Minimal footprint

by Nick Drew | Wed 13 Dec 2017

Minimal footprint

Looking back at one of my articles that first appeared in Earthmovers Magazine a couple of years ago, bringing it to life on the internet with alternative photos.

Over recent years we have seen an ever increasing adoption of the tracked dumper concept. In all honesty it’s not hard to see why, scientific evidence suggests that our climate is only going to get wetter and the low ground pressure tracked dumper really comes into its own on soft underfoot conditions, where wheeled variant’s would be constantly getting stuck in, whilst chewing the ground up in the process. These low profile tracked machines are also far safer than a conventional forward tipping site dumper. Despite all the preaching about health and safety, accidents involving wheeled site dumpers never seem to be out of the news these days. As such there are many reasons for the swing towards tracked dumpers, most of which come with a fully fitted cab or at the very least a canopy option. But one of the biggest game changers in tracked dumper technology is the new Morooka MST2200VDR 360^oslewing tracked dumpers, which have recently joined the fleet of National Tracked Dumper Hire (NTDH). The recently launched company is a joint venture by two of the most respected names in the industry, Guildford based Land and Water and Wembley based Flannery Plant Hire and will work as the name suggests on a nationwide basis.

The addition of these latest Morooka models brings the total fleet number to 40 units, with an investment in 2015 of some £4M and continued expansion already on the cards. This investment will be supported with 6 regional depot locations and in excess of 20 service engineers to offer first class back-up. The major focus of the company is the promotion of the 360^oslewing tracked dumper, a concept that the company has been heavily involved with behind the scenes. Fully slewing tracked dumpers were last built and sold back in 2010 and according to NTDH’s research it had become virtually impossible to source reliable used examples of this style of equipment. Having recognised the need for this type of kit, the senior management team at NTDH met up with Morooka’s UK dealer Cautrac to discuss their needs. These discussions were then followed by a trip to Morooka in Japan to further discuss the possibility of a brand new slewing model based on the hugely successful original rigid bodied MST2200 VD version.

During this visit to the facility they were able to test a prototype machine with the Morooka design engineers and advise of what is expected in the UK in terms of standards for access and egress, ease of daily checks and refuelling. This visit gave the NTDH management team the confidence to give Cautrac an order for 9 MST2200VDR units to be delivered in the first half of 2015. This significant order gave Morooka the confidence to further invest in the development of the product. In fact visitors to this year’s Intermat show will have witnessed the very first model to roll off the production line, when it made an appearance on the Morooka stand in Paris. The machine was delivered straight to NTDH after the show had finished.

So what is so special about these new tracked dumpers you might ask? Well Earthmovers went along to an environmentally sensitive job in Colchester to see two of the first models at work in the UK and to find out more. From watching these machines in action its clear to see that the whole load, travel and dump process is safer and easier for all concerned, for starters the slewing tracked dumper very rarely needs to reverse, which is safer in itself. If needed the operator can simply travel up to the loading machine and rotate the entire body ready to haul off again. This procedure is replicated at the dumping area, with the operator travelling forward he has a good view of where he is going to tip his load and can easily negotiate around any potential soft spots he might not have seen if he was reversing in a conventional bodied machine. He simply drives up to the discharge point, slews the body around with the left hand joystick and raises the body using the same lever.

Another thing that strikes you immediately is that there is simply no need to “sprag” the tracks around, which in turn causes much less damage to the ground you are travelling on. All tracking movements are performed smoothly and effortlessly, which is a great benefit where reducing the environmental impact is a primary concern. Although room was not an issue on this job, one could also see the benefits that these machines could offer on restricted sites, such as in tunnels or alongside riverbanks, where there is little room to turn the entire machine. The ability to tip over the side also increases the machines flexibility, for example when required to tip stone into a French drain style trench or stockpiling materials next to a haul road.

Another plus point for the owners of these machines is that tend not to be so hard on their undercarriages so they wear much less and there is less risk of cutting or damaging the rubber track, which is a very handy bonus point.

These machine’s feature a lot of Caterpillar components, first of which is the all-important emissions compliant, Tier 4 Final/Stage 3B Cat C7.1 Acert engine, which has a power output rating of 186kw @2,200rpm.

The fully air-conditioned ROPS cab is the same as those fitted on any E series Cat excavator and once sat inside you get that very familiar Cat feel, all be it with the right hand side joystick missing and being replaced by a hand throttle arrangement. The right hand side console has all the switches and buttons we have become accustomed to in the Cat cabs including the air-conditioning control panel and the radio. Towards the front of the cab is the monitor, which is a “practical, no thrills” affair from Danfoss. A full colour screen displays essential information like oil and water temperature, fuel level and exhaust soot level, below this is a bank of warning lights, a rocker switch for the slew lock on and off, emergency stop button and a 3 way travel alarm switch consisting of white noise, off or standard alarm sound.

Above the standard monitor set up is the camera screen for the Spillard 360^ocamera system, which NTDH have decided to have fitted on all MST2200VDR’s. The need for these systems being fitted was picked up during the prototype trial in Japan, where it was recognised that due to the height of the engine canopy, which was required to fit in all the DPF equipment, visibility to the right of the machine was slightly impaired, so a decision was made there and then to fit the systems which have been well received by the operators using these machines, offering them a complete all round view of the machine and the area surrounding it.

Travelling wise the machine is controlled by two tracking levers with integrated track pedals as you would find in any excavator. To assist the operator in the position of travel a light on the dash indicates whether you are in reverse or forward direction before setting off, this of course changes depending on which position the upper-structure is facing at the time. As with all tracked dumpers on the NTDH fleet, the MST2200VDR’s are fitted with seat belt isolating devices, which work in conjunction with the control isolating lever, this isolates the hydraulics unless the seatbelt is engaged- a green seatbelt light on the roof of the cab also shows site personnel that the operator is actually wearing his seatbelt as specified in the operator handbook.

On this project the machines were being loaded by a Caterpillar 320E hydraulic excavator from the Flannery fleet and hauling away on a relatively short run to an area that was being built up, the tipped material being levelled and compacted by a Cat D6K dozer with a sheepsfoot compactor in tow.

The MST2200VDR tips the scales at 16,000kg and can carry a maximum load of 11,000kg’s, although the skip looks relatively small in terms of body height its quite surprising just how many buckets it took to fill one up! Capacity can be increased by the fitment of additional low density silt boards and or powered tailgates as requested by the customer. With a ground bearing pressure of just 35.4kPa when empty and top speed of 10 kph the machines are extremely nimble on their feet, it was poetry in motion watching these machines going about their business and I must say I found them to be very impressive bits of kit. As far as I am concerned this has to be the way to go in terms of tracked dumper efficiency.

As it is often the case that tracked dumpers are working in environmentally sensitive areas, the entire NTDH fleet is run on biodegradable hydraulic oil which has been approved by Morooka in Japan. Check out the machines in action in this silent video clip from National Tracked Dumper Hire.

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