Flexible articulated piping for tank trucks is a specialized retractable pipeline equipment used in the oil, chemical, and storage industries for loading and unloading various liquid media. Installed on loading platforms, it achieves flexible positioning in three-dimensional space through multiple boom arms and rotating joints, connecting the storage area's process pipeline to the tank truck interface. It is a core equipment for loading and unloading operations, replacing traditional hoses, and offering safety, sealing, and durability.
Core Categories (divided by loading method and sealing requirements, with two mainstream types)
Top Loading Crane Pipe
Open-top design: Suitable for low-volatile media such as diesel, heavy oil, and lubricating oil, featuring no sealing structure. Offers high loading and unloading efficiency and low cost. The basic model meets the regular open-top truck loading requirements.
Sealed Type (Model: AL1412/AL1512): Core compatible with volatile and toxic mediums like gasoline and benzene, featuring conical sealing caps and cylinder tightness structure, equipped with phase recovery interfaces, reducing VOCs emissions, meeting environmental protection and oil recovery requirements, and is currently the mainstream choice.
2. Bottom Loading Crane Tube
Discharge and load from the bottom interface of tank trucks, with superior sealing performance; media is non-volatile and splash-free, suitable for high-risk media such as gasoline and chemical raw materials. Equipped with Emergency Release Couplings (ERC). However, it requires high standardization of tank truck interfaces and is commonly used in large oil depots and chemical industrial parks with high-standard loading conditions.
Universal Core Structure
All truck-mounted crane hoses are modularly designed, with unified core components, and materials/accessories are adjusted solely based on type/medium.
Support and Rotation: Pillars, Rotation Joints (critical wear parts, varying from 3 to 6, enabling 360° horizontal rotation + boom range adjustment), Bearing Seats;
Boom System: Inner Boom, Outer Boom, Telescopic Pipe (adjustable for various trailer heights), material selection based on medium.
Balancing System: Spring Cylinder Balancer / Counterweight Balancing, ensuring the boom remains balanced at any position, with ease of manual operation and reduced labor intensity.
Safety & Auxiliary: Anti-static grounding equipment, containment locking device (secures crane boom when idle), seals (PTFE / fluororubber); sealed cylinder for increased pressure, phase tube; emergency release device (ERC) for high-risk operations, oil spill protection.
Core Advantages (vs. Traditional Hoses)
Safety and Durability: Metal rigid tube structure, no risk of aging or cracking, lifespan of 8-10 years, significantly longer than flexible hoses; built-in static dissipation and grounding to eliminate fire and explosion hazards.
Flexible operation: 360° rotation + telescopic downtube, compatible with various vehicle types/trailer interfaces, precise alignment, single-person operation;
Sealed Environmental Protection: The airtight model achieves over 90% sealing efficiency, comes with oil vapor recovery, meets VOCs control requirements, and ensures no medium leakage.
Easy Maintenance: Modular design with rotating joints and seals as replaceable parts, allowing for individual replacement without the need for full disassembly, resulting in low maintenance costs.
