A vacuum truck is a tank truck with a heavy duty vacuum designed to pneumatically load solids, liquids, sludge or slurry through suction lines typically 2-4" in diameter with 3" being the norm. The typical pump used in the industry is the rotary vane vacuum pump. The truck can be configured to be a direct belt drive, or a hydraulic drive system. There are two different ways to mount the pump either directly on the truck with the vacuum drive powered by the truck motor, or on the trailer with an independent motor. Each application has different handling characteristics.