A fuel tanker is the only truck in this catalogue that can be illegal before it has been loaded. The tank, the valves, the earthing and the signage are all part of the vehicle, and none of them appear in a horsepower figure. The seven chassis below are arranged as a checklist to work through before an order — not as a ranking.

Every line is taken from the published specification sheet for that chassis, in the tractor, cargo and special truck categories. Where a sheet publishes nothing, this page says so. Nothing here states what any authority requires of a tanker in your country; that determination is yours, and the gap between it and these sheets is the whole of your compliance work.

Work through it in this order

1. 1

   Name the product first, not the truck

   Liquid fuel, powder and gas are three different vehicles. The ETX 9 8×4 powder tanker is a 35 m³ bulk powder tanker whose sheet names the transport medium as charcoal powder at a density of 0.4 tonnes per cubic metre — which is why a 31-tonne 8×4 can carry 13.57 tonnes of rated load and still be within its rating. The Aumark S 5 m³ and the Aumark S 5 m³ for the Philippines are 5 m³ diesel bowsers. The two LNG tractors and the two diesel tractors below are prime movers, not tanks.

2. 2

   Read the tank volume against the gross weight, never on its own

   Five cubic metres of diesel is roughly four tonnes. The Aumark S 5 m³ RHD publishes a gross vehicle weight of 8,500 kg on a 3,800 mm wheelbase with a 2.85-tonne front axle and a 6-tonne rear axle on a 4.33 final drive. The Aumark S 5 m³ LHD publishes 7,495 kg on a 3,360 mm wheelbase with the same axle ratings on a 4.3 final drive. The Auman 4×2 10 m³ publishes a 10 m³ upper body on a chassis with a kerb weight of 5,470 kg, a 5.5-tonne front axle and a 10-tonne rear axle on 4.875.

3. 3

   Read the safety equipment line by line

   Two sheets in this group itemise it and the other five do not. The Aumark S for the Philippines lists two fire extinguishers, a grounding drag tape, a flame arrester, a bottom valve, a hazardous-materials roof lamp, a refuelling gun and a 10-metre rubber hose on a reel. The Aumark S RHD tanker lists two extinguishers, a grounding strap, a fire arrester cap, a bottom emergency shut-off valve, a hazmat roof beacon and a fuel nozzle. Ask for the same list on any sheet that does not publish one.

4. 4

   Decide whether you need a tractor at all

   If the tank is a semi-trailer, you are buying a prime mover and the tank is somebody else's problem. The GTL 6×4 430 LNG publishes 25 tonnes gross and 40 tonnes maximum towing with a 3.7 rear axle and a Weichai WP13NG430E61 of 12.54 litres. The GTL Star Wing 460 LNG publishes the same 25 and 40 tonnes with a 2.846 axle and a ZF twelve-speed automated. The GTL 4×2 350 is the light option: 4×2, 16,753 kg GVW and 36,000 kg GCW on a 3,600 mm wheelbase.

5. 5

   Check the emission level before the price

   These seven span six standards: China VI on the two LNG tractors, Euro III on the GTL 4×2 350 and the Auman 4×2 10 m³, Euro IV on the Aumark S for the Philippines, China V on the ETX 9 powder tanker, China III on the Aumark S RHD. Two of them — the Aumark S RHD and the Aumark S LHD — are the same tank sold to different markets, and the emission standard is the difference.

6. 6

   Settle the steering side in writing

   Only three of the seven publish a steering position. The Aumark S 5 m³ RHD is right-hand drive. The Aumark S for the Philippines and the ETX 9 powder tanker are left-hand drive. The remaining four sheets are silent, which on a tanker is the single most expensive thing to discover after delivery.

The two 5 m³ Aumark tankers, side by side

What the bigger end looks like

The ETX 9 8×4 powder tanker is the largest rigid tank in this group by volume and the only one that is not a liquid. Its sheet records a 35 m³ tank measuring 8.4 × 2.45 metres, a total mass of 31 tonnes and a rated mass of 13.57 tonnes, on a 1,800 + 4,700 + 1,350 mm wheelbase with overall dimensions of 12 × 2.5 × 3.94 metres. Power is a Foton Cummins ISGe5 360 of 11.8 litres producing 265 kW through a Fast 12JSD180TA (Q) twelve-speed, to China V on common rail, with a 16-tonne cast-steel rear axle on 4.8 and twelve tyres. Its operating condition is stated as plains. $60,000.

At the other end of the size range, the Auman 4×2 10 m³ tank truck is the cheapest way into fuel distribution in this group at $19,000. It is a 4×2 on a 5,150 mm wheelbase with a 10 m³ upper body, a chassis kerb weight of 5,470 kg, a Yuchai YC6A240-33, a Fast 8JS105TA eight-speed, a 5.5-tonne front axle and a 10-tonne rear axle on 4.875, 11R22.5 tubeless tyres, a 200-litre aluminium fuel tank and a governed 105 km/h. It publishes no gross vehicle weight, no emission standard and no safety equipment list.