Giant Articulated Tracked Dump Truck

Giant Articulated Tracked Dump Truck TRUCKS Conversions Mike Dunneisen recently sent FARM SHOW photos of a giant rubber-tracked articulated “dump truck” he built from scratch for his Wisconsin excavating business The truck measures 37 ft long and rides on four sets of hydrostatically-driven tracks allowing it to carry a 20-ton load of material It’s equipped with a lightweight 16-ft dump box on the back and a 60 000-lb hydraulic winch on the front     The chassis was built completely from scratch with an articulated steering joint at center The cab is off an old Army tank retriever and the dump box sits on its frame Dunneisen built the tracks using steel rubber belting and UHMW plastic and attached wooden slats to the tracks for maximum traction     “We call it the Dragon Wagon and use it mainly in swampy ground where we’re cleaning out ditches or restoring wetlands An excavator loads dirt into the box and the truck hauls it away ” says Dunneisen “The tracks cover 22 000 sq in of ground and exert less than 4 psi ground pressure even when the truck is fully loaded As a result the machine can travel through swamps with 1 1/2 ft of water without getting stuck     “I built the machine over a 2-year period and it has performed even better than we hoped Over the years we’ve built seven other tracked dump trucks to use in our business but this one is by far the biggest and most elaborate We’ve taken it to several shows and are now advertising to find more work for it ”     The rig is powered by a 450-hp Detroit engine and Allison transmission with a top speed of 30 mph The engine drives a hydrostatic transmission that independently drives and steers each track     The front windows of the cab are lined with window tint film that looks like “owl eyes ” “When the truck is driving through tall marsh grass from a distance all you can see are the eyes which makes it look like a caterpillar is crawling through the marsh ” says Dunneisen     The dump box was a prototype model purchased from Rowe Truck Equipment Inc in Indiana     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dunneisen Excavating LLC W8697 Island Rd Waterloo Wis 53594 ph 920-988-0327; mike dunneisen0327@gmail com

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