Besides hauling water for fire protection, tankers (tenders) are used in plenty of construction operations. Bert Baumgartner - one of our members from Manitoba, Canada - had the chance to operate a water tender designed for the construction business. He took the opportunity to take a few photos and collect some information to share.

The tender was designed for construction purposes like dust control, soil compaction, and cooling water for concrete saws (hence the garden hose). Filling was done through a 2 1/2" 'over the top' fill pipe hooked up to a steamer port on a fire hydrant. It took about 10 minutes to fill from empty. The tender had a 3" PTO pump (pretty typical of these trucks) - the more throttle you gave it the more volume and pressure you got.

The rig had a single hand crank 1 1/2" hose reel on the back - kind of built in to the bumper. There were two, front bumper mounted sprinkler heads and two rear mounted sprinkler heads. It also had a removeable sprinkler nozzle just behind the cab that was connected via a 2 or 2 1/2" cam lock fitting. Mr. Baumgartner used the tender several times for watering down the backfill on a large sewer ditch they were digging where he was working.

While these type of tenders are specifically designed for non-fire fighting purposes, some locales have made modifications to allow the units to support fire department water hauling operations. Generally, with the addition of a dump valve and a fill system with FD connections, the construction tender can support FD water hauling operations.

Many thanks to Mr. Baumgartner for sharing the photos and info.