Thunder Creek Equipment’s new Multi-Tank Upfit doesn’t require a CDL or federal hazmat endorsement
Thunder Creek Equipment’s new Multi-Tank Upfit is a 920-gallon chassis upfit for diesel fuel that doesn’t require a commercial driver’s licence or federal hazardous materials endorsement, said Luke Van Wyk, the company’s vice-president of sales.
“What’s unique about this is we can transfer or transport bulk quantities of diesel fuel without
Luke Van Wyk of Thunder Creek Equipment touts the company’s new lube truck at the 2019 Work Truck Show
having to deal with those burdens,” Van Wyk said during an interview at the 2019 Work Truck Show in Indianapolis where the new lube truck was on display.
Van Wyk noted that the industry already faces labor challenges, which are compounded by CDL and hazmat requirements.
“So this gives contractors or fuel distributors or lots of other people in the marketplace the ability to transfer that large quantity of fuel without the need for those endorsements and those licences — and the expensive insurance that comes with hazmat and all the other things.”
At the Work Truck Show, the upfit was on a Ford F-550 with the unit weighing in at 18,500 pounds, well below the 26,000-pound threshold for needing a CDL.
“And then the way we have the tanks designed, the manifolding (and) everything else, is what helps us to abate the hazmat endorsement,” Van Wyk said.
Each truck is outfitted with eight independent 115-gallon tanks “that are only connected when a common manifold is opened at the pumping station,” a news release explained.
(The release also offered the caveat that local hazmat regulations might apply.)
The design has a rear utility box that contains the manifold system and the diesel pump. Among the options are meters for measuring, security and tracking, a four-micron filter “to ensure greater fuel quality,” different makes and lengths of reels, and color schemes that match other Thunder Creek products.
The new upfit is compatible with Ford F-550s with or without power take-offs. Thunder Creek — which is headquartered in Pella, Iowa — plans to engineer the body for other class 5 and 6 chassis.
“Right now we’re doing the upfits ourselves and we’re setting up so that the dealers can take delivery of the body and do their own installing,” Van Wyk said.
For more information, visit http://thundercreek.com/