By powering the dolly rather than trailers, a far more ergonomic, flexible and versatile outcome for increasing haul capacity is achieved for mining transportation vehicles, writes Joel McEnery in the Spring edition of the QLD Mining & Energy Bulletin.

In the mining transport industry, it has been noted that few alternatives to standard rear-dump mining trucks exist. Resultantly, the industry has been limited to using vehicles with wide bodies and short-distance haulage capabilities for the long-distance haul task. Extending the operation of short-haul units to long-haul tasks results in an exponential increase in maintenance and infrastructure costs. Mining industry trailers have become more sophisticated as longer hauling distances have made the transport task more critical, especially getting the payload versus tare weight formulae right. Regulation-sized trailers have given way to oversized trailers whose limiting factor has become prime mover engine power.

In response to the growing need for long-distance, high-capacity haul units, manufacturers have ventured to improve capacities of their semi-trailer combinations, for example, by adding an additional power unit. A powered-dolly concept, with eight units, is currently operating around the country. Read more...