Biggest Earth Mover in the World Has a Payload of 160,000 Lbs – Video

For the largest rubber-tired front-end wheel loader in the world, the American company deemed necessary to give the giant truck an equally giant motor. Cue Detroit Diesel’s 65-liter 16-cylinder turbo diesel engine, a beast that churns out 2,300 horsepower and a mountain of torque. If 65 liters displacement is too much, Cummins comes to the rescue with a 60-liter 16-cylinder turbo diesel that produces the same HP.

Due to its operational weight of 258 tons (516,000 pounds), the LeTourneau L-2350 needs that kind of grunt to move and work. LeTourneau’s brawler is designed to load haul trucks with capacities of up to 400 tons, something like this huge mining truck. Manufactured in Texas, the L-2350 can load big haulers with everything you can find in a quarry – from coal to gold.

Still, the 160,000 lbs (72.5 tons) operating payload is the name of the game here. Considering that African elephants weight up to 14,000 lbs (6,350 kg), the LeTourneau L-2350 is capable of moving the weight of more than 11 African elephants. Would the animals sit comfortably in the 53-cubic yard (40.52 cubic meters) bucket up front? We’ll need an elephant’s opinion on that.

Being a Guinness Book of World Records entrant, this toy for big boys boasts a 3,974-liter fuel tank, as well as a 1,230-liter reservoir for the hydraulic oil needed for things like operating the bucket and power steering. Speaking of steering, the 70/70-57 Firestone SRG DT tires have a diameter of 4 meters (13.1 feet) and a width of 1.78 meters (5.9 feet). That’s the combined height of two adult men by an adult man.

If the previously mentioned specifications aren’t enough to make you watch the adjacent History.com short documentary on the LeTourneau L-2350 earth mover, then maybe the $1.5 million price tag will.