Building my own fuel tank from SCRATCH!

Today on Aussie Arvos we are building our own Custom Fuel Tank from Scratch for my 4WD Patrol! I've never Tig Welded before so this is going to be a huge learning curve but in the end we should have a tank that is strong, lightweight and of course can carry all the fuel we will ever need !
Massive thanks to Jeff for taking the time to help build us this fuel tank and for teaching me how to Tig weld! it's a new skill that i'm super keen to improve on!
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#4x4 #Fabrication #Workshop
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Highway Saints - In This Moment
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[@kirklewis6175]

Nice one Liam! Just to note, when you said 100kg in the tank at 100L it was actually about 84kg. Diesel has a density of approximately 0.84kg/L, and even less for petrol.

[@damo.77]

Thats interesting to know, i always just assumed it would be 1kg/L.

[@LifeOfLevi]

Great, now i feel like even more a week bastard moving around my big ass Jerri’s😂😂😂

[@AussieArvos]

Didn't know that! Good to know I'm not carrying as much extra weight as I thought!

[@NikkiTheOtter]

This is also why planes and large diesel tanks tend to have water-drain valves at the bottom. Water sinks under the fuel, and you want to keep that water out of the sump as much as possible.

[@user-sp4gy7ko5l]

@@damo.77 What about a litre of air?

[@musokid89]

Fuel stations hate you? More like they LOVE you!

[@coreycarpenter2489]

Well, every 2nd fuel station loves him.

[@wobblysauce]

Now to get them 4cL off tickets

[@cyclopsvision6370]

I didn't get that either, they could care less how big your tank is

[@FunningRast]

No, he’s right. Margins are super slim on fuel for the actual fuel stations. That’s not counting the ones that gouge prices like near airports or when the owner has a monopoly of the area. They make money off people going in and buying snacks and other overpriced goods from the convenience store. So they’d rather have more customers buying small amounts of fuel than less customers buying large volumes of fuel.

[@xmhkillz]

Or people end up going inside and buying trash waiting for the pump

[@chadpendt2863]

i HIGHLY reccomend a rubber or cork washer of some kind to mount the tank to the mounting brackets. also reccomend maybe painting the tank itself. aluminum directly on steel will corrode over time.

[@danielking8862]

Don't weld with no sleeves unless you want skin cancer. The uv from welding is no joke.

[@CamrentheAwesome]

13:45 Gotta love the safety squints 😂

[@Warhorse469]

I'm really proud of you for facing your snorkel the right way 👍

[@AussieArvos]

🤣🤣 thanks!!

[@skorpysk]

TLDR: Fuel Stations don't hate him, the opposite. The Custom fuel tank is alot smaller than it would seem from the thumbnail

[@iitzValente]

Mate what can't you guys do? You have a go at everything, awesome job mate!

[@AussieArvos]

Thanks mate!

[@billwienands7298]

​@@AussieArvosI grew up not far from that servo

[@tee7snow401]

Cheers to jeff wishing you big business for 2024

[@JamaineObah-mt6sk]

Good on ya jeff. Hope you have a busy year mate.

[@jonnewton5929]

Great mod Liam. And very nicely executed. Cheers mate

[@AussieArvos]

Thanks Jon!

[@EnufIsTooMuch]

Very cool to see a DYI welded aluminum fuel tank! Adding a second fuel tank is one of the better ideas for any 4x4. I miss my 1989 Nissan D21 which had a 1000 mile (1610km) driving range (highway) due to a 25 gallon (95L) auxiliary tank and a transfer pump. I'd run it from SE Arizona into central California before the main, original tank ran dry and the engine sputtered. Hit the switch on the transfer pump and in a few seconds I'd be cruising again while the fuel gauge just climbed back up. That was a great feeling. Take that to long 4x4 trips and SAR missions, I'd see other folks emptying fuel cans into their tanks, carrying those cans in all sorts of mounts or strapping them down, taking up space that could be better used.

[@frmtrkr]

good job Liam becoming quite the workshop hand.your accomplishments learning and then doing these projects excellent.all explained where it can be understood by any one.keep up the good work👍

[@RickRolling-tc7vb]

Great to see you keeping it simple, 1980's style. Good job leak testing in the servo forecourt too, they're all set up to handle spills and all that emergency stuff.

[@stevemajor9702]

Should of pressure tested the tank for leaks

[@taurota1554]

awesome and outstanding as always.thanks for sharing and taking us along.

[@masonforster4617]

Hell yeah boys, this was a good episode!

[@AussieArvos]

Thanks Mason!!

