6/23/2004: Biggest truck
 

http://cellar.org/2004/biggesttruck.jpg

Bring out your best Tim Allen imitation: more power, ar ar ar! It's the world biggest truck, the Liebherr T 282B. It hauls 400 tons at a time via a 3650-horsepower engine.

The engine doesn't turn the wheels, oh no, that would be too simple; no, instead it generates AC power, which turns an electric motor attached to the rear axles. Using this method it goes up to 40 miles an hour (60 kph). It's used in mining.

It costs $3M and they will sell fewer than 100 a year.

New Sci interview with one of the designers

I can't even see where the drivers sit. How much fuel does it waste?

I wonder what it's like to drive? You obviously have to adjust your thinking about where the vehicle begins and ends. It reminds me a little of a ship. I half expect to see a bridge/observation deck hanging out on either side so the driver can have better visibility and can walk back and forth to be able to see in various situations.

and why does it have to have three ladders? You would think one would be enough.

electric motors
 

New cruise ships also generate power which then drive motors attached to the propellers.

Is this method more efficient? Must be, if it works for hybrid electric cars, too.

There were three of them in the Starbuck's parking lot that I passed on the way to work this morning. Who needs an H2? :)

It's a matter of time before there are three Starbucks in each of those trucks.

Are those mirrors?!

If so, they look a bit far from the cab to be particularly useful.

Probably video cameras for cab-mounted monitors.

How does something like this get delivered to the customer? Do they do final assembly on site? It's not like you can drive/haul it on roads.

Maybe they use the world's biggest tow truck.

Strip Mine in Colorado
 

I worked at a strip mine in Colorado and they had trucks like these. The trucks they used didn't seem much smaller than these. You could park three pickups in the back (six if you could stack them) and they had the same ladders up the front and huge tires. Still, while the trucks are amazing, the dragline at the mine was even more impressive. It's bucket would drag across the ground and pick up the overburden (the dirt and rock above the coal) and dump it into these trucks, filling them up with one load.

The scale at a mine is just unbeleivable. When you look across the site, it looks like there are trucks and stuff and then a bunch of toy trucks and tiny people. It's hard to beleive the big trucks are as big as they are until you stand next to one.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Holy mackerel!!

"It hauls 400 tons at a time via a 3650-horsepower engine.

*faints* :p

Re: electric motors
 

they use the same method for the commuter train that i used to take. i think the idea is that electrical energy is easier to transport across a large vehicle than mechanical energy, possibly making the engine more efficient. either way a heavy duty electrical cable is probably easier to install/maintain in the vehicle and would last longer than a 20ft driveshaft that would no doubt take a beating from that much power. just an idea, someone set me straight if i'm off base here.

Re: electric motors
 

They probably don't want to make a transmission that size. An electric motor can be hooked directly to the axle.

A chat with the man that builds them.:)

I got the link from this Cellar members site.

I have installed and maintained scales for wieghing trucks slightly smaller ( 150-250 ton avarage load ) . I realy don't know if they are electric drive or hydrolic drive . I will ask tomorow .
I do know that most articulating trucks of this size ( yes there are some that will bend in the middle ) are hyrdolic drive .
All modern train locomotives use this same way to get about ( diesel engin drives a genarator that drives traction motors at the wheels ) . I can't even imagen the size of a drive shaft to pass that much power(3650-horsepower engine) , it would have to be HUGE !!!!!! I bet it has Allmost as much torque as Bruces 57 ;)

If you think about it the way this truck drives is VERRRY enviromently friendly , no messy trans fluid dripping every where . And BELEVE me these folks ARE worryed about the EPA messing with them !!!

Oh 2 more points , these trucks are assimbled on site , and the mirrors are sorta an after thought , useless , most have video cameras built in to a HARDENED housing in the back .

Boy, this thread brought out the lurkers.

Why the hell would you weigh it??
How?? Some kind of pneumatic pressue system? (random guess)

they measure it's gravitational pull, and extrapolate it. :)

Is it me or does the guy standing next to it look a bit like that photo of bruce?

Must be what he uses to help move the doodad collection around.

Jag said Why the hell would you weigh it??

To know how much product their is in the truck , most bulk product ( rock, steel scrap , etc,,,,) is bought and sold by the ton .

How??

Here is one way http://www.mt.com/mt/product_detail/...y=I3Mjg4NjM1MD

I installed the first one of these ever and walked it thru the government testing on site . Have you ever seen 400,000 lbs of known and un known weight ?? I have pics if you would like .

Some kind of pneumatic pressue system? (random guess)

No with strain guage load cells . Pnuematics wouldn't work because air expands and contracts to much , no to mention the water that would accumulate in the system .
How ever there are scales that use hydrostatic systems , great for explosive areas and for large weird applications out side were lighting resistance is a consideration .

