The Chem-Tainer 55 gallon black portable utility tank is a flat-bottom polyethylene tank built to sit on a truck bed, trailer, or pad and move water and water-based fluids without the bulk of a vertical tank. At 16 inches tall with a 26 by 42 inch footprint, it slides under low clearances and tucks into a fleet vehicle where a taller drum or vertical tank won't fit. The black polyethylene blocks light, which keeps algae down in stored water, and the low profile keeps the center of gravity down when the tank is full and the truck is moving.
Will it work for your job
This is a 55 gallon black tank molded from polyethylene with a 1.5 specific gravity rating, which means it is built to hold contents up to 1.5 times the weight of water. That is the heavy-duty end of the utility-tank range, above the standard 1.0 to 1.1 rating most flat-bottom utility tanks carry. Filled with plain water, the contents weigh roughly 459 pounds; loaded to the full rated capacity the tank carries up to 688 pounds of contents. Plan your mounting, tie-downs, and the rated payload of your vehicle or trailer around those numbers, not just the empty weight. The 16 inch height and 26 by 42 inch footprint make this a practical choice when you need usable volume in a space that can't take a tall tank. If you are weighing this size against your actual usage and refill schedule, run the numbers through our Tank Sizing Calculator or read the Tank Sizing Guide before you commit.
How to mount and use it
As a portable flat-bottom utility tank, it needs continuous, even support across the full footprint. A flat truck bed, a deck, or a properly sized pad works; spanning it across rails or unsupported gaps does not, because polyethylene flexes under load. See the technical drawing on this page for the dimensioned outline before you build a frame or cut a mount. For permanent ground placement, our guide on concrete pad sizing for above-ground polyethylene tanks covers the support framework. If this tank rides on a farm vehicle, the portable utility tank DOT and agricultural exemption guide is worth a read for how these tanks are classified for farm fleet use.
The mistake to avoid
The 1.5 specific gravity rating describes the tank's structural headroom for heavier-than-water contents, not a clearance for chemical service. If you plan to store anything other than water or a light water-based fluid, confirm the fitting and gasket material with us before you fill it, since the gasket compound is the real gate for non-water service. The other common miss is mounting: a portable tank that is well supported empty can still crack if the load shifts onto an edge or a gap once it is full, so support the whole flat bottom and never let it bridge a gap.
This tank ships LTL freight, quoted live to your delivery ZIP, with Chem-Tainer stocking locations in Marked Tree, AR, Merced, CA, and West Babylon, NY. Get a real number before you order with our Freight Cost Estimator or call 866-418-1777 and we will quote it for you.
