Tipping the Balance

Selection of the right high-quality truck and/or trailer for an MSW application involves multi-faceted options that include purchase price, cost of operation, and features. In addition, because landfills are located farther and farther away from transfer stations, trash-hauling companies must consider factors such as climate, geography, and solid waste composition when making their choices.

“Choosing the correct equipment and manufacturer are important decisions that require forethought from landfill managers,” observes Nolan Link, national trailer sales manager for J&J Truck Bodies and Equipment. He says the process starts at the transfer station where household and commercial waste is hauled to and off-loaded. After the material is off-loaded at the transfer station, it is transported to a local landfill for disposal.

A tipper trailer, or tipping platform transfer trailer, is a hydraulically operated trailer commonly used for high volume or wet loads. Although it comes with a sizeable price tag, it’s generally less expensive to purchase and operate, not to mention easier to maintain, than a moving floor trailer, according to Charlie Benton, product manager–refuse trailer, for East Manufacturing. It’s also typically lighter weight, allowing it to handle more payload per trip. 

History

A tipper truck is simply a specialized dump truck, sometimes called a dump trailer. Its earliest known version was used on late 19th-century western European farms, but the first motorized dump trucks in the U.S. were designed by small equipment companies, including the Fruehauf Trailer Corporation, in the early twentieth century.

One of the first self-propelled garbage trucks was a steam motor tip-car designed by Thornycroft Steam Wagon and Carriage Company in 1897 to collect dust and house refuse. By the 1920s, open-topped trash trucks were in use, but odor and falling waste resulted in a call for covered trucks.

After World War I, August Fruehauf introduced hydraulic lift gates, hydraulic winches, and a dump trailer. While heavy haulers, road construction and mining contractors flocked to Fruehauf’s tipping vehicles, some buyers were turning to competitors such as the Galion Buggy Co. because it manufactured smaller dump bodies that could be installed on stock Model T chassis—or chassis modified with heavy-duty suspension and drivetrains.

In order to lift trash to shoulder height, manufacturers built round compartments with corkscrews to lift loads. The hopper, a more efficient design that used a cable system to pull waste into the truck, was developed in 1929.

Capacity in the trucks doubled once the Garwood Load Packer appeared in 1938. It used a hydraulic press to compact the trash, making more room to pick up additional load.

Since then, there have been numerous design innovations to make tippers more efficient, safer, and faster. For larger loads, tipping trailers are often used.

Speed Demons

Hydraulic tipper trailers, a.k.a. tipping platform transfer trailers, offer many advantages over moving floor trailers. For one thing, tippers unload more quickly (in about half the time it takes a moving floor trailer to unload), making them an ideal choice for high-volume sites. That translates to lower operational costs.

Link considers tippers a great option for both the hauler and the landfill. “For the hauler, the lightweight nature of the tipper allows for a larger payload. It’s also a quick and efficient system for offloading at the landfill, allowing haulers to get back on the road quickly,” he points out.

“The tipper refuse trailer is typically used for high-volume operations, where the load is unloaded using a landfill tipper,” Benton observes. Pointing out that landfill tipping platforms usually cost about $500,000, he says that “only high-volume landfills that exceed 500 tons per day can support the high cost of a tipper.”

Weighing In

Speed is important. Another important feature that lowers operating costs is weight. The lighter the trailer, the greater the payload. That’s why many haulers gravitated to tippers in the 1990s: these trailers weighed significantly less than other styles (averaging 14,000 lbs. vs. the 17,000 lbs. of the typical walking floor trailer).

The lighter weight of a tipper allows it to carry more payload per trip, and if maximum payload is the goal, unloading via a tipping platform is the solution. Thus, the shift from steel to aluminum began more than 20 years ago. Although steel is stronger than aluminum, it is heavier. Consequently, to maximize payloads, aluminum is the metal of choice for many long-distance haulers.

“To accommodate additional payload,” Benton says, “efforts are constantly being made to reduce tare weight of East refuse trailers. Emerging technology by suppliers and developments in new alloys and extrusion design continue to drive the effort forward to find ways to reduce the weight and maintain the efficiency of the equipment.”

The strength-to-weight ratio is important in providing maximum return on investment. The newest East tipper is a lighter-weight design to maximize payload, yet still provide the strength to handle the stresses of hauling refuse day after day in the harshest of conditions.

Benton says that East has reengineered the tipper trailer to increase payload by removing 1,200 pounds of excess weight. “The excess weight was removed from the fifth wheel plate area, the suspension subframe, and the sides of the trailer body.” In addition, East designed an aluminum bumper assembly to replace its steel bumper.

The “Wet” Factor

Weight is more of a problem if the waste is wet. Wet loads are also more conducive to corrosion. That’s why, Benton says, in addition to reducing weight, East incorporates components and procedures to guard against corrosion for increased life and residual value.

