Talking to a mate of mine the otherday, about the distances travelled by trucks on some routes (M/E, Russia, Cauccuses etc) and how one would get fuel along the way and I explained about the use of belly tanks under trailers, filling them with cherry when leaving the UK etc but not using it till outside the EU then filling up with cheap diesel on route.
I said that I thought that they were now illegal or at least they were frowned upon in most EU countries if you were only travelling within the EU. Is this the case or can you still run using a belly tank?
Dont see many trailers with them nowadays, usually saw them on step frame tilts.
Yes, they are frowned upon these days, our French cousins take a very, very dim view of them for one. When the restrictions on the amount of fuel you could carry across EU borders were lifted, the ruling was made that it is limited to the diesel in the normal running tanks and that directly feed the engine, that is allowed.
Even those top tanks, that go where the catwalk is are frowned upon.
yeah the kermits’ll give you major grief about them these days, we’ve still got one on a 13.6 flat (which was cut down from a tilt) which doesn’t go out often,
all other trailers are so low we can’t fit them anywhere!
Coffeeholic:
Yes, they are frowned upon these days, our French cousins take a very, very dim view of them for one. When the restrictions on the amount of fuel you could carry across EU borders were lifted, the ruling was made that it is limited to the diesel in the normal running tanks and that directly feed the engine, that is allowed.
Even those top tanks, that go where the catwalk is are frowned upon.
I could be wrong but i believe anything over 1500 Ltrs requires ADR
you are right linux.
i dont know about how many litres you can carry.
but if you have a belly tank,you need adr.
i ran with a belly tank for yrs back in the late 80s early 90s.
it was a great money saver,but forever watching out for french customs.
after all the yrs i laugh about it,but i wouldnt like to go to the bother again.\
i havent done italy or spain since 1993.
i wonder is it any fun now,or is it all drive.
it was fun in times bygone.
to all the guys same age as me 53 going on 21.
if you had your life over again,would you go into the same job?
sorry for going off topic,but i am just thinking this now.
yes both linux-user and greg50 are correct if the tank is over 1000liters
you willneed a ADR licence with either a trem-card and freight note,and the other items as per ADR rules, but if this tank is used for say powering a fridge or heater unit then you may have a tank unfortunatly I am not tooclued up at how big these tanks can be, I do know that a certain firm
used to have extra large tanks for their fridges due to the long distances and places where they visited and i do belive that they stillgo out that far know and again,but they did have some problems with these tanks.
Cheers for the replies lads, thought they might be out of favour nowadays.
A mate of mine used to run down to Turkey for a short while for a fella off the A13 (Egg on Legs and Truckyboy know him I think) and he used to have a belly tank…apparently the dodge was to get it sealed at Dover with the delivery valve open
Dont quite know how you would do that and not have 1000 LTS of red run out all over the car deck
you would probably get away with belly tanks now. not many people bothered using them anymore.
theres no 200 ltr limit and diesel is cheaper in europe than in england.
the first garage when you come out of calais is top price,but go to auchan in dunquerk[excuse spelling] and happy days.
supermarket prices.
no prob to get an artic in,i been there a few time in the last 2 yrs.
greg50:
if you had your life over again,would you go into the same job?.
definitely, except i’d make a shed load more dosh this time having seen the dodges and opportunities i missed last time by not being bright enough!
lets face it, UK-european driver accompanied movements will soon be as much of a dim and distant memory as the middle east boom is already - i for one will always look back on my (very small, from 1982) part of it with affection and pride
i would go back out if she agreed.
different when you get old
but i miss it.
i may be the wrong side of fifty,mayby coffaholic is as well.
sorry if i insult you cofee dont mean to
a trip to italy now at this stage of my lifei
i would be gone subito…
sorry but you are wrong as there will all ways be goods that require driver
accompanied and this can be a very large selection of goods from Animal
transport,Air freight, chemicals in various forms etc,
I work with chemicals and it is becomeing in some instances a JIT drop
which means you can not send it unaccommpanied and also they wish
the same firm to do the job all the time due to the cost of the load,security,
etc, so no there will allways be accompanied traffic to and fro ,from the supplier to the customer,
maybe i didn’t word it right brit pete - by western european drivers would have been more accurate, of course it won’t die altogether, my firm still do a lot but it WILL dwindle even more on WHATEVER type of traffic, uk hauliers’ share down from 52% to 24% in around 5 years and falling still…
jj72:
uk hauliers’ share down from 52% to 24% in around 5 years and falling still…
A couple of weeks ago I read the results of the latest survey and it reported that the UK hauliers share had risen by 2%, but I agree with you that it will dwindle and eventually be almost exclusively in specialised or niche markets. I don’t think it will be that long before I am driving a truck off a ferry into the UK for the last time.
Coffeeholic:
I don’t think it will be that long before I am driving a truck off a ferry into the UK for the last time.
is that out of choice neil? i have often wondered about your lot, don’t get me wrong i’ve had some great work off them over the years (quarter of a £mil in 2003 alone) but they do own a huge polish operation and the temptation must be there for them - even if the service did inevitably drop through the floor
Coffeeholic:
I don’t think it will be that long before I am driving a truck off a ferry into the UK for the last time.
is that out of choice neil? i have often wondered about your lot, don’t get me wrong i’ve had some great work off them over the years (quarter of a £mil in 2003 alone) but they do own a huge polish operation and the temptation must be there for them - even if the service did inevitably drop through the floor
It wouldn’t be my choice, I just think it is inevitable given the way things are going in general. They have owned the Polish operation for years and that isn’t an issue. Like I say I think it is just something that will happen, given the way costs are going, but there is no sign of it yet and I hope there isn’t for a while.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not full of doom and gloom, things are going well but there is always that little thought that it can’t last forever.
