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On American Pickers the guys came across a three-compartment take that attached to the running board of early cars. The compartments contained oil, water, and gasoline, because gas stations were few and far in-between.

Did early Packards come equipped with a three tank compartment?

Kind regards,

Garrett Meadows

G'day Garrett,

I'd very much suggest that any such equipment was an aftermarket accessory.

There was a three canister setup that was mostly intended for the Model T Ford crowd. It clamped to a running board.

I have a model T Ford and it hardly needs oil, Water sometimes, and there is no gas gauge.

I would suppose it could be used with any car that has a running board.

Some cars such as the model T didn't allow entry for the driver due to levers and things in the way on the driver side, so that is where you stacked the freight.

Jim

To determine if early Packards were (factory) equipped with 3 compartment tanks on the running boards, look at the 1899-1900 and other early cars, they do not have running boards. Look on the photos on the site of Packards, the answer is evident.

I think a better name for that show is Garbage Pickers. Right now I'm on business and have about one hour of free time per day. I don't have cable (because it's garbage) so I watch the car shows on the hotel TV. The auction in Palm Beach was so nuts if I was taking drugs I couldn't dream up that crap.

Anyway, the very early cars had multiple tanks up front under a lid, but by 1910 the oil tank was under the hood, the gas tank was under the seat, and the radiator was filled at the cap. The model 38/48 had the gas tank at the rear.

I have pictures of a Model F that show this, but I won't publish them because they are contraband pictures.