Question: is it difficult to drive dumptrucks?

[Hay Dude]

Heres a very expensive rollover

 

[ovrszd]

Heres a very expensive rollover

View attachment 763912

Tore the dumpbed completely off.

 

[ericm979]

Do you have manual transmissions down? If so, it's just a matter of adding a splitter if you're getting an older dump. 5 speed trans with 2 or 3 speed splitter. Then you'll have 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, etc. All easy going up, tricky part is coming down when you can't come to a dead stop and you'll have to find what gear you need to be in. The ones I've run the engine rpm range is about 600rpm at idle and 1200-1500rpm at red line, so when you have to slow down quick and keep the clutch in for any period of time when speed is changing, you gotta find the right trans and rear gear combination.

The exciting part is when you downshift on a steep downhill for engine braking and the splitter jams between gears and freewheels.

 

[sandman2234]

I started driving in March, and am self taught. I got 80 miles of interstate with a 5 speed Mac, and the next day my trainer failed to show, so the boss told me to take the load to Orlando and be CAREFUL! Gave me a different truck(an International cabover) and I made it 20 miles down the road and stopped and called him and told him there was something wrong with the truck as it would only go 25 mph max. We finally deduced that I was running wide open in 5 gear, at 25 mph and he told me to go back out and when I got wide open in 5th, reach around to the front of the gearshift lever, and pull that button up and then do the same 5 gears again.
My point being, you won't know what you don't know, and what you don't know will make a lot of difference in the outcome of what you are doing.
Oh, and that March that I started driving in, was in 1980. Since then I have worked in 3 different truck driving schools as an Instructor. I have seen people grasp the concept in a few days, and others that never did. I would seriously consider finding someone who either drives and is willing to part with some of their knowledge to you, or just find someone running dumptrucks off road who might let you burn some diesel while moving their dirt. Good luck and be safe.
David from jax

 

[4570Man]

The exciting part is when you downshift on a steep downhill for engine braking and the splitter jams between gears and freewheels.

I just take whole gears downshifting going down hills.

 

[bowenskye]

Beware of brake fade, if you're looking at a unit with drum brakes - especially if you're pulling grades. Look for a unit with a good engine brake. Stopping is much more important than going. Juice brakes are also generally easier to maintain than air brakes

 

[anchorhd]

Hey everyone,

This is a little off topic but I imagine some of you will be able to help me. I have two full size yellow construction backhoes and that's what I make most of my living with. Years ago I wanted to be a market gardener and I got a little toy Kubota tractor with bucket and hoe attachments. Well, being a market gardener didn't pan out as I'd hoped but it got me started in the world of excavation machinery and here we are eight years later.

Now I'm considering getting a dump truck cuz having a giant wheelbarrow sorta goes hand in hand with having a giant shovel. But I dunno anything about how to drive them firsthand. Obviously I've been around them quite a bit. Seen all kinds of master operators do crazy stuff. But I'm worried just about being safe at first.

Probably looking at like a 6 meter bed single axle like an old mack or Mercedes. Smaller delivery sized dumptrucks aren't really useful for moving real quantities of material and a full size 12 meter tandem wouldn't go up my driveway. The 6m single axle is going to be a tight fit as it is.

Anyways i generally go through life picking up big power tools and just figuring out how to use them. Carefully at first obviously, but still just figuring it out.

Never driven anything bigger than 4x4 suvs and the backhoes which are like 7 tons or something.

Any advice or insight? Is it easy enough to just drive the thing around and dump them on stable ground? We'll gloss over any licensing questions for now , I'm pretty rural in another country and that type of stuff doesn't come up too often working in the neighborhood. Thanks!

Watch overhead power lines!

 

[4570Man]

Beware of brake fade, if you're looking at a unit with drum brakes - especially if you're pulling grades. Look for a unit with a good engine brake. Stopping is much more important than going. Juice brakes are also generally easier to maintain than air brakes

Air brakes have twice the stopping power of hydraulic. There’s a reason literally every class 8 truck has air.

 

[bowenskye]

Air brakes have twice the stopping power of hydraulic. There’s a reason literally every class 8 truck has air.

Nope. The reason that most class 8 trucks have air brakes is the ability to easily hook up to different trailers without having to worry about contamination of fluids.

 

[charris65]

I used to drive a 16' cattle truck, a '68 Chevy 50 series, with a 2-speed splitter. Not a dump truck but similar in being a bigger truck, at least. I found it easier to drive a stick on this than a car. It seemed more forgiving. Like others have said, you have to realize you are bigger and heavier, so acceleration, braking, and maneuvering occur slower than with a car. I was driving one morning to the gas station for a state inspection so didn't have any cattle on board. Our narrow 2 lane unstriped backroads are hilly and winding. I lost my brakes at the top of a hill and the next curve was a 90 degree. Try as I might, I could not downshift. I went up on the bank a bit to make that turn at about 35mph, but the next problem was a series of curves with houses above and below the road. If I didn't have free rein of the whole road in those curves, it was unlikely that there would be a good outcome. I could not meet an oncoming vehicle or any vehicle on that road. I was still going downhill, but it wasn't as steep. I had to stop that truck before I hit those curves. All this is running through my mind along with split second decisions and still trying to downshift. I decided to put it in a shallow ditch on the slight uphill side on the left. After a lot of bucking und bouncing, the truck came to a stop right before I would've hit the curves and lost the stopping power of that ditch. Whew! I went by a tree while in the ditch and it tore off the left-hand mirror. I wasn't hurt at all except my thumb was a little tweaked after that bank turn and I had slid across the seat. The driver's side seatbelt keeper was missing, so I had to use the one from the passenger's side. My wife was driving behind me and you can imagine how frantic she was wondering what was going on. Bottom line is to know your truck, do the pre-drive checks to make sure fluids are topped up and everything is in working order, and be careful and safe.