Okay, it's a good thing these things aren't road vehicles. I'd imagine they'd need a full runway to stop the bloody thing if it ever got up to its projected 40 mph.

They DO make transmissions and driveshafts that big...and bigger.

These items are installed on all current Navy ships. The shafts are on the order of two feet in diameter and the MRG's (Main Reduction Gears) handle the output of one or two LM2500 gas turbine engines putting out up to 20,000 bhp each. AR AR AR!

Brian

This 109,000 Horsepower engine, also uses a single driveshaft, but only 102 RPM. :)

I live alongside miles of beach and dunes and would really like one of these just for one day, just for fooling around. Oh yes.

Yep. You've got to consider the sheer weight and expense of those components and the ease of running a cable to wheels instead of designing around shafts, wasting space.. It'd probably be a lot lighter and cheaper to go the electric motor direction.

The 688 class submarine I was on has TWO 30,000 hp high pressure steam turbines attached to a transmission the size of a storage shed.

The transmission turns one shaft with a 17' seven bladed screw.

Big loads for big trucks have there share of problems

I think I must have passed a semi carrying tires for one of those trucks last month. They were sitting on a flatbed on their sides, and the tires took up a lane and a half. I wondered what they were for.

I lived in Indiana where they do a lot of coal mining. These trucks have been known to kill. YellowBolt, you can't see where the driver sits and he can't see where you sit.

Jackie Chan
 

Jackie Chan made good use of this vehicle in Mr Nice Guy (American release title).

<EM>> you can't see where the driver sits and he can't see where you sit.</EM>

Yeah, but look at the clearance on that puppy. All you have to do is duck a little bit and it'd go right over you!



<SMALL>(I know, I know... I'm kidding, okay?)</SMALL>

you go first.

Many years ago I worked in Conshohocken. My route to work took me through a large stone quarry.

They had these trucks.

They were a sight to see, indeed.

There was one crossing where you had to stop and make sure that none of these things were intending to cross ... they have about the same ability to stop on a dime that a freight train does.

Re: Re: electric motors
 

All modern diesel locomotives work this way. The diesel generates electricity and the wheels are actually turned by electric motors. (Which is one of the reasons why Westinghouse is a major manufacturer)

According to howstuffworks.com:

"The five- or six-speed transmission on most cars allows them to go 110 mph (177 kph) or faster with an engine-speed range of 500 to 6,000 rpm. The engine on our diesel locomotive has a much smaller speed range. Its idle speed is around 269 rpm, and its maximum speed is only 904 rpm. With a speed range like this, a locomotive would need 20 or 30 gears to make it up to 110 mph (177 kph).

A gearbox like this would be huge (it would have to handle 3,200 horsepower), complicated and inefficient. It would also have to provide power to four sets of wheels, which would add to the complexity.

By going with a hybrid setup, the main diesel engine can run at a constant speed, turning an electrical generator. The generator sends electrical power to a traction motor at each axle, which powers the wheels. The traction motors can produce adequate torque at any speed, from a full stop to 110 mph (177 kph), without needing to change gears."

So if one of those wheels happened to roll over you, I imagine you would be dead as a doornail, but would you be as flat as a pancake?

i wonder if they get a tax deduction like the H2 does.
pretty soon everybody's gonna want one!
"I got one because I wanted to be sure I would come out on top in an accident with an H2"

Yes.;)

This big truck reminded me of the big crawler NASA uses to move around the space shuttle. Looking up info on it, I found that they are no longer the biggest vehicles around. There is a monster called the Bagger 288 German excavator.

It looks like a Fortress Maximus with a spinning blade of death attachment:

http://www.wisoveg.de/rheinbraun/rb-bg-17022001lnk.html

thats not street legal...

Neither is that truck.:)

Pelican
 

The Boeing Pelican aircraft would weigh more than that truck.

I'm waiting for that truck to show up in some redneck front yard, up on (big) blocks and having a huge blue tarp in the bed , filled with water, acting as a temporary swimming pool that is in defiance of zoning regulations.

Anyone have Photoshop and can make that pic happen? I don't have the skilz.

Sorry, Bruce .. in my neck of the woods, those trucks ARE street legal ... :D

http://www.users.bigpond.com/car/barbera.html

Click on 'next' at the bottom RH corner of the page, for the full sequence of pics ....
Then .. ask me to show you the size of the HOLE, they work these trucks in .... :eek:

That is mighty cool. One of the greatest things about iotd is when people respond with actual knowledge and further info about the picture or its subject. Thanks onetrack!

Waste is a relative term. While I'm sure it uses quite a bit of fuel, but seperating the motor from the wheels, it can run in it's most efficient power range.

Tell me which is more efficient:

Moving 45 people in a Honda insight that gets 60 mpg, or

Moving 45 people all at once in a Bus that gets 8 mpg?

dar512 has it sussed. There has been a longstanding argument between big truck makers, as to whether to have Diesel Electric or Mechanical drive.
Caterpillar came out in favor of Mechanical drive for all their trucks, stating the Mechanical drive they build, was cheaper to build, and easier to maintain .. whilst many other manufacturers such as Liebherr chose Diesel Electric.

