# Tipping up a truck to offload it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-up-a-truck-to-offload-it/398042 "2007-03-29T21:52:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-up-a-truck-to-offload-it/398042/1 "2007-03-29T21:52:51Z")
I drove past a facility that was unloading a large truck trailer. At least I _assume_ that’s what they were doing. The entire trailer was on some type of lift that tipped the front of the trailer up about 25 feet. It looked like it might have been a refrigerated truck, but I only caught a glimpse as I sped past. I drew a crude picture: [Crude picture.](http://usera.imagecave.com/Scruloose/Truck.bmp.jpg) What the heck would they be offloading with such a setup? ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-up-a-truck-to-offload-it/398042/2 "2007-03-29T21:59:34Z")
I’ve only seen it done with grain, but it could be done with anything in bulk. [This](http://www.straightinternational.com/Unloader.htm) company makes them. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-up-a-truck-to-offload-it/398042/3 "2007-03-29T22:01:12Z")
I’ve hauled potatoes and bark dust that were unloaded this way. I’ve had my whole rig lifted on a hydraulic platform, you just gotta’ remember to shut down the engine. Both commodities were loaded using a portable conveyor belt loader. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-up-a-truck-to-offload-it/398042/4 "2007-03-29T22:02:18Z")
I’ve seen it used at large granaries. You drive in a truck full of corn, get out, lock it down, and they dump tht whole thing in a minute or two. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-up-a-truck-to-offload-it/398042/5 "2007-03-29T22:53:58Z")
The transfer stations (fancy name for a landfill) around here use purpose-built semis and dump them out this way as well. The trailers have a sort of angled drop-belly configuration to gain a few more cubic yards of capacity, and the angled bottom lets stuff slide out. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-up-a-truck-to-offload-it/398042/6 "2007-03-30T04:11:27Z")
I’ve seen it for one type of coal truck before, where the front tipped up to some seemingly insane amount. I even have some cool photos, but I can’t post them. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-up-a-truck-to-offload-it/398042/7 "2007-03-30T05:03:16Z")
[QUOTE=Una Persson] I’ve seen it for one type of coal truck before, where the front tipped up to some seemingly insane amount. [/QUOTE] There’s a Three Stooges film, [Hoi Polloi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoi_Polloi_%28Three_Stooges_short%29), where this type of truck is used to good effect for dispensing garbage into an automobile.