Five-axle dump trucks are not a "common configuration" in all of Europe. In most parts of Europe, traditional four-axle dump trucks are sufficient. Even with the strictest vehicle specifications and total weight restrictions, the four-axle dump truck can still pick up the girder. However, for some areas where heavy cargo transportation and tighter axle load restrictions are imposed, the situation is different.
As the saying goes: If a worker wants to do a good job, he must first use it. In today's article, Tigot Commercial Vehicle Network takes you to see a very special DUF CF 10x2/4 dump truck, which was ordered by the Dutch company Pronk-Belkom to transport asphalt and is one of the most powerful five-axle dump trucks in the Netherlands. What is so special about it? Don't worry, let's take a look.
The idea of modifying the car came from a mischievous party. At the time, the founder of Pronk-Belkom was having coffee with his son and discussing some work matters. It just so happened that Pieter Veldhuizen, the owner of the Veldhuizen Trucks modification company, was also present. So they talked about their ideal truck. The ideal truck would need to have a relatively low cab entrance, strong maneuverability, and be able to carry about 34 tons of asphalt. It didn't take long for Pieter Veldhuizen to call and say, "We know what to do with the truck you want."
The base truck selected for the modification was a DUF CF chassis truck. The truck was lightweight, inexpensive, and delivered quickly, making it the first choice. The vehicle was technically in 8x2 chassis before being sent to Veldhuizen Trucks. There, the modification company added a third axle to the vehicle and changed the fifth and final axle to an accomputer steering shaft.
Paired with this DUF DUMP truck is a flat-roofed day cab without sleepers, allowing for more space for tops to load more cargo. The engine is powered by a PEC MX-11 engine with 450 hp and a ZF TraXon transmission. Why not choose the MX-13 with more horsepower? Because the MX-11's engine size is smaller, it can bring a smaller engine drum package to the cab interior, which in turn optimizes space performance.
As an engineering dump truck, complete prompt lighting is naturally essential. On top of the cab of this DAF CF dump truck, two large-size LED work lights are installed, with three yellow cue lights to enhance the lighting effect and cue performance.
Blind spot cameras are also installed on the roof to capture the blind spot in front of the driver's right side to reduce the occurrence of accidents.
A number of LED work lights are also installed on the side of the vehicle, which brings stronger lighting effects and improves safety. The chassis side layout is very compact, in order to accommodate the five axles, the vehicle's diesel tank, gas tank, storage box must be scattered and placed.
The exhaust aftertreatment system is placed at the right rear of the cab and features vertical exhaust, reducing the footprint of space. DUF's aftertreatment system is more compact than several others, allowing for more chassis space.
The vehicle's air horn is placed next to the exhaust pipe. Loud air horns have a louder sound and a more unique tone, and the cue effect is also better.
Since the vehicle is mainly engaged in asphalt transportation, and asphalt is a very viscous substance. Therefore, the vehicle adds an asphalt cutter under the tailgate to facilitate the unloading of the vehicle. The trailer hook at the rear of the car can be attached to tow other vehicles, and the addition of work lights also improves the safety of the rear.
The most special is mainly its axle arrangement. From this side overview, you can see that the distribution of the axles is relatively even, which is conducive to the distribution of the axle load. The addition of the third axle head is not consistent with the original drive shaft head of the fourth axle, which is also a more interesting point. Above the chassis, the small cab plus the small cab rear attachment gives up almost all the space to the dump top, with an internal capacity of up to 24 cubic meters.
The third axle installed later has an axle load of 11.5 tons, with drive, follow-up steering and lifting functions, and is a wheel reduction bridge. Coupled with two 10-ton front axles, a 10.5-ton drive axle, and an 8-ton tail bridge, it is exactly possible to achieve a total shaft load of 50 tons. After the modification was completed, the dump truck had a curb weight of 16.7 tons, which was able to leave a payload of more than 33 tons, meeting the company's needs. In addition, in order to balance maneuverability, load carrying capacity and trackability when steering, this axle uses large tires in size 445/65 R22.5 to optimize maneuverability.
So, how do you integrate this new axle? What should the axle function? In response to this problem, Veldhuizen Trucks Tuning Company took great pains to develop a new drive system for it. They called this system the sliding sleeve system, which allows free control of the drive mode of the new axles.
With the support of the sliding sleeve system, the additional third axle has the ability to switch drives at will. When the vehicle is moving at a standstill or at a low speed, the axle can be lowered via a button in the cab and then selected whether to engage the drive. If not joined, it is a normal driven shaft used to increase the load capacity. If combined, it can bring extra driving force. The system was expensive, but it was very easy to use and gave the company more flexibility.
The newly added third axle and the last axle are both raised and followed by steering. When the vehicle is empty, these two axles can be raised to become a 6x2 front double-guide model, reducing tire wear, reducing fuel consumption and improving maneuverability.
With these two axles lowered, the vehicle can be turned into a 10x2 or 10x4 dump truck, bringing the strongest load carrying capacity and traction, while minimizing any loss of maneuverability. Pronk-Belkom loves the truck because it is innovative and offers high efficiency and economy. In recognition, the company added a number of orders for the same type of car to expand the company's capacity, which is enough to highlight their confidence in this unique truck.
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Text: Heseaotter