My Dad's looking for an additional tank for his '06 F-250 King Ranch.

He's looking for an under the bed tank that will link with his current one and is hoping to make it so that the computer will read miles till empty and recognize the additional volume.

Any ideas? Any options you guys have seen? Will the dealer be able to make the changes necessary to account for the new tank?

He commutes 70 miles each way and works on the Arizona Mexico border where he can get diesel in Mexico for $2.15 a gallon. As a separate issue, does anyone know if there's any problems with the diesel over there? He's adding a Ford diesel additive, don't know which one.

Thank you in advanced.

 

Transfer Flow fuel tanks is the best place to get something like that.




There is a rear tank that can be installed where the rear tire goes. You do however lose the storage of the spare so it would be carried in the bed. There is also no way to make the overhead computer recognize the added capacity. You'd have to write new software for it. The closest thing you can get to that is the Trax UFS. We have one in one of our F550s. It has a 15-20gal midship tank and the main 60 gal tank in the back. It displays how many gallons are in each tank and how many total gallons. It does not compute mileage to empty or fuel economy like the trip computer does.





Well on average Mexican fuel tends to be really sh!itty since it tends to sit in the tanks for long periods of time so it goes stale and gets water ingress. The tanks themselves are also not always the best condition so rust scale can be an issue if they've deteriorated a long ways. You can find the same issues here in the US with small out of the way stations too, but its much more wide spread along the border from what I've seen when I was working down there. There are also going to be other legal issues with doing what he's doing. Its bottom line tax evasion. He is buying fuel elsewhere to avoid paying federal road taxes. Its the same thing as running home made bio diesel, which the fed has started to crack down on. The Mexican diesel is also probably high sulphur diesel, which even though its better for the engine, is also not available in the US except for very isolated areas. If his tanks were dipped and he gets caught with high sulphur diesel he'll get asked where he got it. If he says Mexico he might have to write a check for the taxes on it since he is now running it on US roads.

 

Thank you!

 

I also live close to the Mexican Border and have been filling up my F250 there. I installed a custom made 53 gallon auxilary tank which taps into my existing fuel tank. Customs agents don't give you a problem as long as it is directly connected to your system.

 

Provided he is not stock pileing it away and/or selling or distributing it I don't see how they can legally have an issue with it, considering he would have reciepts and has bought it legally. The sulfer content couldn't be that far off to alert or alarm fed's that it would be "farm fuel".

As far as the water and rust content, make sure your draining and changing your filters regularly and you should be fine. I don't imagine diesel goes stale in Mexico, when I am there, I see more diesels then gasser's.

 

All very good info...thanks!

 

That may have been true in the past and may still be the case, but it may be worthwhile to keep an eye on that. It used to be that the fed didn't care about guys running homemade bio diesel, but with the high prices alot of people are starting to do this. The fed started to realize that the people bypassing the taxes and are starting to crack down on it. It would not be much of a stretch for them to extend it on to fuel brought across the border.

 

There are Truck stops, name branded Truck stops right here in the good ol USA that sell Regular Diesel. As in Not LSD. If you go to the truck stop web side they still give you the priceing for both. So burning "Hi" Sulfer Diesel is not going to get you in trouble.
As for the Tax evasion part, Well if you fill in AZ before going to Cali you are not pay Cali their fare share of taxes. There is no law against that. As long as you are not bringing the fuel back to sell then there would be no problem.
Years ago and i mean like 20, my Dad had a little Toyota Diesel and he drove back and forth 60 mile along the US Mex boarder. He had to put extra Filters on but probably ran 50K miles a year with no problem. Not sure if with the new trucks and filters you would have to add a filter or not.

 

Just burning HSD (typically dyed off-road diesel) or LSD won't get you in trouble, but if you are in an area where no stations carry it will throw up a flag. The stations that do carry regular LSD are very few and far between. They will also not be able to carry it in the next year or two because of the new emissions regulations.



I guess you missed the part about the FEDERAL taxes. State to state doesn't mean crap since its federal road taxes that come into play in fuel. And like I've said 20 times already. Right now its not technically illegal, but its something thats coming on the horizon. Just because its been fine for years doesn't mean its going to stay that way. When was the last time that we had $5/gal fuel?

 

Ok so I can lead you to 60 truck stops where you can buy LSD instead to of the ULSD that is becoming the new emisions stuff. Even in Mexico they sell LSD. So your saying that if I buy fuel at the Flying J Anywhere but Cali and Wash state, which are the only 2 states that don't carry LSD and drive into one of these states that I will get in trouble. Next your going to say that we all are going to have to pay the $12 to buy a IFTA sticker and start doing monthly Fuel Tax reports.

 

I can assure you that if you get caught with HS fuel(red) in your tanks by the DOT.....You will get your ***** nailed to the wall. They dont take too lightly to that and I have heard rumors of tickets in excess of $10K

 

This thread was about Mexican fuel. It is not "Red". They don't Dye their fuel. In the US we have 2 types of Diesel Fuel for Vehicle use. Low Sulfur and Ultra Low Sulfur. The Mexican Fuel would be Low Sulfur. Which you can still buy here but any Diesel made after 2007 is supposed to use Ultra Low Sulfur Fuel. "Red" fuel is for Off Road use only, Tractors and Generators and that sort of stuff. And Yes you will get in trouble if you get caught using Red Fuel on the Road. Unless you have really good damn reason. Like Terrorist are chasing you and it was the only crap around. Then you will only get a ticket instead of getting arrested.