These fuel tanks are used on many of today's refrigerated truck trailers. A simple aluminum design allows for manufacturers to produce a variety of capacities simply by changing its length. This high-capacity tank measures just over 6 feet long and carries 120 US gallons of fuel. It features four support brackets, a fuel fill nozzle, a gauge on one end, and a drain on the bottom.
My inspiration for this project was the Bowser Roadrailer. Their BNSF and Alliance Reefer-Railers are equipped with a small 40 gallon tank when they should have this high capacity model. These would make a great addition to any HO scale reefer project or could be retrofitted to a ready-to-run model for some fleet variety. The BNSF Ice Cold Express trailers use this design of fuel tank. The four mounting brackets are grouped in two pairs instead of being evenly spaced.
See
this variant for a different mounting bracket design used on the Alliance Roadrailers.
Model Assembly:
- Remove parts from sprue
- Airbrush the tank an aluminum or silver color. Some tanks have the retaining straps painted black.
- Glue to underside of trailer behind the landing gear legs.