sorta new to dump truck. Single axle truck w Rogers rock bed. Needing to haul some just wondering if it will damage the bed...
Yes it can depends who's loading it and what size If the bed is hardox or similar tougher steel it might not dent otherwise you get dents and a wavy floor not really damaged but you can tell it was hauling rock if the job allows it a sprinkle of gravel helps soften the blow We use a tailgate chain as a safety when hauling riprap as loosing a load of rock on the highway is a heck of a mess just dont forget to unhook it (;
We haul rip rap and concrete in round bottom tubs with high lift tail gates. A flat bottom bed will take a beating.
We had special trailers set up for hauling riprap, so it did not destroy our nicer steel and alum. trailers. We used older steel, flat-bottom trailers. THe shop bolted in wood boards, to cover the floor. This was big riprap, for a Corps. Dam. I think we used rough cut 2x12's. Riprap almost always tears up dump beds and tailgates, even round bottom dumps. Really depends on size, how many loads, and as mentioned, the loader operator.
If possible, loading from the rear with an excavator is the best. You can lay the first few buckets right on the bottom. The drop is what kills the floors. Obviously the sides take a beating as well, but not as bad as the floor when loading with a loader.
Rip rap is really not that big. In pa it's classified as r-4 by penndot which iirc is 6" minus clean stone.
Still gonna leave a mark or many marks, have seen guys line beds with Commercial liners takes some of the mash out but not all, seen others lay in heavy lumper rough cut or even plywood they would replace fairly often still will be flexible enough to allow deforming of steel floors. laying in with the excavator is the best alternative but expect distortion.