Gassers: Ram 3500 6.4L vs Ford's F350's 6.2 and 7.3 Godzilla for overlanding

skrypj

Well-known member
Not completely true...

If you’re lazy and stick to IG for your research like @mk216v then you likely won’t find much.

If you read between the lines and do some OEM part # comparability checking between petrol tanks and Diesel tanks, you may be surprised...

Example: 2019+ Rams use the EXACT SAME PART # fuel tanks for their diesels as they do their petrols

In the aftermarket world, liability rules all

Transferflow and Titan mainly only list diesel for most of their tanks because emissions, smog laws, that little angry Greta girl, etc...

But in fact, they are often the exact same tank. I’ve confirmed this with them via phone.

Easy way to check.. find whatever make and model you have. Look up the OEM part # for the fuel tanks for both diesel and petrol.

Not sure about Ford, but Ram used the same for both.

I was gunna ask about this. I can't see why there would be a physical difference in the gas vs diesel tanks. I bet the difference is in the required crash and fire testing that they are put through. I have been to SWRI Fire Tech lab for my work and that is one of the things they do there. They actually had one of the new(at the time) 2020 Silverado HD's there under a blanket waiting to be tested last time I went.
 

RAM5500 CAMPERTHING

OG Portal Member #183
I was gunna ask about this. I can't see why there would be a physical difference in the gas vs diesel tanks. I bet the difference is in the required crash and fire testing that they are put through. I have been to SWRI Fire Tech lab for my work and that is one of the things they do there. They actually had one of the new(at the time) 2020 Silverado HD's there under a blanket waiting to be tested last time I went.

I know for a fact, and have verified the Ram tanks are 100% identical and are literally the same OEM part #
 

deserteagle56

Adventurer
I was gunna ask about this. I can't see why there would be a physical difference in the gas vs diesel tanks. I bet the difference is in the required crash and fire testing that they are put through. I have been to SWRI Fire Tech lab for my work and that is one of the things they do there. They actually had one of the new(at the time) 2020 Silverado HD's there under a blanket waiting to be tested last time I went.

Size difference is due to needing a DEF tank...that separate tank is placed adjacent to the fuel tank. So the diesel fuel tank is smaller because it had to make room for the DEF tank. Manufacturers do it that way so that fills for both DEF and fuel are in the same access door. GM does it differently - the GM DEF tank is hanging down right behind the passenger side front tire and to fill it you have to open the hood. For instance, if you buy a diesel Jeep Wrangler, the diesel tank is only 18.5 gallons versus a gas powered Wrangler which has a 21 gallon tank. The DEF tank takes up the extra room.
 

skrypj

Well-known member
Size difference is due to needing a DEF tank...that separate tank is placed adjacent to the fuel tank. So the diesel fuel tank is smaller because it had to make room for the DEF tank. Manufacturers do it that way so that fills for both DEF and fuel are in the same access door. GM does it differently - the GM DEF tank is hanging down right behind the passenger side front tire and to fill it you have to open the hood. For instance, if you buy a diesel Jeep Wrangler, the diesel tank is only 18.5 gallons versus a gas powered Wrangler which has a 21 gallon tank. The DEF tank takes up the extra room.

I get that. But what I am saying is that there is no reason to think that gasoline cannot be put in a diesel tank. The tanks are likely the same exact material and construction.

IE, put gasoline in a Titan tank that claims to only be for diesel.
 

RAM5500 CAMPERTHING

OG Portal Member #183
I get that. But what I am saying is that there is no reason to think that gasoline cannot be put in a diesel tank. The tanks are likely the same exact material and construction.

IE, put gasoline in a Titan tank that claims to only be for diesel.

Correct

That’s exactly my point. RAM literally uses identical part #s for both of them. Sooo
 

Buddha.

Finally in expo white.
I get that. But what I am saying is that there is no reason to think that gasoline cannot be put in a diesel tank. The tanks are likely the same exact material and construction.

IE, put gasoline in a Titan tank that claims to only be for diesel.
I was considering that but titan doesn’t make a tank, diesel or gasoline for the super cab (extended cab) super duty’s.
 

