I've dropped gas tanks without jacking up the front of the van.Just make
sure the tank is empty or close too it, and once you get the aft end of the
straps off and as low as you can, either by yourself or with a partner, lift
the gas tank up a bit as you wiggle the strap out. I've used a floor jack to
lift the tank when no partner was around, but i've done it by hand with a
friend.
This might be different if you have a super low carat or something, but my
'85 franken westy has had it's tank out countless times this way.

-Craig
'85GL turned WESTY
BOSTIG in the back

On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 10:08 AM, Sudhir Desai <sudhir.desai@gmail.com>wrote:

> Err sorry. I should have said I do not have any means of jacking the
> van up enough to clear the retention tabs on the aft-edge of each
> gas-tank strap. (Lower the strap so that it is at a 45-degree angle to
> the body to pull the strap out)
>
> Have you all bent the retention tabs straight? And if so, did you bend
> them back, so that if the bolt comes loose from the front edge of the
> tank strap, the whole strap doesn't fall out of the van.
> I'm worried about metal fatigue, since the strap is pretty thick
> sheetmetal, I think I will need to heat it up to bend it.
>
> Thanks again for the responses.
>
> Sudhir
>
> On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 12:55, pdooley<psdooley@verizon.net> wrote:
> > Is the van drivable? Can you get to a lumber supply house?
> > By a couple 2x10's or 2x12, cut to length to make some ramps.
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> Of
> > Sudhir Desai
> > Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2009 12:32 PM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Gas tank removal question.
> >
> > I do not have any means of jacking up the front of the van.
> > Other than straightening the retention tabs (the triangularly bent
> > pieces on the aft edge) on the gas tank straps, is there any way to
> > drop the tank?
> >
> >
> > Thanks in advance,
> > Sudhir
> >
> >
>