How are you securing tanks and totes on open trailers?

Roy Sanders

New member
I have two 275 gallon IBC totes that I need to secure down on my 16ft trailer. From the way I understand from the DOT, they have to be individually secured down. I was thinking about straps but have also saw some use some type of chain and use eye bolts through the floor to tighten them down. Are most of you just using two straps over the top and thats it?
 
On my 525 gallon tank I put 3/8 eye bolts thru the trailer floor plus a 2x4 that went side to side. Then I used 2 heavy ratchet straps front and back and its been fine now for almost 5 years. The 2x4 under the floor puts the stress across all floor planks and not just the ones the eye bolts went in.
 
You can use 2"x4" on all 4 sides of the tanks to keep it from moving then a couple of large ratchet straps over the top with large eye bolts through the floor. I use large washers or large washers with a board kind of like Pat did to help secure the bolt from easily ripping through the boards.

One tank should be good unless you are hauling water, I would make sure that with the tanks full your trailer is not more than 80% of it's capacity. 8.33 pounds per gallon x 550 gallons of water = 4581 pounds. If you have a typical tandem axle trailer with 3500 pound axles you are looking at about 1100 to 1500 pounds empty trailer weight then add the water on top of that and you are at 5681 to 6081 pounds, depending on how heavy the empty trailer is. Then add your equipment, chemical tanks, hoses, reels, etc.....

If you are running 5000 pound axles you still have room to grow, if not then I would be careful with how much weight you add.

I had too much weight on my old trailer and hitting a pothole with only 200 gallons of water in the tank bent an axle, each time I bent an axle it cost me about $600 between new tires, axle, labor to install the axle, welding brackets on the axle, etc... The tires would bald in about a week or two then have to replace them after flipping them over on the wheels to get more life out of them until the trailer place had time to change the axle.

Now I don't have that much weight on the trailer anymore and try not to haul a full or near full tank of water anymore.

Be careful.
 
On my 525 gallon tank I put 3/8 eye bolts thru the trailer floor plus a 2x4 that went side to side. Then I used 2 heavy ratchet straps front and back and its been fine now for almost 5 years. The 2x4 under the floor puts the stress across all floor planks and not just the ones the eye bolts went in.
What Pat said!
 
You can use 2"x4" on all 4 sides of the tanks to keep it from moving then a couple of large ratchet straps over the top with large eye bolts through the floor. I use large washers or large washers with a board kind of like Pat did to help secure the bolt from easily ripping through the boards.

One tank should be good unless you are hauling water, I would make sure that with the tanks full your trailer is not more than 80% of it's capacity. 8.33 pounds per gallon x 550 gallons of water = 4581 pounds. If you have a typical tandem axle trailer with 3500 pound axles you are looking at about 1100 to 1500 pounds empty trailer weight then add the water on top of that and you are at 5681 to 6081 pounds, depending on how heavy the empty trailer is. Then add your equipment, chemical tanks, hoses, reels, etc.....

If you are running 5000 pound axles you still have room to grow, if not then I would be careful with how much weight you add.

I had too much weight on my old trailer and hitting a pothole with only 200 gallons of water in the tank bent an axle, each time I bent an axle it cost me about $600 between new tires, axle, labor to install the axle, welding brackets on the axle, etc... The tires would bald in about a week or two then have to replace them after flipping them over on the wheels to get more life out of them until the trailer place had time to change the axle.

Now I don't have that much weight on the trailer anymore and try not to haul a full or near full tank of water anymore.

Be careful.

Good advice. My trailer has a single 3500 lb axle and weighs about 600 lbs. With a nearly full 200 gallon water tank, and nearly full 65 gallon chem tank, I bent my axle a little. The tires don't wear out I a couple weeks, or even a couple months, but they do wear unevenly.

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I really dont want to put the two tanks on there but would like to have more than 275 gallon capacity. The totes were free so I couldn't pass them up. May just have to put the one tote on there and see how that gets me by.
 
The leg tanks usually come with thick steel straps that are made to contour over the top of the tank and have holes where they meet the floor so you can bolt through whatever your mounting it too
 
I really dont want to put the two tanks on there but would like to have more than 275 gallon capacity. The totes were free so I couldn't pass them up. May just have to put the one tote on there and see how that gets me by.
I have to ask the dumb question. Why do you need to carry so much water or storage capacity. 1000 litres (275 US Gals) would run my machine for 45 minutes at full pressure. assuming you will be filling the tank from a customers supply as you go.??? or are you doing work where there is no supply available.?
 
I use U bolts on my IBC totes. I got the ones that come with a metal bar that acts like a double washer. Locktite the threads and call it beer:30.


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