Save Money and Keep the Haul Truck Clean

One way to save your company thousands of dollars, whether you sub out hauling or have your own fleet, is to keep the tailgate of the haul truck from dribbling profitable material into useless piles around your paving site.

For Peter Baker & Son Co. Inc., Lake Bluff, Illinois, the dump man positions himself safely to the side where the paver nestles up to the truck, and sprays the lip of the truck with release agent prior to the bed being raised. He uses a 3-gallon, pump-action spray can filled with biodegradable release agent to spray the lip of the tailgate as the truck backs toward the paver. The wand he uses has enough range that he does not have to step into the dangerous area between the paver and truck. This quick and easy step ensures the mix slides easily into the hopper and doesn’t stick to the cooler part of the truck’s tailgate. As the truck pulls away, very little mix—if any—is stuck to the lip to fall onto the pavement.

This move has saved Peter Baker & Son Co. tons of wasted mix, thus tons of wasted money, each season. Dump Man Emilio Flores has been with the company for about 20 years, and performs his job with pride. His workmanship has saved the company thousands of dollars in this area, and additional time and money in other areas where he uses his skills to keep trucks dumping efficiently. This type of problem-solving employee is worth his weight in gold on your job site.

Notice the range on the spray wand allows Flores to stay out of harm’s way while effectively coating the tailgate.

Haul trucks leaving the paver dribble very little—if any—mix because none is stuck to the treated tailgates.

John Ball is the proprietor of Top Quality Paving and Training, Manchester, New Hampshire. He provides on-site paving consulting services around the United States and into Canada. For more information, contact him at (603) 493-1458 or tqpaving@yahoo.com.