A friend of mine was describing this to me the other day. I'd never seen what he was describing, but I finally dug up this video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0dMtTi0xlc Does anybody know what this setup is called? Have you seen it in use or used it yourself? What is the advantage to this over a pup? :beatsme
They're called transfer dump trucks. Here's the basic process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG86rOoXq8E Anybody know what powers the box as it transfers on and off the truck? The truck isn't hooked up to the trailer at this point.
As far as advantages go my thought is you could get the "b" box in to any area you could back the truck into to dump it v.s. the limitations of getting a standard pup into tight areas w/ no turn around. Otherwise I'm not sure if bridge laws in certain areas would be more forgiving on that spread axel? I can see definite advantages to it, but they mainly seem to be something that is used out west
Yair . . . Bloody amazing?? I am trying to imagine the situation that would require such a system! I just can't get my head around it . . . there must be some strange rules and regulations that would cause such set-up to evolve. Any explanation would be appreciated. Some blokes have got backing and tipping dogs down to a fine art. Had one next door manoeuvring and poking the trailer around trees the other day, had the bloody thing tied in knots . . . this is a quick straight forward tip but he knows his bickies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V-EVhQv6yk Cheers.
That's quite a pup trailer, not sure if I've heard of or seen anything like that in the US.
Nope, None here in Minnesota. But the greater San Francisco Bay area of California is full of them. I believe there is more transfers dumps there than any other dump. When you are running 30 miles plus in each direction to get a load of material and crawling into mountainous home sites it all makes sense. I have seen a few where the pup has dumping abilities also so you do not have to transfer when there is room for a pup. Not sure what they lose on payload with the extra cylinder. The other material hauler you see many of in the bay area is single axle tractors pulling doubles, composed of single axle, short, belly dumps.
Yair . . . Silveroddo . Strange isn't it how different methods evolve to solve the same problems in different areas. These "body and dog" combinations are pretty much the standard rig for bulk haulage over here and, as I mentioned some fellers, have it down to a fine art. I may be talking out of turn here this is not my field at all but, from what I have seen the real maestro's can put a load with the trailer where it would be difficult or impossible with a truck. Some years ago I watched a driver back a dog up a steep narrow drive way in the mountains behind Cairns and then jack-knife it around the side of the house as neat as you please. I was never that good and the old Acco had an Air lock on the trailer turn table . . . I believe that some of these rigs are standard these days with out the lock. There is heaps of this stuff on the Tube, another one with a Superdog here if you are interested . . . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfvsX3CMpIA This configuration is becoming popular too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWeKcZ2RBsc Cheers.
....the best part is watching the driver hold the starter motor button on the truck which is in gear with brakes off, the starter turns the engine and the engine drives the truck until the driver mates the tongue of the trailer to engage the pintle hitch...and down the road they go. These trucks are everywhere: hauling most all products from the gravel plant to the jobsite and hot asphalt to the pavers. We try to get the ones with the air ride and the lockers ... air ride suspension saves weight and lockers prevent getting stuck but dont steer that well while locked. Not very many with walking beam as the older ones got sent away by CARB. Payload is almost 25 ton. Usually weight ticket shows like 79,800 or sometimes 79,940 or so, as max allowed is 80,000. Next seen are the doubles for bottom drop dirt hauling and sand/gravel operators ike hauling to the concrete plant, and a few end dumps every now and then.
I've been watching those things for years now, I came pretty close to buying an old w900 that looked pretty clean, but I just couldn't bring myself to do the deal site unseen. One of these days I'll have to take a vacation out there and find one to bring back to MN.
the niche is if you can put a pickup truck in there you can put 25 tons of product per truckload. the transfer mechanism can be either air or electric. http://youtu.be/wLcMNGZCqV8 some of these dudes are surgeons with those units.
Silveroddo - It could be quite possible to find a decent rig as these old owner operator rigs get 'regulated to their end death' by CARB. Not all folk's engines can have the aftermarket DPF added (I think they must have an electronic fuel injector) and some folks don't have the $15k to put one on, nor is there much work to help pay for the filter let alone the usual expenses. As to me: I couldn't buy something sight unseen. As to comments from Dualie: we have put those air ride trucks (with lockers) in places where the pickup or one ton "wanted to go" but couldn't since the work truck was only 2WD.
Yair . . . As I said upthread it is interesting how different methods are used in different areas , , , c'mon some of you Aussie blokes who run dogs, What do you think of the US transfer system, are there any here in Australia and does it have an application to our conditions? Cheers.
