And speaking of heavy-duty eight-legger dump trucks say hello to the latest contender for the South American Tough Tipper award - the Brazilian-spec (and earth-movingly groovy) Actros 4844 8x4 dump truck, developed so I'm told for a certain "robustness, resistance and state of the art technology."
Aimed fairly and squarely at the Brazilian mining industry the Actros 4844 8x4 (I figure that means 48 tonnes gross, 440hp from the V6 engine) "...easily meets the mining and civil engineering work demands that require mainly higher operational speeds and bigger capacity to go uphill. The design of the new Actros generation gives to the truck a visual aspect that stresses its strong and robust appearance." In short it looks a bit of a beast... And check out that rather short wheelbase... Bet it gives bridge engineeers the right heebyjeebees!
Biglorryblog also learns that the Actros 4844 8x4 is equipped with a 16-speed transmission and uprated braking system... Now click through here for a BLB brainteaser... And a 'What on earth does that do?' question (for a pie naturally...)
What caught my eye was this rather crude looking auto tailgate device on the back of the body of this particular Actros 4844... Assuming that this is what it is... Or does anyone else have any ideas as to what the chain might do?
It lifts the tailgate open, helping to cut down on impact damage as the load is dumped. The bottom of the chain is fastened on a crossmember fastened to the truck frame. As the bed goes up, the chain pulls down on the lever which causes it to lift the tailgate.
First time I've seen it on a street-legal truck, it's mostly used on off-road dumps.