Hmmm... Nice looking tank. Not so sure that the leg - baffle thing is going to help alot. Some I'm sure... You could try it and then try the straps you were talking about as plan-b...

I would get stainless steel pop rivets and clean them first with a degreaser and then a disinfectant before you use them to assemble your strap ***** / loops...
Don't be tempted to use aluminum pop rivets.. Aluminum does some bad stuff to us...

Edit weight with water would be about 7679 pounds...

 

UV stabilization is to protect the plastic, not the water. Light getting in will cause algae growth, which is usually just ick factor- unless it rots- the rot bacteria, particularly if anaerobic will produce toxins. If stored empty and vented, this issue will be minimal, and algae doesn't much like chlorine, either.

I think my point about full and baffles may have been missed- since you are hauling for your homestead, I would have thought you'd always haul full- thus not needing the baffles. If you want it as backup for fire suppression or the like, you could just have the hoop baffles sitting stacked to drop in.

BTW aluminum is the most abundant metal on the crust of the earth (8% by weight), and third element overall taking a back seat only to oxygen and silicon. However, it is a STRONG anode and will erode rapidly if grounded in water.

PS the reason I mentioned DOT is because I was envisioning use of a stationary type tank- they are a little fragile when full. That tank is clearly designed to be hauled.

 

The ability to block UV will help in the reduction of micro-organism growth.

You may want to read up on Aluminum Toxicity
ARL : Aluminum Toxicity

 

The water I will be hauling will have chlorine in it because it will come out of the town's water system. I will also be building a pull through garage/shed type building to leave the trailer in. I just don't know how soon I can get it done until the first building gets built and find out how light my wallet is after it's finished.

 

Maybe a smallish tank for the pickup bed and a black potable stationary tank at the homestead? Obviously this only works if it coincides with your commute, but just a thought.

If cash is a concern, scrapping an old travel trailer or scavenging a mobile home chassis might be an option. Both of these probably should have significant cross bracing added though as well as planking. Mobile home axles often use oddball wheels/tires/brakes. But travel trailers are pretty universal based on load capacity.

 

The secondary pickup will have a 250 gallon tank in it hooked up to an RV style water pump and will be used to water the apple trees we are planting. The land already has two 1450 gallon cisterns installed underground. I bought a 14Klb flatbed trailer with normal spring axels last weekend and it will be able to haul the 925 gallon tank.

Since we will end up with a commercial kitchen and be inspected by the health department, I need to use a special FDA approved water hose and all stainless fittings. Then they want each fitting sprayed with a 100ppm chlorine/water mixture before they are connected. Since algae growth seems like a normal problem, I think I should store the trailer in a building.

Thanks for all the input

 

I have both torsion and spring axle trailers. The springs are a little more forgiving to tongue height in terms of axle loading. I see a lot of torsion axle trailers that bounce a lot empty. I built mine for about $800 with used tires. Add another $400 for new D rated tires. I used an old 5th wheel travel trailer for the donor and another trailer for the rectangular tubing frame. The donor was also equipped with shocks and this is the nicest pulling trailer I have ever pulled. BUT, I keep every trailer tuned and each has it's own hitch receiver to keep the tongue angle optimum. (basically level when loaded)
Another thing I highly recommend is heavy fenders. I have my metal supplier break mine from 3/16 and I can drive over them if I need to. They cost about $75 and are well worth the few extra $$ over the crappy sheet metal ones. I have about 3 years and many 2000 mile trips on this trailer.

 

I also forgot to interject my opinion on using a mig to build trailers. I know most manufacturers and many home shop builders will disagree but I never build anything structural like trailers with my MIG. I break out the trusty old SA200 Lincoln and use nothing but 7018.

 

That's a good choice in rods, though I am known to sometimes use 6018, too.

Pop

 

I don't have an arc welder but my Hobart Handler 187 can handle 3/16" thick steel with a single pass. But since I found a great deal on a 14Klb flatbed I don't need to build one.

We got the apple trees planted last weekend and the RV water pump worked great. It makes about 40psi with a flow rate of 3.5 gal/min. That was enough to simulate it hooked up to a normal water spigot.