[@HammerRocks]

Nice one boys. That Patrol is a long ranger now. 👍

[@user-fh5so6rw4e]

Shweet video love how raw the content can be sometimes

[@cyclemoto8744]

Well done with your TIG initiation. Thanks for the content lads. Cheers

[@jordanmillane9581]

absolutely loving this build

[@task82]

Love the content on Aussie Arvos. Great job guys 👏👏👏

[@stinson87]

I love how you guys build vs stuff here in the USA. I did have to laugh though at adding an aux tank. I carry a 65 gallon (246L) factory replacement tank, as well as a 119 gallon (450L) aux tank. Using the OEM fual transfer system gives me dual gauges in the dash but the ranges are wrong since it only goes up to two 50 gallon tanks. but a RAM 3500 Dually is quite a bit larger than your Ute. Great build!

[@tn8584]

Loved it. Very educational and entertaining. Well done

[@jasonpushy]

love sundays. how can you wheel. when there is a full day of youtube. lol. aussie arvos. tyler and thommy. there is half my day.

[@petergreber7051]

Great job Liam!

[@billmccarthy5920]

Good stuff Liam.

[@bamafencer12]

Watching from the States, this is awesome!!! Keep it up! 🍻

[@Chrisjewell]

Another awesome episode!

[@vvesjel-hp2zg]

Those welds look really good for just learning👍

[@nemyla]

Love the Ep mate!

[@JackosBT]

And here i was going to mount mine to the underside of the tray absolute banger idea

[@TerryBeatson]

Awesome work Liam, little tip I like to use for tig welding both steel and alloy, I like to gently push a bit of filler into the very edge of the weld puddle about once per second when the work piece is up to heat. Doesn't need much, just a little dab every second or so should be plenty!

[@zacjohnson869]

Great effort mate 👍🏼

[@allanteegl4021]

Go Liam like everything you do you do really well done love you bro

[@court7803]

Liam I would change your fuel cap to something standard that you pick from anywhere as well you can put temporary cap on if needed.

[@kurtg7285]

Mate anything is a cap when you need it, e.g. a rag. The world won't end over a fuel cap. Like how many fuel caps do you carry, or lose!?

[@Ballba365]

Over thinking it mate...I wouldn't bother changing it. How often do you lose a fuel cap? And these boys a switched on enough to make a temp cap if needed.

[@radaraacf]

I’d be more concerned about losing the key and not being able to fuel up when it’s important

[@AussieArvos]

I might find a spare brass plug fitting as a backup, honestly it's more likely I lose the key for it than the cap haha

[@court7803]

@@AussieArvoslost keys before both camping and skiing......" It's ok the key has a float......float broke off"

[@eildonweir9693]

love that you just give it a crack, Ali TIG is the hardest to start with, so well done. A steady hand and a Good eye is the key, the rest is practice, practice, practice.

[@jameswebb3000]

There’s always a critic well done you learnt something new

[@AaroKos]

That truck of yours looks badass! and Damn I'm going to have to get a TIG welder too some day 😝

[@einfelder8262]

One thing not mentioned was the room left above the filler neck for expansion. That's why it took a bit less than the calculated volume. Nice result.

[@deepbludude4697]

Dude thats a sweet set up, im about to fab up a tank for an old FJ62 i just found here in Arkansas USA.

[@joseromano]

Really nice truck.

[@alexsteel8167]

Keep these good videos coming 🔥👌🤘

[@desertadventures4221]

Good job!

[@thelighthousekeepers8177]

The boat deck filler is a great idea. The marine stuff is always nice stainless.

[@craiglaing2417]

Mad effort 👌 I’ve done every type of welding except Tig and aluminum is possibly the hardest.

[@kabaottoemulsion1869]

Ummmm Tig Welding looks fun! I was going to actually buy one but I bought Mig by mistake! Now my exhaust has serval holes! Jeff Fab looks great place! For sure I might be using them in the future! One to one RMIT lesson is a gold! I saw Jeff has leant to see weld without helmet as well!!!!

[@GRITTOGRIDF1]

0:06 Yarra Glen Ampol FTW :D

[@user-vs8yj8oy2v]

Mate you should become jeffs apprentice give the bloke a hand.love ya stuff liam&jeff

[@AussieArvos]

Haha thanks mate!

