3 Safety Tips For Dump Trailer Drivers
*The Rear Tires and Surface
Many problems begin at the rear of the truck. A flat or under-inflated tire on the rear axle can provide all the difference needed to start a tip over. Circumstances that simulate this effect can result in the same outcome. Be wary of potholes, inclines, or other unsafe surface conditions. It is a far better choice to not risk your safety and truck for the sake of the dump.
Customers may generally not be so understanding. Do not let a customer pressure you into an unsafe dumping condition. They do not have the knowledge and experience that you do with your truck and different dumping conditions. If you are working for a company, call your boss and inform them of the problem. A company that wants you to dump in unsafe conditions is not one to work for.
*Preventing a Tip Over
Perhaps you followed as many safety precautions as possible but still find yourself in a compromised position. The trailer is part way up and gravity has decided to throw a monkey wrench into the process thanks to an incline you missed. Accidents happen, but what do you do with a destabilized load that is currently in the air?
Experienced dump trailer drivers agree that trying to drop the trailer back down to stabilize is incorrect and will likely result in a tip over. The best chance you have to keep your truck and dump trailer upright is to get the load out of the trailer. Might seem a bit counterintuitive, doesn't it? Let's have a look at the mechanics behind it.
The load shifting and moving from the trailer is affecting the center of the gravity. If the trailer starts to tip and the driver drops the trailer, they are leaving the load in the new position that gravity fed it into. It is not returning to its original position which was safe. Instead, you now have more weight in an area that is already outside of the normal safe zone for the center of gravity.
The driver that evacuates the load as efficiently as possible is rebalancing the scales. They are returning the truck and dump trailer's center of gravity to where it was originally engineered for safe operation. Removing those thousands of pounds of additional weight bring it back into a normal operating range and allow you to drive cleanly away from a potential tip over.
*Control the Incline of the Trailer
A final safety tip we would like to present you with is with actual control of the trailer. Many drivers do not consider the fact that they do not need to completely raise the trailer to effectively empty it. By not raising it all the way, you are keeping the center of gravity with a heavy load lower to the ground. The chances for tip over in those specific conditions are much less than for the driver going all the way up. Know how far you need to go up to dump effectively and leave it at that.
We hope these tips will help you keep the rubber side down and rolling out there. Drive and dump safely. Watch out for bikers! It is the season after all.