Liquid Tanker Safety:
Liquid surge results from movement of the liquid in partially filled tanks. This movement can have negative effects on handling. For example, when coming to a stop, the liquid will surge back and forth. When the wave hits the end of the tank, it tends to push the truck in the direction the wave is moving. If the truck is on a slippery surface such as ice, the wave can shove a stopped truck out into an intersection.
How much so you load?
Never load a cargo tank totally full. Liquids expand as they warm and you must leave room for the expanding liquid. This is called “outage.” Since different liquids expand by different amounts, they require different amounts of outage. You must know the outage requirement when hauling liquids in bulk.
A full tank of dense liquid (such as some acids) may exceed legal weight limits. For that reason, you often may only partially fill tanks with heavy liquids. The amount of liquid to load into a tank depends on:
- The amount the liquid will expand in transit.
- The weight of the liquid.
- Legal weight limits.
TruckingTruth.com Author Brett Aquila
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