How to Clean Asphalt Out of a Dump Truck

If your job requires you to work with a dump truck on construction sites, then you’re probably familiar with the black sticky thing that accumulates in the truck bed. That is asphalt stuck in your truck bed. Now the question is, how to clean asphalt out of a dump truck?

It’s simple, especially when you’re doing it several times during work hours. Unload the truck completely, then lift off the truck bed and spray the bed using large hoses containing Activate Citrus degreaser solution. Then scrub off the asphalt using scrubbers.

This can get quite tedious often, but we’ve got you covered through this write-up. Stick with this write-up for a clearer insight on this topic.

Now let’s move into the elaborate part, shall we?

How to Clean Asphalt Out of A Dump Truck?

Cleaning isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Especially after a long day of work and then suddenly needing to remove the asphalt, which has gotten the time to cool and harden quite well. However, the steps below would give a proper insight into the best way to clean asphalt.

Step 1: Make Sure to Leave Nothing for Later

If you’re thinking of holding on to the cleaning after finishing the work, then you are in a misconception. If the asphalt is given the time to cool and turn harder, it will take twice the effort to remove the asphalt.

Also, holding onto leftover asphalt on the truck bed is not advised as it takes up space and leads to an inefficient process of load transfer. Thus as soon as you unload, get your cleaning apparatus ready to clean up the leftover asphalt.

Step 2: Lift Truck Bed and Spray Water

Once you’ve brought out the cleaning apparatus, it’s time to prepare the truck bed for cleaning. Make sure that the dump truck is completely unloaded.

Then lift the truck bed using the control buttons on the driver control panel. Now, it’s time to get the truck bed wet. So get a large water hose and spray off the sticky asphalt regions with high-pressure water.

Step 3: Clean the Asphalt Using Degreaser Solution

Once you’ve sprayed it with high-pressure water, some of the dirt and asphalt should have gotten off already. However, some harsh bits of asphalt remain.

Now get yourself an  Activate Citrus Degreaser to clean the asphalt. Connect the degreaser solution to the hose spray and then spray the regions containing sticky asphalt. The solution dissolves the asphalt, which can then be removed by scrubbing off.

How Do You Remove Asphalt from A Truck?

Removing asphalt might be one of the most tedious tasks that a dump truck driver has to do. Hence, we’ve gone ahead and done the necessary research to find the best methods for removing asphalt. Let’s dive right into them.

Using Diesel Fuel

Yes, you read it right! You can use your truck fuel to remove asphalt from the truck bed. But as great as it sounds, it’s not always the most preferable way. Since diesel is a renewable source of energy, it’s not wise to waste it.

We all know that diesel doesn’t come cheap. So using diesel to clean the entire truck bed would add up to the fuel cost and may be quite taxing. Keep this method as an emergency when you don’t have any other cleaner solution to remove the asphalt from the truck bed.

Use the Activate Citrus Degreaser

This is the method we discussed in detail in the above section. Yet, we’ve given it here in case you missed that part. This is the most popular and simple method. A large bottle of Activate Citrus Degreaser would cost you around $23.

This much for getting the stubborn asphalt stain from the truck bed is worth it. It simply dissolves the stain, which can then be easily scrubbed off using a scrubber or spraying water.

Use Kerosene to Remove the Asphalt

If you’ve come across this trick before but considered it as a myth without even trying, then don’t be fooled, as this works like a charm. Almost every American household has kerosene in their homes.

Thus, this can be a fairly decent remedy to this problem considering the fact that kerosene is cheaper than diesel and it’s more widely available. However, you need to be careful while using it, as kerosene is flammable.

How Do You Keep Asphalt from Sticking to the Dump Truck?

You’ve probably come across the word that prevention is better than cure. Yes, this is almost true for all cases. It’s always better to prevent the asphalt from sticking onto the dump truck rather than cleaning it later on, as cleaning is always a hassle.

Now, the best method would be to get a silicone emulsion agent, which can then be added to your typical garden sprayers. Then sprayed onto the truck bed before loading it up. It provides a thin temporary coating on the truck surface which is immiscible with asphalt.

Thus, asphalt cannot stick to it. Also, do keep in mind that the coating is temporary, so it may have to be reapplied depending on your working hours or shifts.

How Do You Remove Asphalt Emulsion?

Asphalt emulsion is what you see underneath your dump truck after a rough day at work. It could be quite gruesome to look at. Now, how do you remove the asphalt emulsion from your dump truck?

Well, firstly, you just spray off the emulsion region with a decent quality super degreaser. Once you’ve spread it all over, you need to use something like Nerta’s Active diamond foam to give it a shiny coat. Finally, after applying the foam, you’ll just wash it off using a high-pressure water spray.

How Do You Clean A Dump Truck?

Cleaning a humongous dump truck can get quite tiresome. However, as someone who works at the construction site as a dump truck driver, then by now, you should have gotten the hang of it. The dump truck not only accumulates asphalt but attracts the black gooey tar as well.

To clean the asphalt, you need to get yourself a super degreaser spray, spray it all over the regions with asphalt stains, and then scrub the stains off while they get dissolved by the degreaser solution.

Now for cleaning the tar, you also need a degreaser solution like an Activate Citrus Degreaser. However, before applying the degreaser, you have to scrape off some solidified tar using a flat head screwdriver. Then apply the degreaser, following it up with high-pressure water.

Are the Methods for Cleaning Rear Differential Cover Similar to Cleaning Asphalt Out of a Dump Truck?

When it comes to cleaning rear differential cover, the methods are quite different from cleaning asphalt out of a dump truck. While the latter involves using heavy machinery and chemical solvents, cleaning a rear differential cover requires a more delicate approach with the use of degreasers and a clean cloth.

Verdict

Whether you’re a construction worker on your lunch break or a fellow enthusiast, if you’ve followed this write-up from the beginning till now, then you should be able to tell the most efficient way of cleaning your dump truck all by yourself.

Do make sure to follow the steps carefully to ensure the fastest possible way of cleaning your dump truck and refer to the best methods to save some precious time and costs. And while you are at it, get a glimpse on how to clean aluminum dump trailer in quickest way.

Furthermore, the weather conditions may interfere with the cleaning process as a damp rainy environment would cause the asphalt to become harder to remove. So make sure to watch out for the rain when trying to coat your dump truck with a silicone agent the next time you go to work.