Purpose of dual fuel tanks in trucks??

[Cait Sith Cat]

I have my own theories on why they have two tanks, but I want to see your opinions on the matter. Why not one 34 gallon tank instead of two
~17 gallon tanks?

[Evil Result]

i would say packaging, because a 34 gal tank is quite a large container to be taking up one space....as for weight distribution, i don't see it as having that much of a factor on how the vehical reacts because most dual tankers are usually very large and heavy., although 2 tanks does reduce a larger mass from moving around and throwing its weight around... and if diesel fuel is involved perhaps to help reduce foaming.

ahh need sleep

[curtis73]

I think the major reason is packaging, followed shortly by economics. It probably saves the manufacturer some money if they don't have to completely redesign a fuel tank, pickup, and fuel sender unit. They can just add a tank to an existing truck.

They do this a lot. GM and Toyota are notorious for it. My wife has a Tercel and all of the wiring is there for every option even though she has a pretty stripped down version. Hers came without a stereo, but it was fully wired for the stereo including speaker wires. I think its cheaper to do it that way (and more foolproof) than redesign wiring harnesses for all option combos.

[Cait Sith Cat]

Thank for the input.

My theories were:
-One big tank is harder to deal with.
-If one sprung a leak, you wouldn't lose all your gas.

But, when I look back on it, it probably is for universal packaging.

[-Jayson-]

they just like adding that nifty extra switch

[Evil Result]

yea... that switch helps distract me from th boredom of work