I have been starting to bid some bigger seeding jobs and want to get more efficient. One way would be to have more water carrying capability for the hydromulching. I have been looking for tanks that could slide in to dump boxes but haven't really found anything yet. I figured the Kodiak single axle could handle a 2500 gallon tank but then with my 'need' for a big truck, how big could you slide in to a quad with a 18.5' dump box? Has anyone seen that or done that?
There are a couple guys that have slide in water tanks in their dump trucks. The biggest drawback is that you lose a truck. Depending on how much you want to add, I would get some of the poly tanks and put them on a 5th wheel flatbed. Mount a pump on the trailer and you could take water from rivers, canals or lakes or still fill from fire hyd.
Water hauled in a dump truck can be unstable you need a baffled tank for sure. I used to drive a rolloff truck with a 3000 imperial gallon tank and it was one frigging scary ride with a unbaffled tank.
I second what KSSS says use the 500 gallon poly tanks they are flat on the bottom so they are easy to strap down.
Your other option is buy a used Milk tank and mount it on a trailer or a truck.
When you figure water is 8lbs per gallon a 2500 gallon tank your looking at 20,000lbs of liquid weight that would be very scary in a single axle dump
The big thing is to not have alot tied up, if a tank could be slid in for the afternoon, spray and the next day go back to hauling dirt. For some reason I thought water was 6 pounds per gallon, thats how I figured - might have to back down the numbers then. Dirt Digger, I will check that out, too.
My friend just got a repairable '05 2500 duramax that could pull a gooseneck with some poly tanks but wouldn't be able to pull much, would it?
I checked the CDL book and if you are operating an 26,100 gvw truck that has a 1,000 gallon tank or more you need a 'N' endorsement in Wisconsin. good to know.
I checked the CDL book and if you are operating an 26,100 gvw truck that has a 1,000 gallon tank or more you need a 'N' endorsement in Wisconsin. good to know.
I am pretty sure that water is 8 pounds per gallon. Depending on how your set up the slide in my work. My luck such as it is, I would need the dump truck to haul material and the excavator would be somewhere else and I not have the ability or the time to pull the tank. If a 1000 gallons would be enough putting on a trailer would seemingly be the best. The tanks are relatively cheap, you might be able to pickup a used one at a farm auction. If you have enough trailer you could put two 1000 gal. tanks on one trailer. If not the slide in tanks I see for sale from time time. Cant recall a number off hand.
My luck such as it is, I would need the dump truck to haul material and the excavator would be somewhere else and I not have the ability or the time to pull the tank.
as i understand 1000 gals is the break point for cdl tanker endorsement. i agree with the trailer idea if you will have room to move where it will be working. also wouldn't go heavier than 1000 gals on aa single axle.
good luck,
They can't class the truck as a tanker if its not perminantly fixed to the truck its a portable tank.
When you have a unbaffled tank and your driving down the road you can feel it move the truck. The 3000 gallon tank on the rolloff truck I could look out the back window of the truck and see the tank end bulge when the water sloshed forward
If you run the numbers using the 8.3 per pound on a 33,000 gvw truck(ew @ 15,000) that could theoretically carry a 2000 gallon poly tank. It is very on the edge as for the weight. Not sure if the portable tanks have baffles, would think it could be an option?
The hydromulcher is 500 gallons so that would be 1 tank(500 gallons) on the hydromulcher and 4 tanks worth(2000 gallons) on the other truck. That would give me enough to cover 30,000 square feet lawns in one trip.
It doesn't take much to stop the water from sloshing around. I don't think the poly tanks are as bad as a steel tank. If your driving to the jobsite with a full tank and leaving with a empty tank you really don't need to worry.
