Types of Dump Trucks & What They Haul, Part 1

If you're not in the business of covering loads, you might lump all dump trucks together into one big group--but you'd be inaccurate in doing so.

As a tarping professional can tell you, there are several types of dump bodies and each one is specialized for its own specific load type.

Dump Truck Types

A dump truck (also known as a dumper or a tipper truck) is a truck bed or trailer used for transporting loose material (such as sand, gravel, or demolition waste) for construction, refuse, and agriculture needs. A typical dump truck is equipped with an open-box bed, which is hinged at the rear and equipped with hydraulic rams to lift the front, allowing the material in the bed to be deposited (“dumped”) on the ground behind the truck at the site of delivery. See below for descriptions of various types of trucks, from side dump trucks to off-highway dump trucks.

Standard Dump Truck

A standard dump truck is a truck chassis with a dump body mounted to the frame. The bed is raised by a vertical hydraulic ram mounted under the front of the body, or a horizontal hydraulic ram and lever arrangement between the frame rails, and the back of the bed is hinged at the back of the truck. The tailgate can be configured to swing up on top hinges (and sometimes also to fold down on lower hinges) or it can be configured in the “High Lift Tailgate” format wherein pneumatic rams lift the gate open and up above the dump body.

In the United States most standard dump trucks have one front steering axle and one (4×2 4-wheeler)) or two (6×4 6-wheeler) rear axles which typically have dual wheels on each side. Tandem rear axles are almost always powered, front steering axles are also sometimes powered (4×4, 6×6). Unpowered axles are sometimes used to support extra weight. Most unpowered rear axles can be raised off the ground to minimize wear when the truck is empty or lightly loaded, and are commonly called “lift axles”.

European Union heavy trucks often have two steering axles. Dump truck configurations are 2, 3 and 4 axles. The 4-axle eight wheeler has two steering axles at the front and two powered axles at the rear and is limited to 32 metric tons (35 short tons; 31 long tons) gross weight in most EU countries. The largest of the standard European dump trucks is commonly called a “centipede” and has seven axles. The front axle is the steering axle, the rear two axles are powered, and the remaining four are lift axles.

The shorter wheelbase of a standard dump truck often makes it more maneuverable than the higher capacity semi-trailer dump trucks.

Super Dump Truck (Super 10 Dump Truck)

A Super Dump is a straight dump truck equipped with a trailing axle, a liftable, load-bearing axle rated as high as 13,000 pounds (5,897 kg). Trailing 11 to 13 feet (3.35 to 3.96 m) behind the rear tandem, the trailing axle stretches the outer “bridge” measurement—the distance between the first and last axles—to the maximum overall length allowed. This increases the gross weight allowed under the federal bridge formula, which sets standards for truck size and weight. Depending on the vehicle length and axle configuration, Super Dump can be rated as high as 80,000 pounds (36,287 kg). GVW and carry 26 short tons (23.6 t; 23.2 long tons) of payload or more. When the truck is empty or ready to offload, the trailing axle toggles up off the road surface on two hydraulic arms to clear the rear of the vehicle. Truck owners call their trailing axle-equipped trucks Super Dumps because they far exceed the payload, productivity, and return on investment of a conventional dump truck. The Super Dump and trailing axle concept was developed by Strong Industries of Houston, Texas.

Super Tag

A Super Tag is similar to a standard dump truck but is equipped with a tag axle behind the rear-drive axles. The body is longer and is slanted toward the back, which allows for the load to be placed in the truck bed to maximize the payload.

Stay tuned for Types of Dump Trucks & What They Haul, Part 2