Why You Should Offset the Material Transfer Vehicle
BY John Ball
It’s a good idea to offset the material transfer vehicle (MTV) when you have room to do so. Everybody knows there are times when you need to feed the paver a little differently. Let’s take a look at a few of those reasons.
You want to have the skid steer at the ready in case there are any spills.
First of all, we use the MTV for a number of reasons.
• It helps us get a consistent temperature of mix going through the paver.
• It prevents aggregate/material segregation by remixing the mix.
• It lets us pave without stopping.
• It lets us pave without any bumps of the trucks against the paver.
To get the most benefit from the MTV, we can set it up in the lane adjacent to the paving lane. This lets us manage any mistakes the haul truck drivers make.
This worker sprays a release agent on the material transfer vehicle (MTV) tires. Even though the MTV is working in the lane beside the paving lane, you don’t want it to collect dribbled mix or stray material on its tires. Keep the machine moving smoothly.
For example, if the driver raises his bed too soon or doesn’t keep his foot on the break while charging the hopper, the mix will spill in front of something. You would rather the spill be in front of the MTV in the lane you’re not paving. Little dribbles of mix and minor spills can also be cleaned up and not affect your mat if they happen in the adjacent lane.
Another benefit of putting the traffic of haul trucks and MTV in the adjacent lane is keeping that traffic off the newly sprayed tack. If you’ve tacked the surface, you don’t want the truck tires stripping that away. They’ll carry it along the route back to the plant, leaving globs for the motoring public to pick up on their cars.
By offsetting the MTV, you give yourself room to recover from little mistakes and set yourself up for a top quality paving job.
John Ball is the proprietor of Top Quality Paving & Training, Manchester, New Hampshire. He provides personal, 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.