MATERIAL STICKING IN TRUCK BODY

[GOOG]

I have a job with very sticky fill dirt on it. I've used a tandem dump truck and a Cat 30 ton site truck and have the same problem. After 5 rounds or so, there's a half of a load stuck in the truck. I'm wondering if a vibrator would work on the site truck. It's a D30D, single axle Cat. Has anybody here used a vibrator on a body this big? I also thought about a couple big chains welded in the front corners. I've seen that on big loader buckets. Any help would be appreciated.

Tom

 

[mowingman]

Use a pump-up sprayer and spray the inside of the dump bed down with diesel in the morning. Do it again at lunch time. Works great, just do not let the environmental police see you doing it. Not a problem here in Texas, but your part of the country could be a problem.

 

[lantraxco]

The more green approach is corn oil, YMMV. Yes, vibrators usually help. Poly liners are the shiznit, but only if you have this problem often because of the expense.

 

[sfrs4]

Do CAT not do a Heated body? keeps the material from wet sticking to the body itself.

 

[GOOG]

When I had my tandem there over the summer, I tried cleaning the body out really good (hosed it out in the yard) and oiled it with diesel fuel. On Monday morning about the fifth load it was bringing back half a load. At the time I sort of attributed it to the fact it has a Bristol Donald body that does not go up as steep as some other dump bodies. But when the same thing occurred with the site truck I am a little baffled. It is very cohesive fill. It sticks in the excavator bucket pretty badly too, but you have ways to get it out.
I bought a vibrator for the tandem, and have not installed it yet. The thought crossed my mind to put it on the Cat.

What's a liner worth to have installed?

Tom

 

[GOOG]

Do CAT not do a Heated body? keeps the material from wet sticking to the body itself.

I think you can run the exhaust though the body. I don't do it because I think it's hard on the body. Promotes rot and rust. I could be wrong.

Tom

 

[56wrench]

at one time, we used coarse salt sprinkled in the box, sometimes on every load at -20c. vibrators help but in cold weather it will still stick. the boxes with the 90degree corners are worse than the boxes with the rounded corners. vibrators have to be welded to a re-pad before being welded to the box floor otherwise they will eventually break right out of the box floor. even then they may eventually crack around the re-pad. overuse usually burns out the electric motor also

 

[GOOG]

The problem is not cold related. I had this problem in August with the tandem and this week with the site truck. The temps this week are 40s and 50s. Not a freezing problem.

Tom

 

[cuttin edge]

Most tandems here have heated boxes. It dries the material out, and it breaks free, never seen a problem with rust. The newer trucks with DEF systems have no box heat, but most have vibrators, they work well. Interestingly enough, box heat is horrible for hauling snow. Forms ice, and the snow sticks. Vibrating boxes work well with snow. The P and P mill here had a sticky sludge material they would haul. The only thing that worked well was to paint the inside of the box. Depending on the material, it will last longer than you think

 

[Shimmy1]

I'm afraid to say but I suspect you are going to be disappointed with the vibrator. Poly is the only thing that works with sticky material, vibrator will definitely work well with it. By itself, not so much. Even with the poly and a shaker, you will still be scratching out the box periodically with a hoe.

 

[Jonas302]

If I remember correctly I was quoted around 2000 to do a liner in a tandem if timing had worked out I would have had it put in

 

[treemuncher]

I had the same issue with a 24' dump trailer that I used to own. My gravel pit has very sticky red-clay gravel mix that was always sticking in the bed and mostly in the head of the trailer. Every load was hoisted to the 5th stage of the hydraulic cylinder and then I was always nervous about a tip-over to try and shake it loose. Every so many loads I would have to scrape out the bed with the excavator and start over, just to do the same thing all over again within 3-7 loads.

I did the research on plastic liners. If I was in the dirt business and making daily money with a dump, I would have gone with the UHMW plastic. Being a tightwad and rarely using the dump very often, I went with HMW plastic instead. It seems to me it was less than 50% of the cost of the UHMW and I got it from a plastics dealer around St. Louis area. I also purchased Z strips and fancy head bolts to keep the liner in place yet allow it to flex with weather changes. I was able to install it myself with some crude but creative tooling to hold things in place during the installation.

