Considering the many advantages that hydraulic hook loaders can bring to your application.
By Andy Jansma
Faster loading. More hauls per day. Less risk of operator injury. Potentially fewer worker’s comp claims. Easier driver recruitment and retention. And that is just for starters when counting the benefits of hook roll-offs.
With their many advantages, it is no wonder that more operations in many in the solid waste and scrap industry are now choosing hooklifts. When it comes to container drop-offs and pickups, no system does it better. Consider the many advantages that hydraulic hook loaders can bring to your application.
#1: Gain Faster Turnarounds at Dumpster Sites
When dropping off a container, a cable loader driver must get out of the cab and detach the cable. Once the truck is repositioned, they must repeat the process by attaching the cable to load the full dumpster. All this while usually standing outside and next to the truck to operate the controls. That is a lot of steps and a lot of time. Not so with a hook roll-off. The operator handles drop-offs and pickups more quickly without cables, and with controls that are more conveniently positioned. They are mounted next to the driver, inside the cab.
#2: Enjoy Easier, Off-Center Approaches
With a cable hoist, the stingers of the rail must be in almost perfect alignment with the front wheels of the dumpster. That is time-consuming for anyone. Of course, it is even trickier if you are breaking in a rookie driver. Hooklifts do not demand such fussy perfection. Drivers can engage a roll-off container up to 60° off-center. Given this efficiency, many solid waste haulers and recyclers report handling more loads per day with hook loaders.
#3: Load and Unload in Tighter Spaces
Cable hoists need more fore-and-aft or horizontal open space than hooklifts to drop off or pick up a container. As a fleet manager, you are able to add more sites—and more revenue—to your solid waste hauling or recycling route with a hook hoist.
#4: Handle Containers on Loading Docks
Drivers of cable systems can only load from raised platforms if they are about the same height as the rails on the truck. Also, the truck must back up flush to the platform. As for unloading on elevated docks, with a cable system, you are out of luck. They simply do not have that capability. Hook loaders can handle elevated loading and unloading. So go ahead and add clients with loading docks to your hooklift routes.
#5: Save time by Eliminating Chain Hookups
Per DOT requirements, drivers must secure cable loader bodies with safety chains once the loading cycle has been completed and before moving the unit. Drivers can skip this time-consuming step with hook roll-off systems. Because they offer a different method of securing the container to the chassis, operators can save time and energy by dispensing with chain hookups.
#6: Expose Your Drivers to Less Risk of Injury
Hook loader drivers work securely in their cabs. Not so with cable system operators. They must exit their rigs and walk on ground that is sometimes slick with rain, snow, or ice. What’s more, they must often stand next to moving machinery when operating truck-side levers. All of this out-of-the-cab activity subjects drivers to risks—all of them avoidable with a hook hoist-equipped rig.
#7: Reduce Liability for Owners or Managers
In contrast to cable hoist operators, hook loader drivers do not need to walk on icy, muddy, or otherwise slick surfaces for hookups. So, there is less chance for slips and falls … and fewer opportunities for costly worker compensation claims. In addition, drivers never have to wrestle with heavy and often greasy cables, often in awkwardly positioned attachment points—more potential sources of injury.
#8: Enjoy Lower Ongoing Operating Costs
While cable loaders might sometimes be a slightly better bargain upfront, you will generally save money over time on maintenance costs with hooklifts. Why? There are no cables requiring inspection at regular intervals to preclude safety issues with your drivers.
#9: Recruit and Retain Drivers More Readily
Aligning truck approaches exactly. Climbing in and out of cabs multiple times each day. Hooking up heavy cables and safety chains. It is a difficult enough job in nice weather, but for cable lift drivers, the summer’s heat, winter’s cold, or driving rain can make a long day even longer. Compared to hook loader operators, cable hoist drivers work harder—which means you will have to work harder to hire them and keep them onboard.
So, if your fleet is equipped with hydraulic hook loaders, be sure to mention to your recruits that they will be working for most of their day in an air-conditioned or heated cab. This operator comfort factor should be a key selling point for your hook roll-off operation. In today’s economy where many driving jobs are not being filled, hook loaders can be a game changer in attracting and keeping qualified operators.
Photos courtesy of Marrel Corp.
Gain Advantages without Sacrifice
Below is a partial list of roll-off bodies, compactors, and containers available for those opting to hook on hook loaders:
• Compost containers
• Construction-site dumpsters
• Curbside recycling bodies
• Recycling containers
• Refuse dumpsters
• Rendering containers
• Scrap metal containers
• Stationary trash compactors
As previously mentioned, anything a cable hoist can do, a hooklift can do better. This applies to practically any solid waste hauling or recycling application. Gain all of these advantages, without any sacrifice to your operation. | WA
Andy Jansma is the U.S. General Manager for Marrel Corporation (Rockford, MI), Ampliroll Division. He has more than 35 years of experience with hook loaders and other waste equipment. Andy has also designed many types of specialized equipment for use in the waste industry. Ampliroll Hooklift Systems are manufactured by the Marrel Corporation—the inventor of the dual-pivot hook loader in 1969 and first again in bringing them to users across the U.S. in 1980. Today, Ampliroll supplies premier hook loader systems and associated equipment. Unlike many others, Ampliroll offers a complete selection of truck-mounted accessories and roll-on/off bodies that they can supply as a package with their hook loaders, allowing for single-source acquisition. Customers select from aerial lifts, cranes, grapple systems and more. Also choose from cement mixers, dump bodies, flatbeds, septic pumpers, waste containers, water tankers, and other interchangeable bodies. In addition, customers can select from Ampliroll’s line of high-quality, pre-owned hooklift vehicles. For more information, call (616) 863-9155, e-mail e[email protected] or visit https://amplirollusa.com.