How much fuel does a tanker truck hold?

BRITAIN remains in the grip of a fuel crisis with many petrol stations either completely out or running close to empty.

Attention is now focusing on the all-important tankers being able to deliver supplies with the Army now poised to help out.

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How much fuel does a tanker truck hold?

Countless pumps are still running on empty nation-wide, with the fuel crisis a “really big problem” in London and the South East, according to the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA).

And now, 200 soldiers are set to start delivering petrol on Monday in a bid to end the crisis after going through a crash HGV course.

In a bid to encourage calm and dissuade panic buyers, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said the fuel situation is “stabilising” in most parts of the country and the military is being deployed as a “precaution”.

As the name suggests, tankers or tanker trucks deliver petrol around the country and while sizes vary they are often large vehicles which require specialised training to be able to drive.

Standard Oil in the US used the first motorised tanker in 1910 while in the UK the first tanker to appear on the roads was 10 years later.

Size or volume capacity varies with tanker trucks and there is no one definitive size.

Large trucks typically have capacities ranging from 4,580 to 9,660 gallons in the UK.

This differs slightly in the US where capacity ranges 5,500 to 11,600 gallons, this is partly due to the measurement used to denote a gallon.

The largest tanks are carried on huge juggernauts as they deliver fuel around the country.

The tanks themselves will invariably contain multiple compartments or baffles to prevent load movement destabilising the vehicle.

The largest tankers usually weigh around 44 tonnes when fully laiden.

There are also medium-sized tanker trucks which can usually carry around 5,500 gallons.

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Smaller tanker trucks typically carry a load of 2,500 gallons in the UK or 3,000 gallons in the US.

So-called “baby” tankers are also in operation which can carry up to 1,800 gallons of fuel.

These tankers are used to deliver to remote areas and where access can be limited to the size of vehicle.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk