170 & 240 Ton Production Trucks

170 and 240 Ton Production Trucks. . The giant 170 ton production truck in front of you was donated by Hibbing Taconite in 1998. It was originally purchased in 1975 at a price of $451,900 and operated for a total of 110,000 hours or an equivalent of 12.5 continuous years. During the career of Truck 166 it hauled over 30 million tons of materials, both ore and waste. , This truck is considered an 'electric' haulage unit in that each of the four wheel hubs houses an electric drive motor. Power to drive these wheel motors is provided by a 16 cylinder/1600 horsepower General Motors diesel engine. Top speed is 32 mph and the fuel tank has a capacity of 800 gallons. , The tires are mounted on wheels that are 4.25 feet in diameter and with a tire diameter of 10.5 feet it takes only 162 revolutions to cover the distance of a mile. , During its operating life the individual tires cost $7,500 each and a complete set of eight would be $60,000 total. Even though the tires are 50 ply and the tread depth greater than 3 inches, sharp taconite fragments can puncture them. , The radiator holds approximately 150 gallons of coolant and the box holds the equivalent of nearly half a million, one pound packages, of butter. Maximum gross vehicle weight was rated at 630,000 pounds. , Drivers of these true 'monster trucks' often compare driving them to "driving a two story house" while sitting in the operators seat 18 feet above the ground. , - In Partnership with the Cleveland-Cliffs Foundation -.