Was wondering what the empty weight of the tri and quad axle trucks are? A transfer that hauls 25 ton is about 30,000 empty. Perhaps 26 to 27 ton with newer lightweight units. A three axle truck with a tag at the end of the tandems can haul 20 ton, 18.5 if considered heavy duty. A three axle truck with a big booster axle can be 22 ton. The other domains that use the tri and quad axles seems like they dont deliver the payload of the transfer (maybe 16 to 21 ton depending on state from what I've read) - I am thinking mostly because of the bridge laws where the weight is too concentrated instead of spread out, therefore I would have figured transfers would be nationally renowned. ?? Is it because of reluctance to swap the boxes - drivers around here swap them so smoothly and quickly it is hardly noticed. The longer the haul, the more one would like to get the bigger payload for the hourly rate value.
an owner op will make more money and deliver more product with a transfer but it doesn't take many botched transfers to eat into your bottom line. A good experienced transfer hand is magical to watch. the lightest transfer setup i ever seen was 26,400lbs Empty. std hood pete 13L cat, no stacks tanks under the doors aluminum cross members 2 batteries single fuel tanks, aluminum hubs, 11R22.5" rubber the works. A fully locked up transfer will walk anywhere a stock 4x4 pickup will. My fav thing about a transfer is he can bring your 3/4- and Sand in one trip if you're bedding pipes vs having to send two separate loads out. Transfers arnt for everything there not good on mass ex type hauls or hauling tailings from a mill on a paving spread but they are great at delivering hot mix to a paver where a end dump can be more hassle than its worth. Super 10's are replacing transfers slowly but there will always be a niche for them out here on the west coast.
over here tandems ew21,000-23,000pds about 15ton payload,triaxles ew23,500-26,000pds16-17 ton payload,quads ew 26,000-30,000pds 18ton payload on the interstate on secondary roads 21tons we can gross 10% more on secondary roads but if we go over the ticket will be figured from interstate law . 32ft half round end dump 21tons interstate. on the transfer dumps you can't hardly find any drivers for straight trucks much less any one that will get out to hook and un hook trailer I have one of the few pup trailers in the state very few people have seen one around here. we have some 4 axle 26ft aluminum dump trailers around mostly for stock piling at plants 25-26 tons .there are also some quint axle trucks (3 lift axles)in the center to eastern part of the state but not any around our area. I think it has a lot to do with our roads and job sites are smaller than the western states and shorter hauls in general (5-15 miles) . We also have some 6 axle cement trucks twin steer 2steering lift axles 2 drive axles but there is less than 8 ft between any axle so they can only weight them as one axle group so no inner bridge. I have wondered about the super dumps whats the pros and cons of them how do they handle on the road ?
lol you must have some micro sites if you think our sites are bigger. The selling point of the transfer is you leave the trailer down the road somewhere and take the boxes up the road on just the strait truck. on 230" wheelbase or less with 38K on the drives it gets around pretty damn good.
Scrub, I've never seen these sort of trailers here, but then I do need to get out more. I've never been to a Brisbane truck show as it's always clashed with another event I've been involved with. That's changed this year, so I'll be heading down to check out new ideas and drool over some new gear. Cheers, Greg
Yair . . . Gotcha Queenslander . I have run this past a few blokes in "the game" and, like me, they just can't see the point. I suppose it reflects the competitive nature of the industry in the 'States. None of the local fellers had been aware of it and the consensus was that the transfer system only benefits the customer and here, generally speaking, the customer pays. As an example . . . To buy aggregate or sand our place is an hour and a quarter from one town and an hour and half from the other. If my driveway/yard was such that the boys couldn't get the dog in and tip it I would just have to pay the few bucks extra and get it onto the place in two body loads. They certainly don't charge a huge premium per cube/ton to deliver by the single body load versus the body load and trailer combination. . . they reckoned to have a transfer to pick up a few bucks extra on the occasional trip wasn't worth the hassle. I believe it's the same thing as hauling doubles on general freight. The rates used to be bugger all extra for snigging the extra trailer to the extent a feller I know went back to a single . . . problem I hear these days unless you pull doubles on line haul it can be hard to find a job. By logical extension this probably applies to aggregate delivery in the US. The competition has resulted in picky customers to the extent that a trucker/aggregate business in some places has to use the transfer system to stay in a work . . . that's my take on it anyway. Incidentally, in conversation it came up that the whole carry on of unhooking the back trailer and sliding the suspension forward to tip the front trailer of a "B" double was seen as a regular pain in the *** and its easy to understand the acceptance of the "tip over the hitch" stags . . . doubt the fellers would take to messing around with a transfer all that well. (big grin) Another thing I was not aware of was that apparently down south a few blokes are set up with air and juice and a front hitch and can push a trailer into iffy situations. Cheers.
Just on the b doubles,down here the stags are very popular in the metro areas, say SEQ in general. But further west the conventional A trailers are almost universally used for ag commodities. The axle group and turntable are slid forward under the bin to allow for tipping off but also allows it to be used as the lead trailer of a road train or as a conventional single . Sliding can be as simple as pulling a switch, grabbing the trailer brakes and backing up. Cheers, Greg
Hope you've battened down the hatchs Scrub, sounds like there's a bit of wild weather headed your way. Cheers, Greg
Yiar . . Gotcha Queenslander . If it turns out like they reckon it's going to be a pain. Before the 'wet' we finished some remedial work on the bywash of our front dam and its shaping up real good after fifteen inches in a couple of months . . . if we cop some of this twelve inches in two days Bull$hite they are talking it's gonna do some damage. Cheers