A tipper is a heavy duty truck chassis fitted with an open-top body, used for carrying aggregate, crushed rock, soil and other bulk materials to and from construction sites. The body tips up to deposit material, and the hinged tailgate is either one-piece or two-piece. The asphalt tippers have two-piece tailgate to help control the dropping of asphalt into an asphalt paver hopper, and ensure the remaining asphalt in the body does not cool. The two-piece tailgate is often opened by an Spacing “air cylinder”
so the driver does not have to leave his/her can on the dangerous construction site.
Tipper trucks are typically 3 or 4 axles. A 4 axle tipper has a total transport weight of 32 tons, and can generally carry about 20 tons of soil or stone. The front 2 axles are steering, and use a different tyre pattern than the rear 2 axles, which are driving. When purchasing tyres ensure that you get the right tyre tread pattern to get the best performance from your tyres.
Both rear axles are driven to provide better grip on construction sites and off-road areas. This is needed as tipper trucks are often driven up to where excavators or wheel loaders are working, to be loaded, before transporting their load. For purely off-road use, articulated dumpers give much more performance, as they can carry up to 40 tons and all axles are powered to increase traction.