you go to a tank wash and they do it. they have a way to dispose of the waste, a lot of times you wont have to wash out if you are reloading compatible products. unless if course it's food, then you wash out every time.

 

You pull into the tank wash, get in line, take your bills inside{to prove what you had on last, they don't take your word for it}.When you pull into the wash bay you could be there anywhere from 30 min{straight wash out with water, don't happen very often} up to 6 hrs. depending what product you had on, and what they have to do to it, whether or not you have to have your pump washed out and fittings cleaned, and hoses cleaned. If you want the trailer dried you will be there longer.

 

Derby city tank wash in Louisville can do a hot detergent wash and dry in an hour. Mt Vernon tank wash in Mo. takes 5 hours.. it all depends on what kind of equipment they have and and how motivated the workers are

 

yeah, afaik, you never have to wash your own tank out.
You have to have it profesionally cleaned before reloading it, and you have to show your receipt at the next consignee to show proof of cleaning.
what you last carried also affects how they clean it. some products need steam, some need solvents, and so on. the wrong kind of cleaner can turn something solid, hence the need for the bills.
and unless i'm mistaken you should expect to get paid for time at a tank wash.

 

Some loading plants actually require that the clean tank be sealed before they will load it. Yes you are paid for your time at a tank wash. A few actually have pretty nice drivers lounges, and showers you can use.

 

TKI in coffeyvile Ks requires tank all hoses and pump washed out and everything has to be sealed at the tank wash.

 

ben45750 wrote:


Tankers usually don't off track, generally because most have fixed axles instead of having sliding tandems like 53's. Straight bore tankers really aren't much worse than baffled tankers. The only time you feel the product moving is when your accelerating from a dead stop and just as you come to a complete stop. If you feel it moving while making turns or negotiating curves your more than likely driving to fast anyways.

As long as your hauling a full load thats right not a lot of difference. But I run load into and out of the US from Canada and the trailers we have have larger compartment sizes so we are always pulling less then a full load. I've seen other drivers give me the eye because my shifting from a dead stop looks rough when really its my load running up and then back in the tank, and taking some curves just feels down right wrong as the load rolls. I fully agree, speed makes all the difference in the world, no two loads are the same, so I would rather get dirty looks for going a slower to stay safe on the road even if the other driver doesn't understand why I slowed down.

 

Usually a 48' or 53' trailer will "catwalk" if someone has banged the axles into something and knocked the axles out of alignment.

Generally speaking a "tanker" will not "catwalk" as the axles are fixed in place...welded to the frame and can't be moved. If a tanker does catwalk, its been seriously damaged and needs to be off the road and repaired.

In fact...any trailer that catwalks and doesn't follow straight behind the tractor needs to be realigned/fixed.

 

It's not just trailers. It happens to straight trucks, too. We have one private dump truck contractor.. runs an old GMC General tri-axle. No BS, as he's going down the road (and this is especially noticeable on the narrower backroads), his driver's side steer tire will be on the center line, and his rear tandems on the passenger side will be almost on top of the side line.

 

any of you drivers on this site have any info on hauling fuel? any advice?