The 10 tonne trend

There was a time when site dumpers stopped at the 9 tonne payload mark, but now there are 10 tonne machines coming onto the market. For example, Terex’s new 10 tonne capacity site dumper, the PT 10000, is now commercially available.

Nine and 10 tonne capacity machines are something of a niche within the site dumper segment, which is in itself a very Euro-centric. “It is predominantly a UK product. However, Northern Spain takes a lot of 9 tonne models, so we’ll see how the 10 tonner goes,” Terex Compact marketing manager Adrian Hyde.

Terex is at pains to describe the PT10000 as a “true” 10 tonne dumper, thanks to its 5.05 m³heaped capacity skip. Skip size is one of the limiting factors for site dumpers, because there is a danger that the larger the payload gets, the more obscured the driver’s forward visibility. Terex has looked to address this issue by raising the driver’s seating area by 100 mm (or about +4%), compared to the PT9000.

Other notable differences from the PT9000 include a strengthened front chassis, axles and driveline, while the support structures around the skip pivot pin has also been improved. Another interesting feature is that the skip tip hydraulic cylinders are cushioned to prevent jerks at either end of their travel.

The PT10000 is 2.55 m wide, making it legal to be driven on-highway. The total length is 4.42 m, and the dumper’s unladen weight is 5.3 tonnes. Power comes from a 4.5 litre Cummins diesel, producing 74.5 kW. There are four forward and reverse speeds and the machine’s maximum speed is 28 km/h, and it has a turning circle of 12 m - claimed by Terex to be 1 m less than its competitors’ 10 tonners.