Mobile diesel tank options and prices for farm machinery
Options for getting fuel to thirsty machinery out in the field range from purpose-built trailed bowsers to a tank in the back of a pickup, strapped on to a flatbed trailer, carried on a three-point hitch or even built into a tractor’s front-mounted ballast box.
Portable tank systems typically come with a 4m cable to reach a vehicle battery to power an electric pump of roughly 40-litre/min capacity; upgrades of 50-litre/min or more are available as options.
They can be purchased online, as well as through dealers and distributors.
See also: How to stay legal this harvest when moving wide machinery
For delivery, a 4m hose – mostly fitted with an auto shut-off nozzle to minimise the risk of spillage – is the norm.
Flow meters to record individual machine fill-ups are also on most manufacturers’ options list.
Practical or nominal capacity is about 95% of the quoted tank volumes.
Double-skinned, plastic-in-steel and steel-in-steel structures provide a 110% anti-leakage bund, essential for transporting diesel on public roads.
Rules and regulations
Manufacturers’ product information for mobile tanks of 200 litres or more (generally described as IBCs up to 3,000-litre capacity) refer to “UN type approval” and “ADR certified”.
The latter relates to a European agreement on the carriage of dangerous goods by road.
Certification indicates that the containers are approved for transporting diesel on public highways.
To retain this certification, the containers must be inspected and pressure tested every two and half years from manufacture.
An internal inspection that includes metal thickness measurement of steel tanks is also required every five years.
Chris Ford, of Wilts-based Tank Services, highlights that the five-year “MOT” provides a good opportunity to have the tank professionally cleaned inside and out.
Steel tanks can have continued use, as long as they pass the certification requirements.
However, all-plastic and plastic containers within a steel shell may not be used to transport diesel on the road after five years from manufacture.
Containers of less than 200-litre capacity need not be bunded and are exempt from ADR/UN certification requirements.
But they must be “fit for purpose” – in other words, designed and equipped for transporting diesel securely.
For operators, special training and licensing as a “dangerous goods vehicle driver” only kicks in when transporting quantities of more than 1,000 litres of diesel on public roads.
Information on training course providers and certification forms can be found on the gov.uk website.
Who makes what?
Atlantis Tanks
The 450- to 3,000-litre bunded diesel PortaTanks have anti-surge baffles, manway or lift-off top access for cleaning and inspection, four-way forklift pockets and lifting rings.
Steel PortaTank 450 © Atlantis Tanks
An alternative is the 440-litre DieselToolBox, bolted to the headboard of a dropside or flatbed pickup, as it incorporates a 630-litre tool storage compartment above the diesel tank.
PolliCube 230 Diesel plastic tank © Atlantis Tanks
PolliCube polyethylene tanks are also available in diesel and AdBlue versions with 230- and 440-litre capacity.
Price Tank Services lists the PortaTanks at £2,896 (450 litre); Agri-Linc lists the Pollicube diesel tanks at £699 (230 litre) and £995 (440 litre); equivalent AdBlue tanks are £945 and £1,245.
Bailey Trailers
A rectangular steel tank for fuel and a 220-litre plastic tank for AdBlue, housed in a separate compartment with storage space above, are incorporated in the 2,000-litre twin-axle bowser.
At the front, there is a battery, 85-litre/min pump, flow meter and 10m diesel delivery hose.
Price £10,950.
Fuel bowser with an AdBlue tank and storage shelf © Bailey Trailers
Carbery Plastics
The Mobi Point is moulded in black UV stabilised polyethylene with a lockable lid.
Measuring 800mm wide, the 200-litre and 420-litre versions can be secured in a pickup for in-field re-fuelling and lifted on and off using a forklift.
The diesel tanks are complemented by the AdBlue Caddy, a 55-litre hand-wheeled container with a rotary hand pump.
Price From £600.
Refuelling in the field from a Mobi Point 430 pickup tank © Carbery Plastics
Cemo
Polyethylene trolley refuellers are available in 60-and 100-litre sizes. DT-Mobil Easy poly diesel tanks come in 125- and 210-litre capacity.
The low-profile 210-litre version is designed for pickups, with strap-down lugs moulded into the single-skin casing.
Combi versions of the DT-Mobil Easy (poly) and DT-Mobil Pro (steel) hold diesel and AdBlue, and start at 440/50 litres.
Price Fuel Tank Shop lists the polyethylene refueller from £1,423; the DT-Mobil Easy starts at £678.
210-litre DT-Mobil Easy diesel tank © Cemo
Chieftain Trailers
A new-design UN-approved Highway Tow fuel bowser of 1,000-litres capacity has replaced the three sizes produced previously.
It now features a plastic AdBlue tank with its own pump and dispensing kit housed behind a roller-shutter door in place of a top-hinged door.
It has an in-line strainer and four-digit flow meter, and options include a 20m hose reel and solar battery charging.
The steel outer shell provides an anti-spillage bund.
Price From £5,950 including 80-litre/min pump.
Cross
For large-scale enterprises and plant hire, Cross Agricultural builds tractor-towed tankers in 5,180- to 9,470-litre sizes.
The tankers can be configured for diesel-only or diesel plus AdBlue with an internal tank division, and with hydraulic or engine oil in the dished ends of the tank.
Lidded boxes on one or both sides provide storage for spill control materials, tools and equipment.
Price The 9,470-litre model is priced from about £40,000.
DyMac
The Road Tow bowser combines an AceCube portable diesel tank in 450- to 3,000-litre sizes with a single- or twin-axle trailer chassis.
The tanks are constructed in steel with a removable inner storage vessel. Tanks of 950-litres or more come with a separate equipment cabinet.
Dual Fluid versions from 685 litres diesel plus 140 litres AdBlue in a plastic container are also available.
