 Designed for Dumping
Pairing the Right Chassis and Dump Body to Create a Productive Utility Vehicle
By Pam Stask
In a contractor’s fleet, trucks are the wheeled beasts of burden. If a work truck isn’t ferrying a crew to the jobsite each day, it’s probably pulling your skid steer around town or hauling spoils or products to the next big project. Every day, construction crews face the task of transporting people and materials. When it comes to the latter (loading and dumping things like excavated spoils, mulch or gravel), professionals need a vehicle that can carry these massive loads with minimal effort.
 That’s when a dedicated chassis cab dump truck rolls onto the project. When moving materials around a jobsite or to a new destination, a dump body is a popular addition to your fleet of commercial vehicles (Class 3 to 7 chassis). Dump trucks are typically used in any application that requires moving or spreading material to jobsites and can handle 3 to 8 cu yds of materials, depending on the body’s size. A dump truck’s ability to carry materials directly to the jobsite is extremely important in construction and landscape work. Contractors, municipalities, green professionals and supply companies can all benefit from a dump truck’s ability to haul and unload both large and small materials around town.
“The material dump trucks move can be large in size such as boulders or quite dense such as gravel, sand and dirt,” says Samantha Parlier, vocational product marketing manager for Kenworth Truck Co. “Dump trucks may also be used to move asphalt and debris away from jobsites.”
Ford Redesigns 2009 F-150s
Vehicle demands vary just as much as the drivers behind the wheel. To accommodate different customers and jobsite requirements, Ford has redesigned its 2009 F-150 to offer a truck with outstanding capabilities, a suite of vehicle choices and unique features that allow for safe and easy operation.
For the redesign, the Ford truck team adopted a holistic, 360-degree approach to revamping the new 2009 F-150 — from its segment-first features to the tough new exterior highlighted by a dramatic three-bar grille and more spacious, flexible and refined interior to the unparalleled choice of cab styles and trim levels.
 The redesign first began at the backbone of the vehicle with a new high-strength, lighter-weight chassis, allowing the truck to deliver more horsepower, better fuel economy and added safety, as well as additional towing and payload capacity.
The F-150’s fully boxed frame is constructed with hydro-formed and high-strength steel side rails. The lightweight frame delivers 10 percent more torsional rigidity, increasing durability and safety. The sturdy chassis also paved the way for the new 2009 F-150 to improve upon the current model’s class-leading towing and hauling capability across all cab configurations.
Complementing the modern frame is a high-tech suite of features that ensures the F-150 is sure-footed and safe in all driving and load conditions. The new F-150 offers segment-first standard AdvanceTrac with RSC (Roll Stability Control), Trailer Sway Control and available Rearview Camera Assist, as well as Integrated Trailer Brake Controller a segment-first on light-duty pickups.
In response to the demands of a large customer base, Ford offers the 2009 F-150 with three cab styles, four box options and seven unique trim levels. The F-150 comes in 35 different configurations to meet the widest range of customer needs and wants. |
Most chassis cab dump bodies range in size from 8 to 12 ft in length and are available in two types of materials — carbon steel and stainless steel. Carbon steel is the material of choice for most contractors looking for a dump body, but stainless steel is gaining in popularity in particular applications. Municipalities, for example, have been favoring stainless steel over carbon steel for plowing snow and spreading salt since stainless bodies have no paint and there’s very little rusting. Stainless steel dump bodies are lighter than carbon steel; however, they’re more expensive, typically costing twice as much.
The cost of a dump body can range from $6,000 to $9,000, depending on the size of the body, type of material the body is made of and any other additional equipment. Some OEMs of dump bodies include Workman & Sons Inc., DuraClass, Crysteel Mfg. Inc., Henderson Mfg., Galion-Goodwin, Knapheide, J-Craft, Omaha Standard, Rogers Mfg. Co., STAHL, Rugby Mfg. Co., Warren Inc. and Valew, notes Shawn Waterman, field marketing manager for Sterling Truck Corp.
A Perfect Pair
Purchasing a chassis truck and dump body can be a tough task for any gear head, so it’s important to understand what features the two should have to create the ideal combination of utility, efficiency and ease of use. Good communication between the dump body manufacturer and truck salesperson is essential when specifying both the dump body and the chassis, says Parlier. Since there are many different dump bodies, customers must work with truck and body equipment dealers to spec the right truck to meet their individual needs and applications.
One of the first steps a dealer and a customer must take is to determine what kind of loads the dump truck is expected to haul. The material a truck is hauling and how it will be dumped determines the options on a dump body and the chassis, says Waterman.
For example, a different chassis would be needed when carrying loads such as sand or gravel rather than large, jagged pieces of concrete debris from a site. If the truck will be mostly used for carrying heavy boulders or larger materials, the dump body and suspension will need to be increased to handle the hefty loads. When pairing the truck and a dump body, the salesperson must make sure that the truck chassis is able to handle the loads that the dump body will exert on it. The bending moment of a frame should be calculated to determine the maximum weight it can support without causing irreversible damage.
10 Tips to Creating a Perfect Body
 Before you can outfit your chassis cab with the right body, buyers need to brainstorm something fierce about their truck platform and applications. Start by providing answers to these questions:
1. What set of jobs do you have in mind for this vehicle?
2. What kind of body (platform, stake, dump, etc.) do you want on the vehicle?
3. Do you know how long this specialty body needs to be? Did you have a previous vehicle used for this job? Was its capacity sufficient? Was it too long or too short? How would you improve on it now?
