Author Archives: Roger Grant

Roll-Off Truck on Mack
Roll-Off Trucks: A Large-Scale Waste Removal Solution

On average, Americans produce 4.4 lbs of trash every single day (global average: 2.6 lbs). That amounts to more than 700,000 tons of garbage daily! So where does all this garbage go? The trucks that come to collect trash in your neighborhood don’t transport all that refuse to the landfills. For such a massive trash hauling enterprise, roll-off trucks are the solution.

What Is A Roll-Off Truck?

A roll-off truck has a rectangular footprint, and utilizes wheels to facilitate rolling an open-top dumpster container back and forth from its lock-in place on the truck bed.

Roll-offs are indispensable in garbage haul, demolition, construction and other industrial-type sites today. However, they didn’t even exist before the 1950s. A trash mover from Portland, Oregon, named Harold Alexander was frustrated by the truck equipment he was using. Understanding the limitations of design-to-job, he created a blueprint of a roll-off prototype.

The roll-off truck continued to evolve after Harold Alexander set that ball rolling, and several innovations have been made since – such as a side hoist attachment for side loading – in the following years.

Additional Uses for Roll-Off Trucks

  • Construction:
    • Building work, especially in large-scale commercial sites, requiring high volumes of material to be ferried back and forth from the job area.
  • Demolition:
    • Any demolition activity in a construction site creates piles of debris that need to be hauled away quickly and efficiently, so building work can commence.
  • Large-Scale Clean Up:
    • All kinds of situations arise, like natural disasters, that leave an unexpectedly large quantity of debris in their wake. Roll-off trucks are indispensable in situations like this where time is of the essence for rehabilitation and renewal activities to begin.

What Is The Average Size Of Roll-Off Containers?

Containers used for roll-off trucks come in several sizes that are determined by the quantity of debris they can hold:

  • 15 Cubic Yards:
    • Ideal for heavy materials like concrete, dirt and sand removal projects.
  • 20 Cubic Yards:
    • This is one of the most common sizes and suitable for small to medium-sized construction and residential projects.
  • 30 Cubic Yards:
    • Capable of holding similar load as nine pick-up trucks, major demolition or construction projects often use this size.
  • 40 Cubic Yards:
    • Equivalent of 12 pick-up trucks, major projects like tree removal, large home remodeling, commercial construction, and community clean-up events use this size.

Click HERE to see the full range to Roll-Off Trucks from Custom Truck One Source. We’re not just the nation’s biggest source of new, used and rental trucks; we offer 100% customizable financing solutions as well!

 

 

Roll-Off Truck
Roll-Off Truck Types Comparison – Custom Truck One Source

When it comes to collecting and transporting material for the recycling and solid waste industries, roll-off trucks play a critical role. Roll-off trucks are available at Custom Truck in two common hoist systems: roll-off cable hoist and hook-lift systems. The two systems vary in terms of the method of loading and unloading waste containers, but both systems have their advantages.

Cable Hoist Roll-Off Truck

Roll-off cable hoists are the most common and versatile hoists in use today. These trucks employ a winch and a cable to pull containers or other bodies up onto the truck’s bed. Cable hoists are more suitable than hook hoist for unloading at sites with limited overhead clearance, inside or out. This is due to its lower angle unload capabilities. As the name suggests, cable hoists need to have nose rollers and rear wheels to allow the cable to pull them up on chassis.

Cable hoist roll-offs are designed to carry both inside & outside rail containers, which maximizes its versatility. They are also versatile enough to work with any truck chassis, suspensions, exhaust systems and fuel tanks.

Hook Hoist Roll-Off Truck

The simple way to define a hook hoist roll-off truck would be a heavy-duty truck chassis that has been fitted with a hydraulic lift hoist. As these roll-off trucks are designed without truck-mounted winches and cables, hook hoists provide more accuracy in dropping containers in an exact position than cable hoist roll-off trucks. Additionally, hook hoists are more suitable when maneuvering into and out of tight spaces.

As the name suggests, hook hoist trucks position a big, hydraulic-powered hook at the front of the truck’s bed. Drivers back up to a container or body, connect the hook of the truck to a receiving hook on the container, and then lift it up onto the truck. Hook hoists offer superior versatility, maneuverability and value. These trucks are ideal for the waste, recycling, landscaping, construction and roofing industries.

Since hook loader hoists containers right onto the bed of the truck instead of rolling them on, compatible containers and bodies don’t need nose rollers or rear wheels. There are many advantages of using a hook hoist roll-off truck, including:

  • Hauling many types of truck bodies or containers, which can significantly cut costs for contractors, municipalities and others by reducing fleet sizes
  • Hook hoists can do the work of several truck systems; just add truck bodies or containers as needed
  • Convenient, ground-level loading and unloading of materials
  • Fast changeovers
  • The ability of drivers to complete a pick-up or drop-off safely, within the cab of their truck

Custom Truck stocks both cable and hook hoist roll-offs on several chassis options, including Peterbilt, Mack, International and Freightliner. In addition to sales, we have roll-offs available for rent. Be sure to browse our online inventory to check out all of our available roll-offs.