It's uncanny tht you should ask that question Brian, because I am wrestling with almost a similar problem....in that whoever installed the diesel generator in my bus didn't put the pickup tube down far enough in the main tank and I run out of fuel for the generator at about 2/3rds of a tank (100 gallons). I'm thinking about installing a day tank for the genset which would allow me to either use 'off road' fuel or allow a gravity feed from the main tank. Since it's a major operation to remove the fuel tank from an MC5 I can't help but think that...for me...that's the way to go.
I think you might find it difficult to find off road fuel. I know I have never seen it available in my part of the country. The only way the oil drillers get it is to have bulk delivery to the drilling rigs.
Only you know the fuel consumption per hour, the difference in the price of off road as compared to road use taxed in your state, and only you know how much you use your genset.One thing for sure, off road fuel is cheaper and sooner or later you will get your money back. I didn't intend to use it but with the price of fuel, I'm going to now.Off road fuel is available everywhere as # 2 home heating oil, it's the same as # 2 diesel. I've been using it for years.Ed.
Here you can see that I used a fuel tank from a Peterbuilt truck that started out being too big as it was for my waste tank. I cut it down to fit my bay and thought it would be a shame to waste the short piece that was cut off so I made it a fuel tank used exclusively for my generator. As for off road fuel? The only place I have seen it near by is when we travel into Alabama but due to the size of my tank, I never need it when I'm there! Go figure!Yes these are the Aluminum tanks that caused all the controversy about a year or so ago when I fabricated and installed them and to this day they have worked flawlessly. No Rotting, No leaks, and the hanging installation I did has yet to break loose and bounce them down the interstate killing innocent people. To add, the aluminum was easy to work with and they saved a lot of weight over mild steel! My fresh water tanks are plastic which are housed in plywood, FWIW!Ace