In general, tippers are a good choice for wet loads. The trailer’s floor is a flat sheet that is welded around the perimeter to resist leakage, Benton details, adding that tippers are also well-suited for heavy loads with big items, where a thicker floor and thicker walls are necessary.

Strength

While weight is crucial for delivering more payload, too much emphasis on weight savings can result in downtime. Strength and durability are also important. It’s critical to achieve maximum structural strength while maintaining minimal trailer weight.

Benton explains that East Manufacturing continually designs refuse trailers with the latest technological advances in equipment. That means equipping them with components that maintain the ideal balance of weight and strength.

Floor and wall durability are a major focus for tipper trailers. The double-wall construction of the East Genesis smooth-sided aluminum design for the East Tipper is more aerodynamic and fuel-efficient. “The design is easier to clean and will not show any pings and dings on the outside like traditional external post walls,” Benton details. Because the inside walls stay flatter, they enjoy a longer life.

Furthermore, the outboard Genesis design provides more capacity than traditional external post trailers. “Its two-inch-thick, double-wall extruded aluminum panels are lighter weight than competitive walls and provide eight times more wall support than external posts positioned every 25 inches. The patented double-wall panels are robotically welded vertically inside and out for superior strength.” He adds that the design resists bowing and decreases maintenance and repair costs, as well as protecting the outer walls from dents to improve resale value.

“The advanced wall-to-floor construction secures the critical point for trailer strength—the welded union of cross members, floor plates, and sidewalls,” Benton emphasizes. “For a super-strong floor-to-wall attachment joint, cross members and floor plates interlock into the bottom rub rail, forming a pocket to accept the sidewall panels.” This enhances trailer strength. In addition to maximum strength, welding inside and out reduces corrosion from road salt penetration. East offers optional thicker aluminum in high-wear areas like the inside last eight feet of the trailer.

Durability

Some haulers believe that durability and low maintenance are the primary concerns, ahead of weight and price. In the past, many lightweight and high-capacity tippers sacrificed durability, but today’s tippers are built from high-quality materials that can withstand the rigors of the industry.

Landfill managers must consider the balance between weight and durability, Link advises. “Thicker aluminum can mean a longer lifespan for the trailer but can also limit the hauling capacity. Finding the perfect balance is crucial.

“The J&J Aluminum Tipper features a thicker standard top rail than other manufacturers, which improves the structural integrity of the trailer, leading to a longer lifespan,” Link continues. “Our ISO 9001:2015 certification and NTEA MVP membership are evidence of the commitment to quality that is behind every J&J product, and the end result is the kind of dependability that rewards both the hauler and the landfill.”

J&J has been building trailers for nearly four decades. Link says they know what’s important to their customers, even though each customer has a unique set of requirements. “That’s why we build each trailer to specifically fulfill the wants and needs of the individual customer. We don’t do cookie-cutter trailers. Our sales and engineering staffs work with the customer to make sure he or she gets exactly what is needed.”

Some tipper trailers are still made of steel; they frequently use Hardox, a high-strength steel that rates high on the Brinell hardness ranking. It boosts productivity through 30-40% longer life due to less corrosion and wear, while its lighter weight provides higher payload capacity.

Safe Passage

Stability is an important aspect of safety. Landfill tippers should be sized correctly and have torsional stiffness and self-leveling ability to securely unload trailers.

Safety features designed into tipper trailers over the years include:

• Environmentally controlled front-facing operator cabs
• Self-cleaning ramps to prevent trucks from slipping while backing onto the tipper
• Wheel guides to assist the driver while backing up
• Solid structure hoops to hold the trailer in place
• Guardrails on the catwalks since tippers are usually working in high-traffic locations
• Dusk-to-dawn lighting to illuminate the area
• A windsock that provides a visual warning in high-wind areas

Productivity and Efficiency

Productivity and efficiency are key advantages of tippers. In addition to reducing off-loading time, tipping platforms decrease the size of a landfill’s working face. “A tipper system benefits the landfill, in both safety and productivity, as it creates a consistent and effective means of material disposal,” Link states.

Factors to judge the productivity and efficiency of tippers include:

• Gross vehicle weight
• Full load capacity
• Tipping speed
• Structural design
• Wear patterns
• Service life
• Ability to stand up to corrosive environments

To further improve productivity, East increased the width of their Genesis refuse trailer by four inches, providing up to five cubic yards of extra payload. 

J&J has also made changes to their design, such as an innovative flip-top roof that allows trailers to have the versatility to top-load the container while providing all of the benefits of a closed-top vehicle. While often used on moving-floor trailers, the design can be tailored to tipper trailers.

In addition, Link says that while it’s not exactly new, the EVO smooth-side trailer is more aerodynamic than a traditional sheet-and-post setup—and J&J continues to improve on it. “The EVO trailer is especially beneficial to those haulers making longer trips on a regular basis.”