Off Road Trucks

Haul trucks are used in large surface mines and quarries. They have a rigid frame and conventional steering with drive at the rear wheel. Bigger off-highway dump trucks are used strictly off-road for mining and heavy dirt hauling jobs. There are two primary forms: rigid frame and articulating frame. Armadillo Tractor is here to help you with all of your Hauling Truck needs! With the experience and knowledge we are happy to answer any of your questions! Give us a call today.

What is an Off Highway Truck?

Haul trucks are off-highway, rigid dump trucks specifically engineered for use in high-production mining and heavy-duty construction environments.

Most haul trucks have a two-axle design, but two very well known models from the 1970s, the 350T Terex Titan and 235T Wabco 3200/B, had three axles. Haul truck capacities range from 40 short tons (36 t) to 496 short tons (450 t).

Large quarry-sized trucks range from 40 to 100 tons. A good example of this is the Caterpillar 775 (rated at 70 short tons (64 t)). Quarry operations are typically smaller than, say, a gold/copper mine, and require smaller trucks.

The largest, highest-payload-capacity haul trucks are referred to as ultra class trucks. The ultra class includes all haul trucks with a payload capacity of 300 short tons (272 t) or greater. As of October 2013, the BelAZ 75710 has the highest payload capacity, 450 metric tons.

XCMG XDE400

As the world largest six-wheeled dump truck, the XDE400 electric drive dump truck can accommodate 400 Metric tons. It is equipped with a XCMG-patented AC variable frequency traction system to improve its traction and ambling capacity and also achieve higher efficiency.

3 Types of Off Highway Trucks

Off-highway dump trucks

Off-highway dump trucks are heavy construction equipment and share little resemblance to highway dump trucks. Bigger off-highway dump trucks are used strictly off-road for mining and heavy dirt hauling jobs. There are two primary forms: rigid frame and articulating frame.

The term ‘dump’ truck is not generally used by the mining industry, or by the manufacturers that build these machines. The more appropriate U.S. term for this strictly off road vehicle is "haul truck" and the equivalent European term is 'dumper'.

Haul truck

Haul trucks are used in large surface mines and quarries. They have a rigid frame and conventional steering with drive at the rear wheel. As of late 2013, the largest ever production haul truck is the 450 metric ton BelAZ 75710, followed by the Liebherr T 282B, the Bucyrus MT6300AC and the Caterpillar 797F, which each have payload capacities of up to 400 short tons (363 t; 357 long tons). Most large size haul trucks employ Diesel-electric powertrains, using the Diesel engine to drive an AC alternator or DC generator that sends electric power to electric motors at each rear wheel. The Caterpillar 797 is unique for its size, as it employs a Diesel engine to power a mechanical powertrain, typical of most road going vehicles and intermediary size haul trucks. Other major manufacturers of haul trucks include SANY, XCMG, Hitachi, Komatsu, DAC, Terex and BelAZ.

Articulated hauler

An articulated dumper is an all-wheel drive, off-road dump truck. It has a hinge between the cab and the dump box, but is distinct from a semi-trailer truck in that the power unit is a permanent fixture, not a separable vehicle. Steering is accomplished via hydraulic cylinders that pivot the entire tractor in relation to the trailer, rather than rack and pinion steering on the front axle as in a conventional dump truck. By this way of steering, the trailers wheels follow the same path as the front wheels. Together with all-wheel drive and low center of gravity, it is highly adaptable to rough terrain. Major manufacturers include Volvo CE, Terex, John Deere and Caterpillar.