Many of the world’s largest machines are built to dig or move dirt. The mining industry, in particular, boasts some of the largest equipment on earth, and the machines seem to keep getting bigger and bigger.
RH 400 Hydraulic Shovel
Standing three-storeys high and with an impressive shovel capacity of 45 cubic metres, the RH 400 is the world’s largest hydraulic shovel. This beast is powered by two 16-cylinder engines, with an output of 4400 horsepower, and uses a 14-pump hydraulic system that holds enough fluid to fill a small swimming pool.
The imposing RH 400 was the inspiration for the vehicle form of the Decepticon Demolishor in the film Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.
Bagger 293
This bucket-wheel excavator, used to mine brown coal in western Germany, was once the Guinness World Record title holder for “Largest Land Vehicle”.
Bagger 293’s bucket wheel is over 21,3 metres tall, with 18 buckets that can hold over 15 cubic-metres of dirt each. The entire machine is 96 metres tall, 225 metres long and weighs a whopping 12 882 tonnes. It requires five people to operate it.
Each day this amazing excavator moves 240 000 cubic metres of dirt – enough to fill 96 Olympic-size swimming pools!
Caterpillar 797F
The Caterpillar 797F is the largest and most recent high-capacity haul truck to be released as part of Caterpillar Inc’s 797 series. The 797s, in production since 1998, are designed specifically for high production mining operations and heavy-duty construction.
The 797F is an improvement on its predecessor, the 797B, with a more powerful engine and a higher payload capacity. Due to its monstrous size, the 797F uses the world’s largest – and most expensive – tyres, Michelin 59/80R63 XDRs.
Liebherr R 9800
The Liebherr R 9800 was designed for large-capacity mining operations, and is one of the largest machines of its kind.
One in a series of excavators produced by Liebherr, the R 9800 is 30 percent larger than other Liebherr excavators, with its two 16-cylinder V-engines requiring 20 000 litres of diesel fuel per day. The enormous Liebherr R 9800 has an operating weight of 800 000 kilograms and a shovel capacity of 42 cubic metres.
D575A-3 Super Dozer
The D575A-3 SD is one in a series of giant dozers/rippers produced by Japanese company, Komatsu, and is the largest and most powerful tractor crawler in the world. The dedicated bulldozer version of the D575A-3, the Super Dozer, is capable of moving 69 cubic metres of material in one pass, or up to 96 cubic metres with an additional blade attachment.
The Komatsu Super Dozers have been used in large-scale mining operations since the 1990s, and although discontinued, the D575A-3 SD is still popular in the United States, Canada and Australia.
L-2350
The L-2350, originally named the Le Tourneau L-2350, is currently the world’s largest rubber-tyred, front-end wheel loader, and holds the Guinness World Record for Biggest Earth Mover. The L-2350 was designed by Le Tourneau Technologies to centre-load haul trucks with capacities of up to 362 874 kilograms.
The gigantic L-2350 is capable of lifting up to 72 574 kilograms with its 40,52 cubic-metre shovel, and fittingly, has a massive 65-litre, 16-cylinder turbo diesel engine, that churns out 2300 horsepower.
At KH Plant, we don’t handle the true giants, but our reconditioned Caterpillar 140G, 140H and 140K motor graders are true workhorses – and they’re available for a fraction of the cost of new machines.
