Kenworth T880 Super Dump workhorse in asphalt operation

KW-T880-super-dump

For the Tacoma, Wash.-based Tucci & Sons asphalt delivery operation, productivity, driver comfort and safety are all on offer in the new Kenworth T880 Super Dump. Company secretary/treasurer and operations manager Tim Tucci notes the Super Dumps have replaced end-dump trailers and dump trucks alike, and they “can haul up to 10 percent more asphalt in a single day” per truck in many cases.

Since his grandfather, Michael Tucci, started the family business in 1950 as a small utility construction company, Tim Tucci says Tucci & Sons has tried to choose trucks and equipment that can offer employees a comfortable and productive environment. The company runs a truck fleet consisting of 15 tractors and end-dump trailers, six transfer trucks and six water tenders in addition to its two new Kenworth T880 Super Dumps, acquired in May.

When a driver delivers asphalt using a dump truck and end-dump trailer, he must first empty the end-dump trailer. Then he gets out of the truck, unhitches the end dump, dumps the load in the bed of the truck and then re-hitches the end dump before he can return to the plant. Tucci said since that entire process can take anywhere from 20 minutes to a half hour for each delivery, the company can add back one to two hours’ worth of revenue-generating productivity each day with the Super Dumps.

“Drivers in our new T880 Super Dumps can deliver their loads to the job sites, dump them and then go right back to our Lakewood or Tacoma plant for another load,” he adds. “Also, job site activity and traffic can make it nerve-wracking at best for our drivers to get out of their trucks when they’re delivering asphalt to a busy freeway job site at night. … Anytime we can keep [drivers] inside the truck, that’s better for us and for our drivers, especially at night,” he said. ”

Photo here and above courtesy of Rick Barry of Kenworth NorthwestPhoto here and above courtesy of Rick Barry of Kenworth Northwest

Tucci worked with Rick Barry, his longtime sales consultant at Kenworth Northwest, the local Kenworth dealer, to choose the specifications for the company’s first two T880s compliant with federal bridge formula requirements for lift axle spacing and capacity. Both T880 Super Dumps achieve their 25-ton capacity through the use of three 8,000-pound W&C Tru-Track Super Alumilite steerable lift axles and an 8,000-pound steerable “flying tag” axle.

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The T880s are spec’d with the Paccar MX-13 engine rated at 500 hp and 1,850 lb.-ft. of torque.

The additional axles increase the truck’s gross combination vehicle weight to 80,000 pounds by spreading the weight over more axles, which is permitted under an alternative federal bridge formula used by the state of Washington. The truck, with a 256-inch wheelbase, measures 40 feet from the front bumper to the rear steerable pusher axle. That’s considerably shorter — for better manueverability — than the 75-foot length of the tractor and end dump trailer units the T880 Super Dumps replaced.

Bonus: the company doesn’t have to use transfer trucks to deliver asphalt to paving projects in tighter urban areas.

Tucci & Sons driver Ernest “Ernie” Grice, 59, appreciations to the T880 Super Dump’s Allison 4500 RDS 6-speed automatic transmission. Dynamic shift sensing allows the transmission to automatically choose gears based on the vehicle’s weight and road grade. “I don’t have a sore shoulder at the end of the day from all that shifting I used to do” in the stop-and-go application that is much of the Tucci & Sons delivery business. “When I first started driving for Tucci & Sons (in 1990), it wasn’t a big deal. Now that I’m older, it certainly is.” Photo courtesy of Colby Williams, Fueled Photography.Tucci & Sons driver Ernest “Ernie” Grice, 59, appreciations to the T880 Super Dump’s Allison 4500 RDS 6-speed automatic transmission. Dynamic shift sensing allows the transmission to automatically choose gears based on the vehicle’s weight and road grade. “I don’t have a sore shoulder at the end of the day from all that shifting I used to do” in the stop-and-go application that is much of the Tucci & Sons delivery business. “When I first started driving for Tucci & Sons (in 1990), it wasn’t a big deal. Now that I’m older, it certainly is.” Photo courtesy of Colby Williams, Fueled Photography.

The trucks also feature a clear back-of-cab configuration, allowing each truck to carry 110 gallons of diesel fuel instead of the typical 75 gallons. This increased fuel carrying capacity extends the range of the truck, allowing it to go longer distances or to make more trips between refueling.

This summer, the trucks are making deliveries of asphalt to Paradise Road in Mount Rainier National Park where the company is rebuilding and resurfacing the road for the Federal Highway Administration. The trucks will also be delivering asphalt to a repaving job on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. In both cases, the trucks will be making deliveries under tight delivery windows,” says Tucci.

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