38 Gal tank experiences....

well i have evidence from the mother in laws van. she burned up the fuel pump in her 07 sienna by always running it with the light on until it was about to die. after 300k miles it finally quit. when i removed it i bench tested it and just got some little sputters of sparks. we put a used pump in it for cheap and she quit her bad habit and never had a problem again. they basically will never go out if you keep some fuel in them. even just getting gas as soon as the light comes on you will probably be fine.

 

LMAO....I would be happy with any part that lasted "300k" Even if I had pampered it.

Back in the day I ran a Ford with the dual tanks and I always ran the first tank down until I heard pump cavitation, when I donated the old f250 to my sister in law at 325k it was still working and did so until she totaled the old work horse.

I don't think these pumps are really that delicate.....JMO.

 

They aren’t nearly as fragile as they used to be. If you ride motorcycles, you pretty much always end up riding until the light is on.
going on a trip and going until the light is on then refueling is fine. The issue comes when you have people who always have the tank nearly empty. Light will come on, they will put in 4 gallons and drive on. Not as much of a problem with these trucks…you won’t get far
Does it help anything running them low? Nope. Does it mean it’s gonna die a quick death because you do? Probably not.

 

The most I've got in my 38 gallon tank is 30.4 gallons. Talking to about it to a tech I was told that is by design. We really only have 30 gallons that we 'should' use. The 8 gallons excess is to keep the fuel pump submerged so it does not get to hot. The gas tank is very long so it takes about 8 gallons to keep the pump under.
I've read a good bit of this thread but not all. Apologies if this was already pointed out. Hope this helps.

 

I have always gotten, according to the dash, on full fill up 420 miles to a full tank. Obviously, I know those things fluctuate. But had my battery die this week at 88k miles and upon first fill up (doubt it had anything to do with it) I notice the dash was showing a whopping 500+. This was after I drove for probably 20 miles or so. What in the world??!! What’s broke now?

 

Just posted about this. I have had this truck since December of 2020. 88k miles. A full tank has always registered 420 miles and no more. Now all of a sudden 588+. I wonder why?

 

Haha, the truck was brand new to me around when I had posted that and I thought that number was real but I came to find out that it has to do with the battery being disconnected which I have done a couple times. I see your post you mentioned your battery dying. Give it a couple days of driving or a couple fill ups and it will recalibrate to give you a more accurate reading. I was excited when I first saw that.
Sadly that number is a lie

 

If only I had a dollar for every time this statement was said during this 28 page thread...

 

Wouldn't it be glorious if the 38 gal gave us 646 between fill ups on the highway...

 

I love the 38 gallon tank because I tow a 31’ travel trailer and that means fewer fuel stops. My dad, god rest his soul, was an excellent shade tree mechanic and taught me to keep the tank at least 1/4 full. He was also a Marine Corps master Sargent so the lessons did not stop there. But I have always adhered to that for a host of reasons and I’ve found it to be sound advice.

 

I've driven past the gas light and 0 range and can barely get over 30 gallons in it. They left like a 20% reserve for clueless people I guess.

 

You guys with the 38 gal tanks have it made.My 2020 has the dang 26 gal tank and after a fill up shows 290 miles to empty .....SON

 

I drove about 15 miles past where the truck was showing 0 miles ended up getting 32.38 gallons for the fill up

I don't usually push like that, I'm a fill the tank around the 1/4 mark kinda guy, but the kids and wife were sleeping after the long drive home, so I sent it

 

I know it's a pain but if you read the whole thread there is some good learnings from years back.

Is it really 38 gallons? A member ran his truck out of gas on purpose to confirm it's a 38 gallon tank.

My DTE results are different than yours. The distance to empty cannot be trusted. It's not a dynamic calculation - ignore this. It runs a calc at fuel up only and never changes it.

The Fuel light is reliable. Trust only the fuel low warning light. When it comes on you have 6-7 gallons left, always. Figure out your range remaining when the light comes on based on what you're doing - highway driving, towing, city, etc. You'll be good to go.

 

This is exactly what I came here hoping to find, and it got posted right before I got here!!


You’re the man.

 

I have the 38 gallon tank but only fill it all the way on road trips. I work from home and my truck sits for days at a time frequently, so with ethanol gas that degrades faster than pure gas a full tank would be nearly toxic before I got all the way through it in my normal driving.

 

Love the 38
But, it can cost me 160-180 to fill sometimes(clear non ethanol 91-92 fuel)
I pass cost to my customer as best I can

 

Well, for what it's worth, the 26 is pretty much 26 in my experience. I've run it down to putting 24 back into it. That's too close for me. Especially having maybe 26 miles of fuel left. Anyway, my .02.

 

I bought my 2021 TRD PRO in Michigan and drove it back to Maryland on September 10th. The range got down to 6 miles but the low fuel warning light never came on. When I filled the tank, it only took 30 gallons. Why didn’t my fuel light illuminate?

 

The tank has a pretty big reserve that allows you to drive it past empty. You'll see several people above reporting driving 15+ miles past "enough". I'm pretty sure the light turns on when your at zero but I've never gotten mine that low. I avoid getting mine lower than 1/4 tank.

Congrats btw

 

See post #824 on this page.

 

Crawl under the truck and take a peek at how long your tank is....

The lie-o-meter will show '0 miles to go' when there is still 8 gallons remaining in the tank (which is the tank's reserve). The reason why so much of your capacity is considered 'reserve' is due to the long shallow nature of the tank, as it would be possible for part of the tank to be 'empty' if you were on a steep enough incline...

So, in other words, your experience is completely normal, and if you were to continue operating on level ground you'd probably be able to drive another 5 gallons worth prior to the light coming on

 

Yep yep

 

So what I'm actually considering doing is getting a couple gas cans, filling them up, filling up my beloved Tundra and seeing exactly how far she'll go on 26 gallons. Should be over 300 miles.
MMMV.....