The invention is a device for cushioning the contact between a paving machine equipped with a hopper for receiving paving material and a truck carrying paving material to be dumped into the hopper. In one embodiment the device has an arm with one end pivotally connected to the paving machine; the other endDoffth ajm Beajs ollerRfoo clnttcttnggthh ttrex oo tte ruwk..Thh ajm s coonegtee t tte issonnoffa yddauuicccyyinnerrsyten; as the roller contacts the truck tires, the fluid of the hydraulic system cushions the contact between the roller and the tires. The hydraulic system includes a pump for returing the piston (and thus the roller) to an extended position and an adjustable pressure hydraulic valve, controllable by the operator of the paving machine, for modulating the force exerted on the paving machine and on the tires while the roller is in contact with the tires. The device may also be equipped with a latch, releasable by the operator of the paving machine, for holding the piston (and thus the roller) in a retracted position to reduce the tendency of the truck tires to bounce ahead of the paver.

An asphalt paver is illustrated having a hopper carried by a rigid longitudinal frame upon which is mounted a transversely oscillatable frame carrying wheels intermediate the hopper and a rearwardly positioned screed.

A material transfer machine includes a slat conveyor of substantially the width of a feed hopper of a paving machine. The slat conveyor is supported by caster wheels to be disposed at an incline having a material intake end at a lower end thereof and a discharge end at the opposite upper end of the conveyor. The slat conveyor is mounted to a leading edge of the paving machine such that the upper discharge end is disposed above the feed hopper of the paving machine. A hopper is disposed ahead of the lower intake end of the slat conveyor, supported by a frame which is pivotably attached at a rear end thereof along the sides of the slat conveyor to an understructure thereof. The front end of the frame is supported by caster wheels, such that the frame is capable of joint movement with the conveyor and the paving machine while supporting pivotal movement in a vertical plane in response to grande changes of a base grade. Material is transferred from beds of supply trucks by backing the trucks toward the leading edge of the hopper to align the rear of the beds with the hopper. The material is dumped into the hopper and is transferred by the slat conveyor directly from the hopper of the material transfer machine to the feed hopper of the paving machine without getting into contact with the base grade of the road being paved.

An apparatus provided with a hopper having a capacity substantially equal to the capacity of a supply truck for receiving asphalt-aggregate material. A transversely disposed screw auger is provided for remixing the asphalt-aggregate material in the hopper prior to its discharge. In one form of the invention, the apparatus forms part of a self-propelled storage vehicle which transfers the material from the supply truck to a conventional finishing machine.

A front material dispensing and transporting truck is disclosed as comprising a truck having a rear mounted engine operably connected to hydraulic motors which power a conveyor belt and two screw augers which transport material forwardly from a material container to a dispensing opening located in the forward end of a dispensing trough which is mounted in the front of the truck and its cab. Apparatus for vertically and horizontally locating the dispensing opening are provided. The invention allows a single truck operator to easily deliver material to a precise location, by making the dispensing apparatus clearly visible from the truck cab and by providing mechanical delivery of the material from the container to a selected work site.