Bell Equipment is growing its four-wheel drive concept with the new B30E 4×4.
Suitable for small to medium-sized quarries with integrated aggregate production facilities, the truck offers unique advantages over more traditional haulage solutions. The new machine will be officially introduced at Intermat Paris 2018 in April.
“Bell has been offering the 30t 4×4 concept to certain niche applications for a number of years as there have been customers who have recognized the distinct benefits that this configuration has to offer,” said Céline Guttierrez, managing director of Bell France.
The B30E 4×4 is a supplement to the company’s traditional 6×6 ADT range by providing an alternative to the customers who have had to choose between tipper trucks, rigid dump trucks and 6×6 ADTs, according to Bell Equipment Product Marketing Manager, Tristan du Pisanie.
Alongside smaller quarry operations, the truck will also target specific markets, such as tunnelling.
While the Bell B30E doesn’t possess the extreme off-road capabilities of a 6×6, the B30E 4×4 still offers sound all-weather characteristics on haulage roads and light terrain, and provides better maneuverability in confined material handling areas or stockyards.
Equipped with one less axle means no tire scuffing, which results in significantly reduced tire wear compared to 6×6 applications on hard ground.
The front tires are typical 23.5R25 tires whereas the heavier loaded rear axle uses 29.5R25 tires, commonly found on the 40t ADTs. With its oscillation joint providing permanent contact of all wheels, and a well-balanced load distribution (empty: 50/50, laden: 33/66), the 21.5-tonne Bell B30E 4×4 proves its functionality at load and dump areas, or in wet conditions.
The new two-axle truck is based on the 6×6 model Bell B30E and shares the front chassis and oscillation/articulation joint. This means that Bell customers benefit from the 329 hp Mercedes-Benz engine and six-gear Allison automatic transmission with integrated automatic retarder.
These features are based on real-time data collection by the truck’s sensors, like the onboard weighing and pitch/roll sensor, and are controlled by embedded software in the truck controller. The wet brake system is the same as the B30E on the front axle while the rear axle has a larger set of brakes from Bell’s 6×6 B40E.
Same Payload
With an identical payload to the Bell B30E 6×6 of 28,000 kg, the major differences are the shorter rear chassis with a solidly mounted Bell 36 ton axle and the newly designed 18.6 cubic metre bin. Compared to the three-axle ADT, the B30E 4×4’s outer turning circle diameter is 1.3 metres smaller at 14.6 metres, which makes maneuvering in narrow loading or tipping spaces easier and faster. The short bin allows optimal loading times for silo discharge or with wheel loaders, and is also compatible with the more typical excavator loading method.
60-ton experience
The Bell B30E 4×4 combines the experience the company has with creating solutions for specific customer requirements with the knowledge that Bell engineers gained through the development of the company’s sixty-ton flagship B60E.
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“The market acceptance of the B60E 4×4 has exceeded our expectations and the wider market now sees the benefits of this configuration, and we look forward to this model and the B30E 4×4 growing from niche products into well-recognized haulage solutions,” Guttierrez said.
Du Pisanie added, looking to the future, Bell believes there is potential to grow the 4×4 concept into different size classes.
“We believe that the economic benefits of the 4×4 combined with its all-round weather ability will provide a worthy challenger for the rigid dump truck technology currently dominating the transport segment in smaller to medium-sized quarries,” Du Pisanie said.
