Rural Water Supply: the Vacuum Tanker, the Better Way

By Jason Estep

There is always a better way, and those who are most successful in all walks of life are consistently looking to become better, to get an edge, to become the best. This is applicable to all industries, to life in general, and especially to rural fireground operations using tankers.

Let’s look at what we are doing now. We use apparatus with large tanks, usually with a capacity of 1,250 to 4,000 gallons of water. They may or may not have a fire pump. If a pump is present, it generally will have a three-inch tank-to-pump valve along with a 1¼-inch tank fill valve from the pump. It would have a dump valve at the rear. Some have the ability to dump off the side and usually have a 2½-inch direct tank fill valve. Some of the more progressive tankers have five-inch direct tank fill valves. The theory is, bigger is always better, and most counties have one unit named the “Super Tanker.”