twin-stick redi-mix trucks?

I drove dump trucks years ago that had a 5 over 4 tranny setup,rarely did you use the low gear on the aux. unless you were in a lot of mud.

the actual shift patten [which no one used] gave you something like 25 gear changes,which took forever to go thru, if I remember right empty we usually started out with the aux. in third and the main in second.
loaded we started out with the aux in second and the main in second, and you learn quickly how many gears you can skip depending on the situation.

I always thought that this kind of setup was complete overkill and a complete pain in the butt

 

On a Mack more than likely camelback spring suspensions which is Macks own, like i said about the tranny you will run it as a 5spd most of the time only use the low when loaded to start out or on the job site its not a 5x4 it's Macks own tranny they call it a 6spd low hole.

 

i think most of the ones around hear are run off the crankshaft off of the front of the engine.

 

I've been driving concrete mixers for a little over a year now, and I love it. Yes some contractors can be a holes but once you get to know them and learn the ropes and learn how to pour things will get better and they will be nicer. Well in my case I can really make the contractors job really easy or extremely difficult because I drive a front discharge so i'm the one controlling the chute. Biggest thing really is learning the slump gauge and learning what slumps all the different contractors like to pour. Yes you will be hosing your drum, and chutes off after each pour, and in Minnesota it can be a pain sometimes because of the environmentalists that passed the law that we have to recapture the water and can't wash on the ground. You definitely want to be easy on the stops, and starts when driving especially if the concrete is wet, it will slosh around, and it makes a big mess when it comes flying out of the drum onto the street. You will have to learn how to control the speed of the drum especially when you are discharging, to fast and the pour will get to thick, thus pissing the contractor off. You want to find the right speed where you can keep up and not having it over filling the area you are pouring in. You will be driving off road a lot, make sure you scout out the area you will be driving. Ask the contractors where the septic systems are, watch for soft spots so you dont get buried, watch for powerlines, random stuff the contractors leave sitting around(shovels, screets, comealongs, skid-steers. I can tell you this much driving a rear mixer is a lot harder than driving a front because you can't see whats going on behind you. Oh and you gotta learn and be able to understand hand signals. If you see a contractor motion like he's drinking a cup, he wants you to give it some water and mix it up, usually they will tell you how much to put in, sometimes you just have to figure it out for yourself, thus the reason for really knowing and understanding the slumps. Can't think of anything else right now maybe think of more later or if this gives you more questions ask away. Hope I was a little bit of help in my rambling.

 

Most are a hydraulic pump bolted directly to the front of the crank, pump runs all the time.

Twin stick in a Mack is so that when the big one falls off you still have one left to shift with.

 

Last year I got laid off about thanksgiving, and got called back this year beginning of may. But I worked a few days in april on and off.

 

Driving a mixer is a great job. Most contractors will bust your balls till you get the hang of it. My first year I thought it sucked just because alot of the contractors were a-holes. That will all change your 2nd year, most said they do it to all the new drivers just because we are sitting in the cab while they are dragging back concrete that should have been 4" thick but rookies are pouring it 6". You'll still have a few jacka**** but all you have to do to them is fill their boots with concrete and they usually mellow out.

The slump is something you'll pick up on. Just bring a piece of paper when you are training and write down what your trainer tells you it should read. I have driven both front and rear discharge trucks. I have to say front end discharge is where its at.

Most drivers do get laid off in the winter time unless a big project is going. It sounds like it would suck but you'll get enough hours during the "season" to even it out. I usually get 3 months or so off a year. Sometimes more sometimes less, it depends on business.


brinkj23 seems to have it down. Its nice to see another mixer driver on the forums.

 

I worked for a local concrete company for about 2 years. Ran every truck they had.
Do not worry about the twin stick, they are mostly for low.
Learning to set the slump and deal with a liquid load will take a while. Do not take exits or turns too fast.
In a straight truck you will start to get in a habit of diving into turns, this sucks when you get back into a tractor lol.
Not a bad job, but not the best money. I was making 13 an hour and working 60+ hours a week. Laid off for winter but called in every week or so, they banked the hours for spring so it did not mess with unemployment.
drover the belt truck allot, so was called in. They only had 2 drivers that were good on it.