The Liebherr T 282B is a large earth-hauling truck designed by Liebherr, a German manufacturer of heavy equipment and household appliances, established in 1949.

Designed in 2004, it became the largest truck in the world, although Caterpillar Inc. had developed a similar model with the capacity of about 20 tonnes less. It has an empty weight of 203 tonnes, and a maximum capacity of 365 tonnes. It is 14.5 metres long and 7.4 metres tall over the canopy with a wheelbase of 6.6 metres. In its most powerful configuration the truck is driven by a 10.5 tonne 3650 horsepower (2.7 MW) diesel engine developed by Detroit Diesel and MTU (Germany) that powers two electric motors in the rear axles. It is the first such truck that uses a more efficient AC electric system. The top speed is 64.4 km/h.

The truck costs about US$ 3 million. Curiously, despite the hefty price, CD-player and air-conditioning systems are optional. Liebherr expects to sell several tens of them every year, primarily to coal, copper, iron and gold mines in the USA, Chile, South Africa and Australia.

External links

• Product page on official site

References

• Build it big — Interview with Francis Bartley, Liebherr' head of R&D

See also

• Terex Titan