Four driven axles for 60 tons gross weight
Daniil Minaev, photo by the author
The IVECO-AMT 753910-10 dump truck with an 8x8 wheel arrangement, according to the manufacturer’s specifications, is suitable for transporting any bulk and bulk cargo, including rocks, on all types of roads and terrain... The main specialization of IVECO-AMT is the construction and mining sector, especially and this explains such great diversity.
This time, in a half-abandoned quarry near Moscow, we are testing, I’m not afraid to say, one of the flagship products of the Russian-Italian machine-building enterprise from Miass. The dump truck's load capacity is 40 tons with a total weight of 60 tons, four drive axles, 22 cubic meters of useful superstructure volume, and a 500-horsepower engine. There is something to look at.
Introductory Memoirs
No one will argue that this car is not at all for asphalt history. But even on a relatively flat ground, the process of getting into the cabin resembles an assault. In general, it’s very high, but at the same time there are only three steps, including the lower hanging one, and the usual handrails are as far as the moon, so I grab onto everything that is solid and secured. But why should we grumble! Especially in anticipation of conquering the elements.
Before the control devices come to life and the powerful diesel starts idling, I’m already reminiscing. After the vicissitudes of the change of founders and the acquisition of independence of the IVECO-AMT enterprise back in 2009, the seriously modernized, but long-outdated IVECO Turbostar cab for a cabover truck remained and is used to this day, outwardly increasingly moving away from the original, but carrying imagine the same frame on cars of the Ural-M series produced by the neighboring URAL Avtozavod.
And at the same time, on the other side of the fence, IVECO-AMT LLC launched the production of a new series of cabins from European Truckers using a full cycle with welding, cataphoresis priming and painting.
After another deep restyling, Italian trucks from last year received HI-LAND or HI-WAY prefixes, depending on the purpose of the equipment. Products under the Russian-made IVECO-AMT brand do not participate in this classification, since this is a completely independent design, although it is built on an Italian component base, but with its own frame, original chassis and axles.
Review of the main characteristics of Iveco Trakker dump trucks
Iveco Trakker dump trucks are mounted with Iveco Cursor motors, equipped with turbocompressor devices that have replaceable geometric properties. This reliable and high-power motor allows for relatively infrequent maintenance work, provides increased rotating parameters, and has improvements that reduce fuel consumption.
Truck dump units created by the Iveco auto company can have engines with a volume of eight or thirteen liters, and a power capacity of three hundred to five hundred horsepower, due to which their power and efficiency indicators increase. A typical set of Iveco dump trucks consists of the latest Euro Tronic automated transmission, which is controlled by a three-mode toggle switch located on the control surface, and high-speed gears are switched on the steering column.
The Iveco work truck is equipped with a six-by-four and eight-by-four wheeled chassis, has a disc or drum brake mechanism at the rear, a disc brake system at the front, and a drum braking method is mounted on all wheel drives of all-wheel drive models. One of the advantages of Iveco 6*6 dump trucks is the presence of a fairly reliable and high-strength frame frame. The platform chassis of this vehicle is created from high-quality high-alloy steel components, the thickness of which ranges from seven to ten millimeters.
The Iveco Trakker dump truck is a heavy, reliable and environmentally friendly work vehicle built to high standards, which can transport various loads on any road. Trakker dump trucks are approved for use in any climate conditions, and these trucks are suitable for the safest, most productive, and comfortable transportation of various cargoes on any asphalt or dirt road surface. Many options and modifications of Iveco Trakker trucks, equipped with the best performance indicators, allow the use of this special equipment for the purpose of transporting various building materials and bulk cargo in dump trucks, open trailers with a ramp, on flat platforms.
Nostalgia in the cockpit
A dump truck with the letters IVECO on the front fascia looks Italian stylish even after years. The interior has a touch of elegance, but is pre-restyling. Ural cars will receive last year's update a little later than European ones.
But you shouldn’t find fault, everything is functional and in some places even beautiful in its own way.
