About Dumper Trucks
The dumper is a vehicle designed for carrying materials such as aggregates, sand or spoil on and off construction sites.
All machines are fitted with a tipping skip for easy loading and unloading. There are several different types and capacities of tipping skip for front, side and elevated tipping. Some dumpers are articulated, some are four wheel drive and most have diesel powered engines.
Typically dumper trucks incorporate a sprung steel seat, roll bar and diesel engine giving a forward speed of around 16 km per hour.
The earliest examples weren't the four wheel drive all terrain vehicles we have today but were two wheel drive and the steering wheel turned the back wheels. They could typically carry about a tonne in weight and used gravity to tip the front mounted skip rather than the hydraulically operated skips that are used today. A simple catch by the foot pedals was used to release the skip.
Modern dump trucks feature electric starting, hydraulic tipping and steering, four wheel drive, articulating chassis and typicaly carry loads of up to 10 tonnes.
Types of Dumper Truck
Dumper trucks come in many shapes and sizes. From the mini dumper to the 4x4 dumper to the JCB dumper truck, Terex dumper, Thwaites dumper truck or Benford dump truck the choice of make and model of site dumper is vast.
Naturally its the type of job that will decide the correct dumper to buy or hire. Increasingly popular for confined spaces are the modern swivel skip vehicles which can easily unload to the front and sides.
Another option is the lifting or hi-tip skip dumper truck which can lift and discharge its load at up to two metres without any problem.
Whichever truck you decide on remember safety first; used incorrectly dumpers are the cause of many accidents on site.