Purpose of trucks
Trucks are the most vital vehicles for construction sites, whether big or small. The size of a truck defines its unique use. Various types of trucks are required to maintain the demand in the site depending on varied requirements of the work to be done at different corners.
The three main classifications for road trucks by weight are
- Light trucks
- Medium trucks
- Heavy trucks
Construction vehicles vary from one another with respect to their specific weight category that they belong to.
Light Trucks
These are designed for carrying lighter loads mostly ranging under 16 tons. These vehicles are made mainly for intra-city transportation within urban areas where moderate traffic has conditions/intersections/road widths. Light trucks are more fuel efficient than other types of trucks. They can be used for day to day delivery jobs, e.g., milk delivery. These vehicles are also known as LCVs (light commercial vehicle) or pickup truck.
Medium Trucks
Medium duty means up to 33 tons which fall under the category of medium duty trucks. This heavy duty class is suited for all kinds of light and mid-level tasks in construction sites which includes digging, lifting, moving materials etc. The payload capacity is also limited depending on specific standards set by respective manufacturer or in some case defined in national laws or in some countries defined in international standards like in Europe where EEC rules apply for this standardization purpose by type approval of vehicle.
Heavy Trucks
This group includes all road machines that are heavier than 33 tons according to their respective axle weights. These heavy duty trucks are built for comprehensive use at construction sites which involve huge tasks like excavation, transporting of building materials etc.
The three main classifications for road truck by weight are light trucks, medium trucks, and heavy trucks. Construction vehicles vary from one another with respect to the various weights they fall under.
Concrete mixer truck
A concrete mixer truck, also known as an in-transit mixer (also called by several other names), is a type of trucks equipped with mixing devices to provide materials for building roads. Concrete Mixer Trucks are usually heavier and larger than regular dump trucks because they have hydraulic mechanisms attached to the rear axle that rotate the drum so that the wet slurry can be mixed properly.
Concrete mixer trucks are generally used in two styles:
- They may also use air entrainment technologies to reduce water usage while improving compaction characteristics.
- In-transit mixers are meant to be used as a mobile ready mix factory.
They can supply concrete on-site for relatively small construction projects such as single family homes, and typically have a pump for precise delivery of the concrete mixture to the site. Because it is often more economical to transport smaller amounts of concrete to the job site, in-transit mixers are also available in smaller versions than those commonly found for use with central mix plants.
Standard mixer truck
The standard mixer truck has got five basic parts:
- The drum which rotates around its own axis
- The rotating part borrowed from an industrial mixer
- A large rear axle which allows rotation of drum
- Hydraulic motor and pumping system
- Pneumatic control panel
- System that stabilizes drum during its rotation.
Concrete mixer trucks are powered by internal combustion engines usually diesel, however some manufacturers offer CNG (compressed natural gas) and electric versions as well. Some companies offer alternative fuel conversion kits or factory-built models that run on biodiesel, landfill gas or propane among others. Since their prime mover is a standard diesel engine, the most obvious exhaust fumes come from these, however if they are equipped with particulate traps or catalytic converters these can be made much cleaner than standard trucks.
Size of concrete mixer truck
Concrete mixers vary in size, depending upon the batch size of concrete being produced at any one time. A typical “batch” might be 2 cubic meters for residential use but may range up to 200 cubic meters for high rise buildings.
Industrial truck
Industrial trucks are trucks that are not licensed to travel on public roads (commercial trucks are licensed to travel on public roads. Industrial trucks are used to move materials over variable paths and when there is insufficient (or intermittent) flow volume such that the use of a conveyor cannot be justified.
First industrial truck
The first industrial truck was developed by Eberhard Zadeh in Germany. The company name at that time was Goliath-Werke. It felt like an assembly line because it moved its load forward or backward depending on whether or not something was occupying the space where it would have put down its load so as not to crush anything underneath.
Industrial trucks have been around since before World War 1 but due to significant technological advancements in recent decades they are becoming more and more popular. They are often used in warehouses, manufacturing facilities, wholesale retail distribution centers (a warehouse within a warehouse), pharmaceutical (drug) manufacturing centers, food processing plants, automotive parts production facilities/plants etc.
Uses of industrial trucks
Industrial trucks use many different forms of vehicle propulsion including electric motors powered by batteries or fuel cells; internal combustion engines that run on diesel oil, gasoline or some other heavy fuel oil product; hydraulics operated by pressurized liquid or compressed gas; tethering systems that pull the truck via steel wire(s); wireless systems that pull the truck using electromagnetic induction using copper coils mounted on each corner of the truck bed with magnets mounted to some part of the truck so to keep the distance between the coils.
Water trucks
The use of water trucks, at the building sites are useful way to keep down dust and other particles in the air. Dust control is important for health and safety reasons, but it also makes good business sense for both workers and their companies, by minimizing costs such as dust masks and cleaning expenses, while also protecting the environment from more harmful elements of dust.
Water trucks can be highly effective in minimizing discomfort caused by occupational asthma due to exposure to dry dusty environments. It is important that site managers understand this issue. The risks of developing symptoms of work-related asthma increase if there are pre-existing symptoms of allergic rhinitis (hay fever) or asthma. These symptoms often arise gradually.
Final thoughts
Thanks to these trucks, our civil engineers and contractors can handle any challenging period today. All technological variants perform superbly, and we cannot even imagine a construction project without them. It is important to note that these trucks have a lot of versatility. Various types can solve your construction problems in the simplest way possible.
