Classic Refuse Trucks FRONT LOADERS

U.S. FRONT LOADER DEVELOPMENT

A CRT Special Article & Photo Album
by Eric Voytko

An hybrid of several pre-war technologies, the detachable-container front-load refuse truck emerged from near obscurity in the early fifties, and in less than a decade had "re-written" the book on commercial refuse collection. A fully automated machine, it would soon become one of the dominant methods of refuse collection, greatly expanding the refuse body industry to the benefit of several manufacturers who might otherwise have been marginalized in the crowded residential collection body market. Its development was marked by intense competition and such rapid advances that by the mid 1960's, virtually every feature of todays machines was already in service. The front loaders of today are not really the invention of any one man or firm, rather they reflect the conglomeration of ideas from a diverse group ranging from small west coast independents to big eastern concerns.

The modern front loader is one of the most common types of refuse trucks in the world. Typically very simple in design, they are the preferred method for refuse removal from business districts as well as most multi-unit residential dwellings. Additionally, they were the first one-man, fully automated refuse trucks to see widespread use, a full decade before that technology would be applied to residential collection. First appearing in the 1950's, the front loader of today can be logically seen as the product of three 1930's era refuse truck technologies: The side/rear fixed-bucket loader, the side load packer truck, and the detachable container transporting vehicle. While the the latter two saw steadily improving sales after the Second World War, bucket loaders slowly began to fall from favor by the 1950's. With few exceptions, they were eventually abandoned by the "Big Three" manufacturers (Gar Wood, Leach and Heil) who were then in a race to develop all manner of new rear load packer trucks.

Examples of pre-war designs that influenced the modern front loader are from left: Colecto 8RH fixed bucket loader, Dempster Dumpster detachable container transport truck, and Marion Compressor side-load packer

Of the three examples mentioned, the bucket-loader trucks are the most similar to the modern front loader. These self loading trucks were among the very first mechanical refuse collectors, and typically consisted of an enclosed body with a hatch or cover that automatically opened to permit emptying of the fixed bucket or of one half to one cubic yard capacity. The bucket was hand loaded, then elevated utilizing the vehicle engine power, greatly reducing the danger and strain on collectors. It was mounted at the rear or side of the body, with several different lifting means employed by individual manufacturers. By the mid 1930's, one make, the Colecto offered a rear loader whose bucket was supported and raised by a set of pivoting lift arms, driven by a cable & winch arrangement. Later models used twin under-body hydraulic cylinders to power the lift arms, foreshadowing what would be a critical feature of the front loader of the future. In another nod toward future trends, both Leach and Heil (who bought Colecto in the 1940's) would also offer optional internal, short stroke "compression" plates in their bucket loaders, which helped increased the capacity of the vehicle.

As the bucket-loader refuse truck was being refined during this time, the detachable container concept was first successfully marketed, primarily by George R. Dempster and his famous Dumpster System. Detachable, interchangeable dump truck bodies were not really new, but Dempster's genuis was was in creating the compact, portable cube called the "Dumpster". It was built very much like a modern refuse container, except for a hinged floor section, and was intended to be left on site indefinitely. Once filled, it was picked up by a special lift truck and emptied (through the bottom door) at the disposal site. A prime advantage of this system was that a single truck with the Dempster lifting attachment could service multiple accounts, each having their own container. The truck could bring an empty container to the site and then leave with one previously filled, but could only carry one container at a time. These attractive, all enclosed cubes could be used for construction/demolition debris, ash, sewage screenings or just about any type of solid waste. Following the war, Dempster would begin to heavily advertise his system as an ideal solution to the problems associated with commercial/apartment refuse collection, which was often a dismal mess and cause of many urban eyesores. Though the Dumpster System in this incarnation would not be the ultimate solution, Dempster would figure prominently in the new system that would define commercial refuse collection systems, and his company would prosper greatly as a result.

