Vacuum Truck Specifications

The head of the 82BBL was made of steel alloy number SA-516-70, while the shell was made from alloy number SA-36. The plating on both head and shell was 0.3125 inches thick. The outside diameter of the vehicle’s tank was 72 inches and it had a capacity of 3,444 gallons. The 82BBL model could operate at temperatures between minus 20 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit and had a hydrostatic test pressure of 4.0 pounds per square inch. The vehicle used a Hibon VTB 820 (1,400 cfm) vacuum pump and had two 4-inch, Betts air open/spring closed suction valves and one 6-inch, Betts air open/spring closed discharge valve.

The 92BBL Combination vehicle was made from the same steel alloys as the 82BBL model, and at the same thickness. Its tank was divided into two compartments to hold water for cleaning and vacuum debris. The full capacity of the two tanks was 3,864 gallons; with 980 gallons reserved for water and 2,240 gallons for vacuum debris. The combination wash/vacuum vehicle used the same suction and discharge valves as the 82BBL model, and also used a Hibon VTB 820 (1,400 cfm) vacuum pump. The vacuum pump on the combination vehicle had a maximum vacuum of 27 inHg (inches of mercury).

Unlike the 82BBL and the 92BBL vehicles, which were freestanding units mounted and fixed onto their own trucks, the 160BBL unit was mounted upon a trailer and transported by a separate tractor unit. At 8 feet, 6 inches wide and 35 feet in overall length, the trailer mounted unit was considerably larger than the vehicle-mounted units, and had a gross weight of 90,378.50 lb. It was made from the same steel alloys as the two aforementioned units but had a thinner shell plating at only 0.25 inches thick. The suction and discharge valves were identical to those of the 82BBL and the combination 92BBL models, as was the Hibon vacuum pump. The Tri-Axle unit had a capacity of 6,720 gallons.

The Tri-Axle model was also manufactured in an even larger size. The 188BBL – or 7,896 gallon – version was the same width as the 160BBL but 6 feet longer, giving it an overall length of 41 feet. Like the 160BBL version, steel alloys were used in the construction of its head and shell, and like the 160BBL model, the unit had a thinner shell plating than its non-trailer mounted counterparts at 0.25 inches thick. The unit’s tank was reinforced with eight mild steel rings on the exterior, compared with the six rings required to reinforce the 160BBL model, the four rings on the 92BBL and the two on the 82BBL model.