Tank trucks are one of the most important product transportation vehicles around. These modified vehicles carry a variety of liquids all over the country, ranging from water, to food ingredients, to hazardous chemicals. It’s safe to say that without these trucks thousands of businesses around the US wouldn’t be able to continue operations. And all these different liquids and businesses have different needs when it comes to their tank truck. That’s where LM&C’s custom tank trucks come in.
Tank Truck Chassis
The technicians at LM&C are able to mount a tank on any truck chassis available. You bring the chassis you want to use, and we’ll turn it into a state of the art liquid moving machine. While you should select the chassis your drivers are most comfortable handling, it’s also important to keep the purpose of your tank truck in mind. For example, you may need to select from a limited number of chassis depending on the size of tank you need and the weight of its contents.
Tank Truck Axles
One of the most important considerations when choosing a chassis is the number of drive axles. We have experience working on trucks with single, tandem, and tri drive axles. Generally speaking, the less weight you plan to haul in your tank truck the fewer drive axles your truck needs. More drive axles will mean more power.
However, the weight of material you’re hauling also plays another role in the number of axles you’ll need. Regardless of how many drive axles you want your truck to have, each state has regulations specifying the number of axles (drive or otherwise) a truck must have per a certain amount of weight. Make sure to calculate how much your truck will weigh fully loaded when choosing the number of axles.
And there’s another type of axle, called a lift axle, which may be especially important for tank trucks with heavier loads or which cross into states with different weight limits per axle. Lift axles, as the name implies, are capable of lifting off the ground. These are useful for two reasons. First, you can raise the lift axle when the tank is empty to improve gas mileage or reduce the wear on the tires. Second, you can lower the lift axle if you cross into a state which requires more axles for the weight you are hauling.
Tank Materials
When it comes to the tank itself there are a couple different materials you can choose from: mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. These materials will not only affect the weight of your tank truck, but which you select may also be influenced by the liquid you plan to haul in it. For example, aluminum is the lightest of the three, but stainless steel is what you should choose for transporting edible liquids. Aluminum is also more expensive and less durable compared to steel.
You may find yourself needing to choose one tank material over another for other reasons. These include whether or not the liquids you transport need to be refrigerated, the pressurization of the tank, and if the tank needs to be acid resistant.
Elliptical Tank Volumes
Tank volume is fairly straightforward at face value. More volume means more capacity to carry product. However, bigger isn’t always better, and even the largest of tanks aren’t typically one, singular container.
As is the case for every other aspect of your custom tank truck, consider what it’s going to be used for. Are you hauling liquids vast distances across multiple state lines? If so, it might make sense to invest in a larger tank to reduce the number of round trips. However, if local deliveries are your specialty, a smaller tank may actually be more economical. And let’s not forget that the smaller your truck, the more maneuverable it will be. At LM&C we can fit your truck with tanks ranging in size from 500 to 6,000 gallons.
But what about large tanks not typically being one, singular container? Many large tanks are actually split into multiple compartments for two major reasons. The first is that this means one tank truck can transport multiple liquids at the same time. For example, one truck might deliver both gasoline and diesel to a worksite. The other reason is that liquids shift during transportation which messes with the load placed on each axle. By breaking up the tank into compartments, the weight can be more evenly distributed when on inclines.
Pumping & Metering Systems
Pumping and metering systems are vital components for tank trucks. These systems keep track of the volume within the tank and are important for the loading, unloading, and management of liquid product. While a single pumping and metering system will suffice on a smaller tank, multiple may be necessary on a large tank. Remember, large tanks often have multiple compartments, each of which will need its own pumping and metering system.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a distributor of liquid products or you need to transport them around your complex, a tank truck is the perfect vehicle to get the job done. The uses for these trucks vary widely, from carrying industrial chemicals vast distances to carrying weed killer around a school campus for the athletic fields. Tank trucks are even used to transport edibles like dairy or used by fire companies as mobile water sources. The possibilities are endless for these extremely versatile vehicles.
Custom Tank Trucks from LM&C
At LM&C we’ll take a truck chassis of your choosing and turn it into your very own custom tank truck per your specifications. Regardless of what you plan to transport, we can build a tank truck to get the job done. Contact LM&C today for more information on our custom tank trucks.