More Payload, Less Fuel – Bell B30E Dump Truck with Allison Fully Automatic Transmission at Sandritter Transport

A Bell B30E 6x6 has been working in the clay pits of Sandritter Transport GmbH for over three years. The three-axle articulated truck’s fully automatic Allison 3400 ORS transmission with FuelSense® 2.0 with DynActive® Shifting impresses with its economy and reliability. It is particularly valuable to Sandritter due to its road approval - a rarity today for dumpers of this size.

WIESLOCH, Germany, December 2023 – Sandritter Transport, based in Wiesloch near Heidelberg in northern Baden handles clay mining for several roof tile and brick manufacturers at various locations. Sandritter also transports the material to the factories and handles the professional construction of the production stockpiles, which usually amount to several tens of thousands of tons, the so-called stockpiling.

In addition to 30-ton excavators and 20-ton bulldozers, the fleet of the family-owned company also includes six articulated dump trucks. To ensure that the dumpers can be moved to new sites without any problems, Sandritter's vehicles must be licensed for empty runs on public roads.

During the regular partial renewal of the 6x6 fleet, however, it became apparent that hardly any new vehicles in the 25- to 30-ton class met the basic requirement for road approval, namely a maximum permissible axle load of 11.5 tons on the front axle when empty. With an unladen weight of just under 11 tons on the front axle, the 30-ton Bell B30E came into play. It has an unladen weight of 20.3 tons, a nominal payload of 28 tons and a 17.5 cubic metres standard body.

The 7.7-liter six-cylinder Mercedes-Benz/MTU turbo-diesel engine produces 260 kilowatts (348 horsepower) and in conjunction with the Allison 3400 ORS fully automatic transmission provides superior propulsion. The gear ratios of the transmission, combined with the higher torque, enable better acceleration in low gears and ensure significantly longer use of the higher gear ratios at low engine speeds under full load.

The Sandritter team has an operating radius of up to 80 kilometers around the company's headquarters. With the B30E, which can reach speeds of up to 50 km/h, the job sites can be reached quickly and, above all, without the need for costly low-loader transports. Vehicle transfers thus remain economically justifiable even for regional daily operations.

"This high degree of flexibility when changing pits is indispensable for us. Overall, the Bell makes work for our company faster, more efficient and more comfortable," says Clemens Herrmann, Commercial Manager at Sandritter Transport GmbH.

The Bell B30E 6x6 has been an important part of Sandritter Transport's fleet since 2020. At that time, it replaced an aging 25-ton Volvo dumper (Volvo A25). The Bell B30E works 9-hour shifts and transports around 1,000 tons of freight every day.

Despite its 4-ton higher payload, the Bell's documented maximum consumption of around 20 liters per hour is consistently 2 to 4 liters per hour lower than that of the 24-ton trucks running in parallel (max. 22 - 24 l/h). With an average of 1,600 to 2,100 operating hours per year, this adds up to 3,300 to 8,400 liters of fuel that Sandritter can save with the Bell B30E.

"Bell dump trucks are very easy to operate thanks to our fully automatic transmissions, and they offer a high level of driving comfort. For operators, high tractive effort, reliability and low fuel consumption are particularly important. The Allison 3400 ORS transmission features the same ratios as our xFE, extra Fuel Economy, transmissions available for on-road trucks and buses,” said Torsten Troebs, Customer Support Manager at Allison Transmission. “They significantly increase operating time with the torque converter lock-up clutch closed. This allows the vehicle to run longer at lower engine speeds in higher gears, resulting in significant fuel savings. Bell vehicles also feature Allison's FuelSense 2.0 with DynActive Shifting technology. It adjusts shift points based on vehicle weight and road conditions, further optimizing fuel economy."

The Bell 30E has now been in daily use at Sandritter for over three years. "First and foremost, we were looking for road approval and thus more flexibility and productivity,” said Volker Sandritter, Owner and Managing Director, Sandritter. “But we have found that the B30E really convinces in all areas, from driving comfort to fuel efficiency, reliability and low downtime."

Dec 07, 2023

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Allison Transmission (NYSE: ALSN) is a leading designer and manufacturer of vehicle propulsion solutions for commercial and defense vehicles, the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions, and a leader in electrified propulsion systems that Improve the Way the World Works. Allison products are used in a wide variety of applications, including on-highway trucks (distribution, refuse, construction, fire and emergency), buses (school, transit and coach), motorhomes, off-highway vehicles and equipment (energy, mining and construction applications) and defense vehicles (tactical wheeled and tracked). Founded in 1915, the company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. With a presence in more than 150 countries, Allison has regional headquarters in the Netherlands, China and Brazil, manufacturing facilities in the USA, Hungary and India, as well as global engineering resources, including electrification engineering centers in Indianapolis, Indiana, Auburn Hills, Michigan and London in the United Kingdom. Allison also has approximately 1,600 independent distributor and dealer locations worldwide. For more information, visit allisontransmission.com.

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