Operating a dump truck is a lot like driving a semi truck but of course if you are not familiar with this it can be a little difficult. Most of the dump trucks will have a transmission like a semi usually from 9 to 13 gears some even have automatic transmissions. The engines are usually smaller than an over the road truck running around 300 horse power of course there are many with less and some with more. A dump truck will have a PTO (power take of) this is usually a button or switch to activate it. The PTO is part of the transfer/transmission that runs a hydraulic pump witch in turns supply the hydraulic pressure to operate the dump bed.

Before you dump a load you make sure the ground is firm enough to support the truck because if you get the bed raised with all the weight of the load and the ground is soft it could cause the truck to turn over. If the truck has a manual end gate you would want to make sure to unlock it before you start raising the bed: This is normally done with a lever on the front of the bed some have air or hydraulic locks. Make sure that your tarp is rolled up so it does not get torn this is usually by a manual crank some have electric or spring loaded so it winds itself. Check to make sure there are no electric lines or anything else the bed will hit while raising it. All that’s left is engaging the PTO and dumping the load. Good luck and remember not to get in a hurry and be safe.

The first dump truck was built about 1920 in St John New Brunswick. It was a dump bed attached to a flatbed truck. It was raised and lowered by a cable system powered by a hand cranked winch. Since that time dump trucks have been designed many different ways. From a simple bed on a pickup powered by hydraulics to multi axle trucks that can haul several tons of gravel, sand, rocks, coal etc. There are dump trucks on a single chassis and ones that have a semi trailer powered by a semi tractor. All these have hydraulics that operates the dump bed. Most dump their load by the front of the bed raising up and sliding out the tailgate. A side dump is a little different it turns from side to side. And the belly dump has doors on the bottom that open to let the load out.

Dump trucks are used for many different things. In just about every aspect of our lives there is probably a dump truck involved in it. Consider your home chances are a dump truck hauled dirt, sand, or gravel during the construction of it or your drive way. The electric we use every day probably comes from a coal powered electric plant which there are very large dump trucks used in coal mining. Your car goes back to the still mill where dump trucks haul the iron ore that is used to make steel. So as you can see dump trucks provide a very important part in our lives. Think for a minute what would your life be like if there were no more dump trucks; of course you have to think back to the raw material used in making the products you enjoy.