DUMPERS


Dumper
 
Its skip can tip to dump its load out: this is where the name "dumper" came from. In British usage, a dumper is a small one-man diesel-powered vehicle often used to carry loads and material around, often on building sites. It has a towing eye on its back end, to tow such things as a air compressor to run pneumatic drills.

The older Lister-type dumpers steer by turning its back wheels. Its motor is started by hand cranking. It has no electric or hydraulic parts and thus has not much that can easily go wrong. Its skip is secured by a catch underneath near the driver's feet. When the catch is released, the skip tips under the weight of its contents at joints along the front of its bottom surface, and after being emptied is raised by a man pulling at its front upper edge.

Modern dumpers often steer by articulating at the middle of the chassis (pivot steering). They have electric parts and hydraulics and are more expensive to make and operate. Some of them have an A-frame over the seat, known as a ROPS (Roll-Over Protection) frame, to protect the driver if the dumper rolls over. Some dumpers have FOPS (Falling Object Protection) as well. Their skips have power tipping and often lift as they tip. In the 1990s dumpers with swivel skips, which could be rotated to tip out sideways, became popular, especially for working in narrow sites such as road works. Dumpers are the most common cause of accidents involving construction plant.