Tanker Shuttle Cycle Time

fill = tank/fill_gpm, dump = tank/dump_gpm, travel = 2 x distance/speed (round trip), cycle = fill + dump + travel, and one tanker sustains tank/cycle. A 3,000-gal tanker filling and dumping at 1,000 gpm over a 2-mile haul at 35 mph runs a 12.9-min cycle and sustains only 233 gpm alone - which is why rural supply needs a fleet. Techs forget the dump time or count one-way travel; both oversize the flow. A planning aid, not incident command.

fill_min = tank_gal / fill_gpm; dump_min = tank_gal / dump_gpm; travel_min = 2 x distance_mi / speed_mph x 60; cycle_min = fill_min + dump_min + travel_min; single_tanker_gpm = tank_gal / cycle_min.

IFSTA / NFPA 1142 rural water-supply shuttle cycle time, by name.

The shuttle cycle-time relation is public fire-service / rural water-supply training material; incident command governs the actual operation.

Estimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.

Field names used by the API: tank_gal, fill_gpm, dump_gpm, distance_mi, speed_mph, cycle_min, single_tanker_gpm

• Round-trip travel travel time counts both directions (2 x one-way); the tank load is the usable ~90% of nominalIFSTA / NFPA 1142
• Site-limited rates fill and dump are the site-limited rates, not the pump nameplate; the slow site dominates the cycleIFSTA / NFPA 1142