www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | SEPTEMBER 2016 35
a rubber disk that contacts the inside of
the rear truck tires, causing the disk to
spin. The spinning causes chains hanging
from the mechanism to be continuously
flung outward at road-surface level so the
truck tires ride continuously on top of the
splayed chains. Smith said drivers use the
system in icy road conditions, and when
backing up driveways. He said they could
be "the difference between getting in and
out – and not." He estimated that Kurtz
Truck Equipment installs 20 to 25 sets per
year. Automatic chains are "a bit on the
pricey side," Smith said, but he pointed
out, "If you use them and you save one
towing bill" you just saved" yourself from
paying the going rate for a heavy-duty
wrecker, which he said can be about $250
an hour, and in some cases double that.
"There's one near me who won't roll
their heavy wrecker for less than $500 an
hour," Smith said.
Gabe Frezzo, president of Liquid
Measurement & Controls, Collegeville,
Pa., a tank truck fabricator and truck
equipment seller, said, "Over the past ten
years we've been seeing more and more
guys spending money on the chains."
Insta-Chain, a manufacturer based in
Springville, Utah, makes a set that can
be mounted on air ride or spring suspen-
sions, and in back of the tires or in front
of the tires. It can also be mounted on a
single axle and a tandem axle, Frezzo said.
Frezzo and Smith both said that another
system that is being spec'd increasingly, and
is considered to be beneficial to safety, is a
camera mounted on the rear of a truck; that
rear view, transmitted to a screen mounted
in the cab, enables the driver to better mon-
itor what is behind the truck as he backs up,
they said.
Spec'ing a propane tank truck is a dif-
ferent drill from spec'ing a heating oil
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A rear-view camera transmits to an in-cab screen so a driver can monitor the area behind a
truck while backing up. Picture 4 shows the camera, mounted at the top rear of the tank, and
pointing downward. The other pictures show the various options for placement of the screen in
the truck cab.
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