Have you ever heard of the term water trucks or even tank trucks? Are you one of those that don’t actually really know what the term means, or what these tankers are? Well, in this article you will find all the information you will ever need on these amazing vehicles, as well as how the Government is using these tankers to help communities in South Africa during the National Lockdown.
What does the term tank truck mean?
A tank truck, gas truck, fuel truck, tanker truck, or tanker is a motor vehicle that has been designed to carry liquefied loads or gasses on roads. The largest of these vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars which were also designed to carry liquefied loads. There are many different types of these tankers that exist today due to the wide variety of liquids that needs to be transported.
What does a tank truck look like?
Tank trucks always tend to be large. They can be insulated or non-insulated, pressurized, or non-pressurized. They are designed to be for single or multiple loads (often by means of internal divisions in their tank). Some tank trucks are semi-trailer trucks. Note that these trucks are difficult to drive due to their high center of gravity.
A little bit of history about the water truck
Prior to the tank distribution, oil and water were delivered in cans. From the early 1880s, these liquids were transported and distributed on horse-drawn tanks. Anglo American Oil introduced the underground tanks as well as the delivery tankers to the United Kingdom in 1920. Pickfords took over the oil tanker company in 1921 and soon had 1000 imperial gallons tankers (4500L) and 3600 imperial gallon tanks by the mid-1930s.
What are the common large tank trucks?
Large tank trucks are used to transport example gasoline to filling stations. They are also used to transport a wide variety of liquid goods such as the following:
- Liquid sugar
- Molasses
- Milk
- Wine
- Juices
- Water
- Diesel
- And industrial chemicals.
These tanks are constructed of various materials that depend on the products they are hauling. These materials include aluminum, carbon steel, stainless steel, and fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP). Some of these tanks have the ability to carry multiple products at once due to compartmentalization of the tank into 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or even in some rare cases more tank compartments. This allows for the delivery numbers to be increased.
How much water can water trucks transport?
Did you know that a water truck is equipped with a pumping system for loading and off-loading liquids? That’s right, this system helps the water truck to pump in and pump out any liquid that is needed. Most tankers have the ability to carry large loads that vary from 20 800L up to 45 000L.
This applies to the larger tank trucks. With the smaller tank trucks the capacity that they would be able to carry ranges from 5000L to 10 000L. This all depends on the size of the tank truck and their function what they are needed for.
Why do farmers use water trucks?
One of the main reasons farmers began turning to water trucks is due to the intense drought we started to experience. Farmers were struggling to keep their crops and livestock alive with the water that was available on their farms.
They needed to make a plan to get more water, thus they started to use water trucks. Water trucks allow you to ship in water from other parts of the country that is not experiencing a drought so that you can continue to keep your crops alive no matter what the rain decides to do.
What are the benefits of renting water trucks?
In addition to dealing with impending droughts, renting a water truck can save you a lot of money in the long run. Do not wait until you are completely out of water before you call to rent a water truck, this could lead to a complete catastrophe for your corps for the entire year. You will also experience a huge loss of income.
Water trucks allow you to use the exact amount of water that you need. Water trucks help farmers to reduce the amount of water waste throughout the year because you are paying for each drop of water that you use.
The Government lending a helping hand
Maintaining a level of hygiene requires you to have access to water. Unfortunately, there are a few communities in South Africa that do not have access 24/7 to water. The Government noted this situation and decided to make plans to help these communities during the National Lockdown.
According to Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, there are 2000 communities that have been identified for an emergency supply of water. The Government has supplied every one of those communities with the water they needed with the help of the necessary tankers. They also established collection points for water so that the areas do not become overcrowding. In the rural areas, they will be providing the elderly with buckets and the necessary sanitation to wash their hands on a regular basis.
As of the 3rd April 2020, the Department of Water and Sanitation has delivered 852 water tanks and 20 tankers to water-stressed communities that had the least capacity to avert the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus. Various areas that include Roodepoort, Soweto, Ennerdale in the City of Johannesburg, Hammanskraal in the City of Tshwane has already benefited from this effort. Other areas that also benefited from this cause include municipalities in the West Rand District Municipality, as well as Benoni in the City of Ekurhuleni.
Feel free to read more about water storage and why it is important: https://www.aquadam.co.za/water-storage-is-it-really-that-important/
You are more than welcome to visit the following articles should you wish to read more about how the government is helping with the water situations in South Africa during our National Lockdown:
https://www.gov.za/speeches/water-and-sanitation-delivers-water-tankers-gauteng-during-coronavirus-covid-19-lockdown-2
https://www.gov.za/taxonomy/term/912