I think I have found a solution for adding an auxiliary gas tank to my Commander. There is a business that is dedicated to performing this modification. I have purchased two auxiliary tanks in the past for different motor homes. I went by and talked to the owner this morning. When I first asked he said that he would not do it because there were several reasons not to do it on a late model gas vehicle. After he realized that I had bought two tank installations from him and we talked for awhile he came around and said he would do it just for me. I also got him to agree to put together complete kits that he would ship out of California. I talked with Ross about "Get Lost 4x4" becoming the dealer for these kits.
Now some of the details and resolved problems. The first reason he said that he did not want to install the second tank is because of an interesting fact about newer vehicles. He told me that the Commander has a small air compressor that is controlled by the computer that compares the fuel level from the sensors to the pressure reading from the compressor that puts air in the tank. The computer compares the pressure to the amount of fuel in the tank. This is why we get the engine code if the fuel tank cap is not sealed. He said that this code does not hurt anything and can be erased by removing the ground cable from the battery. Even better he said that if I get the code he will install ball valves in the filler lines to eliminate the code. The details of the setup include a 20 to 25 gallon tank in the spare tire location, a skid plate under the gas tank, using the same filler for both tanks by installing a "Y" connector, installing a second fuel gauge, and a switch up front.
The way the system will work is to allow filling from a common filler, the back tank will have a sending unit for the second gauge and a pump controlled by the front switch to recirculate the fuel from the rear tank to the front tank. A second line between the two tank will allow the fuel to circulate back to the rear tank if the front tank is full to eliminate any possibility of pumping gas out of an overful tank. Each gauge would show the level of fuel in each tank. The combined fuel capacity would probably be between 37 and 42 gallons. He also agreed to let me take pictures of the install and all parts to post on the Forum. This fellow has several Cherokee's that are set up for off road use.
Sorry for the long post.
I now need to get my tire relocated out of the spare area and mounted on a tire carrier and give him a couple of days to install it.
Now some of the details and resolved problems. The first reason he said that he did not want to install the second tank is because of an interesting fact about newer vehicles. He told me that the Commander has a small air compressor that is controlled by the computer that compares the fuel level from the sensors to the pressure reading from the compressor that puts air in the tank. The computer compares the pressure to the amount of fuel in the tank. This is why we get the engine code if the fuel tank cap is not sealed. He said that this code does not hurt anything and can be erased by removing the ground cable from the battery. Even better he said that if I get the code he will install ball valves in the filler lines to eliminate the code. The details of the setup include a 20 to 25 gallon tank in the spare tire location, a skid plate under the gas tank, using the same filler for both tanks by installing a "Y" connector, installing a second fuel gauge, and a switch up front.
The way the system will work is to allow filling from a common filler, the back tank will have a sending unit for the second gauge and a pump controlled by the front switch to recirculate the fuel from the rear tank to the front tank. A second line between the two tank will allow the fuel to circulate back to the rear tank if the front tank is full to eliminate any possibility of pumping gas out of an overful tank. Each gauge would show the level of fuel in each tank. The combined fuel capacity would probably be between 37 and 42 gallons. He also agreed to let me take pictures of the install and all parts to post on the Forum. This fellow has several Cherokee's that are set up for off road use.
Sorry for the long post.
I now need to get my tire relocated out of the spare area and mounted on a tire carrier and give him a couple of days to install it.