[@andrewphillips8966]

Gum boys gum love your work

[@leonkane8240]

Awesome video. @ one point I thought building my own tank was beyond me so this kind of give me the confidence that I can with out the leaks fires & explosions. What gauge aluminum did you use? What was the dry weight of your tank? My understanding is a custom tank should be engineering certified? Over the last 6 months I have been buying the bits & pieces to build my own tank too. I have some experience welding but have not yet launched into welding Aluminum, but will be doing so soon. A few years ago I bought a new muilti process welder, which I think is a great type of welder to start with for a beginner. It is not my 1st welder though. I am yet to buy the gear for it that will allow me to Tig. Looking forward to that. I don't have the advantage of having a "Jeff" to guide me, so I thought doing my project in ally might be too much of a steep learning curve for where my skills are @ currently. So I chose to do my tank in stainless with mig. I get the weight issue & ideally I would want an ally tank for the weight savings. With mig I will probably be testing the tank for leaks & going back to plugging those leaks & repeating that process before it is hopefully liquid tight. I would probably be inclined to do that with ally too, though I am far from expert on the subject. I will be going to a local radiator repairer to pressure test my tank to give added piece of mind. @ Fabrication you might not have a leak but down the road leaks might form more so with mig & if you are not a total jedi welder, which I am not. I question what Jeff said about steel being up to 3 times more heavier because with steel you can go thinner gauge for the same comparable strength . Of course mass for equal mass stainless steel is heavier but I would of thought not 3 times heavier given the smaller gauge of steel required to achieve the same strength. Bending stainless is harder but I might go to Jeff for that. My tank will be a more complicated shape, hopefully not a famous last statement, so I bought some plastic corflute sheet (you can buy it @ Bunnings though I think it is expensive there) to make a mock up template of the tank which will help in making sure it all fits in nice & I get the maximum capacity I am after from the under tray space. I will also be having a go @ building my own water tank as well soon, But I believe stainless is the best material to store water, it will not oxidize the inside of the tank & there are concerns that aluminum is not molecularly stable to store water safely, that particles of aluminum will leach into water.

[@MntlMajorkozmo]

118 from measurements that gave 120 is pretty good. Remember baffles and pickup gear take up space the fuel could be using.

[@jdm1066]

He didn't top it off either. Probably could have pumped another 1-2 liters in there if he tried.

[@MntlMajorkozmo]

@@jdm1066 where? their measurements gave a 120 litre estimate. they put 118 in. and in my comment i explain that baffles and pickup and whatnot take up space that could be used by fuel. if youre saying to keep going until it fills the filler neck aswell, well, thats asking for trouble. in the form of leaks and sudden releases of pressure causing a fair bit of damage.

[@NeilF4x4Crusading]

Great vid, nice fuel tank. How did you go getting it ADR approved for rego and insurance ?

[@sabrinafrankenfield4966]

Best thing i did when i 5.9 cummins 24 valve swapped my 80 series was removing the factory underbody spare tire mounts and things to fab a 80 gallon fuel tank in its place

[@dwightschrute3862]

Gas stations really hate me lol. On my flatbed it sometimes just won’t fill because of the filler neck angle, and my Pontiac has the filler neck behind the license plate with a locking gas cap. I’m in NJ where we can’t legally fill our cars on our own, but the attendants know me and let me do it myself

[@-werksmith2078]

Mounting that side to side I'm really wondering about how frame flexing is going to affect the brackets, will they crack? The tank is really well done though!

[@EngjellSeferi]

My father had a passat b4 that had a 100 liters fuel tank in it from factory and we did 1600-1900 km in one tank

[@emu4wdadventures631]

Nice job. But don’t you need your have the tank certified? mine was and a yearly rego check picked it up. Steve 🇦🇺

[@AussieArvos]

As far as I'm aware they don't, at least in Victoria anyway. I had a search around online but couldn't find anything stated if needed to be engineered

[@RK-dl8iw]

You planning on doing any lighting work on the rig??

[@Photonic64]

American here. -- 160Kilos for converted for my 58 gallons. Good build you'll enjoy it until you HAVE to fill it up.

[@dubious6718]

With a big tank you fill at the truck pump. Its faster for you and people don't have to wait for you.

[@darcykeddell4930]

I always filled my diesel patrol with the high flow truck pump

[@jamesmacfadyen4617]

Where the heck is that servo where diesel is cheaper than petrol!?! And at that price!!!! Very clean tank!

[@Don69420]

You can't expect to get it right on your first try, unless you're me

[@uberorange2116]

honestly, mate, you need to give that GQ a pair of exhaust stacks running up the back of the cab

[@RoscoAdams-xt5lp]

👍🏻👍🏻 Liam Tig Weld Like A Boss 💪🏻 Aussie On 🇦🇺

[@jbrodie2341]

What happened to the ocam mirrors you had? I’ve been thinking of getting them for my Pajero

[@AussieArvos]

Haven't put them back on as I don't want to drill two more holes to mount them, hoping to maybe modify them before putting them back on as the vision was great!

