Hyd tank making a mess...

working with Hydraulic systems for years the oil has legs on it. Meaning a drop of oil will appear bigger than it really is. And blowing with the breeze down the highway doesn't help. So raise up the body so you fill the cylinder and see how much oil is left. It might be too much when the cylinder comes down and refills the tank. Remove the filler cap as the system is not pressurized at that point clean the area good. Raise/lower the cylinder and see if you see any splatter. If so you might have too much oil or when it comes back into the tank its to fast causing a splatter inside the tank. maybe add some sort of baffle to slow it down coming back in.

 

I had a problem with oil splashing up through the vents as it sloshed around as I drove, too. Solution was to put a 90 degree elbow out of each vent port, then a T with the vent in it. Link the two together with a piece of hose, and no more problems. Anything that DOES slosh up gets caught and returned to the tank without escaping through the vents. Not "pretty", but it's under the cab (not TOO visible) and looks a heck of a lot better than an oily tank.

 

My last wetline tank was a pita for that. I eventually ran a 1 1/2 hose off the vent down back of the filter under the truck. Not epa approved but what heck. Mine would dribble it out as the hoist came down. Oil would separate from the vapor as it came out. As long as you pull the same trailer all the time I would run just enough oil to get the hoist to the full height.

 

An old show-car trick is to wrap a wrist-worn sweatband around the breather to keep oil from coming out and getting all over the valve covers.

The same might work on your vent / filler cap.

 

When I pulled a 39' end dump I only needed about 45 gallons. I had a 50 gallon tank.

 

I always raise the body all the way and then put an extra 5 gallons in the tank as a reserve or for dumping on an incline.

I also toss the breather into the trash can and install a simple elbow with a hose fitting into the hole vacated by the breather, then I run a vent hose between the tank and frames so it can only vent to the ground.

The breather restricts the exhaust of air so oil gets lifted with the exhausting air, a free open vent with a hose will rarely get any fluid at all in the vent line.

 

A sweatband on the breather would not be a good idea on a hydraulic tank as you are dealing with suction and expulsion through the breather. Starve the pump for oil because the sweatband is too restrictive or dirty and you will be buying a pump and cleaning a hydraulic system as in a walking floor.

 

Obviously, like any other filter, the sweatband would have to be cleaned or replaced periodically. I thought that went without saying.