Price Fuel Tank Shop lists the high-spec Professional 680/140 unit at £4,440, and the 1,750/140 version at £5,696.
Fuel Proof
The portable Fuelstore bunded tank is mounted within a galvanised steel frame, with two sets of three-point linkage couplings.
It comes in 500-, 1,000- and 1,500-litre sizes, with forklift pockets and lifting eyes, a demountable tank, plus a contents gauge and hand-operated pump.
Electric pump upgrades are available.
Tractor linkage-mounted 1,000-litre diesel tank © Fuel Proof
Highway Tow diesel bowsers are available in 500- and 1,000-litre sizes on single-axle running gear, and 1,000- and 2,000-litre capacities on twin axles.
The cylindrical steel construction includes a baffled inner tank to minimise surge.
Price Fuelstore (1,000 litre) is £3,884; Highway Tow bowsers from £3,887; portable bunded tanks from £1,968 (500 litre); cube portable tanks from £1,442; Mobile Diesel Tanks from £813 (220 litre) and £1,092 (440 litre); diesel plus AdBlue version £1,549 (400/50 litres), and £2,099 (900/100 litres).
1,000 Highway Tow © Fuel Proof
GCS Machinery
Refurbished road-tow and field-only fuel bowsers with 500- to 9,000-litre capacity can be bought or hired.
Dispensing equipment upgrades and Cemo poly AdBlue tanks are also available.
Price The 950-litre Mainway steel bunded road-going unit is listed at £1,895, and the 2,000-litre version at £2,600.
Harlequin Plastics
Moulded from medium-density polyethylene, the 430-litre Transfuel bunded diesel tank comes with a 56-litre/min 12V pump and a contents gauge.
The dark green tank has built-in forklift slots. Options include a digital display flow meter and 10-micron filter.
Price From £1,685.
JPM Trailers
JPM’s highway towable fuel bowser provides 1,000-litre capacity in a baffled steel tank with an outer steel shell, providing a bund to contain any leakage.
The twin axles are mounted on rubber bushings while galvanised steel mudguards cover the wheels.
[Price unavailable at the time of publishing]
Kingspan
The Titan TruckMaster cube-shaped fuel bowser comes in 200-, 300-, 430- and 900-litre sizes.
It can be strapped to a pickup, flatbed truck or trailer.
Forklift and shackle mouldings are included in the single-skin poly structure with internal baffle.
BlueTruckMaster AdBlue tanks are also available in the same sizes and similar specifications.
Price TruckMaster (200 litre) from £634/£744 with flow meter; Blue TruckMasterAdBlue from £944/£1,076.
In-field refuelling – a TruckMaster unit delivers supplies © Kingspan
Merrick Loggin
A bunded fuel bowser from Merrick Loggin Trailers holds 6,000 litres of diesel and comes as standard with a 60-litre/min electric pump, 10-micron filter and a fuel meter.
There are also alternative pump options.
Price From £11,500; plus £1,000 for a 240-litre AdBlue tank set into the bund space.
Merrick Loggin 6,000-litre bowser with front platform access © Merrick Loggin
PF Trailers
A fully-bunded 990-litre road-tow fuel bowser is built in 4mm steel with the lift-off upper section of the external casing giving access to the tank inside.
A 12V 50-litre/min electric pump is also part of the package along with twin axle running gear and 13in wheels set beneath steel welded mudguards.
Price From £3,600.
Philip Watkins
Bespoke diesel bowsers are available with up to 8,000 litres of fuel and 800 litres of AdBlue capacity.
Storage is housed behind lockable compartment doors for 25-litre oil drums with spillage bunding, an 80-litre/min electric diesel pump, and room for spill kit and other equipment.
Tandem commercial axles with air/hydraulic brakes and steel suspension, mudguards and LED road lighting complete the package.
Price From £22,000.
Trailer Engineering
The Bunded Highway Bowser comes in single-axle 950-litre and single- or twin-axle 2,140-litre sizes.
Lift-off tanks have a poly fuel container in a steel shell with removable top-half for access.
The 950-litre Diesel Polycube has inner storage and outer bund polyethylene skins secured in a galvanised steel frame, and is stackable.
A trailer option is also available.
Price Bowser from £4,467 (950 litre), and £6,150 (2,140 litre); Polycube (950 litre) from £2,330 and £2,733 for trailer.
Western Global
TransCube transportable steel fuel tanks are complemented by the Abbi road-tow bowser in sizes from 985 litres, mounted on a single- or twin-axle galvanised steel trailer.
Features include an inspection and maintenance hatch, internal baffles, lockable cabinet and lifting eyes and forklift slots for separation from the chassis.
Price Tank Services lists the single-axle version from about £4,400 with an electric pump, and £3,260 for the tank alone to secure to a trailer.
Fuel up front
An alternative mobile fuelling solution is to use the central compartment of a tractor front-mounted weight box to house a diesel tank, or commission a bespoke refuelling unit.
Ballast box specialist Camfab offers the former option with its Smartbox designs.
This includes a new tombstone-mounted version weighing 400kg, before a 200-litre poly fuel tank, pump and hose option, at £590, is added to the £3,280 base specification.
There are also three linkage-mounted versions with space for a fuel tank in the centre compartment flanked by shelved cabinets for tools and equipment.
All-steel, diesel-carrying front weight units from Philip Watkins include the 750kg/200-litre version at £2,570, with a central tank and a tool box either side – one of which houses the pump.
A bespoke front-mounted fuel unit, with 1,000-litre steel diesel and 250-litre stainless-steel AdBlue tanks, two 6m hose reels and an 80-litre/min diesel pump, comes in at £6,000.
The central compartment of Camfab’s Smartbox units can house a fuel tank © Camfab
