Tanker Truck

Overview

The tanker truck is a heavy diesel road vehicle that hauls bulk liquid cargo, fuel, chemicals, food-grade products, in a barrel-shaped tank mounted on the chassis. The tank is the defining element: an elliptical aluminum shell split into four sealed compartments so the truck can carry different grades at once and meter delivery to multiple drops. The elliptical section lowers the center of gravity versus a round tank of the same volume, which matters because a partly filled tank lets liquid slosh and shift weight under braking and cornering.

The Chassis Frame is a bolted ladder frame that carries the running gear and cradles the tank in rubber-lined saddles. Power comes from a turbo-diesel Diesel Engine through a 12-speed 12-Speed Transmission, a two-piece Driveshaft, and tandem Drive Axle units, with a non-driven Front Steer Axle up front. A pneumatic Air Brake System with disc brakes and ABS handles the high gross weight, and the Suspension pairs front leaf springs with rear air ride to settle the surging load.

How it works

The heart of the vehicle is the Cargo Tank. Each compartment is divided by a full Bulkhead and damped internally by Surge Baffle plates that break up longitudinal surge, keeping the load from punching the driver forward at every stop. Loading is done from the top through Manhole Hatch hatches, each fitted with a pressure-vacuum Vapor Vent so the tank breathes as liquid enters and leaves without building dangerous pressure. A Spill Dam rings the hatches to catch overfill.

Unloading runs through the Discharge System. An internal Internal Foot Valve at each compartment sump stays shut until air-actuated, an emergency cutoff that contains the load if downstream piping is damaged. When opened, product flows through the manifold to the PTO-driven Product Pump, which uses an electric motor's Stator Assembly and Rotor Assembly geometry in a sliding-vane pump body to move several thousand liters a minute out to the delivery hose. Before any transfer, the Grounding Reel bonds the truck to ground to bleed off static, since fuel flowing through pipe generates charge that could ignite vapor.