I ran mine out and it only took a gallon to start it and drive it 10 miles to a station. The pump is very deep. I have not measured it but it looks like it hangs fractions of an inch above the bottom of the tank. I'd pay attention to Ralph.

Nice Idea Glenn. I usually run it down to nutting maybe that's why my MPG is only around 15????

 

Can't say that your mpg is going to change at all for keeping more fuel in the tank but it just seems a little safer to keep it full should some unexpected incident happen, like emergency visit to hospital or doctor where you don't have time to stop at the station to fill but your truck is on E. When it's an emergency your mind is not on whether the truck has fuel or not, it's on whether the person being taken is ok.

I just think it's good practice to keep it full if you can. I know it means a change of mindset about filling but once you get used to it you will just do it automatically. As Djacobson said, "...that's why I run on the top half of the tank instead of the bottom half" because I think it's a safety and is likely better for the pump too.

Steve

 

Several good reasons to keep it 1/2 full or better this time of year:

1) Snow storm causing gas stations to shut down, or no way to get gas TO the gas station.

2) More air in tank = better chance to condensate.

3) Crap in tank will usually float on top of the gas; the really big crap, and the water, will tend to be at the bottom. But ethanol helps take care of the water in the gas tank (alcohols are hydrophillic, and will combine with water to make a burnable liquid. It's not even as good as ethanol, but it beats water through the injectors!)

4) A stiff enough dip, and you can "run out of gas" due to the pickup being away from the gasoline.

I tend to run mine down a bit, but then, when you get about 16 to 18 MPG, have a 22G tank, and drive over 300 miles in one day ...

RwP

 

Yup, being at an angle on the shoulder was probably the issue. Truck works fine again!