OFF Highway Trucks Transport

OFF Highway Trucks Transport

Off-highway trucks are specially designed equipment transport to endure driving on and off paved and gravel roads. The trucks can efficiently handle and transport materials for various purposes including mining, construction, and other such heavy-duty work. They are equipped with the required technologies to ensure the safety of the driver along with protection against any falling object and advanced visibility at the job site.

The off-highway truck transports are manufactured to sustain oversized hauling and can haul loads of 100 to 300 tons. They are usually used at sites such as quarry, mines, construction site, gravel pit, etc., where they move rocks, dirt, gravel, and other such materials. With their reliable and durable designs, these trucks can efficiently decrease the cost of hauling per ton of material while also reducing the cost of fuel required.

Various manufacturers are involved in the development of off-highway truck transport. 50% of the trucks in the world are manufactured by Volvo. Other primary manufacturers include CAT, Terex, Hitachi, Euclid, Caterpillar, Moxy, Doosan, Komatsu, Eagle Industries, John Deere/Bell, and others.  

Development of Off-Highway Truck Transport

With the rise in urbanization, the industry of off-highway truck transport and shipping has been influenced greatly as well. The manufacturers try to equip the truck with better technologies and services that can fulfil the needs of the customers in all aspects. With the change and development in technology, there has been an increased demand for the following additions to the off-highway trucks:

  • Higher fleet efficiency

  • Electrification

  • Autonomous driving

  • Automated operations

  • Fleet management system

  • Better equipment utilization

  • Telematics

  • Alternate fuel power train

Brake performance of Off-Highway Truck Transport

While working at off-road locations as quarrying and mining transport, these trucks need to haul tons of material. The braking performance can undergo degradation in such conditions. Therefore off-highway trucks are provided with a specially created braking principle. The following aspects are included in the brake performance of off-highway trucks:

  • Hydraulically actuated brakes

The off-highway trucks provided by United Heavy Haul LLC come with hydraulically actuated, rear brakes and caliper-disc front brakes. Thus, with these features, the trucks can offer primary service brakes, parking brakes, and hydraulic retarding.

  • Automatic Retarding Control

Automatic Retarding Control of ARC automates the control of the speed of the off-highway truck transport. It applies the brakes when the engine exceeds a set limit of rotations per minute (rpm). The speed of the engine can be adjusted between 1950 to 2200 rpm by the operators as per the function of the truck and the location of the function.

  • Engine brake

Some manufacturers of off-highway truck transport also provide optional engine brakes. These brakes work alongside the ARC to control the speed. The wear of the braking equipment and performance can be reduced by combining the function of engine brakes with ARC.  

Components of Off-Highway Trucks Transport  

A usual off-highway truck is constructed as an articulated dump truck and has two main components. These are explained below:

The Tractor: The front portion of the truck. It is where the steering is present.

The Dump Body: Also known as the section or the trailer. All the wheels of the dump body of the off-highway truck transport tread on the same path as it is steered with the function of pivoting the tractor. Thus, the dump body cannot travel on its own, enhancing the performance of the truck off roads.

Fuel saving strategies equipped in Off-Highway Truck Transports

One of the biggest benefits of equipping off-highway truck transport options for oversized hauling is their cost-efficiency. This benefit is enhanced with fuel-saving strategies that are installed in these trucks. The strategies are explained in detail below:

  • Standard economy mode

The standard economy mode will reduce the engine power and can be initiated from the cab itself. It can save fuel by reducing the power output of the truck by 1 to 15%.

  • Adaptive economy mode

With the help of board sensors and electronics, the adaptive economy mode is deployed in off-road trucks. It reduces the power consumption of the truck based on steady-state speed. The operator can choose the threshold that the power of the truck should not fall below. Based on the hauling of the truck, the mode will change the power consumed by the truck.

  • Auto neutral idle

The mode of auto neutral idle can result in considerable savings of the fuel. If the operator has been idle in the forward gear with the brake applied, then the mode will automatically place the truck in a neutral state. When the brake is released or throttles applied, the mode will turn the truck in forwarding gear automatically.

  • Engine idle shutdown

The operator can activate this feature. It will warn the operator that the engine is about to shut down in case the truck has been placed in the park position for an extended interval of time. The idle speed limit can be set by the operator.

Safety features in Off-Highway Truck Transport

The off-highway trucks are designed in a way that the safety of the operator is ensured during heavy hauling. The following are some of the safety features that are common in most off-highway trucks:

  • The structure of the truck includes rollover and falling object protection that can support the weight of the machine as well as the load.

  • The design of the truck supports easy access with handrails through which the operator can reach for the three points of contact. Along with that, non-skid step surfaces are also provided to provide impressive traction.

  • The brakes are designed in a way that they need minimum maintenance. Their health can be monitored through the brake wear indicator.

  • To ensure that the hauling speed is regulated, proper speed limiting equipment is provided.

  • The machine steering can be regulated. This helps in fixing the body in an up position when the truck is in service.

Off-highway trucks can perform better heavy hauling as compared to off-road dump trucks and need much lesser maintenance and services. Adding the secured and cost-efficient function of trucks provided by United Heavy Haul LLC with skilled and professional drivers, one can ensure that they get impeccable moving services.