For us the MAN HX60 ticks most of the boxes. A big flaw though is the relatively small fuel tank. Only 300 liters is not much for a truck that does around 30 liters / 100 km, on the highway that is.
When we picked-up Monster at the premises of Overland.travel in December 2021, we saw an HX60 with a shiny new fuel tank. When I asked Kevin about it, he said that he had about a dozen of these tanks tailor made, to fit at the same spot as the original fuel tank.
We decided that we needed that tank, and made an appointment in February 2022 for the installation.
The tank fits like a glove next to the storage box and the exhaust. It has a capacity of 480 liters, so the ‘win’ is 180 liters over the standard fuel tank of the HX60.
We decided to keep the original tank as well to have 300 liters reserve, and for the diesel heater that we will install in the Box. To make this happen the storage box on the left hand side has to go, as this one is the exact spot where the original fuel tank will fit.
The new fuel tank will not fit on this side because of the batteries and air tanks that are mounted on the left hand side.
Overland.travel installed a rocker switch in the dashboard so we can switch between the two fuel tanks ‘on the fly’. These are also connected to the fuel gauge, so when you switch to the second fuel tank, you can see the reading of the tank as well.
It is a pity that we had to let go of a storage box as they are perfect size and really waterproof. We thought about it and decided to buy a spare storage box from Overland.travel. We will have the two boxes mounted behind the back wheels, under the bed, by Motorcraft Adventure Developments. This way we add a storage box instead of losing one, and we will fill the space behind the back wheels in the same HX60 style.
So at the end of the day, we will not only have three original HX storage boxes but also the possibility to carry 780 liters of diesel. This way we have a range of around 2.000 km, depending on the terrain. And hopefully we can fill up in cheaper countries, for example: Andorra, Bosnia or Luxembourg, depending on where our travels lead us.
4 Comments
Markus (Peter Peppet)
Hi there, may i ask how much the cost of that was?
I have the same Truck and so the same Fuelproblem.
Thanks
admin
PM sent
Gary
Hi guys, just looking at the photos of your new fuel tank, which looks fantastic, just a couple of questions, do you still have a locking fuel cap and, did you use the original HX securing straps?
Also, I’ve been looking for some good quality USB chargers for the cab, where did you find yours, they look like they fit perfectly?
Thanks Gary
admin
Hi Gary, thanks! We have a locking fuel cap but with a key, like a filler cap on a ‘regular’ truck. We have them on both tanks now. Securing traps were tailor made for the new tank, the original tank on the left now, has the same straps it had on the other side.
USB: I am not sure where Kevin from Overland Travel got these, but I believe they are from Mercedes! And yes, perfect fit.