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German to English translations [PRO] Tech/Engineering - Transport / Transportation / Shipping / Marketing presentation
German term or phrase:Spülwagen
This word appears in a list of vehicles owned by a city cleaning organisation. They are those large vehicles that rinse the sewer with water.
You can see some examples of them on Google images.
Any help greatly appreciated!
Sewer Flushing
Vactor / Flush Truck crews work daily to eliminate pipe and manhole stoppages under the regular preventative maintenance programs. This equipment is used to jet clean the sewer line with high-pressure water. The debris is then vacuumed from the manhole with the high-powered vacuum hose. The Flush Truck crews also respond to emergency incidents and blockages.
@ Birgit, it seems we were all going in the wrong direction, the vehicle shown in your picture does not empty gulllies or drains, it is basically a road cleaning vehicle "Straßenreinigungsfahrzeug". which also sprays/washes the streets.
I have a Saugwagen as a separate entry, this is a "SPÜLwagen".
Saugwagen was not a problem, but Spülwagen seems to be, as I can see from this discussion.
In the hazmat field 'vacuum-operated tank vehicle' is the official term for what is a 'Saug-Druck-Tankwagen' in German, so your more colloquial term 'vacuum truck' should be a safe bet; though for BE "lorry" might be also be considered. Regards.
I am sticking to BE, therefore I am not too sure about "flush truck".
Most are flush and suction vehicles combined (Saug- und Spülwagen) but they are listed as separate vehicles (Saugwagen, Spülwagen) in my list.
call it "sewer cleaner truck" - plenty of examples online and everybody will know exactly what you mean.
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
11 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +2
sewer flush (or jetter) truck
Explanation:
Sewer Flushing
Vactor / Flush Truck crews work daily to eliminate pipe and manhole stoppages under the regular preventative maintenance programs. This equipment is used to jet clean the sewer line with high-pressure water. The debris is then vacuumed from the manhole with the high-powered vacuum hose. The Flush Truck crews also respond to emergency incidents and blockages.
Lingua.Franca Local time: 10:46 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 6
Grading comment
This selection is for the street washer suggested on the discussion board after I posted the photo.
6 hrs confidence:
Gully cleaners
Explanation: Birgit, you have two positions here but the vehicles that do the job in UK English are normally called gully cleaners, they can suck out the leaves etc or do general maintenence, washing the drains could be interprepreted as keeping the drains free from blockages etc..
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +2
