The Norwesco 50 Gallon Plastic Portable Loaf Utility Tank (SKU N-44962) is a low-slung white polyethylene loaf tank built for fleet skids, spray rigs, and utility hauling where you need real water on board without a tall center of gravity. At 16 inches high, 20 inches wide, and 48 inches long, it rides on a 20.0 x 48.0 inch footprint and sits flat in a truck bed or trailer. This is a portable utility tank engineered to nest into the same footprint job after job, which makes it a workhorse for crews running 50 gallon loaf tank setups across multiple sites.
Will this 50 gallon loaf tank work for your job?
Filled with water, this 50 gallon tank carries roughly 417 pounds of contents at full volume. The shell is rated to a specific gravity of 1.5, which sets the maximum rated contents weight near 626 pounds. Here is the one rule that matters: water tops out around 417 pounds, and the roughly 209 pounds of headroom above that is structural capacity for denser approved liquids only, never extra water. The tank carries a single opening per the technical drawing, a threaded collar for an 8-inch lid, which is your fill and access point. That collar accepts a standard 8-inch Norwesco-thread lid, vented or solid, sold separately, so plan on a mating lid and gasket to seal the tank. See the technical drawing on this page for the exact opening location before you build your plumbing, and run your duty cycle through our Tank Sizing Calculator or read the Tank Sizing Guide if you are not sure 50 gallons is the right size.
Mounting and use considerations
Because a loaf tank is wide and low rather than tall, it spreads its load across the 20 x 48 inch base, which keeps a loaded skid stable on the road. Support the full footprint on a flat, continuous surface; do not bridge it across rails or let the belly hang unsupported when full. The published data here does not include an empty tank tare weight, so confirm the shell weight before you size tie-downs and mounting hardware. If you are setting this on a permanent pad or a multi-tank rack, the framework in our concrete pad sizing guide applies to above-ground polyethylene tanks. Farm-fleet crews should read our breakdown of Norwesco loaf-style portable utility tanks, the agricultural exemption, and DOT classification for farm fleet use. For fixed water storage roles, the same polyethylene feeds into rural fire-water reservoir designs and industrial water reuse trains.
The mistake to avoid
The most common error on this tank is treating the 1.5 specific gravity rating as a free pass to haul any heavy chemical. The rating tells you the shell can structurally carry the weight of a denser liquid; it does not tell you the polyethylene, the 8-inch lid, or its gasket are chemically compatible with whatever you pour in. Before you put anything other than water in this tank, confirm chemical compatibility against the resin and the lid and gasket materials. And do not read the 626 pound maximum as room for extra water; at 50 gallons of water you are already near the practical fill weight, and that upper margin is reserved for approved denser liquids.
This loaf tank is stocked at four Norwesco plants, in Albertville, AL; Hanford, CA; Lancaster, OH; and Sheldon, IA, so most regions have a nearby origin. It ships LTL freight, quoted live to your ZIP from the closest of those shipping points. Get an exact rate with our Freight Cost Estimator, or call us at 866-418-1777 and we will quote the nearest plant to hold your freight down.