85_Ranger4x4

Well-known member
I get that. But what I am saying is that there is no reason to think that gasoline cannot be put in a diesel tank. The tanks are likely the same exact material and construction.

IE, put gasoline in a Titan tank that claims to only be for diesel.

Pumps can vary though, gas fuel pumps and diesel fuel pumps are generally not the same.

I love the concept of a 7.3 but a Ram is appealing for the fact that I don't have to buy a brand stinkin new truck to get a bigger pushrod V8. And I like the styling better too.
 

sg1

Adventurer
When thinking about extending your range keep in mind that you won't need the extra range very often. As long as you stay in populated areas or on the major roads you will find enough gas stations. I only needed a a range of about 700 miles when I was exploring remote areas in the Atacama dessert and the desert in the Argentinian Andes. Any solutions which allows you to temporarily carry extra fuel is fine. I used Jerry cans. The best solution to extend your range is to have a fuel efficient rig. This safes a lot of money (gas is very expensive outside the US) and weight. Weight is your worst enemy on soft ground or very bad roads. Have you thought about using a light weight camper? I did my trips with a camper weighing less than 8000lbs fully loaded and equipped and I had a comfortable composite box with a good sized wet bath (I am 6.2). The light weight solution made tire choice, wear and tear and fuel consumption a lot easier.
 

RAM5500 CAMPERTHING

OG Portal Member #183
When thinking about extending your range keep in mind that you won't need the extra range very often. As long as you stay in populated areas or on the major roads you will find enough gas stations. I only needed a a range of about 700 miles when I was exploring remote areas in the Atacama dessert and the desert in the Argentinian Andes. Any solutions which allows you to temporarily carry extra fuel is fine.

Its not always about range persay

If planned right, you can save a decent amount of $ over time. I did the math and my money savings actually paid for my transferflow tank on my tundra fairly quickly.

meaning... gas prices vary a TON here in the SW USA

If going to Death Valley for example, the fuel is usually $2+ more a gallon in or close the park. I’ve done several trips in the backcountry there close to 200+ miles off pavement. So filling up way beforehand and not needing to buy any $4 fuel there is key.

Also; Arizona is usually $1-1.50 cheaper a gallon just over the border. Now with 74 gallon capacity, I fill up every time before crossing back to CA.

But yeah, if I doing local trips where prices are somewhat similar, I don’t drive around topped off with both tanks full.

But knowing I can top everything off substantially cheaper when given the option, I always do
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Not completely true...

If you’re lazy and stick to IG for your research like @mk216v then you likely won’t find much.

If you read between the lines and do some OEM part # comparability checking between petrol tanks and Diesel tanks, you may be surprised...

Example: 2019+ Rams use the EXACT SAME PART # fuel tanks for their diesels as they do their petrols

In the aftermarket world, liability rules all

Transferflow and Titan mainly only list diesel for most of their tanks because emissions, smog laws, that little angry Greta girl, etc...

But in fact, they are often the exact same tank. I’ve confirmed this with them via phone.

Easy way to check.. find whatever make and model you have. Look up the OEM part # for the fuel tanks for both diesel and petrol.

Not sure about Ford, but Ram used the same for both.

<major rolleyes>
Not that I'm in this industry, nor that I've spoken to fuel tank manufacturers about why they don't offer a poly(or metal) petrol tank, gov't/NHTSA/FMVSS regulations be damned (at least one didn't offer the petrol due to reliability issues they had seen with the PCV system on the petrol engines, causing fuel tank squish)...which leads to knowing that a pro van builder friend had a Titan poly tank collapse on a Ford E350 V10 petrol he built. Granted, that tank was much more simplistic square/flat than the contoured truck tanks (see below), but still, appears there's a known venting issue with the petrol systems.

RAM diesel and petrol tanks being the same part #; pro van builder friend says of the Ford vans at least that the same is true...all of the base tank part numbers are the same within a span of model years for the gas and diesel rigs. The only difference is the vents. Diesel tanks have a rollover vent and the gas tanks have a similar vent valve but with a special emissions-style connector. He doesn't think there's a difference in the tank geometry or the tank strength in gas vs. diesel. It all comes down to venting.

