I spent the summer in Park City and couldn’t help but notice that all the concrete mixing trucks deliver the cement at the front of the truck rather than the back. This is different than all the ones in California and every where else I’ve been. Here’s a site with a picture of the type of truck I’m talking about.
Is there some Mormon mafia that controls the cement industry or something? Why is it that there is one style of truck that dominates the cement industry?
I’ve seen those. Mostly on HGTV, so probably from Canada, but I’ve seen them.
The front discharge ones have a shorter wheel base, and so are more maneuverable. It could just be you see those up by Park City because they have to get into tighter spaces when building extravagant ski lodges and such up there.
The wikipedia page for concrete mixers does mention that the front-discharge cement mixer was invented by a guy in Utah, so perhaps there is some cultural bias going on as well.
It’s not just Utah. I’ve seen many of these here in New England as well. It’s simply a newer style of concrete truck that allows the driver to easily see and control the chute where the concrete is being dispensed. The older style requires the driver to carefully back the truck up to where it is needed, and usually requires a second worker to control the chute.
When I was a little kid, living in suburban Chicago in the early 1970s, one of the things I noticed when we’d go up to Green Bay to visit my grandmother was that the cement trucks were “backwards” – all of the cement trucks in GB were of the front-discharge type, whereas all of the cement trucks I’d seen in Chicago were rear-discharge. (Yes, I was a geek about trucks and cars as a kid, and this difference really stood out to me. 
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Wow. Here in Southern Ontario, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a front-discharge cement truck. I’ll have to keep my eyes open.
I just recently noticed that the front-discharge trucks are almost universal up here in the NE. I’d never seen them before.
I’ve seen them here in Indiana. Don’t know their percentage relative to rear-discharge, but they’re not uncommon.
Saw one in Wisc. recently. They’re not at all rare.
Every cement mixer truck I’ve seen here in Georgia for the last month is a front chute type.
Nothing rare about them in my experience.
I live in the Los Angeles area, and can’t recall ever having seen one of those front-chute types.
Whether that’s because they’re unusual around here or I’m just not very observant will require more data to determine…
It has to do with weight restrictions. The cement trucks in California can’t hold as much concrete, so they are lighter and don’t exceed the california weight limits.
What do weight restrictions have to do with which end the concrete comes out of?
Anyway, front-discharge trucks are common in Florida.
They are concrete trucks, not cement trucks. Cement is a part of concrete. Cement is a powder that delivers in bulk tankers. Concrete is a mixture that delivers in what you are discussing. I drove both quite a few years ago.
The front discharge trucks are lower in center of gravity and are generally all wheel drive. The beasts I drove were rear discharge, with the water tank above the cab. Squirrely things to drive. Front discharge driver can control the chute position from the cab. That sure would be sweet compared to what I had to deal with.
The trucks have to wear a certain type of undercarriage.
Gold star for you. Hurt myself grinning.
Front-discharge concrete trucks have been common in PA & NJ for several years.
Weight distribution. CA, for example, has axle & vehicle weight restrictions that are more restrictive than many other states, and more restrictive than the Federal Bridge Law, making certain styles of trucks more advantageous for CA use.
Maybe in the states with front delivery trucks, the cost of road clean ups is more likely to be applied to the concrete company?? so the company chooses vehicles which cause less spills on the road ?
When I first saw one of those front discharge trucks it was coming out a side street about 100’ down the road from me, going at a good clip too. I thought it was a regular truck that was out of control rolling backwards. Nearly shat myself.