Earning Their Keep
With more than 30 years of experience, Transfer Flow has earned its reputation as one of the country’s premier aftermarket fuel tank manufacturers. The company was founded in 1983 by former GM engineer Bill Gaines and continues to excel at delivering the best fuel systems possible. “With larger tanks you can just bypass fuel,” Johnson says. “If you’re an RVer, it just gets you to your destination without having to stop to fill up so much. We do a lot with the RV market and that’s why they buy our tanks, so they can stay on the road longer.”
Transfer Flow’s tanks are popular for a couple of reasons. For starters, they’re engineered in such a way that they occupy roughly the same space as the OEM tank while offering massively upgraded fuel capacity. Depending on the model of truck, you’ll get anywhere from 50 to 60 gallons of total fuel capacity, and the tank will only extend 4 1/2 to 6 inches below the lowest part of the frame rail. That’s good news for anybody who uses their truck to do work. Gruis just installed a pair of tanks on a 2011 Ford 6.7L and a 2017 F250 and says, “We deal with a lot of farmers and stuff, and that’s the same reason I won’t sell sumps for fuel tanks. You don’t want something hanging down low and getting caught on stuff. These didn’t look like they were going to have that problem.” Indeed, the tanks are designed to sit above the differential and don’t require a skid plate.
So how do they get the tanks to fit so well yet offer so much capacity? Good old-fashioned engineering. Johnson says, “We take advantage of all the space underneath the vehicle, all the little nooks and crannies that are there. The OEM plastic tank has to mold around the components, whereas ours are welded, so you’re able to get more area and maybe make a square notch around something where the OEM will have some curvature. We can go a little bit wider and longer on the tank and just take up more space available underneath.”