Training trailer helps teach new drivers about propane tanks

FOR the past seven years, Farmers Oil Company Inc has been using a retired MC331 propane trailer for driver training. The trailer also has taken part in training and drills for emergency responders in the Midwest.

Newly hired company drivers spend a few hours of their initial training with the trailer. It provides a relaxed setting in which to gain familiarity with the way MC331 trailers are built and equipped.

Built in 1984, the 10,500-gallon tank was involved in a rollover that left a large dent on one side. The owner decided to scrap it. Farmers Oil bought the trailer and hauled it back to the Route 66 Truck & Trailer shop in Afton, Oklahoma.

Mechanics in the R-stamp code tank shop spent two to three years on the project to completely renovate and refurbish the trailer. They cut two doorways with fold-down stairs on the driver side of the tank.