Know More About Your Dump Truck
A dump truck is a truck used for transporting loose material, for construction. A typical dump truck is equipped with a hydraulically operated open-box bed hinged at the rear, the front of which can be lifted up to allow the contents to be deposited on the ground behind the truck at the site of delivery. In the UK the term applies to off road construction plant only, and the road vehicle is known as a tipper or tipper lorry.
The dump truck was first conceived in 1920. The lifting device was a winch attached to a cable that fed over sheave mounted on a mast behind the cab. The cable was connected to the lower front end of the wooden dump box which was attached by a pivot at the back of the truck frame. The operator turned a crank to raise and lower the box. Virtually all dump trucks operate by hydraulics and they come in a variety of configurations each designed to accomplish a specific task in the construction material supply chain.
A standard dump truck is a full truck chassis with a dump body mounted to the frame. The dump body is raised by a hydraulic ram mounted forward of the front bulkhead, between the truck cab or traction unit, And the dump truck body. The tailgate can be configured to swing on hinges or it can be configured in the High Lift Tailgate format wherein pneumatic rams lift the gate open and up above the dump truck body.
A standard dump truck has one front axle, and one or more rear axles which typically have dual wheels on each side. Common configurations for a standard dump truck include the six wheeler which has one rear axle, the ten wheeler with two rear axles, and the tri-axle with three rear axles. These are mainly found in inner cities and in the deep south. The largest of the standard used dump trucks is commonly called a “centipede” and has seven axles. The rear two axles are powered and the front axle is the steering axle. The intermediate axles are present to support the weigh over the length of the chassis and sometimes to provide additional braking power.