Thread: Stainless water tank for ute

Hi Folks, I'm considering making up a stainless steel water tank for the 4wd (hilux dual cab). Wanted to fit an electric pump. Not sure whether to fit underneath or at the front of the tub moulded over the wheel arches. I was wondering if anyone here had made one up or had any tips, designs, things to avoid, etc.. Thanks - Mick

hi mick,mine wasnt a water tank but a long range fuel tank(more a transfer tank)fitted to my 2000 model hilux dual cab4bie.125 litre deisel.works fine between the wheel arches in the back of the tub but make the wall thickness of the rear facing side thick enough to withstand rough and tumble of stuff in the back and also to withstand impact of load moving forward under brakes or serious downhill inclines.i found the cargo hitching points on either side above wheel tubsvery sturdy when using a heavy ratchet strap to hold tank in place.regards danny

How much water do you want to carry? You could do a reasonable sized one to fit under the tub, between the chassis rails, and it would take up any tub room. For the electric pump, have a look at Caravan/Boat stuff (Camec for example - pumps start on Pg.102 of the on-line catalogue). The good ones will be made for adverse conditions that Caravans and Marine vessels endure. And you can get them to either run with an external switch, or as a fully automatic pump.

Hey Mick,
Last time I was at Camec that Yonnee suggests, there was a very reasonable selection of sizes/shapes poly water tanks at good prices. Almost not worth making your own unless you have some spare stainless lying around???

My only suggestion is that you put big enough inspection hatch in the thing to give it a scrub inside occasionally.

Shannon.

Originally Posted by danielhobby

...works fine between the wheel arches in the back of the tub but make the wall thickness of the rear facing side thick enough to withstand rough and tumble of stuff...

Good tip Danny, seems obvious once someone brings it up! Got any details on your tank? strengthening ribs, baffles? How did you sort out your filler? My ute is 2005+ model but they haven't changed too much over the years.

Originally Posted by Yonnee

How much water do you want to carry? You could do a reasonable sized one to fit under the tub, between the chassis rails...

Hi Yonnee - I want 60L minimum. It'd certainly be neater underneath, but there's surprisingly little room unless I put the underslung spare wheel somewhere else, or move the exhaust etc. I think it's going to end up in the tub unfortunately. Thanks for the tip on camec.

Originally Posted by fatboycrash

Almost not worth making your own unless you have some spare stainless lying around??? My only suggestion is that you put big enough inspection hatch in the thing to give it a scrub inside occasionally. Shannon.

Yeah - I was hoping for a nice moulded plastic version initially, but haven't been able to find one that fits over the wheel arches nicely. I don't want it to take up much length out of the tub, so I was thinking something reasonably thin, but tall and full width. Anyone got one like this?? I'm always up for a a welding project but I reckon it'll be expensive if I end up making one.

thanks guys

- Mick

I recall a conversation somewhere (with a dealer in tools )about the pitfalls of stainless steel sheet for those huge mobile toolboxes.We won't say name brands but lets say its an Aussie company that has a huge range of hand tools ,some of which were crome.

The 304 grade used does'nt like the flexing involved - big weight,open/close and moving around-its cracks - lotsa unhappy campers who have paid $2000 for a giant size big shiny box with cracks in the panels.

Getting back to your water tank in the 4wd,its going to flex for shure. A design that incorporates a motor mount like insertion would be advised.Baffles are good idea to minimise flexing from water movement.

You not said if you are doing this yourself or getting it built.
From a cracking minimising point of view a round drum type tank is better design between the wheel arches.

If you have never welded stainless and going to do it yourself,be careful as lots of tacks and a correct technique to avoid welding induced distortion is required.

Is the water potable or not. How much water are we talking about?If for consumption 2mm Thick 316 may be best .
What sort of welder? Mig ,stick, tig.Different welders - different techniques and set ups.

Grahame

Hi Grahame, yeah definitely don't want cracks! It's for potable water, at lest 60 litres. I'd get any sheet bending done at the local shop, but would weld joins myself. I've got a 200amp ac/dc tig which I'm reasonably confident with now. I've run a few short welds on 304 scrap before, but never the lengths I'm considering here. I'll try and draw a plan up - it would be good to get comments on how doable you'd reckon it is. Not a bad idea with mounting - I'll have a think about that. Cheers - Mick

my tank being for diesel i didnt need s/s so used1.6 mm mild steel for top,sides and front and 2.5 mm on rear face.it has 4 north/south baffles which eliminate slop to unoticeable levels.it is as high as the top of the tub and i use an 8psi fuel pump to transfer to my hilux tank or to someone else thru a 1.5 metre hose.i cut the filler cap out of a 44 gallon drum and welded it into the top of my tank at one end,that way i can replace the seal if it decays or gets lost with an easily sourced replacement,it doesant leak when on a tough track,i then drilled and tapped for a car valve stem in the cap itself so as to be able to pressure test my welds and also to allow air into the tank when decanting by pushing down on the valve stem rather than unscrewing the drum cap.Itworks great! regards danny.

Danny, sounds ideal! Good idea with pressure testing.
Grahame - Here's a drawing of what I reckon my tank would look like. I'd probably make it so that front, top and back were made of one piece with the longest edges folded, and then weld in the rest. I'm assuming S/S can be folded OK. Cheers - Mick

See, for me, 60 lts isn't that big... 400mm cubed is a 64lt container. Maybe something like an undertray water tank, mounted the other way round in the space behind a wheel arch?? Gough Plastics - Tanks, Troughs, Tuff-A-Box, Plastic Fabrication and more

And something that small isn't going to flex that much.

Originally Posted by Yonnee

See, for me, 60 lts isn't that big... 400mm cubed is a 64lt container. Maybe something like an undertray water tank, mounted the other way round in the space behind a wheel arch?? Gough Plastics - Tanks, Troughs, Tuff-A-Box, Plastic Fabrication and more

And something that small isn't going to flex that much.

Hi Yonnee, you're right it's not that big. I just went and had another dig around under the car... there's a bit of space as you describe but not big enough for any of the normal wheel arch type tanks that you can get for tray backs. But I noticed that there is a reasonable, thin flat rectangular space above above the spare wheel that I might be able to capitalise on. I'm going to have to spend some quality time under there to see what I could fit. Thanks for the link - I've come across this before, but what I didn't notice before is that they also do custom plastic tanks - which I'll explore a bit. Cheers - Mick