Dump trucks or production trucks are those that are

used for transporting loose material such as sand,

dirt, and gravel for construction. The typical dump

truck is equipped with a hydraulically operated open

box bed hinged at the rear, with the front being

able to be lifted up to allow the contents to fall

out on the ground at the site of delivery.

Dump trucks come in many different configurations

with each one specified to accomplish a specific

task in the construction chain.

Standard dump truck

The standard dump truck is a full truck chassis with

the dump body mounted onto the frame. The dump body

is raised by a hydraulic ram lift that is mounted

forward of the front bulkhead, normally between the

truck cab and the dump body.

The standard dump truck also has one front axle,

and one or more rear axles which normally has dual

wheels on each side. The common configurations for

standard dump trucks include the six wheeler and

ten wheeler.

Transfer dump truck

For the amount of noise made when transferring, the

transfer dump truck is easy to recognize. It’s a

standard dump truck that pulls a separate trailer

which can be loaded with sand, asphalt, gravel,

dirt, etc.

The B box or aggregate container on the trailer is

powered by an electric motor and rides on wheels

and rolls off of the trailer and into the main dump

box. The biggest advantage with this configuration

is to maximize payload capacity without having to

sacrifice the maneuverability of the short and

nimble dump truck standards.

Semi trailer end dump truck

The semi end dump truck is a tractor trailer

combination where the trailer itself contains the

hydraulic hoist. The average semi end dump truck

has a 3 axle tractor that pulls a 2 axle semi

trailer. The advantage to having a semi end

dump truck is rapid unloading.

Semi trailer bottom dump truck

A bottom dump truck is a 3 axle tractor that pulls

a 2 axle trailer with a clam shell type dump

gate in the belly of the trailer. The biggest

advantage of a semi bottom dump truck is the

ability to lay material in a wind row. This

type of truck is also maneuverable in reverse as

well, unlike the double and triple trailer

configurations.

Double and triple trailer

The double and triple bottom dump trucks consist

of a 2 axle tractor pulling a semi axle semi

trailer and an additional trailer. These types of

dump trucks allow the driver to lay material in

wind rows without having to leave the cab or stop

the truck. The biggest disadvantage is the

difficulty in going in reverse.

Side dump trucks

Side dump trucks consist of a 3 axle trailer pulling

a 2 axle semi trailer. It offers hydraulic rams

that tilt the dump body onto the side, which spills

the material to the left or right side of the

trailer. The biggest advantages with these types

of dump trucks are that they allow rapid unloading

and carry more weight than other dump trucks.

In addition to this, side dump trucks are almost

impossible to tip over while dumping, unlike the

semi end dump trucks which are very prone to being

upset or tipped over. The length of these trucks

impede maneuverability and limit versatility.

Off road dump trucks

Off road trucks resemble heavy construction equipment

more than they do highway dump trucks. They are

used strictly for off road mining and heavy dirt

hauling jobs, such as excavation work. They are

very big in size, and perfect for those time when

you need to dig out roads and need something to

haul the massive amounts of dirt to another

location.