Cement Pumper Trucks

Gerhardt

Gerhardt

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Gerhardt
I was headed back from lunch today and saw a pumper truck pouring cement into the framework for a sidewalk repair. The sidewalk is 4 feet from the street, where the truck was. It seems like over the last 10 years or so with the proliferation of the pumping trucks that this is more common. Hundreds of times I've seem pumper trucks with the rails that go almost straight up and come almost straight down. So I turned around and went back to talk to the guys working.

"I have to ask, why the pumper truck?"

"I have no idea. It's in the specs."

"Is there a benefit to moving it all the way up, then back down? Surely there's a reason."

"No reason that I can think of other than that's what the specs call for. And I've been doing this for almost twenty years."

We talked a bit more and I think the group was amused at my curiosity, probably more to break their boredom than anything.

Surely there's an expert here on these boards. What's the benefit of using a pumper truck when it would be easier to just use a regular truck w/ a chute?
 
Dunno - my contractor buddy usually knows how far from the street he needs to pour, and calls out a pumper or not as necessary.
 
Gerhardt said:
I was headed back from lunch today and saw a pumper truck pouring cement into the framework for a sidewalk repair. The sidewalk is 4 feet from the street, where the truck was. It seems like over the last 10 years or so with the proliferation of the pumping trucks that this is more common. Hundreds of times I've seem pumper trucks with the rails that go almost straight up and come almost straight down. So I turned around and went back to talk to the guys working.

"I have to ask, why the pumper truck?"

"I have no idea. It's in the specs."

"Is there a benefit to moving it all the way up, then back down? Surely there's a reason."

"No reason that I can think of other than that's what the specs call for. And I've been doing this for almost twenty years."

We talked a bit more and I think the group was amused at my curiosity, probably more to break their boredom than anything.

Surely there's an expert here on these boards. What's the benefit of using a pumper truck when it would be easier to just use a regular truck w/ a chute?
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I think you answered your own question. It was in the specs probably by carryover. An alternate bid without the pumper would probably have been considered non responsive.
 
Sac Arrow said:
considered non responsive.
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We gave you two choices, you had to have responded with one of the two!

But what we proposed conserves resources, is cheaper, and makes sense operationally.

That doesn't matter, you have to pick one of *our* two choices!

Maybe we should discuss the design before you specify your choices?

We make the decisions around here!

Okay...

Gotta love working with federal government employees...it keeps the brewers and distillers in business. It doesn't really drive me to drink, it's just that is a shorter trip than driving me crazy...
 
More of a reach with the pumper truck, and you don't have to reposition the truck as much as you would with the regular truck? Less clean up since you don't have a chute to clean? You can pore the concrete into more directed areas instead of dumping in the middle and spreading it with shovels?
 
My guess: You can pour more concrete over a longer distance, faster, with less men working it. -important whenever you are blocking a lane of a street. You also never end up with a wasted load because someone missed the "unusual" spec for a pumper on "this particular segment" of sidewalk. They are SOPing to make everything the same.
 
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JB1842 said:
More of a reach with the pumper truck, and you don't have to reposition the truck as much as you would with the regular truck? Less clean up since you don't have a chute to clean? You can pore the concrete into more directed areas instead of dumping in the middle and spreading it with shovels?
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A chute has to be cleaned but a pumper doesn't? I don't think so.

Yes, repositioning and working the concrete can be valid reasons but they've usually got a full crew around to handle that crap anyway.
 
Clark1961 said:
We gave you two choices, you had to have responded with one of the two!

But what we proposed conserves resources, is cheaper, and makes sense operationally.

That doesn't matter, you have to pick one of *our* two choices!

Maybe we should discuss the design before you specify your choices?

We make the decisions around here!

Okay...

Gotta love working with federal government employees...it keeps the brewers and distillers in business. It doesn't really drive me to drink, it's just that is a shorter trip than driving me crazy...
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Public Agency Jr: "Ah f**k we accidentally spec'd out a pumper again for that sidewalk repair job. Bids came in double. Should we rebid it?"

Public Agency Sr: "Nah, too much paperwork and not enough time. Negotiate with the low bidder to remove the pumper."

Public Agency Jr: "Can you give us a price for eliminating the pumper?"

Contractor: "Sure, we'll give you $5,000 credit."

Public Agency Jr: "But it's a $500,000 contract."

Contractor: "Oh well."

