Down with Dumpers?

Wheeled site dumpers, commonly called dumpers, are relatively new to the United States but are jobsite mainstays in Europe. For more than 40 years, dumpers have been hauling everything from clay, stone, gravel, backfill, asphalt, turf, concrete as well as traffic signs and cones to, from and around jobsites.

Dumpers are off-road vehicles perfect for handling medium volumes in the 50- to 1,000-yd range. When it comes to transportation of materials on the job, they close the wide gap between a skid steer bucket and big articulated trucks. 

Because dumpers are relatively new to the United States, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) does not track sales; therefore there is no industry standard to categorize them. Current manufacturers who sell site dumpers use maximum (metric ton) payload to classify them. Dumpers range from 2,200 (1-ton) up to 213,228 (6-ton) lbs in payload capacity; however there are even larger models found in Europe. Typically in the United States, dumper sizes range from smallest 0.69-yd3 (1-ton) to 4.2-yd3 (6-ton) heaped capacity. The most popular size currently in the United States is the 6,600-lb load capacity.  

Dumpers have excellent maneuverability and work well in rough terrain conditions.  They are powerful enough to climb over dirt piles and handle steep inclines while carrying heavy loads of material. This is made possible by the permanent four-wheel drive for extreme off-road capability and high ground clearance for driving through extreme mud. A key feature allows the dump bucket, or skip, to swivel 180 degrees, 90 degrees to the right and left of center. This allows the unit to unload on either side of the machine. This side dumping matched with excellent visibility from the operator’s platform make the unit ideal for spreading material.   

Marcus Auerbach is the director of compact equipment at Wacker Neuson Corp., based in Menomonee Falls, Wis.