PRODUCT FOCUS
In silo discharge, the short dump body of the Bell B30E 4 × 4 facilitates faster loading without
having to move the truck repeatedly.
ADTs are specialised
machines, designed to
go places where other
trucks simply cannot,
thereby giving owners
unparalleled flexibility.”
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and rigid dump trucks.” Castle says that
although they do not offer the same
extreme off-road capabilities as a 6 × 6
ADT, the 4 × 4 trucks have sound all-
weather characteristics on undulating
haulage roads that become ‘slippery
when wet’ (Bon Jovi, 1986). This gives
them the edge over tipper trucks and
rigid trucks, which are susceptible to
work stoppages due to poor weather
conditions and require a greater level
of haul road maintenance.
“Having only two axles means that
there is no tyre scuffing around
corners and parasitic losses are
reduced. This significantly reduces
tyre wear and fuel costs, which
ultimately provides a lower cost
per tonne of material moved.
At the same time, the two-axle
configuration causes considerably
less road damage than a three-axle
truck where the tyre scuffing churns
up the road surface. The upshot is
that a 4 × 4 ADT has reduced site
maintenance requirements.”
Based on the current B30E
6 x 6 model, the 4 × 4 version
shares the same front chassis
and oscillation/articulation joint.
This is combined with the 240kW
Mercedes Benz engine, six-gear
Allison automatic transmission
with integrated automatic retarder,
and a comprehensive package of
productivity, safety, and ease of
operation features as standard.
These features are based on real-
time data collection, achieved using
the truck’s sensors and controlled
via embedded software within the
truck’s computer.
The major differences are at the
rear end where a shorter chassis and
a redesigned 18.6m³ bin offer the
same 28 000kg payload as the
6 × 6. To accommodate the two-axle
design, a Bell 36t axle has been
used at the rear, along with heavier-
duty drivetrain components similar to
those found on the Bell B40E 6 × 6.
The B30E 4 × 4 also has a much
smaller turning circle of only 14.6
metres, lending itself to applications
such as tunnelling or confined
material handling or stockyards
where increased manoeuvrability is
a key factor.
“In South Africa, we see our
4 × 4 trucks as a good solution in
two different applications. The first
is in quarries where operations
have hard roads where 6 × 6 is not
necessary, and we believe the B30E
4 × 4 is an ideal fit for the size of
JANUARY 2019
19