The delivery math
loads = ceil(gallons ÷ tanker size) · total = loads × price
hose = gallons × rate ÷ 1,000 (+ ~2 days of patience)
The premium is real — typically 8–15× the hose price — which is why the decision is rarely about money. It's about the four constraints in the FAQ: well capacity, well chemistry, restrictions, or a calendar. When one of those applies, the truck is cheap insurance; when none do, the hose wins every time.
A worked example
An 18,000-gallon fill: three 6,000-gallon loads at $450 = $1,350, delivered in an afternoon. The hose does it for ~$108 across about 30 hours of running time. On city water with no deadline, that's a $1,242 premium for 30 saved hours of... a hose running unattended. On a marginal well, it's the cost of not replacing a well pump.
Booking notes
Confirm potable (not construction) water, ask the tanker size and whether partial loads prorate, and clear truck access to within hose reach of the pool. Afterward, treat it as a fresh fill: the starter kit quantities and the report card take it from there — and the fill cost calculator handles the hose-side math in more detail.