Moving a tank by pickup truck

[SallyWho]

The thought occurred to me that if I am able to find a used tank for sale in my area, I'm going to need a way to get it home. Lordy knows a 120-180g tank won't fit in my little Honda! Assuming I find a pickup truck to borrow or rent, what's the safest way to secure the tank in the back without it sliding around or cracking? Wrap it in blankets and use tie-down straps? Would bungee cords be better than those ratcheting straps? It seems the stretch of a bungee cord might be less likely to crack a tank, but since I've never done this before, I have no idea if that's how it works in practice. What if the pickup doesn't have any places in the bed to hook those straps into? I'd love to hear y'alls input!

 

[Jason mack]

Most trucks or pickups will have tying points so you can use suring straps or ropes too tie it down use a blanket or something similar too cover it too stop any further damage ! Good luck

 

[SallyWho]

Most trucks or pickups will have tying points so you can use suring straps or ropes too tie it down use a blanket or something similar too cover it too stop any further damage ! Good luck

Thanks!

 

[Jason mack]

If you can get some rubber Mats too sit it on that will help stop it moving and help protect it as well

 

[easternreefer]

picked up a used 90g this summer. bungee cords and blankets worked for us. get it as tight to the back of the bed as possible and make sure movement is minimized. I tied down the sides the back and the top. I actually used the braces to slide some of the bungee cords through and around so they had some more contact points. if using the bungees. I would suggest that the cords be tied together to create a web like structure around and over the tank. I stopped every 50 miles (I had 300 miles to go) or so to check and make adjustments if necessary. but once it settled in it was fine. hope this helps

 

[martinbrown983]

Why don't you try with a trailer? If you have a trailer so it's easy to tow on that if you don't have so you can make it easier, compare to truck its very easy to tow on a trailer, a few days ago I did this similar, basically I am a towing truck driver at NYC Roadside Assistance Services, so there I received an order where I had to move a tank so I did that on a trailer.

 

[Sailingeric]

Get some sand bags or bags of kitty litter to wedge around the tank to keep it from sliding.

 

[BeejReef]

Yeah, it's really not that bad. Depends on the distance you have to go, but the tank is pretty darn heavy. If you get some rubber or foam under it, it's not gonna move much. Bouncing is what you want to avoid

 

[JLUR_]

I helped a buddy move a huge tank earlier this year. Easiest way is to put the tank on a moving blanket in the bed. Then take 2 (or more) ratchet straps and loop around the tank like I've drawn below. The tiedowns points on the bed are usually low on the wall so keep the straps low on the side of the tank, too. Don't go crazy with the strap tension, just enough to keep the tank from walking all over the bed.

 

[lapin]

The main issue besides sliding around is the support on the bottom. I assume you are looking at a used glass tank.
Thick plywood, melamine or hard board, with a blanket between the tank and plywood. I would also stretch wrap the tank. If something does bump it it could prevent a chip. Then there is always bubble wrap.

 

[AiKkz]

I lay down kids play matts, cover the tank with several blankets (i'm paranoid) and use ropes in a similar fashion as what @JLUR_ posted in his pic.