Vermeer continues to broaden its offering of vacuum excavators by expanding into high-capacity truck-mounted products, such as the new VXT500 and VXT600.
The new models are the result of an agreement the company reached with Vacuum X-Traction to supply Vermeer-branded truck-mounted vacuum excavators that will be sold exclusively through Vermeer industrial dealers.
The first of the truck vacs unveiled this year was the VXT500, which has an 8-inch vacuum hose and a spoil tank capacity of 8 cubic yards.
Adam Bates, Vermeer product manager, says what’s unique about the vac is its tank, which is smaller in diameter but longer. “It gets the height of the truck down, which improves accessibility on the job,” he said at ConExpo 2020. “You can drive it through a 12-foot service door to get it into your maintenance shop. And we designed this specifically so that we can take full advantage of that 8-yard tank.”
The vac is aimed at the utilities market, particularly for potholing, to make exploratory holes to check for obstructions on a bore path. “You excavate down to the utility … so you can avoid that utility strike,” he says.
Next in the lineup is the VXT600. It also has an 8-inch hose but boasts spoil tank options of 11 or 16 cubic yards.
For those needing even more capacity, the VXT600D has spoil tank options of 20, 25 or 30 cubic yards and a 10-inch hose. It is designed for service companies that deal with vacuum boxes and run hundreds of feet of hoses, the company says. The model uses its boom as a vacuum source that can fill and unload containers while the hoist can be used to unload and pick up containers, the company says. The boom can also reach multiple containers parked near the chassis.
Quicks specs
VXT500
Debris capacity: 8 cubic yards
Water capacity: 850 gallons
Vacuum blower: 4,800 cfm
Water pump: 13 gpm at 3,000 psi
GVWR: 54,000 pounds
Boom length: 18 feet
Hose diameter: 8 inches
VXT600
Debris capacity: 11 or 16 cubic yards
Water capacity: 1,300 or 2,400 gallons
Vacuum blower: 6,400 cfm
Water pump: 19.2 gpm at 4,000 psi
Boom reach: 23 to 30 feet
Hose diameter: 8 inches
VXT600D
Debris capacity: 20, 25 or 30 cubic yards
Water capacity: 800 gallons
Vacuum blower: 6,400 cfm
Water pump: 19 gpm at 4,000 psi
Hose diameter: 10 inches