It is definitely impossible to confuse Italian ones with German cars. In the architecture of the control panel, the groundwork for wide universal use is clearly visible: many of the keys on the “dashboard” and the tide of the instrument console remained as plugs in the dump truck. When developing the specifications, a short two-seater “AD” cab was installed on the 8x8 dump truck chassis.
The short "day cabin" on the rear wall has clothes hooks, a pair of bottle holders and climate control
Let's go for a ride
By analogy with the theater, which, as you know, begins with a coat rack, my acquaintance with this dump truck began with a quarry. It so happened that before I had a chance to talk with its designers and look at the specifications, I found myself behind the wheel of the car. And this is what came to my mind.
After the peaceful and quiet “divorce” of the Ural enterprise IVECO AMT with the GAZ Group in 2009, the seriously modernized old IVECO Turbostar cab for a cabover truck remained on the URAL-M series vehicles, and on the other side of the fence they started production of a new series of cabs from European "Truckers" through the full cycle with welding, cataphoresis priming and painting.
This dump truck with the IVECO name on the front fascia and the “Trakker” nameplate on the cab doors looks stylish and modern. The interior is Italian-style with notes of elegance, but still, due to the fact that the model is not the newest, it seems rustic in places, but nothing creaks, and I’ll especially note the excellent sound insulation - the engine is almost inaudible.
When developing the specifications for this successor to the Magirus, a short double “AD” cab was installed on a 6x6 dump truck chassis, but care was taken to provide a folding berth. In the architecture of the control panel, the basis for wide universal use is clearly visible: many of the keys on the front panel of the dump truck have remained stubs. The location of the body lift handle was somewhat confusing - on the right hand side, right behind the gearshift lever: by mistake it can be confused with the parking brake valve, be careful, the “real handbrake” is almost there, but in front of the lever!
Since a couple of laps in an unballasted vehicle in a snow-covered sand pit is unlikely to reveal the true capabilities of a three-axle all-wheel drive dump truck, I will again focus on ergonomics. The keys and handles are all at hand, only the “door openers” are located a little unusually, but I was pleased with the abundance of electric windows and mirrors. The 16-speed manual gearbox with a divider does not have the most common control algorithm today. The flag on the lever is responsible for the “halves”, and the switching of rows is carried out with a “slap”. I don’t really like this scheme, I think, like many others, otherwise it would not have become an endangered species now. However, everything worked well for the new dump truck, and the inevitable miscalculations in the choice of gears at the stage of getting to know and getting used to were easily compensated for by the high-torque main pairs of drive axles and the elastic 13-liter IVECO F3B engine (aka Cursor 13).
Now let's look at other equipment. Here, an engine hour meter is integrated into the on-board computer, with protection against hacking, and a tachograph is installed as standard.
Among stones, clay and flowers
Squeezing my back into the powerful embrace of the lateral support of the driver’s seat, I settle down behind the wheel. Quite convenient, let's go!
The automatic transmission control button on the remote control with the Allison inscription is in position “D”, and the big dump truck smoothly rake out the clay mess - there was a downpour at night, seriously complicating the task of moving along the technological roads of the quarry. Colleagues on a dump truck with an 8x4 wheel arrangement openly skid on the slightest incline, and I calmly crawl among stones, clay and lush summer vegetation. The first round is shooting. I note that our IVECO-AMT 753910-10 8x8 has a very sharp steering wheel that is not even truck-like - only 3.5 turns from lock to lock, plus everything coupled with a tenacious brake pedal - this is a “drivers car”! A “steering wheel” with a slightly smaller diameter for quick interception is just asking for this, but this is not allowed according to safety requirements. According to the UNECE Rules, the steering must remain operational and capable of movement when the amplifier fails; in this case, a rather large steering wheel will be required, since the “dumpers”, although they are strong guys, are not all weightlifters.
