basspro
Well-Known Member
Kind of a repost, but someone on here shurely has a truck they use for dust abatement. I just need some basics on how they operate...ran a firetruck before, but never a water truck. any info would be great. thanks
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water truck, tank truck, water tender, how to operate
- Thread starter basspro
- Start date
Lee-online
Senior Member
I have converted a few 773b haul trucks to water trucks. To operate was pretty basic. Fill with water, turn on the water pump, Usually driven by a hyd motor and hyd pump. Turn on the spray heads. The ones i did were electric solenoids that opened an air valve that held the spray head open. The 4 across the back could be opened individually.
Some trucks have a water cannon on the top or front. some are manually operated and some are remotely operated.
Some trucks have a water cannon on the top or front. some are manually operated and some are remotely operated.
tonka
Senior Member
Just go to a rental co and look at one... water is gravity fed into the pump that is operated off a PTO, there is switches/levers to control side, front, and back spray...
basspro
Well-Known Member
I interveiw for a job driving one on the 17th, and get home on the 16th. I am an otr truck driver now, so just stopping by a rental place is kinda tough, so I thank you all for the info. It sounds a little different than a fire engine, but easy enough to pick up quickly.
and don't get stuck on the fill 
loaded equipment has the right of way... scrapers .. artics... dump trucks
don't spray passing equipment ... trucks .. workers..
don't forget to turn PTO off....
Calif.... so you probably won't need to worry about draining the tanks because of the cold.. drain pumps.. gate valves... ball valves need to be left open as they trap a small amount of water .. then freeze..expand .. break..
leave the tank empty at night... unless you want to walk thru mud to get to the truck
they all leak somewhere
loaded equipment has the right of way... scrapers .. artics... dump trucks
don't spray passing equipment ... trucks .. workers..
don't forget to turn PTO off....
Calif.... so you probably won't need to worry about draining the tanks because of the cold.. drain pumps.. gate valves... ball valves need to be left open as they trap a small amount of water .. then freeze..expand .. break..
leave the tank empty at night... unless you want to walk thru mud to get to the truck
they all leak somewhere
DirtHauler
Senior Member
The goal is to keep the dust down without making mud. Mud will usually **** people off as much as dust will. Remember shaded areas will not dry as fast as ones in the shade. Learn how to adjust each of your sprayers, where they overlap gives twice as much water as when they don't (you can make mud very easy where they overlap). Turn off your sprayers BEFORE you stop moving and turn them back on AFTER you start moving. Puddled water is a big no no. Puddles will result in potholes and that usually pisses off drivers more than dust. As stated above, do not spray passing equipment, you area a support vehical, so don't get in the way or go against traffic. Be deliberate with your route and actions. Everyone else will probably have a predictable haul route which is important to safety and production and everyone knows where everyone else is going. Water trucks that just wonder around and act unpredictably can be very dangerous. Be careful on hills and slopes not to over water and cause erosion or slippery conditions. BE PATIENT. Your job is to keep the dust down. If everything is wet and your tank is full and you are looking for something to do, just watch whats going on. Some of the best water truck drivers know how to just sit and wait (as apposed to over watering). Sometimes there is an art to looking busy when you are actually doing nothing.
When i am running a water truck, i like to spray heavy and drive fast. Some good tricks are to give everything a good layer of water at quitting time, it can soak into the ground overnight and help in the morning. if you can get a chance to start early, give things a good wet coat in the mornings before things are running. Pay attention where machines are loading and dumping. If you are working around highway trucks, often times the engine fan will come on when they are backing up and cause huge clouds of dust while loading or doing slow maneuvering. If there is a mechanic working, they usually don't like water, they would rather lay in dust than mud, Ask them. If there are trucks entering and leaving the site, be mindful that dirt/mud sticking to the tires and getting out onto the roadway is a big deal these days. If they are carrying mud out onto the road, you might want to not water around the exit.
Most importantly, remember everyone will never be happy with the job you do, and rarely will anyone thank you.
When i am running a water truck, i like to spray heavy and drive fast. Some good tricks are to give everything a good layer of water at quitting time, it can soak into the ground overnight and help in the morning. if you can get a chance to start early, give things a good wet coat in the mornings before things are running. Pay attention where machines are loading and dumping. If you are working around highway trucks, often times the engine fan will come on when they are backing up and cause huge clouds of dust while loading or doing slow maneuvering. If there is a mechanic working, they usually don't like water, they would rather lay in dust than mud, Ask them. If there are trucks entering and leaving the site, be mindful that dirt/mud sticking to the tires and getting out onto the roadway is a big deal these days. If they are carrying mud out onto the road, you might want to not water around the exit.
Most importantly, remember everyone will never be happy with the job you do, and rarely will anyone thank you.
basspro
Well-Known Member
SAWEEET!!! very valuble stuff, thanks again!
DirtHauler
Senior Member
How did it go?
basspro
Well-Known Member
Pretty good. I am supposed to hear back in 10 days (letter in the mail). I kinda got caught on a couple questions. One was what is a 2 degree slope? brain farted...but eventualy came up with 4ft in 100...been trucking for a while & all I think about is % grade, so it took a minute. Also was asked what is a 3:1 grade. I said about 30%, those are the only questions I stammered on, so of coarse are the only ones I remember. Is for a county job, so we will see.
When your watering remember water flows down hill. So if your watering heavy next to a slope or vertical and your spraying onto it your going to make mud at the base big time. If a lowboy shows up to pick up equipment. Don't put any water down anywhere near it or that its picking up especially if it has rubber tires.
OCR
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2008
- Messages
- 1,195
- Location
- Montana
- Occupation
- Rancher/Farmer, Wildland Fire Fighter, State snowp
Hello basspro,
Do you know if your county has an agreement in effect, for their water tender, with any of the local Wildland Fire Fighting entities?
If so, and you would like to go on a fire... there's a couple of easy tests you would need to take, in order to be qualified... might want to look into that.
If you take the job... post a bit about how your truck is set up, and any other information you might think would be of interest, to the rest of us.
I've got quite a few hours in, spraying water for Highway jobs in our local area... same with fires.
Some guys don't like water trucking, but I found the job to be, more or less, satisfying... especially if you have a decent truck, and especially... on Wildland Fires...
Any way, best of luck....
OCR...