Most of us are probably familiar with roll-off trucks that deliver and haul large dumpsters. For reference check out this old Autocar roll-off still in service today. Less popular, at least around my part of the world, is the skip loader, or lugger. I’m unsure of what term to use. In the U.S. it looks like the term lugger applies, in Europe they refer to them as skip loaders. But what is in a name? A dumpster by any other name would still smell like a dumpster. Anyway, unlike a roll-off truck that pulls a container on to the truck using a PTO powered winch, the skip loader gently lifts the container off the ground and onto the truck. Skip loaders tend to be popular with the scrap metal crowd, as evidenced by the two Macks below, both belong to a local metal recycler.
Mack Skip Loader – Click to Enlarge
Mack Lugger Truck – Click to Enlarge
1991 MACK RD688S Skip Loader – Click to Enlarge
1991 MACK RD688S Skip Loader – Click to Enlarge
From the video below you can see one clear advantages of the lugger setup, ease of bin placement in tight spots.
I have some rolloff and lugger experience (just spent 9 yes in a lugger today actually) I preferred the rolloff. I didn’t haul much scrap with it as it was mainly for equipment but what I don’t like about the lugger is the amount of times you are out of the cab. The also there seems to always be something that jams on the center bar on the lugger hoist and keeps the whole load from dumping. The rolloff I drove had a cable winch but if you had a hook loader with a power tarp you would spend a lot less time climbing in and out of a truck all day.
Lugger truck rocks!! I have a Kenworth T800 with a lugger deck. A three bin Titan trailer also. Easy way to make money and keep in shape.
A zombie thread, but I just noticed it. We manufacture both roll-off and lugger truck bodies so work with a lot of owners and operators on what they need.
Its all about the payload. If you are hauling lighter loads – like a say rubbish or skeletons from metal processing, a roll off is the way to go because you run out of room in the bin before you hit the maximum weight. On the other hand if the load is more dense, say slugs from a stamping operation, you hit the weight limit long before you fill the bin. In that case the lugger can carry more because it gets more weight forward over the front axle than a roll off.
For even more weight, you can use a lugger body with a slider – a device that slides the lugger bin forward when its on the truck. This increases payload substantially when combined with a 4 axle chassis.
Mike