A drum control system includes one or more processing circuits having programed instructions to control a drum assembly to rotate a drum at a first, unmixed speed to mix drum contents received by the drum where the drum contents including ingredients of a concrete mixture, acquire drum contents data indicative of a property of the drum contents from a mixture sensor and monitor the property of the drum contents as the drum rotates, acquire a target property for the drum contents upon delivery, determine a second, mixed speed based at least partially on the target property, and control the drum assembly to rotate the drum at the second, mixed speed in response to determining that the property of the drum contents indicates that the ingredients have been sufficiently mixed.

A vehicle includes an engine, a drum, a drum drive system, and a control system. The drum drive system includes a pump configured to pump a fluid through a hydraulic system and a motor positioned to rotate the drum to agitate drum contents. The control system is configured to perform a calibration test to determine a baseline operating pressure of the fluid in the hydraulic system, perform a buildup detection test to determine a current operating pressure of the fluid in the hydraulic system, and determine that there is a buildup of the drum contents within the drum in response to a difference between the baseline operating pressure and the current operating pressure exceeding a threshold differential. In some embodiments, the calibration test and the buildup detection test are only performed if a temperature of the fluid exceeds a threshold temperature.

A drum drive system includes a controller configured to control a prime mover, a variable displacement pump, and a variable displacement motor of the vehicle to provide a target drum speed for a drum of the vehicle. To provide the target drum speed, the controller having programmed instructions to (i) initially operate the variable displacement motor at a maximum motor displacement and operate the variable displacement pump at a pump displacement that provides the target drum speed without needing to actively manipulate a prime mover speed of the prime mover, (ii) increase the pump displacement and decrease a motor displacement without needing to actively manipulate the prime mover speed while still providing the target drum speed, and (iii) increase the prime mover speed if necessary to maintain the target drum speed in response to the pump displacement reaching a maximum pump displacement and the motor displacement reaching a minimum motor displacement.

A vehicle including a chassis, a lift axle coupled to the chassis and including a tractive element, a lift actuator coupled to the lift axle, a location sensor configured to provide location data indicating a location of the vehicle, and a controller operatively coupled to the lift actuator and the location sensor and configured to control the lift actuator to reposition the lift axle based on the location data.

A method includes acquiring delivery data for contents for transport by a vehicle, the delivery data regarding at least one of a delivery location, a delivery time, or a delivery route; acquiring an initial property of the contents; predicting a delivery property for the contents based on the delivery data and the initial property; acquiring en route data including at least one of (i) content data regarding a current property of the contents, (ii) environment data regarding an environmental characteristic external to the vehicle, or (iii) GPS data regarding at least one of a travel distance, a travel time, traffic information, or a road parameter between a current location of the vehicle and the delivery location for the contents; and updating the prediction for the delivery property for the contents based on the en route data.

A vehicle includes a chassis, a drum assembly, and a control system. The drum assembly includes a drum configured to receive drum contents including at least one of ingredients and a mixture and a drive system coupled to the drum. The drive system is configured to rotate the drum to agitate the drum contents. The control system is configured to receive delivery data for the drum contents; receive at least one initial property of the drum contents; predict a delivery property for the drum contents based on the delivery data and the at least one initial property; receive en route data including at least one of mixture data, environment data, and GPS data; and update the predicted delivery property for the drum contents based on the en route data.

A method includes acquiring, by one or more processing circuits, en route data as a vehicle travels from a first location to a second location, and predicting, by the one or more processing circuits, a delivery property for the contents based on the en route data. The en route data includes content data regarding a current property of contents being transported by the vehicle, environment data regarding an environmental characteristic external to the vehicle, and GPS data regarding at least one of a travel distance, a travel time, traffic information, or a road parameter between the first location and the second location.

A drum drive system includes a controller configured to control a prime mover, a variable displacement pump, and a variable displacement motor of the vehicle to provide a target drum speed for a drum of the vehicle. To provide the target drum speed, the controller having programmed instructions to (i) initially operate the variable displacement motor at a maximum motor displacement and operate the variable displacement pump at a pump displacement that provides the target drum speed without needing to actively manipulate a prime mover speed of the prime mover, (ii) increase the pump displacement and decrease a motor displacement without needing to actively manipulate the prime mover speed while still providing the target drum speed, and (iii) increase the prime mover speed if necessary to maintain the target drum speed in response to the pump displacement reaching a maximum pump displacement and the motor displacement reaching a minimum motor displacement.

A vehicle includes a chassis, a drum assembly, and a control system. The drum assembly includes a drum configured to receive drum contents including at least one of ingredients and a mixture and a drive system coupled to the drum. The drive system is configured to rotate the drum to agitate the drum contents. The control system is configured to receive delivery data for the drum contents; receive at least one initial property of the drum contents; predict a delivery property for the drum contents based on the delivery data and the at least one initial property; receive en route data including at least one of mixture data, environment data, and GPS data; and update the predicted delivery property for the drum contents based on the en route data.

A concrete mixer vehicle includes a chassis, a cab, a drum system, and a control system. The drum system includes a mixer drum coupled to the chassis and a drum driver configured to rotate the mixer drum. The control system includes an operator interface disposed within the cab and one or more processing circuits. The operator interface includes a display and a joystick. The one or more processing circuits have programed instructions to control the display to provide a graphical user interface. The graphical user interface provides a graphical representation of the mixer drum, a settings button, a temperature output, a pressure output, a slump output regarding a slump of contents within the mixer drum, a speed output regarding a rotational speed of the mixer drum, a revolution counter regarding a number of revolutions of the mixer drum, and a mode indicator regarding an operational mode of the drum system.