A rich arsenal of locks will allow you not to give up on off-road conditions
The geometry of the front suspensions pleasantly surprised us with a relatively small turning radius for such a giant, more than 9 meters long. Moreover, the use of locks did not greatly affect the maneuverability of the dump truck. Even if the radius is not enough, I can afford to stick the front end into the muddy mud and make a turn in two passes - 8x8 rules!
On the second lap we had to go down a steep slope running through an embankment about 2 meters high. I drive up to the edge, freeze, and look around. Smoothly balancing myself, I swing down, slightly slowing down the car with the mountain brake. At the end of the descent there is a small area where, hidden behind piles of soil, a crawler excavator is waiting for me.
The excavator is static, and in order to get my portion of ground ballast, I will have to adapt to it. A couple of shuttle “graters” back and forth and I expertly fit a 22-cubic-meter “trough” under the bucket. The job is done, now you just need to climb up. The maneuver proceeds without complications, leaving as a souvenir a deep, watery rut, carefully dug by checkers of toothy tires. I remember an excerpt from the factory description: “Designed for transportation of any bulk and bulk cargo, including rocks, on all types of roads and terrain.” That's right...
At work in the quarry, 3 steps were quite enough, since the route was replete with descents, ascents and turns. But when passing through mud pits, where a 100-meter straight gap opened up, it was possible to rise to V gear. Checking the deceleration with an empty car from a speed of 60–65 km/h reminded me of the expression: stood rooted to the spot.
Extracts from the specification
2300 Nm of torque from the 13-liter IVECO F3B engine (aka Cursor 13) with a power setting of 500 hp. allow you to pull the ballasted machine along the slopes of the quarry effortlessly. Let us recall the main design milestones of this power unit. Inline “six” with turbocharging, variable geometry turbine VGT. The engine has 4 valves per cylinder and pump injectors in the power supply system. In addition to the 500-horsepower version, the unit is supplied with a power of 410 or 450 “mares”.
The automatic transmission is the widely used Allison 4500 hydromechanical automatic. This series of gearboxes from the American manufacturer is designed specifically for heavy equipment and can have 6 (model 4500) or 7 (model 4700) stages, processing power up to 597 kW and torque up to 2644 N.m. The weight of the unit is considerable - up to 555 kg. These gearboxes can be combined with additional options (retarder, power take-off mechanism), which allows you to further expand the range of use. The transfer case of our ZF VG2000/396 dump truck is two-speed, with a locking differential.
To work in difficult conditions, a frame with side members thickness of 10 mm (!) and a height of 309 mm was used. KESSLER planetary drive axles with a load capacity of 20 tons are equipped with interaxle and cross-axle differential locks. The front axles of the same manufacturer are reinforced, with a load capacity of 10.5 tons, without inter-wheel differential locking. Front suspension is on parabolic springs with reinforced telescopic shock absorbers. The first axle has an anti-roll bar. The rear axles rest on a balancer suspension with V-shaped torque rods. There are anti-roll bars on the third and fourth axles. The wheelbase is 4964 mm, the distance between the front axles is 1875 mm, and between the axles of the rear bogie is 1490 mm. The front and rear overhangs are 1440 and 960 mm, respectively.
The steering itself is power-assisted and has an interesting addition in the form of a backup pump.
Dual-circuit pneumatic braking system with anti-lock braking system and electronically controlled brake force redistribution system. A two-cylinder air compressor with a working volume of 630 cm3 is responsible for the necessary and sufficient amount of air under pressure.
