Changing the conversation on maintenance costs

By |  November 9, 2021
High sides and a poor baffling design can cause round water tanks to be unstable. Square tanks, however, address these issues. The squared-off corners and a more sophisticated baffling system can prevent water from surging between compartments, delivering easier maintenance access through doors in the baffling, rather than cutouts. Photo: Philippi-Hagenbuch

High sides and a poor baffling design can cause round water tanks to be unstable. Square tanks, however, address these issues. The squared-off corners and a more sophisticated baffling system can prevent water from surging between compartments, delivering easier maintenance access through doors in the baffling, rather than cutouts. Photo: Philippi-Hagenbuch

Every mine plays its own game of give and take when it comes to reducing expenses. And with the beating that mining equipment – especially truck bodies – face day in and day out, finding ways to balance longevity and productivity creates a challenge.

Navigating this decision can leave many mine managers turning to different rules of thumb to help them prioritize between operational productivity and equipment durability.

To address cost, one popular approach promotes a heavier, durable truck body to give years of low-maintenance operation. These heavy-duty units also tend to be heavy in weight – reducing the amount of material that can be hauled – and heavy in price. These durable bodies tend to outlast the original purchasing manager and leave new management questioning the “heavy-duty” approach.

In contrast, another school of thought places emphasis on increased hauling capacity and higher productivity from a lighter weight “throwaway” body. These units are lower priced but often wear out quickly, leading to downtime and need for repairs or replacements. Even those seeking some middle ground end up without a viable option in an off-the-shelf truck body that doesn’t maximize the mine’s potential. One option that provides a unique, sustainable solution to the productivity dilemma is a custom-designed truck body, manufactured to meet the specific challenges of the individual mine.

What follows are not only the truck body features that can lead mines toward efficient operation, but also a new way to think about reaching a mine’s full potential.

Look at your mine

Before mine managers start to research truck body features, they need to take a long, hard look at their mine.

Is a humid environment causing issues with carryback? Are trucks hauling corrosive materials? Do materials need to exit slowly while dumping the bed?

These basic questions lay the groundwork for any equipment decisions. Working with a custom equipment manufacturer adds benefit by working in tandem with the mine to analyze specific requirements while also offering an objective and experienced eye to encourage consideration of often overlooked details.

Finding this synergy and expert insight requires the understanding of what a true custom manufacturer offers. The inclusion of add-ons such as sideboards and floor liners is not an indication of a custom manufacturer. Many important options to maximize effectiveness in the mine go far beyond these add-ons to include the truck body’s design, material makeup and more.

A truly tailored answer to a mine’s durability-productivity problem will address these numerous elements, all while ensuring that good bones lie underneath any custom solution.

And with the instability of steel prices and availability, there is little time and material to waste on not getting a design right the first time.

With the groundwork in place, a mine manager can move on to considering the features that will ensure they’re getting a functional, efficient and durable truck body.

Customizing individual truck bodies to a mine’s specifications increases loading safety and reduces the potential for loading damage by ensuring width is correctly paired with the loading tool. Photo: Philippi-Hagenbuch

Customizing individual truck bodies to a mine’s specifications increases loading safety and reduces the potential for loading damage by ensuring width is correctly paired with the loading tool. Photo: Philippi-Hagenbuch

Body basics

No matter the skill level, sometimes operators can’t help but damage ill-fitting, off-the-shelf truck bodies when the loading tool comes into contact with the truck body while filling.

Whether the truck body is too small, is mismatched with the loading tools or doesn’t have the proper height, repeated damage during loading can quickly destroy a body and cause expensive maintenance and repair issues elsewhere on the truck.

Customizing individual truck bodies to the mine’s specifications increases loading safety and greatly reduces the potential for loading damage by ensuring width is correctly paired with the loading tool. This provides the lowest possible loading height and allows the shovel bucket to get closer to the truck body floor, nearly eliminating the chances that loading equipment will damage the truck’s sides, while simultaneously reducing the whole-body vibration associated with mass dumping.

Additionally, choosing a wide-body option offers well-balanced weight distribution across all tires, reducing the potential for uneven tire wear and extending the truck components and body’s life.

With heavy use and high reliability required in mining applications, maintenance is inevitable. Simple design considerations in the body can either speed the process and decrease issues or lead to delays and additional challenges to address. For example, consider adding four free-floating lifting eyes into the floor of the body rather than the sides. This enables fast and easy removal or installation of a body for maintenance without the risk of bowing the body, a common issue with lifting points incorporated on the sides.

As body sides age, traditional lifting points integrated into body sides, such as pivots and holes, can become fatigued, risking a potential safety situation when removing or installing a body down the road.

Bolsters and frame rails provide maximum reinforcement to the sides and floors of bodies. Traditional bodies simply butt-weld bolsters to frame rails, making them vulnerable to wear and tear. Look for custom bodies with intersecting bolsters and frame rails, as these offer support that won’t buckle under the immense stress of materials – keeping the payload at maximum capacity.

Ensuring a truck body has these general design features will help to make sure mines get a body with good bones that can be infinitely customized and refurbished to find the sweet spot for handling daily abuse while maintaining productivity. And in the volatile steel market, partnering with a custom manufacturer ensures the best steel is used throughout, and that parts and materials are available and made in-house.

Additionally, checking off all these boxes provides mines with a solid base to expand on with other truck body options that can further streamline operations – including rear-eject bodies.


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