Terex Advance bills the Charger front discharge mixer as its first true city-class truck designed and built specifically for delivering concrete in urban areas. Premiering in a three-axle version at World of Concrete 2018, the lighter, shorter model offers the tight turning radius characteristics of traditional Terex Advance front discharge mixers, including the current FD and FDB series models, and is priced competitively with rear discharge trucks.
“Some producers have a front discharge fleet for rural and off-road deliveries and rear discharge fleet for city deliveries. We conducted extensive voice of customer interviews and found that there were some elements of our traditional design that weren’t required for and, in some cases, hindered delivering concrete in urban environments,” says Terex Advance Director of Customer Engagement Mark Aubry. “Often, producers would have to raise the discharge height of the plant to accommodate front discharge mixers. The Charger design eliminates this need and expense.”
“We approached the Charger truck design differently,” adds Director of Engineering David Grabner. “We looked at the truck as a mobile mixer platform and designed it to optimize specific targets such as height, wheelbase and payload. We made some adjustments to the frame and engine selection to maximize truck payload. Throughout our new product development process, we were able to substantially lower the three-axle Charger truck weight when compared to our traditional three-axle mixer. This allows us to have a payload of up to 10 yards in a city-class front discharge mixer.”
The new truck’s 12.4-in. charge height is more than 12 inches lower than traditional Terex Advance fronts. Total weight for the series has been reduced through design improvements and such key specs as the Cummins L9 engine, rated at 380 hp, and Allison 4560RDS automatic transmission. Fabricated with 3/16-in. AR400 brinell steel, the mixer drum bears on a re-engineered pedestal and is configured with a one-third, two-third weight distribution from the front to rear axles to deliver responsive driving performance.
A non-drive front axle similar to ones spec’ed for rear discharge trucks saves Charger model weight and improves maneuverability. The design takes full advantage of the axle’s wheel cut to shorten turning radius compared to traditional Terex Advance front discharge models and rear discharge trucks.
The Charger’s Total Control System combines on-site truck travel and all mixer drum functions into a single joystick control for more accurate and efficient concrete load placement at the jobsite. — Terex Advance, Ft. Wayne, Ind., www.terex.com