Also, it should be noted as well that just because RAM or Ford make the same physical tank for diesel or petrol, doesn't necessarily mean that a big diesel tank will be a sure fit for a petrol truck. Check for other trucky stuff that might have been fitted to the open space.

Here's the upgraded 55gal(from stock 34gal) Titan tank for my F350. Note it says diesel only;

Can it possibly fit? I'm going to check it out dimensionally...then if so, run some data on my stock tank, then roll the dice on the Titan tank and see if the data is the same, before I get out into Nowhere and run into an issue.


When thinking about extending your range keep in mind that you won't need the extra range very often. As long as you stay in populated areas or on the major roads you will find enough gas stations. I only needed a a range of about 700 miles when I was exploring remote areas in the Atacama dessert and the desert in the Argentinian Andes. Any solutions which allows you to temporarily carry extra fuel is fine. I used Jerry cans. The best solution to extend your range is to have a fuel efficient rig. This safes a lot of money (gas is very expensive outside the US) and weight. Weight is your worst enemy on soft ground or very bad roads. Have you thought about using a light weight camper? I did my trips with a camper weighing less than 8000lbs fully loaded and equipped and I had a comfortable composite box with a good sized wet bath (I am 6.2). The light weight solution made tire choice, wear and tear and fuel consumption a lot easier.
The camper weighed less than 8k, or the entire rig with camper weighed less than 8k?

Its not always about range persay
If planned right, you can save a decent amount of $ over time. I did the math and my money savings actually paid for my transferflow tank on my tundra fairly quickly.
meaning... gas prices vary a TON here in the SW USA
If going to Death Valley for example, the fuel is usually $2+ more a gallon in or close the park. I’ve done several trips in the backcountry there close to 200+ miles off pavement. So filling up way beforehand and not needing to buy any $4 fuel there is key.
Also; Arizona is usually $1-1.50 cheaper a gallon just over the border. Now with 74 gallon capacity, I fill up every time before crossing back to CA.
But yeah, if I doing local trips where prices are somewhat similar, I don’t drive around topped off with both tanks full.
But knowing I can top everything off substantially cheaper when given the option, I always do

= a whole lot of
Easy-Beef-Street-Tacos-l-SimplyScratch.com-beef-steak-streettaco-taco-tacotuesday-corntaco-9-700x1049.jpg
 
Last edited:

RAM5500 CAMPERTHING

OG Portal Member #183
<major rolleyes>
Not that I'm in this industry, nor that I've spoken to fuel tank manufacturers about why they don't offer a poly(or metal) petrol tank, gov't/NHTSA/FMVSS regulations be damned (at least one didn't offer the petrol due to reliability issues they had seen with the PCV system on the petrol engines, causing fuel tank squish)...which leads to knowing that a pro van builder friend had a Titan poly tank collapse on a Ford E350 V10 petrol he built. Granted, that tank was much more simplistic square/flat than the contoured truck tanks (see below), but still, appears there's a known venting issue with the petrol systems.

RAM diesel and petrol tanks being the same part #; pro van builder friend says of the Ford vans at least that the same is true...all of the base tank part numbers are the same within a span of model years for the gas and diesel rigs. The only difference is the vents. Diesel tanks have a rollover vent and the gas tanks have a similar vent valve but with a special emissions-style connector. He doesn't think there's a difference in the tank geometry or the tank strength in gas vs. diesel. It all comes down to venting.

Also, it should be noted as well that just because RAM or Ford make the same physical tank for diesel or petrol, doesn't necessarily mean that a big diesel tank will be a sure fit for a petrol truck. Check for other trucky stuff that might have been fitted to the open space.

Here's the upgraded 55gal(from stock 34gal) Titan tank for my F350. Note it says diesel only;

Can it possibly fit? I'm going to check it out dimensionally...then if so, run some data on my stock tank, then roll the dice on the Titan tank and see if the data is the same, before I get out into Nowhere and run into an issue.

<Ultra Major Eye Roll with an added Kartwheel for effect>

Ok Boss! ???
 

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