

Is it possible to do the same thing on an 85 C10? The truck is completely original and with the spare tire located beneath the bed floor. I would much prefer to have my son driving around without a spare tire than with potential fuel-tank bombs strapped to both sides of the truck. Another drawback to relocation would be the filler caps w/ gates on each side of the truck. With a relocation, where are the filler cap & vent tube installed? Can the existing filler caps be used with extended piping & vent tubing? Do you know if there is a "conversion kit" complete with everything necessary available?

Thanks again for your help,

Keith

[chevy68388]

i put on plastic tanks figered if its plastis theres no spark=no boom

[gchemist]

Relocating the fuel to the location of the spare tire is really simple. Take a look at a www.lmctruck.com catalogue. It will give great details on all the stuff you need to make the conversion. www.cheyennepickup.com and www.yearone.com also have some great pictures and parts.

As much as we like to take of our kids, we can only do so much. Teach them responsibility. No red lights, no rolling stops....and watch the speed!! I've seen too many kids die due to speed.

Captkaos did the converions on his truck. He has some great pics too.

[KCR]

Thanks for the advice.

The poly tanks sound like a good idea for eliminating spark, and definitely should be much simpler to do than a relocation. My guess though is that the relocation would be the safest bet. I saw too that the blazer tanks can also be bought in polyethylene. I'll check out Kapnkaos' (sic) project if I can find it.

Back in 1986, my wife and I were on our way to the Doctor's office. She was expecting our first child. We were traveling down a quiet street in a 1980 K5 Blazer (with dual tanks) when all of a sudden, a teenager runs past a stop sign and smashes into us on the passenger side, just behind the door. Ironically, the other vehicle was a late 70's chevy pickup. Both vehicles were traveling at less than 30mph but the Blazer was caved in pretty badly. The impact was hard enough to cause us to do a 180 in the road. The tanks did not burst and there was no fire.

Gchemist, you are correct about kids. You can only do so much. In August of 2001 I put my daughter in her own car and saw her drive off for the first time without me or her Mama in the car. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do thus far. Vehicles are deadly. Like I tell my kids, it's not them I worry about - it's the other drivers. That's why I was so concerned about the side impact issue on the chevy pickups.

My apologies for being long-winded. And many thanks for your input.

Keep on Truckin!

Keith

[hrc200x]

How big are the tanks on '73-'87 trucks, blazers, and suburbans? I've heard 18 and 20 gallon for the trucks with dual tanks, but thats all I know. What about a short box truck?

[chevy68388]

i have two 20 gallon tanks and need every bit of gas hey u got a pic of your truck hrc200x

[hrc200x]

Yes, here is a pic and speks. '75 1/2 ton frame, Texas body '83 cab, 80s box, '88 clip, D44 with BIG hubs, '78 corp 14 bolt FF w/ I believe gov-loc, 350 motor, 350 tranny, 203 t-case w/ part time kit, Factory Tach. Since the pic it has 35 inch cooper tires, American racing Baja rims, and the 3/4 ton axles I mentioned earlier. Also below is my '80 1 ton 4x4 Crew Cab. My current list of trucks is this:

1. '83 3/4 ton(pic)
2. '80 1 ton 4x4 crew cab (pic)
3. '86 4x4 suburban 1/2 ton silverado
4. '79 4x4 crew cab 3/4 ton silverado 454
5. '78 3/4 ton 2wd that donated the rear end for the '83, 350 motor, manual 4 speed, had a factory tach, in my '83 now.
6. '80 1/2 ton 2wd 350 2 barrel, manual 4 speed
7. '80 blazer 4x4 1/2 ton, 350 motor, 350 tranny, 205, power windows/locks
8. '84 GMC 3/4 ton 2wd from Montana, 350 motor, manual 4 speed
9. '76 GMC 1/2 ton 2wd 454
10. late 70s 3/4 ton frame corp 14 bolt D44.

[crossy]

KCR, because your steel tanks will go bad eventually anyway regardless of what a creampuff it is then it may make you feel better to install the plastic tanks . its just a guess of mine but as one of the previous posts suggested they may be safer just because of no sparks FROM THE TANK , as we know there are several things that can spark in a collision.
I have been messing with these year trucks for over 15 years now and collected a bit of info on those tanks and in short i can say that it was an overblown(no Pun :-) } issue. as a matter of fact the Dodges of the same year were proven worse but because of their much lower sales numbers were never targeted. I still have the press info released on the 'staged' explosion that one of the major networks televised. reason being that they could not get one to explode without the help from a model rocket booster they planted on the truck. DAVE

[KCR]

Hello Crossy,

Thanks. I agree with you about the exaggerated reports that were produced by the networks (NBC I think?). But if there is anyone to substantiate the reports, they would likely be tuned to this message board.

And yes the tanks will rust eventually and likely because the truck isn't driven enough. I try to alternate filling and using the tanks in hopes of prolonging rust problems. But the truck is only driven on weekends and mostly to the local recycle center and back. About the truck being a cream puff - I'm already having some problems with the carb because the truck sat for too long without being driven. We have several things to do to the truck before he starts driving it; 1) the A/C needs to be charged. Will probably just convert to 134A. 2) the dash pad is cracked badly. Have considered a plastic cover but have never seen one installed. May simply replace the old with a new pad 3) Replace the tanks with polyethylene or relocate & consolidate into one poly tank between the rails.

Thanks again for the help. Keep on Truckin!

Keith