I got a dump truck! How does it work?

[AnotherBueller]

The wide spread of opinions on this is amazing!
From my experience my guess is you want the 2 knobs under the dash on the left side. 1 is your cable to engage the pto to power the dump. You must depress the trucks clutch before you pull on the right knob.
The other knob is your control valve and usually you pull to raise and push to lower.
The knobs on the floor to the left of the seat are controls for a sander. Disregard these.
Only operate the pro for dumping, engaging and disengaging for each dump.
Only raise the dump on close to level ground (doesn't need to be perfectly level)
Dumping downhill is helpful for a tired hydraulic system or overloading.
I could be completely wrong if this is an old municipal plow truck. Many of these have a direct drive to the pump and no operator input is required, but this is my guess and I'm sticking to it.

Never face (steep) uphill and dump. You can tip over backward. Kinda like going forward up a steep hill and for the same reason.

 

[kenhar]

The number 1 thing to remember when dumping a dump truck is to open the tailgate. Sounds silly, but it happens to the best of drivers. Next to impossible to open the gate when the bed is loaded and up and the front wheels 6 feet in the air. It goes without saying, dump when the truck is level. Slight inclines up or down can be tolerated but not side to side. I've seen a few beds torn off and a couple trucks even turned over. Sh_t happens when you hurry and don't think.

 

[Hay Dude]

I dumped 100+ loads of logs in the past year alone. Logs cut to 12’ or less were loaded in the truck and taken to a site to be made into colored bark mulch.

Dumping them is pretty easy, but you need to learn to keep pulling up slightly while you dump them or they can jam into the ground, causing some of the logs to get stuck under the tailgate. A “barn door” tailgate solves this problem, but lots of dump trucks dont have one.

 

[redman135]

Also,to add to Kenhars post, if you have been spreading, remember to UNHOOK the chains BEFORE dumping. Very easy to forget.