Caterpillar have lost out now, because of the weight penalty with Mechanical drive. A Diesel electric truck, when it gets to the large sizes, has a 30% weight saving over Mechanical drive. This weight saving is not available in the smaller size trucks .. in fact, with a small truck, Diesel electric has a weight penalty over Mechanical drive.

The change that has made all the difference, is the change to AC motors from DC motors.
DC motors were used in the dump trucks for a long time, because AC motors are more difficult to control .. and it was only the advent of modern electronics, that made using AC motors, viable.

Re the "fuel waste'' ... these trucks are highly efficient, in comparison to the amount of dirt shifted in relation to fuel cost .. the cost of earthmoving with these trucks runs to merely cents per tonne over many kilometres.
The cost of moving dirt has been coming down steadily over the decades, as technology increases .. this means cheaper end products for all.

Re the questions on how do you manage to drive a monster like this? They are, in fact, quite easy to drive .. to the extent that many women are operating them.
The controls are only a little different to an automatic car .. the major thing is getting used to the size of what you are driving .. which is no different to readjusting your thinking when you drive a bus instead of a car.

They do have very limited vision though, and the operators must exercise great care, as running over small vehicles presents a real hazard. Accordingly, it is against mine regulations to park with 20 metres (66') of any truck, unless the truck is shut down and maintenance or fueling is being carried out.

The operators are taught to drive them on simulators, much like jet simulators. These simulators are amazingly realistic, with the ability to programme in the minesite layout, on a panoramic wide screen.
The cabin is replicated exactly, the engine sounds are included, as are other smaller vehicles moving across your path, road signs, waste and ore stockpiles, the mine ramp, other equipment .. all the potential hazards of a standard minesite.
Safety in mining is given extremly high priority, and the safety levels on a minesite are 10 times higher than your average street .. and the low level of accidents reflect that.
However, occasionally things do go wrong, and accidents happen.

The biggest hazard is waste or ore stockpiles. Even though a low wall, or bund is kept in place around the edge of stockpiles, sometimes the soil slips without warning, when the truck is dumping, and the truck can roll off the dump.
The cabins are heavily reinforced and can withstand great impact. Seat belts are worn at all times, and if the truck rolls, you stand a very high chance of survival without major injury. The only fatalities that have happened in recent years are those where an operator did not wear their seatbelt.

Fire is another hazard that is taken care of with an on-board fire suppression system. At the first sign of fire, the extinguishers are activated automatically or by the operator, limiting any chance of a fire taking hold.

Low bridges
 

Well, Watch out for low bridges!

Oh lawd that's funny! :lol: Barring taking the thing apart, how on earth would they right it?

With great difficulty, much planning, and a couple of heavy cranes. Maybe even dismantling some of the overhead framework.

That wreck is the result of some dopey operator forgetting to lower his hoist.
They usually string a heavy cable with big empty drums attached, 100yds in front of any overhead obstructions, so the half-asleep operator gets woken up with a helluva lot of banging noises .. which immediately means the brakes very promptly get applied before damage can be caused.

Of course .. there are just plain bad days .. when the wheels and other bits just fall right off ... :dead:

[IMG][IMG]

Speaking of lurkers coming out of the woodwork... :-)

This image made me remember a great article in Car and Driver some years ago, where they reviewed a 797 dump truck. I assume the one in the picture her is bigger, but it's still fun reading.
http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1

Fun stats:
Zero to 30 mph. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27.1 sec
At 40% load factor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 gallons/hr, 0.3 mpg

Tim

My favorite spec is

Tires. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michelin 55/80R-63

Could be a great prank call. I doubt Valley Forge Tire and Auto carries it, but it'd be fun making them check.

(R-63 indicates a radial with 5 foot 3" inner diameter. The 55 specifies tread width, and the 80 is sidewall height as a percentage of the tread width). For normal tires the tread width is in millimeters, but I suspect it's in inches here. So the tire is just over 5 feet inner diameter, just under 5 feet wide, and with a sidewall height of 4 feet. Apparently the current best tire for this truck is a 59/80R63, which is a bit bigger)

I Cannot believe that you ladies let this get past you.

Spin it. :)

I've been reading C&D since Oct '62. There specialty files are always super. The USS JFK was a favorite. :thumpsup:

i think one of these was used for Jackie Chan's 'Mr nice guy', i remember thinking "i MUST get one of those!!"

Found this one from another post. I think there is one bigger than this one. Could of sworn I saw one that the ground clearance was so high, it could actually driver OVER a standard pick-up truck!

Not so big
 

World's Smallest Car

If you munch on Alice's mushroom you might be able to drive this one.

Another pic I found..