Construction companies prepare sites and assemble houses, buildings, and roads; they build communities and expand cities. Without the work of construction companies, the communities we live and work in would not exist. Now imagine running a construction company without a commercial dump truck; that image just does not compute!

Function

Commercial dump trucks comprise the nucleus of the construction industry. They are the equipment of choice when it comes to transporting any loose building material such as gravel, sand or fill dirt to a construction site as well as carrying out any waste material such as excavated dirt. It can transport any loose material in large amounts quickly and safely to and from any location. They are essential to the daily functioning of construction companies.

Typically, the dump truck goes to a quarry or other supplier to be loaded with needed loose materials. The dump bed is open so sometimes a protective cover may be placed over the load to keep debris from falling out while the material is being transported. At the construction site, the truck releases its load at a specific point by opening the gate and lifting the dump bed via a hydraulic lift, depositing the material usually in a pile on the ground.

Structure

Commercial dump trucks are made similar to other heavy duty trucks. Its chassis is made of reinforced steel for durability. Its power plant is a large diesel engine, topped with a reinforced cockpit to house the driver. What distinguishes a dump truck and makes it the number one choice for construction companies is its hydraulically-operated large capacity dump bed. Because the dump bed is hydraulically operated, it makes unloading fast and easy without any additional labor required other than the driver and the spotter.

Sizing

Dump trucks come in many different sizes and configurations for various applications. These trucks can be categorized by their capacity or the weight of load they can carry and by the number of axles. The smallest truck in production today is a 2x4 truck with a 10-ton capacity powered by a single axle, while the longest dump truck is known as the "centipede" and has as many as 7 axles with a capacity of more than 50 tons.

Dump Truck Types

Small-sized dump trucks are designed to meet the required capacity limits for city driving, as well as to maximize its maneuverability. In many countries, a 10-wheeler dump truck with a maximum load of 30 tons is an acceptable capacity for driving on public roads. A commercial dump truck of this size is perfect for transporting loads onto construction sites within cities while keeping under the regulated load capacity.

Large capacity dump trucks come in various forms, including transfer, truck and pup, and super-dump trucks. They also come in different dumping styles including side dump and the more normal end dump.

Another type of dump truck is the semi trailer dump truck, which is designed to maximize its payload capacity via a dump truck and trailer combination. It also offers the capacity for greater maneuverability in reverse.

Articulated dump trucks have a hinge between the cab and the dump bed box, which minimizes the stress on the truck frame. Steering is via rack and pinion which allows for easier handling on rough terrain.

Some of the large capacity trucks are not even designed to run on normal roads. The mammoth off-road trucks can be bigger than a house and used for very large earth-moving jobs such as highway construction.

The commercial dump truck is a vital piece of equipment to any construction company. The buildings that we work in and the houses where we live are just some of the structures that have been constructed through the help of dependable dump trucks.