Another 1930's idea that re-emerged following the war was the truck loader lift arm attachment. As the name implies, this was basically a tractor-shovel type attachment bolted on to standard open body dump truck. Though often advertised as refuse collection trucks, they were not marketed exclusively for that purpose, and indeed the typical low-sided dump truck body was not ideally suited for bulky household refuse. They were probably better suited to removing piles of sand, dirt, snow, leaves and similar bulk material including the debris piles periodically dumped by mechanical road sweepers. One variation of this type device was the creation of North Carolina inventor James R. Owen, which featured an articulated lift arm which was hydraulically pivoted at its midpoint by a second cylinder. Built by the Ernest Holmes Company of Chattanooga, Tennessee, it would later be adapted to a full-fledged refuse collection body under a more famous badge.

Truck Loaders, L-R: 1945 Jumbo with rigid lift arms (Western Industrial Engineering, Los Angeles, California), 1956 Holmes-Owen with articulated arm system (Ernest Holmes Co., Chattanooga, Tennessee), Mid-fifties Lodal on snow removal duty has body extensions well suited for refuse work (Lodal Inc., Norway, Michigan)

Regardless of the popularity of truck loaders for refuse collection, it was these component shovels that were most likely the catalyst responsible for the first front loading refuse trucks. If any one company can be credited with having marketed the first front loading refuse truck, it most likely have to be the S. Vincen Bowles Company of Sun Valley, California. In 1952, Samuel Vincen Bowles had been in business about five years when he built his first refuse truck body for United Rubbish, a Los Angeles area contractor owned by Phil Gentile Jr. This truck featured a high sided, hoist-dumped open top refuse body and a fixed refuse bucket. An articulated lift arm system held the bucket in the loading position just ahead of the front bumper, and raised it hydraulically over the vehicle cab to dump the contents in the large storage body.

The first Bowles refuse body built in 1952 may also be the world's first front load refuse truck

What Bowles had wrought was still a fixed bucket design, differing mainly from the 1930's era designs by the up front position of its trough. Perhaps the reason for this was so that a common open top refuse body could be used. Rear trough bucket loaders had tapered body shells to accommodate the arc of the trough as it was raised, while the Bowles body was a high capacity, high sided rectangular type body: the arms traversed the "dead space" just above the vehicle cab and dumped at the front of the body. There was no compaction plate, but this was not necessarily a problem for many haulers of the day. Many California haulers picked up garbage (separated from dry rubbish) for use as feed on hog farms, and its high density did not necessitate compaction.

The next giant step came in early 1955, when Gentile designed a modification to Bowles' truck that crossed the gap from the bucket loader of the past to the front loader of the future. It used a similar articulated hoist arm arrangement, but in place of the fixed front trough sat a framework which mounted a set of flat forks. Much like a conventional fork-lift truck engages a pallet, these forks were designed to slide into the slots made into the bottom of a detachable container. This is a milestone in refuse truck body history, the first of a flurry of new front loader designs appearing in the mid to late 1950's. The Bowles front load system was technically fully automated, in that the driver theoretically need never leave the the cab while servicing multiple, sanitary containers of about one to four cubic yards. This new method was not limited to commercial routes, since a single container could be coupled and hand loaded by a ground crew, being periodically emptied into the body. The front loader was officially here, though big changes were still yet to come as builders small and large rapidly added refinements, each hoping to stake out a claim in this lucrative new market.

Gentile's 1955 fork-coupling front loader design, built by Bowles

Though a small company, Bowles was located in a fast-growing metropolitan Los Angeles, and at the time had almost no competition from eastern body builders who had yet to set up west coast plants. As with anything new, there was likely a few issues to troubleshoot, but by and large this was a simple design, fairly easy to construct and maintain with a modest initial cost and built literally right in their customers back yard. Haulers like Gentile, having such close contact with the people actually building their equipment, could literally walk in the front door and order a truck custom tailored to their specific needs. This type of collaboration between manufacturer and a contractor was not unique, and often resulted in similarly innovative new products. In fact, during the same year, Leach would introduce a detachable container system for the Packmaster rear loader based on an idea by Chicago trash contractor Harold Vandermolen. In the coming years, Bowles would be the dominant force in southern California refuse body industry. His company, together with other Los Angeles area independent refuse truck builders and their "west coast" designs, would stave off competition from the east, as as well as radically influence the shape of things to come.

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11/6/05