Cabbed Dumpers Land in Cornwall

Taking a look back at another one of my articles that first appeared in Earthmovers Magazine and bringing it to life on the internet with alternative photos. 

Contractors adoption of site dumpers which are fully cabbed continues unabated, thanks in part to the high-profile campaign of Wiltshire based Tonic Construction’s MD Tony Iles, who has spearheaded the drive to make the venerable old forward tipping dumper a safer machine for its operators and for those working around them. Although dumpers are not the sexiest piece of kit on sites, they have played a major role on jobs across the UK for many decades and look very likely to remain for many years to come.

Most of the major players in site dumper manufacturing are now offering dedicated and fully appointed cabs for their machines, although many manufacturers have been offering cabs as an option for a very long time now. One of those companies is Northern Ireland based NC Engineering who are probably more well known for producing incredibly strong and durable trailers for the agricultural and construction industries. Having been in business since 1988 Harold Thomas, who operates from his base in Helston, Cornwall, has seen plenty of changes in the industry over the years and has always got his finger on the pulse in terms of what’s new and what can improve his firm and the lives of those working for him.

Having kept a keen eye on the uptake of cabbed dumpers across the country, Harold decided it was definitely the way forward and as such he purchased his first one in March last year, which was a 6 tonne Wacker Neuson DW60 with power swivel skip which he purchased from M&M Plant Sales. Talking about the purchase Harold said, “It was clear to see that Wacker Neuson had led the way with the cabbed dumper development so it was a logical choice for us really. It has certainly opened our eyes as to how it improves things for the operators and it really got me thinking when it was time to replace two other 9 tonne class dumpers on our fleet”. Having been more than happy with the performance and spec of the Wacker Neuson DW60 Harold started to look at other options. Following a conversation with his local Molson Group Sales Manager Tom Wilson, Harold decided to take a look at NC Engineering’s dumper range of which Molson’s are dealers, with a particular interest in the ST10 cabbed model.

Harold said, “As I always do when considering a purchase, I did a fair bit of research on the NC dumpers and was very impressed with what I saw, they are very well built and feature heavier axles than some other makes, they also seem to be put together with well-known, tried and tested good quality parts and the cab appears to be bigger in terms of interior space”. Harold continued, “In addition to that they were incredibly competitive on price, in fact they were about 5k cheaper than the comparable Wacker Neuson cabbed versions which is a considerable saving, plus they were readily available in stock and with some other manufacturers not being able to supply until September this year, as such it really was a bit of a no brainer” “I traded back in a couple of dumpers, a 2004 Barford SX9000 and a 2007 Neuson 9001, both of which have been very good servants throughout their working lives with us during which time they have amassed around 4000 hours each. Its early days out on site with the two new ST10’s but so far, our lads have been very impressed with the power, tractive effort and the ride in general. We will be making a few of our own improvements as we always do on our dumpers, adding mud flaps behind the front wheels as well as fitting a 7-way trailer plug and a hydraulic braking kit, we do this because we pull an 8-tonne flatbed trailer with some of our larger dumpers, for carrying pipes and other materials, something that we have done for over 15 years now”.

Earthmovers caught up with one of the new NC ST10’s on a new exclusive housing estate in the coastal town of Carbis Bay in Cornwall, where it was hauling away drainage risings during the installation of the storm and sewerage lines in what will become the road. Operating the dumper was Martin Nash, who has worked for H. G. Thomas for just over a year. Martin was employed as a dumper driver but has also been fulfilling a part time role as an excavator operator too. Talking about his latest mount Martin said, “This new ST10 is a lovely bit of kit, it’s got plenty of power, with some real grunt which has become very apparent in the muddy conditions we have encountered on this job”

“The cab feels so much bigger than on our other dumper, and its nice to have the luxury of a fully enclosed working environment, especially during the winter months, just so much better to be out of the wind and rain” concluded Martin. The NC Engineering dumper range consists of 12 models starting with the 1 tonne 1.0T High Tip and peaking with the 10-tonne class ST10 which is still available without a cab if required. Personally, I had only ever seen one at the various trade shows, so it was a good opportunity to take a look around. Power for the ST10 is provided by a Deutz TCD 3.6 diesel engine which is EU Stage 4 emissions compliant and has a power output rating of 90kw. This drives a well proven JCB Powershuttle 4-speed transmission which offers the operator the choice of 4 speeds forward and 4 speeds in reverse, with a potential top speed of 32kph, all in permanent 4-wheel drive. What strikes you about these dumpers is the built-in strength, with the skip tipped forward exposing the centre pivot area, you do get a sense that these machines are without a doubt, built to last, almost over engineered in many ways, but that can only be a good thing. The 10,000kg skip itself is of a heavy-duty construction using 8mm steel plate, which is reinforced around more vulnerable top edges.

Even the rear end looks solid and workmanlike with the road tail lights nicely located in a recessed part of the mudguard wings. Axles on the ST10 are also from the JCB stable, featuring multi-plate oil immersed brake discs and this example was sitting on 500/60 R22.5 traction profile tyres.

Heading up to the cab and the operator is greeted by some substantial sized galvanised steps, which according to NC, they were the first to introduce on dumpers, plenty of room to get the proverbial size 10 boot on with room to spare! Talking of the cab, NC have actually been offering a fully appointed cabbed option on the 10-tonne model since 2015, previous to that they were just offered as a weather cab, basically a shell with no heating. The current cabs are ROPS & FOPS Level 2 compliant and feature creature comforts such as a radio and a heater for hot/cold air flow. They are not currently offering air conditioning but according to NC Engineering’s Sales Manager Lee Morris, it will be coming in the next upgrade.

The cab door is wide opening allowing easy access to the cabin itself. Sitting in the fully adjustable suspension seat there is good visibility to most areas and plenty of options for opening the doors and rear side windows, even the back window can be opened up if required during the summer months. The controls are simple but practical, either side of the steering wheel are two storks, which are the usual dumper fare, on the left it’s the forward and reverse direction lever, while on the right-hand side we find the integrated indicator and light control. The heating controls are situated on the left side of the dashboard, while on the opposite side we find an easy to read LED instrument panel, which offers feedback to the operator on fuel level, oil and water temperatures, oil pressure and a whole host of additional warning lights. Below that is the radio location and lower down again is a bank of 5 rocker switches for hazard warning flashers, fog lamp, work lights (front & rear) and the wiper/wash switch.

The layout on the floor is simple, almost a throwback to the old Barford dumpers in fact, and as I’m sure you will recall, they were a good solid dumper too. A brake pedal on the left and throttle to the right, the gear stick is in a slightly awkward place for my liking, but you would get used to it. Changing gear while on the move is achieved by pressing the dump button on the gearstick knob.

The machine appeared to cope well with a full load on the sticky Cornish mud, and with plenty of ground clearance it was able to get around with ease, at the tipping point the soil was dispatched easily thanks in part to the skips 90º tipping angle.

One thing I was surprised to see was an in-cab sign suggesting the operator leaves the cab before loading commences, this seems to defeat the object of having cabbed dumpers and puts the operators at more risk constantly climbing on and off and being out of sight of those loading the dumper. There is clearly still work to be done to change our old habits regarding site dumpers.

It’s good to see an old school plant man like Harold Thomas investing in the latest ideas and as he said, cabbed dumpers are definitely the way forward for everyone’s comfort, health and well-being. Check out my rather dodgy video of this dumper in action, a first outing with the OSMO Pocket, the jury is still out on that product!