High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A vacuum truck is a truck mounted, heavy duty industrial vacuum loader designed to pneumatically convey solids, liquids, sludges or slurries through suction lines typically 6-8" in diameter. The source of vacuum is a positive displacement pump with ductile iron impellers. The trucks are often used by towns and municipalities for street cleanup, sewers and can also be used for cleanup of contaminated soil. The trucks are mostly used in the oil patch. They are used for the cleaning of storage tanks and spills. They are also a important part of drilling oil and natural gas wells, as they are located at(sometimes in very remote places)the drilling lease, on call 24 hrs a days.