When you think of dump trucks and their tipping capability, if you’re like me you usually imagine a nice flat road or ground where the actual tipping occurs with no trees in sight or power lines anywhere near the truck itself.
However, as any truck driver will tell you this is far from the reality of the situation. The high centre of gravity when tipping heavy loads on uneven ground or on any decent slope is a major cause of overturning tip trucks. Low hanging trees or powerlines have also caused significant safety issues and many a truckload have been tipped in a less than ideal position a fair distance away from the desired location due to the height of the top of the tray when tipping. It’s a combination of all these elements – plus several more that we will go into a bit later – which led to the development of EjectX system.
The EjectX system is essentially a full bisalloy body with internal plough mounted to a horizontal ram that creates an ejector body that pushes the material along the body and out the back past the automatically lifting tailgate – all while the truck remains in a stable, continuous horizontal position (no lifting). It is a truly innovative system that has radically improved the safety of delivering material to any and every type of site.
I had a chance to catch up with the boys, Padraig and Noel from G&H Civil, who have been behind the project from the beginning.
The boys run an earthmoving business on the East Coast of Australia (G&H Civil) and are largely involved in demolition.
The team of G&H has worked very closely with ShawX in the development of this system.
They shared, “It is though the strength and heavy-duty body and ram that we have achieved a system that is able to carry any type of material. There are no restrictions on what you can load, which means anything from rock, concrete, demolition material, asphalt and road base are all equally suited. We’ve had the system in operation in major construction and road projects in and around Brisbane over the last three years carrying asphalt, rock, clay, and concrete. The project managers and safety officers just love it because it has removed nearly all of the associated risks involved in delivering heavy materials. If safety is your priority, you need an EjectX body. Once drivers have experienced this system they won’t want to go back. It has taken a lot of the stress out of delivering material to tricky sites.”
In our testing we carried out on site, some major advantages of this system became immediately obvious when tipping a full load of asphalt. It is illegal for trucks to drive while tipping to spread out their load because of a high number of trucks toppling over due to working on a slope or cross angle. Now with the EjectX system drivers can easily and legally slowly push a consistent and controlled amount of material out whilst driving at a pace that delivers the perfect amount of material over a distance of their choice. Saving a lot of time for other operators after the delivery has been completed.
It was time for our EEM operator Heath Thompson from H.Thompson Projects to get behind the wheel and put the system to the test. Heath shared, “The immediate thing I loved about the EjectX system was the fact that I knew it didn’t matter where I unloaded or what the ground level was like. Power lines and surrounding trees were no longer a problem; I knew I was 100 per cent safe. When you hear about truck drivers coming unstuck and accidents like hitting wires or trucks toppling over, it’s usually a situation where the pressure is on, there are 101 things going on, people are under the pump and accidents happen.” Heath added, “This system has been going from strength to strength in Queensland over the last three years and in particular around the Brisbane CBD. The amount of flexibility the system provides through its ability to eject on adverse slopes is massive, especially on tricky sites. It’s reducing operating costs and cycles times and there is basically no ‘carry back’ material left due to a rubber scraper on the plough.
Above all the system is extremely easy to use due to the flexibility of the type of material that can be carried. A smart operator would be using the truck during the day, then hiring it out at night for road or similar projects. The trucks have been designed and built tough to enable around-the-clock usage, which means the system can be paying itself off in no time and earning you money while you sleep.”
Heath went on to say, “What I have experienced by spending a day in the truck is that it’s only a matter of time until the rest of Australia embraces this system like Queensland operators and project managers have. The control that is gained when dumping material is huge – you really can control exactly where you want the load to go. Even when carrying large rocks or chunks of concrete with a normal tipper, if you’re not 100 per cent onto it you can easily damage the rear end of the truck with large chunks stuck and suddenly sliding out in an uncontrolled way. The gradual and controlled push of the powerful ram creates a smooth and precise delivery. With safety such a big and important focus, as they should be on jobs of all sizes around Australia, it’s only a matter of time until the big boys in the construction and demolition games in the rest of the states realise the advantages of at least a couple of these trucks in their fleet for tricky sites with slopes, low trees or power lines.”
The EjectX system proves ShawX’s ability to work with their customers to design and manufacture original and truly innovative products.
[colored_box color=”yellow”]To test drive the EjectX system contact Padraig or Noel at G&H Civil on (07) 3382 7598, the ShawX team on (07) 3286 3794
For more information visit www.shawx.com.au[/colored_box]