Track-out remains an operational, regulatory and community issue for many pits and quarries.
Shumaker Industries heard as much from its vertically integrated customers using its Load & Go, a ready-mix truck wash system that delivers a top-down, front-to-back wash before trucks hit the road.
That consistent feedback got Shumaker Industries leaders thinking about a solution for aggregate operations. The company ultimately unveiled its solution at ConExpo-Con/Agg, where it showcased the Vocational Truck Wash (VTW).
“This will be set up at the exit of the quarry, and everything funnels through it,” says Brett Shumaker, president of Shumaker Industries. “We’re washing the cab, the top and the sides as it passes through. Then it comes up to the wheel wash, and we work our way back.”
This continuous, drive-through system – called the VTW 360 – is designed to keep trucks moving. Shumaker Industries also offers other VTW configurations for different applications – including the undercarriage-focused VTW Cyclone and the stop-and-clean AccuWash.
With the VTW 360, Shumaker Industries is focused on washing the complete vehicle.
“A lot of systems are undercarriage washes,” Shumaker says. “We’re washing the whole thing.”
According to Shumaker, a typical wash cycle with the VTW 360 lasts 60 to 80 seconds. The VTW 360 also addresses safety, keeping drivers in trucks during the washdown process.
Additionally, Shumaker Industries says the VTW uses high-pressure water instead of high-volume water. The result is a cleaned truck using less than half the water of a manual wash, the company says.
Shumaker Industries’ Load & Go, which is designed for ready-mix, is the basis of the Vocational Truck Wash. Shumaker says the company has more than 600 Load & Go systems operating in the field.
The track-out frustrations in ready-mix are similar to those in aggregates, he adds.
“It’s keeping trucks clean consistently, avoiding track-out mess and avoiding the embarrassment of a messy operation and fleet,” Shumaker says. “These guys have their names on the side of their trucks. Who wants to have their name there and look like that? There’s pride in it and, of course, EPA concerns with track-out. Having a big dust cloud at the end of your lot isn’t a good look, either.”
In addition to placing VTWs at quarry exits, Shumaker sees an opportunity to place them outside maintenance facilities. The VTW AccuWash, which requires trucks to stop, is the company’s solution to this.
Shumaker says the VTW AccuWash delivers a more thorough truck wash that even addresses tailgates. Wash time with this system is about three minutes.
“Trucks can go through there at the end of the day,” Shumaker says. “Why put trucks back in the shop dirty? Put them back clean so they’re ready for the next day.
Related: Check out other equipment solutions that emerged at ConExpo-Con/Agg
