Well since this seems to be turning into a "where best for the fuel tank" thread, I go some feelings on that.
The tank inside the cab is probably the safest place that you could possibly find for it's location. If you get hit from the front, back or side it's protected. A side impact would not only have to take out the frame but the body is in the crunch zone also and that section of the body and door is quite strong in an AD. If you got hit in the side hard enough to damage the tank I don't think it would matter to you at that point.
Where I wouldn't want it is under the tail end or under the side. A light rap in the rear end and you would be sitting in a pool of gasoline. And it wouldn't take much to rupture one on the side under the frame rail and again, you're sitting in a pool of fuel under the truck.
In all my 67 years I've never heard of anyone getting french fried by a ruptured fuel tank behind the seat. And contrary to popular rumors, there are no fumes in the cab if all the seals, hoses and connections are maintained properly.
However the records are littered with stories of rear end collisions resulting in ruptured fuel tanks in the rear.
http://www.safetyforum.com/cvpi/ ,
http://www.autosafety.org/fire-recurrent-peril-jeep-collisions ,
http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Ford_Pinto_-_Safety_problems/id/5289671 ,
http://motherjones.com/politics/1977/09/pinto-madness ,
http://forums.automotive.com/70/6228262/jeep/jeep-liberty-fuel-tank-fires/index.html ,
http://www.safetyforum.com/fordfuelfires/ . And the list goes on and on.
Oh and my three window cab, I can see out of it to the back and side just fine! Five windows would just give me more glass to keep clean.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
