How to repair a water tanker truck on the road?

Question

I'm trying to put together a story scene in which my lead character, who drives a water tanker truck, has to do a repair job on his truck by himself while he is on the side of the highway.  I originally wanted him to have a tire blowout and have him put the spare on, but I don't know if that is the kind of repair job one man can do alone.  

Frist of all, if it is a one-man job, where is the spare tire located on most water tankers, how is the spare removed, and what kind of jack would he need for the job?

Second, if this type of job must be done in a garage, what other mechanical mishap can I have my character face that 1) he can fix by himself, but 2) takes at least 30 minutes to an hour for one man to do by himself?

Third, if none of these scenarios is possible, please let me know that as well.

My character is not a mechanic by trade, but he has three years of truck driving experience.

I know this is an odd question, but I'd appreciate any help I could get.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Scourge2

JaneM · Accepted Answer

we have 3 water trucks in our company and none carry spares. we also have about 15 tractor trailer rigs and none of them carry spares. you have a flat you call a service truck to replace the tire. the driver stands there and watches. drivers don't do repairs as a general rule. they may change the oil and filters on trucks that are assigned to them because they don't want anyone else touching their rig. of course there are exceptions to this with smaller companies and independent truckers. now a days you really need big air impact wrenches and special air jacks to change tires on big trucks. the service vehicle has the compressor and tools to do the job. most water trucks use a power take off "PTO" that runs off the tranny to turn the pump that sprays the water. why don't you say the pto drive shaft shredded a u-joint and the driver had to take the shaft out and replace one of the u-joints. he could have some tools and another part and do the job on the side of the road. probably take an hour or so. maybe the mechanic was out of town in his service truck and couldn't help out. etc, etc.

venice · Answer

hmm, keen observation there! There is one theory that for the same amount of surface area (read tanker wall material), a cylinder will carry more volume than a cuboid/parallelopiped (rectangular block). That is also the reason why bubbles, drops etc etc have spherical shape. But if we don't care about that, maybe the mechanics of truck motion come into play! the liquid tends to splosh about a lot less in a cylindrical tank, because of the curved sides which will channel the liquid downward. On the other hand, a rectangular container will spill, splash all the way! As regards to cement trucks, the tank needs to be rotated about its axis so a circular profile is better.

Darrell · Answer

Does it have a hole in the water tank? or the engine cut off? Or the tire went flat? You just say "repair" on the road.

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How to repair a water tanker truck on the road?

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