Another thought what about buying a decommisioned fire truck. I know they come up forsale and usually sell cheap.
also keep in mind the weight of the mulch and seed as well as where it would be loaded. 15 bags of mulch and the seed will take up space. i have been looking into the same thing and so far have come up with using a 20-24 ft. flatbed single axle and carrying a 1000gal. poly tank. this would leave plenty of space for other incidentals on the deck.
good luck
also keep in mind the weight of the mulch and seed as well as where it would be loaded. 15 bags of mulch and the seed will take up space. i have been looking into the same thing and so far have come up with using a 20-24 ft. flatbed single axle and carrying a 1000gal. poly tank. this would leave plenty of space for other incidentals on the deck.
good luck
way more capacity than i am needing at this point. if i could get to 1/3 acre between water reloads that would be plenty. we have plenty of nearby water sources.
thanks though,
also keep in mind the weight of the mulch and seed as well as where it would be loaded. 15 bags of mulch and the seed will take up space. i have been looking into the same thing and so far have come up with using a 20-24 ft. flatbed single axle and carrying a 1000gal. poly tank. this would leave plenty of space for other incidentals on the deck.
good luck
It gets frustrating to figure out how to haul the hydroseeder, water, supplies and a machine to prep with the least trips or trucks(or extra help). Lately everything seems to be around 30,000 square feet. It definitely looks like a gypsy-mobile all loaded up.
what kind of distances are you needing to go? is it long drives from water sources? another option i have played with was keeping a 500 gal nurse tank in addition to the hydroseeder. this way when the supply truck is gone to get another 100 gals. i would be able to spray 2 loads before he got back. thats figuring an hour per 500 gal tank mixed and sprayed.
good luck,
I am 10-15 minutes away max. On the bigger lawns I would like to cut down on the running. On my machine it will spray a load of mulch/fert/lime in about 20 minutes. I also got a water pump so now I can draw from streams so that should open up possibilities.
This is a problem I had to overcomne last year. I Have just a small spot-spraying hydro-seeder. (turbo-turf 150 Gal) To compete with the bigger guys I had to expand my bulk water abilities.
So I bought an new trailer. 10000 Lbs. Mounted Hydro seeder to the back and added a 350 gal tank to the front. Then plumed them together so one pump would operate the seeder and be able to draw water from the bulk tank. Then I stubbed in a second fill lime that will allow me to pull water fron my 2nd bulk tank in the back of a tonner dump truck. Its a low profile 350 gal. And i could pull water out of a river or pond with this system if needed.
Another contrator that has worked in my area. Set up thier watering rig on a old deck over trailer and Maybe this could work in your case. They mounted 2 1000 tanks on it and put one in the back of thier steerling flat bed truck. I have also seen Farmers get old military surplus flat bed semi trailers. They mount one tank on each end, they pull it with thier semi trucks. This seems to work out nice, since the trailers are a very short wheel base they are easy to drive and store.
Or another idea that I use on real big jobs. I go to a local farm coop, and rent a 1000 gal fresh water tank. Most are in good shape and have never had any herbicides in them, and I think you can get these at auctions for under a grand with a pump.
We mounted a 1200 Gal tank on a steel floor and lift it onto a tandem dump trailer with 4 straps when we need it. We use it primarily for watering onsite after a planting or sod install and dont take it on the road full as it probably is overloaded. We're now shortening the floor so it can slide into the back of a single axle dump truck we own for a regular watering contract we just picked up.
I stopped at the local Farm & Fleet today, they had the round vertical tanks. You could get a 1000 gallon for 420 or a 1500 gallon for 460. I like the 1500 gallon but it gets 67" tall and wonder if that would be to much 'top' weight in a truck. They had the long skinny tanks but a 1000 gallon was around 800 and then you have to buy steel straps for it. If I keep the Kodiak the 1500 gallon would probably work well.
This is a 1000 gallon tank. The hydroseeder is a 400 gallon. If we leave the shop with a full load of hydroseed and full load of water in the tank we can fill two and a half times before the water truck leaves. When it gets back we can top off the hydroseeder and still have enough for two more loads. This is a three man process but depending on distance to water we can typically get 9-12 loads in a day. Our average lawn is in the 3-4 tank range, which works out well because we can leave the shop go to the job and not have to leave until it is done.
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