4. Do you need a recommendation for a body supplier?
5. What is the weight of the specialty body that you’ll be using?
6. Can you provide other specifications for your existing specialty body? Who is the manufacturer? What’s the model number?
7. What is the maximum payload weight that you’ll be hauling? Will you add a rear lift gate, snow plow or other significant equipment that will affect payload capacity and weight distribution?
8. Do you prefer a regular cab, extended cab or crew cab chassis?
9. Will you choose a gas or diesel engine?
10. Do you want an automatic or manual transmission?
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“The size of the body will impact the resistance to bending moment [RBM] requirement that the frame rail will need to meet. The larger the dump body, the higher the RBM and the larger the rail [or combination of rails as nested frame rails or inserts] will need to be,” says Parlier.
The truck should also have a powerful enough engine to adequately perform the dumping duties at hand. However, a person looking to purchase a dump truck should be aware of just how much horsepower he or she is getting out of an engine, because too much will increase the cost of the overall machine and use up more fuel during operation.
Anywhere from 350 to 400 hp is sufficient enough to efficiently use a dump truck without burning unnecessary fuel and risking any damage to the drivetrain, says Brian Lindgren, vocational market sales director for Kenworth Truck Co.
The truck’s transmission should also have a wide ratio range — making sure it has a low enough gear to get out of a hilly jobsite and a high enough gear to achieve and maintain proper highway speeds, adds Lindgren.
Lift axles are an important addition to a chassis when preparing it for a dump body. The axles are able to increase the payload-carrying capacity of the chassis and in turn, increase the amount of material the box can carry, explains Parlier. Steerable lift axles also save on tire wear and chassis stress, while maximizing the truck’s overall efficiency.
Watching the weight of the dump truck can save money and limit stress on the vehicle, especially if the truck is expected to haul large loads daily. One way to decrease the weight is opting to use aluminum parts over steel components such as wheels, fuel and air tanks.
“Use the smallest fuel tank you can get away with,” advises Lindgren. “Some operators can get away with a 56-gal tank, but most will need at least 75 to 90 gal to get through a day.”
Send in the Truck Troops
In an effort to support rebuilding and security efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States Army has called upon Navistar Defense LLC to bring thousands of trucks into the areas to aid in police and Army operations through a multi-year contract valued at nearly $1.3 billion.
The U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command awarded Navistar Defense a follow-on contract to provide Medium Tactical Vehicles and spare parts to the Afghanistan National Police, Afghan National Army and the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. Previously known as International Military and Government, LLC, Navistar Defense is an affiliate of Navistar International Corp.
Under the multi-year contract, Navistar will supply tactical vehicles built on Navistar’s Severe Service International 7000 Series platform. It follows a $430 million contract awarded in 2005 to Navistar by TACOM for more than 2,900 vehicles and spare parts.
“This contract award reflects Navistar’s strong performance in providing quality vehicles and reliable service to the military,” says Archie Massicotte, president, Navistar Defense. “We have stepped up to the challenge to become a leader. We continue to deliver on our commitment to provide the U.S. military and its allies with a comprehensive value solution that includes military vehicles, worldwide parts and field service support.”
 The three-year contract is valued at nearly $1.3 billion for 7,072 vehicles and parts. Approximately half of the order will be delivered during the first year of the contract with nearly 1,000 units expected to be delivered in fiscal year 2008.
Navistar will supply several vehicle variants, including General Troop Transporter, POL vehicles (petroleum, oil and lubricant), water tankers, wreckers and hazardous material trucks. In addition, Navistar will supply all required spare parts necessary to support several years of scheduled maintenance.
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Other truck and dump body pairing issues involve ensuring the proper back of cab clearance, preparing the electrical system on both the truck and body and protecting any valves and cylinders from the elements, says Waterman.
As for the actual dump body itself, customers can personalize their picks with three different floor types: slanted, elliptical and straight. Chutes may also be added to the bodies.
Two common types are coal chutes and metering chutes that let an operator know exactly how much material he or she is dumping in a particular location.
Safety First
Like any vehicle, safety is important in operating a dump truck. As for safety features, there are various options that may be added to both the chassis and the dump body to increase safe driving practices when operating a dump. For example, International offers the Diamond Logic Electrical System, which features an electronic interlock that can be programmed to limit the top speed of the truck to 5 mph when the dump body is raised, says Mark Johnson, marketing communications manager for Severe Service at Navistar International.
This particular feature helps protect the dump truck operator from driving the vehicle down the highway while mistakenly having the dump body raised. It also helps to avoid hitting an overpass or spreading any unwanted materials onto the roadway.
Other safety features include large curved windshields for an increased field of vision and break-away mirrors for a reduced chance of damage and fold-away capability so the truck can maneuver in tight areas, says Johnson. Strobe lights can also automatically be programmed to operate whenever a dump body is in action, so crew members and the surrounding public can be alerted that the truck is dumping material in the area.
A driver who is proficient at operating trucks with heavier payloads is best suited for driving a dump truck, says Johnson. As with any payload, dump truck drivers should make sure that the weight does not shift and that the dump truck has good roll stability and a good suspension system.
Pam Stask is assistant editor of Compact Equipment, based in Peninsula, Ohio.
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