A tank truck, gas truck, fuel truck, or tanker truck (

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

) or tanker (

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

) is a

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on railway track, rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such ...

designed to carry

liquid Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...

s or

gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

es on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

tank car A tank car (International Union of Railways (UIC): tank wagon) or tanker is a type of railroad car (UIC: railway car) or rolling stock designed to transport liquid and gaseous commodity, commodities. History Timeline The following major event ...

s, which are also designed to carry liquid loads. Many variants exist due to the wide variety of liquids that can be transported. Tank trucks tend to be large; they may be insulated or non-insulated; pressurized or non-pressurized; and designed for single or multiple loads (often by means of internal divisions in their tank). Some are

semi-trailer truck A semi-trailer truck (also known by a wide variety of other terms – see below) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer attaches to the tractor with a type of hitch called ...

s. They are difficult to drive and highly susceptible to rollover due to their high center of gravity, and potentially the

free surface effect The free surface effect is a mechanism which can cause a watercraft to become unstable and capsize. It refers to the tendency of liquids — and of unbound aggregates of small solid objects, like seeds, gravel, or crushed ore, whose behavior app ...

of liquids sloshing in a partially filled tank.

History

Oil

Prior to tank distribution, oil was delivered in cans. From the 1880s, it was distributed in horse-drawn tanks. In 1910,

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

started using motor tankers. Anglo American Oil introduced underground tanks and delivery tankers to the UK in 1920.

Pickfords Pickfords is a moving company based in the United Kingdom, part of Pickfords Move Management Ltd. The business is believed to have been founded in the 17th century, making it one of the UK's oldest functioning companies, although the similar S ...

took over an oil tanker company in 1921 and soon had tankers, with by the mid 1930s. Elsewhere, development was slower. For example, in New Zealand, Sir

Robert Waley Cohen Sir Robert Waley Cohen, KBE (8 September 1877 – 27 November 1952) was a British industrialist and prominent leader of Anglo-Jewry. Early life Robert Waley Cohen was born on 8 September 1877 to a prominent Jewish family. His father was Na ...

, of British Imperial Oil, first proposed use of petrol tankers in 1925 and the first () tanker from

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

to arrive in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

was greeted by a brass band in 1927.

Size and volume

Tank trucks are described by their size or volume capacity. Large trucks typically have capacities ranging from . In Australia,

road train A road train, also known as a land train or long combination vehicle (LCV) is a semi-trailer used to move road freight more efficiently than single-trailer semi-trailers. It consists of one semi-trailer or more connected together with or wit ...

s up to four trailers in length (known as Quad tankers) carry loads in excess of . Longer road trains transporting liquids are also in use. A tank truck is distinguished by its shape, usually a cylindrical tank upon the vehicle lying horizontally. Some less visible distinctions amongst tank trucks have to do with their intended use: compliance with human food regulations, refrigeration capability, acid resistance, pressurization capability, and more. The tanks themselves will almost always contain multiple compartments or baffles to prevent load movement destabilizing the vehicle.

Common large tank trucks

Large tank trucks are used for example to transport

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

, diesel, and liquefied petroleum or

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

filling station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

s. They also transport a wide variety of liquid goods such as liquid sugar,

molasses Molasses () is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, the method of extraction, and the age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is usuall ...

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

juices Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, ...

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

, and

industrial chemicals The chemical industry comprises the company, companies and other organizations that develop and produce industrial, specialty and other chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, the chemical industry converts raw materials (Petroleum, oil, ...

. Tank trucks are constructed of various materials depending on what products they are hauling. These materials include

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

carbon steel Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states: * no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

, and

fibre-reinforced plastic Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP; also called fibre-reinforced polymer, or in American English ''fiber'') is a composite material made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres. The fibres are usually glass (in fibreglass), carbon (in carbon-fibre ...

(FRP). Some tank trucks are able to carry multiple products at once due to compartmentalization of the tank into multiple tank compartments. This allows for an increased number of delivery options. These trucks are commonly used to carry different grades of gasoline to service stations to carry all products needed in one trip.

Common small tank trucks

Smaller tank trucks with a capacity under are typically used to deal with light liquid cargo within a local community. A common example is vacuum truck used to empty several

septic tank A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater (sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treatment ...

s and then deliver the collected fecal sludge to a treatment site. These tank trucks typically have a maximum capacity of . They are equipped with a pumping system to serve their particular need. Another common use is to deliver fuel such as

liquified petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas, also referred to as liquid petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas), is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, ''n''-butane and isobutane. It can also contain some propyl ...

(LPG) to households, businesses, and industries. The smallest of these trucks usually carry about of LPG under pressure. Typically, LPG tank trucks carry up to of product (usually liquid propane), on a 2-axle bobtail truck. 3,500 US gallons and greater requires a 3-axle truck (tank wagon). Some companies use lightweight steel to carry more gallons on single-axle trucks. Notably, one US manufacturer has built a tank truck, fitting it on a single axle. Tank trucks are also used to fuel aircraft at airports.

Gallery

File:International WorkStar Sewer vacuum truck.jpg, Sewer vacuum truck File:KamAZ-based asphalter truck during Długa street reconstruction in Kraków (1).jpg, Asphalt tank truck File:WERKLUST bulk cement strooier photo2.jpg, Cement tank truck File:Tine truck.jpg, Stainless steel milk truck File:Kstovo - milk truck - DSCF6995.JPG, Milk sold from a tank truck File:Blokové čištění Třebíč, cisterna LIAZ 2.jpg, Street cleaner File:Water tank truck.jpg, Watering of plants from a tank truck File:Chemical tank truck Dresden.jpg, Compressed gas tank truck File:Renault Premium 320 DCI, Bombeiros Seia, Unit 0910 VTTU 01 pic1.JPG, Firefighting

water tender A water tender, sometimes known as a water tanker, is a type of firefighting apparatus that specializes in the transport of water from a water source to a fire scene.Tank trailer A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. The combination of a semi-trailer and a tractor truck is called a ''semi-trailer truck'' (also known simply as a "semi-trailer", "tractor trailer", or "semi" in the United States). A large pr ...

File:B double yass truck stop.JPG, B double tanker File:Road Train Australia.jpg,

Road train A road train, also known as a land train or long combination vehicle (LCV) is a semi-trailer used to move road freight more efficiently than single-trailer semi-trailers. It consists of one semi-trailer or more connected together with or wit ...

References

External links

Driving Tank Trucks for a Living
{{Fuel Transport Petroleum transport Fuel containers Milk transport Trailers