When you see a garbage truck on the road, you may wonder how they build it. A factory in Rochester, Minnesota, builds them. Visitors to the factory will see a garbage truck being built, as well as how different parts are put together to make it go from blank sheet metal to fully functional machine.
The body of a garbage truck is made mainly of steel, including the floor, sides, top, and ends. Various thicknesses of steel plate or sheet are used in different areas to provide different strength and to withstand different stresses. After the body is completed, it will be lifted and mounted on a truck chassis.
How Do They Make Garbage Trucks?
When it comes to garbage trucks, they have many different styles and functions. A rear loader, for example, can handle a large load with ease. Its large sweep blade and hydraulic cylinders work to compact the waste. These are controlled by a truck driver sitting in the cab. Some newer garbage trucks even have electronic controls for the compactor and sweep blade.
The parts of a garbage truck are made using special machinery. The body of the truck is usually made of large sheets of metal. These sheets are cut with industrial-sized lathes, which have computer controls to ensure accuracy. The sheet steel is then transferred to another machine for bending and pressing. The process requires skilled workers.
Many cities contract with private companies to pick up and dispose of trash. These companies own thousands of trucks. These companies specialize in building highly automated, highly-specialized garbage trucks. The new technology allows them to pick up more trash per load.
When Was the First Garbage Truck Made?
Garbage trucks have evolved significantly over the last century. Bowles, for example, began manufacturing front-loaders in the 1960s. These trucks featured a closed dump body and a unique patented front-load arm that moved from the front to the rear of the hopper. The blade compacted the garbage as it filled and was then mechanically raised to the truck’s cab. Later, manufacturers began using push-type packers, which featured rams mounted ahead of the blade.
A few decades later, another type of garbage truck appeared: the side loader. Although relatively recent, this type of truck still features a hydraulic lifting arm and can handle double the amount of garbage as its predecessors. Other manufacturers soon followed suit. In the mid-1970s, the company Helix made a side-loader model.
Eventually, residential collection trucks adopted the side-load method. This method allowed the garbage to be packed into the truck with a huge hydraulic blade. In 1965, the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued legislation allowing for research on resource recovery and landfill disposal. The act also provided state-level solid waste grants.
Who Invented the First Garbage Truck?
The invention of the garbage truck is not new. In fact, garbage trucks have been around for over 60 years. Initially, the trash trucks were hand-powered, and their design largely resembled the current one. However, garbage trucks have become more advanced over the years.
Before the advent of modern garbage trucks, garbage collection was conducted with horse-drawn carts. But, in the early twentieth century, the first garbage truck was created. This truck was effective in waste management but had poor sanitation and was hard to load. Eventually, garbage trucks began to employ hydraulic cylinders and a massive blade to smash the garbage against the truck panel.
The first commercially successful garbage truck was invented in 1935 by Dempster Brothers Inc. in Austin, Texas. In the following years, the Dempster-Dumpmaster became a standard design for garbage trucks. Since then, other manufacturers have attempted to improve on Dempster’s original design, producing trucks and dumpsters with different loading systems. However, none of these designs has been as effective as Dempster’s original design.
What are Garbage Trucks Made Of?
A garbage truck’s body is made up of three parts: a large box, a medium box, and a cab. These parts are welded together, with the body mounted on a truck chassis. The body is made from a heavy-duty steel or aluminum frame and features hydraulic arms and a hydraulic power-take-off system.
A garbage truck’s hydraulic system powers a packer blade that compresses the waste into a compacted mass. This feature reduces noise and increases fuel efficiency. A packer blade is made of steel, and the packer is typically cranked at around 1,200 rpm. A packer blade helps create additional space inside the hopper by compressing the garbage.
Some garbage trucks are equipped with roll-off hoists, which utilize a cable system to hook onto a roll-off dumpster and pull it onto the back of the truck. A garbage truck’s chassis is equipped with a tilt frame, which allows the truck to tilt to load a roll-off container. To operate this, the operator must exit the truck cab and operate controls outside.
How Much Does a Garbage Truck Weigh?
The weight of a garbage truck can be as much as three thousand six hundred pounds, but that doesn’t mean it’s light. There are many factors that can affect the weight of a garbage truck, including the type of garbage it carries and the weather conditions in which it is driving. For example, standing water on the road can make garbage trucks much heavier.
The most common type of garbage truck is the roll-off truck. These trucks are great for trash that is heavy or oversized, and they are capable of hauling up to ten tons of trash. These garbage trucks have a three-axis range of motion, and the driver operates them from the truck’s cab.
These trucks have high-performance engines and can run on electricity or gas. They are also known for putting stress on the streets of cities. Their constant stopping, turning, and backward movement puts them under a tremendous amount of pressure on the pavement. According to one study, a garbage truck puts nine times the stress on pavement than an SUV.
How Much Can a Garbage Truck Hold?
There are a few factors that affect how much a garbage truck can hold. Different trucks are designed to handle different amounts of garbage. Some trucks can hold up to six tons of trash while others are limited to less than 20 tons. Most garbage trucks are also designed to dump their load at designated landfills.
Front loader garbage trucks are typically the most common type of garbage truck. These trucks feature an opening in the rear of the vehicle, and the operator stands on a platform at the back. A robotic arm works to compact the garbage, making it easier to load and dump. Front loaders are ideal for residential garbage collection, but they are also available for commercial use.
The average weight of a garbage truck varies greatly, so keep that in mind when buying one. A full garbage truck can weigh up to twenty tons. This means that different garbage trucks may pick up different loads throughout the day. Also, the weight of a garbage truck can make the truck travel much slower than a normal vehicle, and this can be problematic if the truck is driving through inclement weather.
Who Invented the Garbage Truck Arm?
The arm is a mechanical system that can lift garbage from a truck, similar to an automobile’s back-up camera. It uses hydraulic tubes and metal rails with a three-axis range of motion. It is controlled by a driver in the truck cab. Some of these arms also have camera monitoring systems that mimic the way the back-up camera system works in cars.
The arm was originally created by Philip and Howard Aldredge, who developed a front-loading arm that bent at a certain height and then threw trash into the truck body. The arm was soon incorporated into garbage trucks and became standard. In 1957, Dempster redesigned their Dumpmaster garbage truck. This time, the company made the entire truck in Tennessee. The arm was also incorporated into the truck’s design, incorporating side-channel container forks. This new garbage truck could compact trash as much as 58,000 pounds per cubic yard.
The arms used by garbage trucks were first developed in the 1950s. The first arms were known as broken arms because they bent at a joint when raised to a certain level and threw the contents of the refuse containers into the truck’s body. The arms were later redesigned by Dempster in 1957. Dempster’s Dumpmaster had a completely different look and used gooseneck Over-the-Cab (OTC) arms with side channel container forks. The Dempster Dumpmaster boasted a compaction rate of 58,000lbs.
Learn More Here:
3.) Best Trucks
