Do I Need To Hire A 3.5t Dropside / Tipper Truck?

Some loads are not suited to panel vans or Lutons - particularly building and garden materials and related equipment.

Dropside and Tipper vans / trucks are the ideal solution for this kind of work, providing a large, flat load area that is open and simply surrounded by side boards around 12" tall. They are mostly used by builders, landscape gardeners and other related businesses to transport soil, sand, cement, gravel, stone and machinery. The maximum load weight ('payload') is usually around 1,000-1,300kg on a dropside.

On a dropside or tipper van, the sideboards surrounding the load area can be folded down to make it easy to load and unload, including with a fork lift truck or crane.

Tippers are similar in appearance to dropsides but differ in that the whole of the load area can be mechanically raised up at an angle to tip the load out the back. While travelling, the load is contained by side boards and a tailgate.

The tailgate is hinged at the top and can be unfastened at the bottom. This means that when you raise the tipping body, the tailgate will swing away from the body and allow the load to slide out from underneath it.

The downside of a tipper over a dropside is that the weight of the tipping gear results in a lower payload, or load capacity. However, the practical advantages usually make up for this, as loading and unloading can be very fast.

See our what size van? page to work out if this type of van is right for you to hire.