We've been towing our enclosed trailer with a 6.0, 2015 Express 3500, and enjoy it.
With a tank that's somewhere around 28/30 gallons, and getting around 9mpg, it doesn't take long to drain the tank.
Titan fuel tanks doesn't make anything for the Express', and I've not been able to find anything that's currently made that would replace the tank and is larger. Carrying fuel inside the van is a no-go...
Trying to keep it as simple and reliable as possible - any ideas like that?
If you could find and fit one, ford excursion tanks are 44 gallon.
not a lot of extra room under there , for people that do not know the fuel tank is on the drivers side between the lower rocker and driveshaft ,
is your van the longer extended model ?
Swing away rack at the back end with jerry cans?
Do you want to go further without stopping, or do you want to go further between gas station stops? The difference is if you have to stop to transfer fuel.
We put a pickup bed aux fuel tank in the front of a trailer once to have extra fuel available at a racetrack. Not sure how legal that is from a hazardous cargo standpoint, but it was really convenient. We could have used it to fuel the tow vehicle as well.
25 gallons, 9 mpg and 75 mph cruising means you can drive for 3 hours without a stop. How much of a problem is a 15 minute stop every 3 hours? It's actually good for the driver.
One wild guess is some of these stations are a pain to pull a rig like that in and out of.
I've got the same van (but 2003) and tow a travel trailer. More fuel would be a god send. Watching this thread!
slight change of topic: Love your front air dam! Might have to consider doing that. What is the green thing on the rear of the van? More aero?
just looked it up , Express vans come in 135 inch and 155 inch wheelbases
and internet says 31 gallon tank ,
So if you had the long wheelbase van it sounds like there should be extra room to but a larger tank in the stock space .
Keith Tanner said:25 gallons, 9 mpg and 75 mph cruising means you can drive for 3 hours without a stop. How much of a problem is a 15 minute stop every 3 hours? It's actually good for the driver.
They're regular OneLappers, and a number of their tows are 15+hours. So, any reduction in stops is usually in their favor... and not that big a deal.
related question:
are there lower final drive options for the Express? Are they even a good idea?
Cadman5 said:slight change of topic: Love your front air dam! Might have to consider doing that. What is the green thing on the rear of the van? More aero?
pool noodles. another Express owner had reported benefit to using them. I said "sure" maybe it's true. But, they ended up costing costing an extra 1-0.5mpg, iirc.
one of these days "we'll" get some extra aero reduction around the rear wheels and beween the van and the trailer.
here is the owners manual for my express van ,
it shows that the only factory large fuel tank is from a cab only (box) van and then its 50 gallons ,
I have no idea if that will fit under the van body !
What's on the other side between the rocker and the driveshaft? The exhaust?
In reply to californiamilleghia :
yes - it's the long wheelbase. lots of room in different areas
In reply to Keith Tanner :
yes to both. stopping is time consuming, and the current mileage limits our choice of stations (we've made some pretty heroic tight spaces work).
we are typically traveling at 65/70 (mileage really takes a nosedive above 70 unless drafting), and thanks to the OLOA and our other long distance travels, we're used to going longer... and ALL of this assumes we get 9mpg. We easily get less through hills and traffic areas.
In reply to californiamilleghia :
I've read reports that it's possible to shoehorn a 50/55 gallon tank where the spare usually sits at the back, but it's far from a drop in - basically turns out to be an aux tank with a pump that transfers the fuel into the primary tank.
What about adding aero to the front of the trailer? Could be removable individual pieces so you don't lose rear door function?
Not to totally derail this, but I thought for OLOA you had to actually drive the car you are racing - how does a tow vehicle come into play?
On topic, couldn't you have some mounting brackets welded to an off the shelf aftermarket aluminum tank to fit up under the van? Not exactly plug and play, but I have to imagine pretty simple light fab work.
ProDarwin said:Not to totally derail this, but I thought for OLOA you had to actually drive the car you are racing - how does a tow vehicle come into play?
Scott and Becky have done OneLap 5 times, iirc. Three times in an '02 Miata that slowly morphed into a k-swapped GLTC car. A few years ago, it crossed the line from street-race car into "full race", and then started being towed by the van/trailer. Since then they've done OneLap twice in Becky's Mooncake while representing GridLife and SundaeCup.
they tend to do OneLap, plus 5-6 GridLife events each year. so, I think part of the motivation here is to tweak the setup "on the cheap" / GRM-style... if possible. that way there's more time/money to invest in other stuff.
some pics of the miata from last year:
I know it does not fit the original design specs. But I remember Brock Yates doing the Cannonball with multiple 55 gallon barrels behind the driver. Totally insane, but we were back then. So, when I read the original post, first thing that came to my mind... 
SBFilters makes a 68gal tank for Silverado. Would that be adaptable to the Express? $1,350 plus tax, shipping, etc is a little steep, but double fuel capacity.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
We will be going down that road for sure, but we don't think that, through aero alone, we'll net the per-tank mileage we'd like.
In reply to 90BuickCentury :
Got excited... but nothing for the Express.
I imagine you're not going to find an off the shelf tank upgrade for a gasser just because of the EPA approval process, especially now. I'd be looking at universal cells or motorhome tanks and a small transfer pump or something.
I think/know that people used to put the cab chassis tank in the regular E-350's to add capacity, perhaps you could relocate the spare tire and achieve something similar with the tank out of an express cab chassis
From what I could see your best option will likely be the 50 gallon tank from the dmax vans and relocating the spare. It's not cheap nor easy but looks to be about the best option for more than 30 gallons of fuel.
towing with the Sierra, open trailer at 15mpg I'm used to stopping at 275-ish to leave a little leeway in case the station I'm heading to isn't open or out of gas etc
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