If you need to move a lot of soil, a wheelbarrow or even a backhoe may not be enough to handle the job. Instead, you may want to hire a tip truck. When moving soil with a tip truck, there are several things you should keep in mind.
1. Look for a tip truck with high sides.
When you go to hire tip trucks, you may notice that the available trucks feature sides of varying heights. So that you can move as much soil as possible, look for a tip truck with high sides. Alternatively, you may want to hire a flat bed tip truck and add a metal cargo container to it.
2. Consider a back gate that doubles as a ramp.
If you plan to use a backhoe to load the tip truck with soil, you can work with almost all types of back gates. In contrast, if you plan to manually load the tip truck with wheel barrels, you should look for a tip truck that has a loading ramp. Then, you can walk each load straight into the tip truck easily.
3. Make sure your soil works with the weight capacity of the truck.
Dense, wet soil can weigh a lot, and you need to ensure that your tip truck can handle the load you put on it. Luckily, it is relatively easy to estimate the weight of your soil. If you fill a small cylindrical container (coffee can, cup, etc) with your soil, you can weigh that canister and do a few calculations to figure out the weight of a cubic metre of your soil.
Then, you can use those numbers to ensure you stay safely within the truck's weight capacity. If you surpass the weight capacity of the tip truck, you risk upsetting its balance. In a worse case scenario, that may cause the truck to tip over unexpectedly.
4. Check suspension and tyre pressure.
Once you have the truck loaded, you can drive the soil to the dumping location. Before taking the tip truck on the road, however, check the suspension and the tyre pressure. At this point, the fully loaded truck is heavier than when you took it from the hire company, and you may need to add air to the tyres if they are low to ensure the truck has the support it needs.
5. Look out for wires.
When you get to the dumping location, take some time to make sure the tip truck is oriented in a safe position. In particular, make sure that there are no nearby power lines. Keep in mind that when raised, the back of the tip truck can be quite high. Finally, make sure the truck is on stable ground. Then, dump your soil, and you're done.
