RE: Why are mining dump trucks so big?
wade > 09-07-2022, 06:35 AM
Economic efficiencies of scale.
Mining haul trucks are as big as they can be because that maximizes the amount of production material (ore) that can be moved by the fixed cost of a single worker’s wages. Similarly, they maximize the amount of material that can be moved in the fixed amount of time that a single journey takes from source (mining pit) to destination (processing plant, or other mode of transportation) and back.
I suppose that, more than anything, their ultimate size is limited by the transportability limits (size, weight) of the largest single component from the factory to the site where they will be used. They are assembled on site, but they can only practically be broken down so much before it’s not feasible to achieve the other requirements (strength, etc.) of the individual components, or it’s unreasonably expensive to do the amount of assembly work required.