Late Friday afternoon the call came across the radio asking for three volunteers to deliver three loads of gravel to a residential customer. Naturally, I volunteered to stay a bit late to get one of those loads delivered.
This wasn’t as simple as originally thought. The customer required delivery in the alley behind the house. As is almost always the case with residential alleys there were more than plenty of overhead wires to contend with. In addition to the overhead concerns there was an issue with the slop of the yard. From the alley the yard sloped substantially down to the house.
This slope influenced the angle of the trucks frame which in turn influenced the angle of the box. This isn’t a big deal so long as you don’t raise the box. Well, being a dump truck the box needs to be raised in order to unload. I ran into a problem once I raised the box to full height. The first load that had already been delivered was obstructing my load from flowing freely and rapidly out of my box. This caused the weight to shift even more to the downhill side of the box putting further pressure sideways on the hoist cylinder. When I realized that I had a problem getting the load off I attempted to lower the box unsuccessfully. The sideways pressure from the partially loaded box on the cylinder caused it to bind. I made the call to the boss as I knew there was nothing that I could by myself. With the aid of a bobcat the boss was able to apply some pressure against the box which releaved the forces of gravity just enough to allow the box to lower (albeit suddenly and imediate). Thanks to the experience and knowledge of the boss no one was hurt although the truck was damaged. I’ve been informed that the main hoist cylinder is bent and the seals blew out. The replacement parts will hopefully return the truck to serviceable condition in short order. I think that I learned a few valuable lessons late Friday afternoon that will not soon be forgotten. The first is that even if someone else is or was able to make a delivery in a particular location it’s OK to call the boss and let him know that I’m uncomfortable raising the dump box in the requested location as alternative arrangements can be made. Secondly, never raise the box on a grade if the rig is not perpendicular to the grade you’re on. If necessary move the truck until it is in the perfect position. At the end of the day I as the driver am responsible for the safety of the equipment I operate as well as those who may be in my imediate vicinity. – – QBall45