Public Agency Sr: "Fine make them keep it."
 
JB1842 said:
More of a reach with the pumper truck, and you don't have to reposition the truck as much as you would with the regular truck? Less clean up since you don't have a chute to clean? You can pore the concrete into more directed areas instead of dumping in the middle and spreading it with shovels?
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WBI Flyer said:
My guess: You can pour more concrete over a longer distance, faster, with less men working it. -important whenever you are blocking a lane of a street. You also never end up with a wasted load because someone missed the "unusual" spec for a pumper on "this particular segment" of sidewalk. They are SOPing to make everything the same.
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For large irregular areas and high areas yes of course, but remember you still need to feed the pumper truck with a normal mixer truck. Extra cleanup, more waste and another failure point. Walls and large slabs, more efficient. Long narrow sidewalks, less efficient.
 
Sac Arrow said:
For large irregular areas and high areas yes of course, but remember you still need to feed the pumper truck with a normal mixer truck. Extra cleanup, more waste and another failure point. Walls and large slabs, more efficient. Long narrow sidewalks, less efficient.
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Well, now that just puts it back on "government job". :)
 
Clark1961 said:
A chute has to be cleaned but a pumper doesn't? I don't think so.

Yes, repositioning and working the concrete can be valid reasons but they've usually got a full crew around to handle that crap anyway.
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I'll be a little more clearer. You have to clean the chute before putting it away, which is usually in pieces, and sometimes before you move the truck. Less labor intensive with the pumper and you can get the truck out of the way faster. My uncle once offered me a job crawling into the truck and cleaning out the drums. No thanks.
 
My cousin works a lot of concrete, I'll shoot him a text tonight and see what he says.
 
You still have to clean the chute of the mixer truck, just normally less of it if you dump it in to a pumper. But you have to clean the pumper too.

And if something goes wrong with the pumper, like the pump crapping out or the concrete hardening in the lines, things can go South in a big hurry, particularly if it's a big pour.
 
Mayor's cousin has a pumper truck, therefore all concrete has to be pumped...
 
The nozzel reduces man power as the product can be delivered exactly where needed. It is an additional expense for sure.
 
Usually the pumper isn't there because somebody spec'd the truck. Usually a pumper is used because the *mix* is spec'ed to be pumpable for ease of placement and consolidation. This is as opposed to spec'ing a non-pumpable mix and having a truck or two come in with a hugely stiff mix that "places"- sorta- but won't consolidate properly.

In best contractor fashion, having a pumpable mix means they must have a sky-crane pump truck. The thought of using a regular truck or a shorter pump rig doesn't seem to penetrate.:mad2:
 
Pumping is strictly for placement ease. We've been doing underground parking garages and podium decks for apartments and condos for years and have to pump almost everything but don't when we don't need to. Lot more cost, cleanup, organization, bigger footprint etc. Sidewalks do not need to be pumped as the mix is very simple, can and have, been done by chute for as long as they have had trucks.....

They may have had another area more difficult to access that you didn't see and were just using it for the little spot because they had it and like Geico says, much easier to place with the hose vs. chute.

This, for example, will need a pump....!
 

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Less clean up with a pump truck? Not hardly.

The specifying engineer probably realizes far too well that very few Americans know how to work anymore...so use the pump truck...

The only places I've ever built where people still knew how to work was WI, MN, & SD (and a few parts of IA). The rest of this country, at least the other 36 states that I've built in, are essentially worthless.
 
It's not cement, Jethro. Concrete.

:lol:
 
Schwing!!!



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It's concrete. Cement is the gray powder mixed with aggregate to make concrete. Cement has little compressive strength. I would guess the pump was specified because of traffic or pedestrian concerns. Clean up of the pump is time consuming. And requires copious amounts of water. Plus way expensive. A boom pump is easily $500 or more depending on size, plus yardage charges. Chutes are included in the price of the concrete. easier to wash down the mixer truck. And with the new mixer wash systems leaves no water or aggregate on-site. Solving process water into storm drain concerns.
 
Somebody call for pumps....
 

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A good engineer would not be specing the use of a pump. A pump clearly falls into "means a methods" which should be the contractors' choice and liability. When the engineer specs means and methods he/she is assuming additional unnecessary risk. All it does is creates another change order :thumbsup:
 
You you want a picture of pumps, here's a world record pour in Los Angeles Wilshire Centerimage.jpg
 
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