[@jbrodie2341]

@@AussieArvos ok, thanks for letting me know!

[@fatmanoverlanding]

Good work. TIG welding is difficult. Does your TD42 have a second fuel gauge for the auxiliary tank? Are you using the donor car's instrument cluster?

[@AussieArvos]

The car has one fuel gauge that switches which sender it reads from when I switch between tanks

[@fatmanoverlanding]

@@AussieArvos Nice.

[@infrareddoesstuff8819]

hope the UV burns werent too bad on your arms.

[@lukeclarke1068]

207 plus the option of a Jerry you should be able to get just about anywhere.

[@gilsondia]

Plastic tank perfoms better as it is lighter and in plastic has a nice property in case of colision, it can stretch more, this is why car makes use that material even for high end cars, metal tank has some good chemical resistance, but cars must be safe too.

[@Questionabledecisionmaking]

I feel ya pain my 2 tanks are 195L combined it hurts to feel both

[@MicahBell_1860]

Time to go busking for fuel money

[@VaughanMunro-js4nr]

Great Video. Learning a new skill from a professional. Improving the Ute fuel range as well.

[@davetunbridge6637]

Do you still have your lithium Battery under the tray on its side? I just watched a video from Tim Bates 4WD adventures and he had an issue with his battery failing because it was on its side. Worth looking into.

[@AussieArvos]

Hey mate, I did see this video. I think his issues arise from his battery being in an unventilated space, causing the BMS to cut out during to increased battery temperature. My battery seems to be fine on its side 👍

[@davetunbridge6637]

@@AussieArvosgood to hear, just thought I’d share this in case you had a similar issue.

[@Wiseman2234]

A mate Just got defected for a Brown and Davis long Range tank on his cruiser in NSW. Needs it to be engineered... Just heads up!

[@cyclemoto8744]

WTF. The mind boggles, bunch of muppets . Cheers

[@AussieArvos]

I had a look online and couldn't find anything regarding it in VIC, I'll have a bit more a look though thanks mate

[@timothyschulz4730]

You work out the capacity it holds?

[@mikezog1030]

If you weld steel to aluminium, doesn't that create a galvanic effect and cause rust to happen quicker?

[@Osama_Amer]

Is static electricity dangerous to the body of the tank, how do you ground it

[@darrengray2309]

Am i mistaken but does an aftermarket fuel tank have to have some sort of engineering or have to be ADR Approved?

[@frmtrkr]

no the guy that built it is proficient in his trade and that is all that is needed

[@jamieh4x4]

I would have kept trickling it in just so I could call it 120L :)

[@AdmissionGaming]

Jef is worth his weight in gold.

[@SwampySi]

sweet

[@allisterdavidson9805]

mint mint mint

[@coreycarpenter2489]

Should change the title to every 2nd fuel station loves you. Or every 2nd station hates you. Great video.

[@dw7094]

Most folks would just purchase a "cerified" auxiliary fuel tank.

[@JFTM_]

Full toorah spec now

[@ramon_nz]

Honestly question, why everyone that built a second tank don't use an inlet fill using truck sizes? so you can use a truck pump with higher flow, allowing the job be performed way fast....

[@davidhammant2562]

Servo wouldn't hate you. You fuel bill would be bigger.. Spending more to fill the bigger tank

[@internetfred2726]

old keep it reet factory?

[@caljeff2427]

where the foot pedal at?

[@MegaWilderness]

It does matter. If you return to the holed tank

[@fjc_adventures4359]

On an expensive day my FJ cruiser costs over $300 to fill. I hate servos!

[@killahjeep]

31 spare gallons at roughly 221lbs or just over 100 kilo... betting you can feel when that tank is full... I am looking to get the extended range tank for my US Tacoma. 32 gallons vs the factory 21 gallon tank. means less jerry cans to carry in the bed.

[@marcuslinton310]

His vehicle will notice and use more fuel while carrying all that excess.

[@andrewt3952]

Cheap fuel there. I’m paying 95c/lt more up here!👍🍻🎯🇦🇺

[@teamtetris1]

I would imagine plastic or aluminium would be ideal soley coz of rust

[@MR-hu1bx]

Why would fuel stations hate you? Haha wouldn’t they love the extra business?

[@grahameroberts8109]

You wrote ALUMINUM!! 😱🙈

[@LifeInJambles]

I think you've got your eyes closed, but at first it looked like you had a high-end set of safety-squints on @13:45.

[@jackrockholt2823]

got to put out more videos to afford that bill once or twice a month