Tipper semi-trailer: types and specifications

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

When transporting bulk building materials, large-sized equipment is indispensable, which greatly simplifies and speeds up unloading. In recent decades, the volume of such transportation has increased significantly, primarily due to the growth in construction volumes, which dump trucks can no longer cope with. Therefore, today special trailers of significant volumes and carrying capacity are used.

What is the construction

Tipper semi-trailer is a self-driving mechanism that has a tipping platform. It is used in agriculture and construction for the transportation of bulk goods with low density, such as earth or crushed stone, as well as coal and ore.

Tipper semi-trailer costs half as much as a car of the same volume. It transports building materials twice as much, which means it pays off faster.

Reliable chassis is one of the most important conditionsoperation of such equipment, because when moving the semi-trailer, the greatest load falls on this part.

There are a lot of companies producing tipper semi-trailers. Their products differ in the type of unloading, body geometry, number of axles, characteristics of the lifting mechanism.

Features and purpose

Technical characteristics of tipper semi-trailers depend on the purpose of special equipment. And in order to choose the right design, you first need to know the density of the cargo being transported. After all, trailers with the same carrying capacity can have a different body volume. Since the density of sand is greater than the density of coal, which, in turn, is greater than the density of expanded clay, vehicles with a body volume of 26-28 are used to transport sand and crushed stone, coal - 35, and expanded clay - from 50 to 60 cubic meters.

It is possible to transport expanded clay in a semi-trailer with a volume of 26 cubic meters, but the cost of transporting one ton of this material will almost double, and the use of such equipment will be unprofitable. The purpose of the semi-trailer depends on the material of the body, its thickness and the type of suspension.

Three millimeter thick aluminum is used in the manufacture of large volume structures to reduce its own weight. In this case, the suspension is installed pneumatic. Semi-trailers with spring suspension and thick steel body are used where structural strength is important, such as transporting heavy rock.

Body shape

Tipper semi-trailers use bodiestwo types.

Traditional is considered a semicircular shape, which is suitable for the transport of bulk cargo. Since stones hit the sides tangentially during loading, and the shock loads are reduced, the semi-circular body is more difficult to damage. In addition, such a design is always stronger than a rectangular one, so a traditional body is always stronger and lighter than an analogue with straight sides. Its most important advantage is fast unloading without sticking of loose materials in the corners.

The square body is used not only for sand and gravel, but also for transporting rectangular materials such as slabs or bricks. However, at the same time, it needs to be reinforced with stiffeners, which negatively affects its own weight.

Type of unloading and load capacity

The classic rear unloading method is the most popular due to its simplicity of design, lower empty weight of semi-trailers with a larger body volume.

Side discharge is convenient if there are height restrictions, such as indoors. Therefore, similar mechanisms are used in agriculture for unloading in storage facilities. Tipper semi-trailers, the photos of which are presented below, are used for accelerated unloading on uneven ground.

There are also designs that perform double-sided or universal (three-sided) unloading.

Semi-trailers also differ in the way they pour materials. Forced unloading is performed usinga screw auger that ejects the contents as it rotates. Telescopic lifts are used for inclined unloading.

And another difference in the design of semi-trailers has to do with handling. It can be done from the outside or from the cab.

The number of axles in a semi-trailer affects its carrying capacity. Four-axle structures with a reinforced frame carry up to 45 tons, three-axle structures - 35 tons, and two-axle structures - 25 tons of cargo.

Tractor tipper semi-trailer

Such a mechanism is a compact type of special equipment that is used to transport and unload compost, sawdust and silage in agriculture. It can also transport heavy loads such as root crops, bulk building materials and even snow.

Tractor tipper semi-trailer with wide-profile tires can be single-axle, thereby reducing the grip weight and increasing the throughput of the wheel unit, or two-axle, designed to carry heavier loads. Structural brakes keep the trailer in place when parked on slopes.

Dump body can be unloaded on three sides in fairly low spaces. With a carrying capacity of fifteen tons, it contains approximately twenty-three or thirty-eight (when pressed) cubic meters of building materials.

Convenient and functional design allows, if necessary, unloading even without lifting the body. The autonomous hydraulic system will work if notthe tractor's hydraulic system handles it, and the absence of telescopic cylinders makes it possible to dispense with engine oil.

Russian manufacturers

The demand for dump trucks in the domestic construction market has forced Russian car companies to start producing just such structures.

The standard three-axle mechanism is manufactured by a subsidiary of Russia's largest truck manufacturer KAMAZ. OJSC NefAZ produces a dump trailer with a folding tailgate and a lifting front axle with a capacity of 30 cubic meters and a load capacity of 33 tons.

Not so long ago the Chelyabinsk trailer equipment plant began to produce such products. Its units are adapted to Russian roads with any surface and off-road. And the traditional body shape is complemented by modern solutions to increase the load capacity of a three-axle semi-trailer.

The TONAR machine-building plant from the Moscow region is one of the most famous manufacturers of large-sized construction equipment. The TONAR tipper semi-trailer is most often found in road trains. The model range includes designs with a volume of 28 and 32 cubic meters, four-axle - from 37 to 44 cubic meters. The factory has developed a range of side dump semi-trailers, which are safer due to greater stability. It is convenient for low room heights and can significantly reduce the operating time.

Foreign manufacturers

The closest foreign manufacturer of construction equipment isBelarus. It is not difficult to recognize the dump semi-trailer "MAZ" on the road and at the construction site. This is a large all-metal body of yellow-orange color without a tarpaulin with rear unloading, two-axle structures with a carrying capacity of 16 and 26 tons, and three-axle structures - 35 tons.

Polish WELTON semi-trailers cannot be confused with others. Camel-on-board tipper semi-trailers with a folding tarpaulin on a three-axle chassis and rear dumping are made of aluminum or steel. They have a body of a traditional form in the form of a half-pipe or with straight sides with a volume of 27 to 49 cubic meters.

WELTON is one of the top ten trailer and semi-trailer companies in Europe, producing more than sixty types of products and implementing many of its own technical solutions.

Advantages of tipper trailers

Today, the most common road train consists of a truck tractor with three pairs of wheels and a semi-trailer that has three or four axles. The carrying capacity of such a mechanism reaches forty tons.

Transport companies prefer road trains, as they have a higher carrying capacity and are more economical. They have less axle load with the same load as a conventional dump truck. Such machines can be operated without problems within the axle load limit on any roads.

For transport companies, the use of tractors is also convenient because any of them can be equipped with a different type of structure. That is, the road train "tractor plus tipper semi-trailer" is moreversatile than a separate dump truck. Moreover, buying such a unit with a fleet of tractors can be much cheaper than a truck.

Tipper semi-trailer is a special equipment that is currently most in demand in construction, mining and agriculture for the transportation of bulk cargo. Leading European and domestic manufacturers in a competitive environment are constantly improving their products and developing new types.