The hold-down straps can be bowsed
tight by cutting them in half at a conven-
ient, accessible flat section of the tank and
bending over right-angle tongues at each
half’s end (Figure 5-2). Connect the two
halves with a^5 / 16 - inch (8 mm) diameter
stainless bolt, through holes drilled in the
tongues, and tighten the bolt down as a
turnbuckle. Lock with a second lock nut.
Adding a lock washer as well is a good
extra precaution.
In addition to the straps, you should in-
stall substantial cleats fore and aft, at the bot-
tom of the tank, so it can’t slide.Cushion Your Tank
To prevent chafe, tanks must never rest
directly on the chocks or against hold-downPART TWO: FUEL SYSTEMS
Figure 5-2. Tank
hold-downs
TABLE 5-1. APPROXIMATE FULL-TANK
WEIGHTS—POUNDS (INCLUDING THE
TANK ITSELF)
U.S. Gallons Diesel Gasoline Water
20 156 135 180
40 315 272 362
60 470 405 541
80 621 535 716
100 797 690 916
120 953 825 1,096
150 1,183 1,022 1,361
200 1,575 1,361 1,813
250 1,956 1,688 2,253
300 2,335 2,014 2,692
350 2,778 2,403 3,194
400 3,279 2,851 3,755
450 3,671 3,189 4,206
500 4,143 3,608 4,738
600 5,024 4,382 5,738
700 6,017 5,268 6,850
800 6,826 5,970 7,778APPROXIMATE FULL-TANK WEIGHTS—
KILOGRAMS (INCLUDING THE TANK
ITSELF)
Liters Diesel Gasoline Water
76 71 61 82
151 143 123 164
227 213 184 245
303 282 243 325
379 362 313 416
454 432 374 497
568 537 464 618
757 715 618 823
946 887 766 1,022
1,136 1,059 914 1,221
1,325 1,260 1,090 1,449
1,514 1,488 1,294 1,704
1,703 1,666 1,447 1,908
1,893 1,880 1,637 2,150
2,271 2,279 1,988 2,603
2,650 2,730 2,390 3,108
3,028 3,097 2,709 3,529straps anywhere; rather, they should be
cushioned by some soft material. Tarred felt
was the old standby; it is no longer accept-
able. Hard Neoprene,^3 / 16 to^1 / 4 inch thick
(4.5 to 6.5 mm), is the proper modern stuff
(Figure 5-3). Moisture can collect under the
Neoprene padding and cause corrosion.