That liner was the best money I ever spent on a dump unit. Same gravels from the same pit - I only needed to hit the third stage of the hydraulic cylinder and the bed was always empty. I never needed to go past the 4th stage to ensure a clean bed during any dump cycle. The safety factor alone was worth the cost of the material. And, as the salesman that I talked with explained, the head of the liner will last the longest and be the most important part of shedding material. Even if I did wear out the tail section, the head load would push everything right out anyways and I could just replace a section of tail if needed.

My vote will always go to a plastic liner in a dump. It made me a believer.

 

[cuttin edge]

I had the same issue with a 24' dump trailer that I used to own. My gravel pit has very sticky red-clay gravel mix that was always sticking in the bed and mostly in the head of the trailer. Every load was hoisted to the 5th stage of the hydraulic cylinder and then I was always nervous about a tip-over to try and shake it loose. Every so many loads I would have to scrape out the bed with the excavator and start over, just to do the same thing all over again within 3-7 loads.

I did the research on plastic liners. If I was in the dirt business and making daily money with a dump, I would have gone with the UHMW plastic. Being a tightwad and rarely using the dump very often, I went with HMW plastic instead. It seems to me it was less than 50% of the cost of the UHMW and I got it from a plastics dealer around St. Louis area. I also purchased Z strips and fancy head bolts to keep the liner in place yet allow it to flex with weather changes. I was able to install it myself with some crude but creative tooling to hold things in place during the installation.

That liner was the best money I ever spent on a dump unit. Same gravels from the same pit - I only needed to hit the third stage of the hydraulic cylinder and the bed was always empty. I never needed to go past the 4th stage to ensure a clean bed during any dump cycle. The safety factor alone was worth the cost of the material. And, as the salesman that I talked with explained, the head of the liner will last the longest and be the most important part of shedding material. Even if I did wear out the tail section, the head load would push everything right out anyways and I could just replace a section of tail if needed.

My vote will always go to a plastic liner in a dump. It made me a believer.

Before scissor dumps came along, a lot of guys here used the liners, and I agree, nothing sticks. I find liners ok if you are always hauling fine material, but if you haul sandstone, or anything bigger than 3 inch crushed, it takes it's toll on the plastic. We haul a lot of 2 and 3 foot rock for shore line protection jobs, you want to see something that stays in until the last segment, thank god for high lift tailgates, a liner would be toast. Never saw one installed in a strait truck, but it might be the ticket if that is all you are hauling.

 

[chroniekon]

A friend of mine has a vibrator in his truck. He brought several loads of sticky dirt here last spring. The vibrator didn't do squat.

 

[treemuncher]

Before scissor dumps came along, a lot of guys here used the liners, and I agree, nothing sticks. I find liners ok if you are always hauling fine material, but if you haul sandstone, or anything bigger than 3 inch crushed, it takes it's toll on the plastic. We haul a lot of 2 and 3 foot rock for shore line protection jobs, you want to see something that stays in until the last segment, thank god for high lift tailgates, a liner would be toast. Never saw one installed in a strait truck, but it might be the ticket if that is all you are hauling.

Agreed for big rock and chunk demo debris. A liner may not last as long unless you went with a thick version of the UHMW. I've done a lot of rip-rap hauling for shorelines with my Yanmar C60R and I put a thick conveyor belt in the bed for a liner and impact protector when I first got it. Some materials will stick a little on that old belt but most of it flows pretty well. Slick side up. And it's only bolted in at the head so that I can lift the tail to help shake out any leftovers when needed - but the bed is only 6'-8' long. It's still not as slick as the plastic and some materials will adhere. Nice thing about the Yanmar is that I can dump 1/2 load of rocks while on a 30 degree side slope. Lots of "pucker factor" when doing that stuff.

I had also asked about liners for heavy use like you mention back when I was in the market for my first liner. They did offer thicker liners designed for such loads but recommended the UHMW only, because it could withstand so much more abuse and last a lot longer than the cheaper HMW that I went with.

 

[Shimmy1]

A friend of mine has a vibrator in his truck. He brought several loads of sticky dirt here last spring. The vibrator didn't do squat.

Unfortunately this has been my experience as well.

 

[mitch504]

Unfortunately this has been my experience as well.

Well, they DO make an impressive noise...

They work good on fertilizer tenders, though.

 

[Shimmy1]

They work good on fertilizer tenders, though.

LMAO. Yes, they sure do, but we're discussing sticky clay, lol.

 

[chroniekon]

I'm not so sure the vibrator didn't settle it in even tighter. I know digging it all out with a shovel was no fun.

 

[GOOG]

Greatly appreciate all input. Any opinions on the big chain idea?