Technical characteristics of the IVECO-AMT 753910-10 8x8 dump truck
| Permissible total weight, kg | 60 000 |
| Total weight of the road train, kg | 130 000 |
| Permissible axle load, kg | 10 000/ 10 000/ 20 000/ 20 000 |
| Load capacity, kg | 40 000 |
| Engine: | IVECO Cursor 13 F3BE3681B, turbodiesel I-6 |
| working volume, cm3 | 12 882 |
| power, hp (kW) | 500 (368) at 2100 min-1 |
| torque, Nm | 2300 at 1000–1600 min-1 |
| Transmission: | Allison 4500, automatic, hydromechanical, 6-speed |
| Gearbox ratios | I – 4.70, II – 2.21, III – 1.53, IV – 1.0, V – 0.76, VI – 0.67, z.x. – 5.55 |
| Gear ratio of the main pair | 7,95 |
| Transfer case | ZF VG 2000/396, mechanical, three-shaft, 2-speed with cylindrical lockable center differential |
| RK gear ratios | Higher – 0.86, lowest -1.536 |
| Brake system | Pneumatic, dual-circuit (separately for the front axles and bogie axles), brake mechanisms of the wheels of 1 and 2 axles - disc, 3 and 4 axles - drum type, ABS+EBL, ASR |
| Fuel tank capacity, l | 400 |
| Tire size | Front – 14.00 R20, rear – 12.00 R24 |
| Front suspension | Dependent, on parabolic leaf springs with hydraulic shock absorbers and anti-roll bar |
| Rear suspension | Dependent balancer, on parabolic leaf springs with reaction rods and anti-roll bar on the 3rd and 4th axles |
Bottom line
Like all Italian cars, the dump truck is distinguished by its catchy appearance, elegant interior and technology. The IVECO-AMT 653900 6x6 is interesting not only in its exterior, but also in its design. Russian citizenship (allowing us to offer an adequate price tag) and the German roots of the off-road dump truck traditions of Magirus (allowing us to assume sufficient margins of safety and reliability) are a serious challenge to competitors...
Technical characteristics of the IVECO-AMT 653900 (6x6) dump truck
| Parameter | Meaning |
| Permissible total weight, kg | 41 000 |
| Permissible load on 1st / 2nd / 3rd axles | 10 000/16 000/16 000 |
| Load capacity, kg | 25 000 |
| Minimum ground clearance, mm | 370 |
| Body volume, m3 | 16,0 |
Engine:
| IVECO F3B (aka Cursor 13), Diesel, 6 cylinders in line, Euro 4 12.9 420 at 2100 min-1 1900 at 1000–1600 min-1 |
Transmission:
| ZF 16S2220 TO Mechanical 16/ 2 5.73 |
| Clutch | Dry, single disc |
| Brake system | Pneumatic with ABC |
| Fuel tank capacity, l | 455 |
| Tire size | 12.00R24 (KAMA) |
| Suspension | Leaf springs, with anti-roll bars front and rear |
| Wheelbase, mm | 3500+1390 |
Body
Tipper superstructure of own production of IVECO-AMT LLC with a geometric capacity of 22 cubic meters with variable internal width. Hyva ALPHA hydraulic equipment is used to lift the body. The thickness of the sides made of HARDOX HB 400 steel is 5 mm, the thickness of the bottom made of HARDOX HB 450 is 8 mm. The body is equipped with an enhanced heating system. The front side of the dump truck with a protective visor and a spare wheel mount. The spare wheel lifting mechanism has been modernized: rollers with closed bearings are used. The production of dump bodies and other superstructures has been carried out at IVECO-AMT LLC since 2006 through a full cycle, including design development, welding and painting.
According to the technical specifications, the estimated service life of the entire vehicle will be at least 1,000,000 km, warranty support is provided up to a mileage of 200,000 km, scheduled maintenance must be carried out every 40,000 km or 800 engine hours.
Our information:
IVECO-AMT LLC (formerly called Iveco-Uralaz LLC, Chelyabinsk region, Miass) is a Russian enterprise that has been producing trucks under license from IVECO since 1994. The IVECO-AMT production complex is designed to produce 3,500 cars in a full cycle, including the development of design documentation. The main model is the Trakker car, on the basis of which more than 400 modifications of special equipment have been created. Since 2011, the company has been producing Stralis long-haul tractors, and since 2012, mid-range Eurocargo vehicles. All cars are produced taking into account customer requirements, in versions with diesel or gas engines running on methane.
