Portable gas station

[gmerkt]

Coming up on the auction block is this slightly used M49 1,200 gallon fuel tanker. Not running, but an old 63C mechanic could probably get it running. These days, it would cost a bit to fill the tank up. No hoses.

1972 KAISER M49A2C T/A FUEL TANK TRUCK | MARYSVILLE HEAVY EQUIPMENT, CONTRACTORS EQUIPMENT & VEHICLES - ONLINE AUCTION | James G. Murphy Co.

MARYSVILLE HEAVY EQUIPMENT, CONTRACTORS EQUIPMENT & VEHICLES - ONLINE AUCTION - FUEL TANK TRUCK, 6 CYL DIESEL, 10 SPD, 6X6, DRW, 1,200 GAL TANK (INOPERABLE, DEAD BATTERY, STUCK IN FULL THROTTLE, DON'T START, PLEASE PREVIEW). Item 1293

murphyauction.com

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[Catfishmoon]

Could probably be inexpensively repurposed by a rural landowner to spray water as an emergency vehicle in case of a nearby wildfire.

 

[The Heretic]

Could probably be inexpensively repurposed by a rural landowner to spray water as an emergency vehicle in case of a nearby wildfire.

Newer and in running condition water tankers are often found at various heavy equipment online auction sites.

The key for a rural landowner would be to find one that is 4x4 or 6x6.

A water pumper trailer would probably be a better buy as most of us already have a decent 4x4 rig that we keep in running condition, that could pull the trailer.

 

[solv3nt]

How much fuel do you go through in a year? My 38 gallon tundra tank gets filled every two or so weeks. At 30 gallons a fill, it would be 40 fills, so the fuel would take almost two years to use.

 

[Stomper]

How much fuel do you go through in a year? My 38 gallon tundra tank gets filled every two or so weeks. At 30 gallons a fill, it would be 40 fills, so the fuel would take almost two years to use.

What's the inverse mean root square of all that…. math nerd.

 

[The Heretic]

How much fuel do you go through in a year? My 38 gallon tundra tank gets filled every two or so weeks. At 30 gallons a fill, it would be 40 fills, so the fuel would take almost two years to use.

I fill my daily driver about once a month, and that is usually about half a tank.

Last two fillups per my card statements were Aug 2nd and Sept. 18th - both about 10 gallons each. So fillup about once every 6 weeks the last two months.

During a SHTF scenario, once I am settled, I would not be using a vehicle very often - maybe a couple times per year? Mostly to move firewood from the back acreage to the house/shop, that and using machinery (chain saws, etc.). I would say that this year I have used about 15 gallons of diesel for the truck and tractor, and about 5-10 gallons of gas for chain saws, Kombi, mower, etc.

 

[Provincial]

During one of the fuel shortage episodes, a local farmer bought a 4,000 gallon surplus USAF fuel tanker. It had an aluminum tank and had a "Nailhead" Buick engine. He trailered in home and put 100 gallons of diesel in it. No problems, so he had it filled up.

With the increase in head pressure, the corroded areas of the fuel sump (which had been exposed to water from condensation inside the tank) failed and it started spraying diesel like a weed sprayer. He desperately gathered up every 55 gallon drum he could find and pumped out the remaining diesel! He lost several hundred gallons along the way.

I bought it for the tank, had a welder fabricate a new sump, and used it for watering roads at my rock quarry. I moved the tank onto an old dump truck, and sold the engine for enough to offset the purchase price!

 

[gmerkt]

Gasoline that is sold today has stabilizers blended in so that it lasts longer than it did a couple of decades ago. So 1,200 gallons for most people probably wouldn't go bad before it got used up.

Handling larger amounts of fuel bring maintenance and safety issues. In the US Army, people doing this work usually are required to have a fuel handler's certificate. Which they get from a training course. It might be a short course where non QMC soldiers do the work in line units, or it might be 11 weeks of AIT for a primary MOS.

Here's another tanker up for auction:

1988 Oshkosh A/S32R-11 6x4 Aircraft Refueling Truck

Diesel Engine, Automatic Transmission, 315/80R22.5 Front Tires, 315/80R22.5 Rear Tires, PTO, 6000 gal Tank, 1 Reels

www.govplanet.com

This unit has a 6,000 gallon tank on it. Note how the vehicle engine exhaust is routed out under the front bumper.

 

[Nosferatu]

Hope you're prepared to open a commercial supplier account, because you aren't going to be filling those at the Shell station down the street.

$5.70/gal * 1200gal = $6840.00 per fillup.

 

[Provincial]

You have to get a 10,000 gallon delivery to get a serious price break. In practice, that means you have to have about 12,000 gallons of capacity to not run empty between refills.

 

[Mark W.]

Hope you're prepared to open a commercial supplier account, because you aren't going to be filling those at the Shell station down the street.

$5.70/gal * 1200gal = $6840.00 per fillup.

Regular E-10 is $4.19 a gallon this morning in Salem Oregon.

 

[Nosferatu]

Regular E-10 is $4.19 a gallon this morning in Salem Oregon.

I don't store ethanol fuel long term. It likes water way too much.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Many of these posts are not toecutter approved.

 

[thorborg]

I've run at least five year old ethanal added gas stored in four Jerry cans with a little sta-bil. Originally skeptical, I purposely held back the last quart from two of them from a slow transfer to another can and found no sludge or water lurking at the bottom.
Not saying there isn't, but I didn't see any, and all the cans of gas ran without issue, in generator and yard equipment which eventually took another two years to use up.
That's pretty long term for me, seeing no reason not to keep some on hand.

 

[Nosferatu]

I've run at least five year old ethanal added gas stored in four Jerry cans with a little sta-bil. Originally skeptical, I purposely held back the last quart from two of them from a slow transfer to another can and found no sludge or water lurking at the bottom.
Not saying there isn't, but I didn't see any, and all the cans of gas ran without issue, in generator and yard equipment which eventually took another two years to use up.
That's pretty long term for me, seeing no reason not to keep some on hand.

Some have had good luck, too many haven't though, especially with yard equipment not meant for ethanal fuel. I refuse to run it in my good saws and generators.

I'm not going to do the math, but I can only imagine how many gallons of Sta-bil would be needed for a 1200 gallons of fuel, adding probably a couple hundred bucks to the overall cost! Maybe it offsets the cost of non-ethanol fuel, maybe not. I'd just assume not need it and risk messing up my expensive equipment.

 

[The Heretic]

I try to buy stored fuel in the summer when there is less ethanol in the gasoline and more turnover at the stations so the gas/diesel doesn't sit as long, but I've had no problems with fuel for decades, and I let it sit in the tanks and carbs with no special preps - runs just fine when I need it.