Who makes the best dump truck in the world?

[dominikat12]

It seems that belaz has the largest product line and they always come with the "every third dump truck in the world" motto but is this really the case? My observations show that caterpillar seems to be more preferred than belaz when it comes to the biggest trucks. Belaz has so many trucks being sold because of their variety of choices they provide. But when it comes to the 360-ton machines is this really the case. I am interested because there are other manufacturers like liebherr, komatsu, terex, hitachi. Is there somebody who has experience with the bigger machines and can answer this?

 

[Windza]

This is a highly subjective topic and dependant upon how you categorise "the best" but I would suggest Caterpillar should be acknowledged as one of the primary (read 'best') dump truck manufacturers in the world.
Put it this way, I am/was a Maintenance Engineer for a number of years in the coal mining industry in Australia and Caterpillar was preferred by all (i.e. Diesel Fitters, Supervisors, Superintendents, Engineers and Managers) over Hitachi, Komatsu and Liebherr.
What isn't always transparent to Diesel Fitters and shop floor technicians is the high level criteria that goes into procurement decisions such as maintenance costs, dealership networks, parts availabilities/costs and above all; machine availability.
We bought Komatsu and Terex (now Cat anyway) because Cat availability at the time was 2-4 yrs...
What is 'best' is dictated by the needs at the time of purchase so for a period of time, Terex and Komatsu were our only option... to narrow down 'best' in terms of reliability, dealership networks and response time, then Cat was quite easily #1. This mightn't be the case for everyone globally but it was for an Australian mine from 2006 -2013. When availability wasn't an issue we moved to procure 7x793F's ASAP which tells you everything.
Caterpillar are EXCEPTIONALLY good at covering all their bases which explains why they're #1 in terms of earthmoving equipment globally.
That's not to say they're perfect - they're as bad as everyone else in terms of warranty policies and faults; but in terms of being the 'best', they were better than everyone else

 

[Nige]

It seems that belaz has the largest product line and they always come with the "every third dump truck in the world" motto

What that quote doesn't tell you is that Cat pretty much produce the other two-thirds ...... all joking aside it depends how this is categorized. I can't see how Belaz's truck line could claim to have more models in it than Cat when you add up articulateds (9) and rigids (12) and then take in all the possible permutations of those 21 basic models that are available. Belaz's web site shows me 6 models ..........make of that what you will.

Having had experience with operation & maintenance of Belaz trucks in both Russia & the UK IMO they make good boat anchors.

Basically (others may disagree here) the large mining truck market these days is pretty much shared up between Cat & Komatsu with others like Liebherr & Hitachi being bit part players. I got some info the other day that the Terex/Unit-Rig MT4400 & MT5300 models are now re-branded as Cats with C-175 engine & other Cat parts incorporated in their design and with full Cat dealer backing. Quote .........

MT Family Trucks Join Cat® Product Line
As part of the Bucyrus International acquisition in 2011, Caterpillar gained a line of electric drive trucks. Because these trucks used other equipment manufacturer (OEM) engines and drive systems, they were branded Unit Rig. Over the past 18 months, Caterpillar has made significant investments into the Unit Rig products. The result of efforts from the Unit Rig team and various other groups throughout Caterpillar to leverage existing Cat® components has delivered two fully integrated models.

The new "D" series of the MT family trucks have an exceptionally high level of Cat content, will be produced in the Decatur plant and will have practically all of the traditional Cat product support tools and materials in place at production. Based on feedback from dealers and customers who saw the new trucks in Tucson during MINExpo, it was recommended the models be branded Cat. In December of 2012, Caterpillar's Corporate Brand Council endorsed putting the Cat name and trade dress on the MT4400D AC and the MT5300D AC.

Currently the MT4400D AC is in pilot testing in Mexico and should launch in the June 2013 timeframe. The MT5300D AC has shipped the first pilot for testing and is expected to go into full production in early 2014.

Unquote.

 

[CAT793]

I was surprised to find the other day that there is already more 795F AC in population than 930E. I did not think this would be the case.

 

[Nige]

The numbers that I have for large mining trucks (equivalent to Cat 785 & larger) sold worldwide are now maybe 3-4 years old. IMO it would be interesting to see updated numbers say up to the end of 2012.

From what I've seen the 930E is nowhere near as widely used and in such large numbers as the Dark Side would have you believe.

 

[DiamondLTruckin]

I do.

When it comes to Class 8 trucks.

 

[Shenandoah]

Tonka.