Only one was built. The fuel consumption of Titan was colossal
The Terex Titan, an American vehicle with impressive specifications such as a load capacity of 386 tons and a power of 4,425 HP, was the undisputed star of heavy transport in the last decades of the 20th century, even though only one model was produced.
4:47 PM EDT, October 24, 2023
When we talk about the largest dump trucks in the world, many people first think of Caterpillar products or Belarusian BelAZs. But one must not forget about the American company Terex, which created the exceptional Titan 33-19. It's a single example that never went into serial production, yet for many years it dominated in the Guinness Book of Records.
We were reminded of this remarkable vehicle thanks to an article describing the history of the Terex brand, which appeared on the portal 40ton.net some time ago. The Titan 33-19 was one of the most fascinating projects of the American manufacturer. The parameters of this tri-axle vehicle are impressive even to this day. Its length is 66.77 feet, width is 25.59 feet, and height is 22.57 feet.
The vehicle itself, ready to drive, weighed about 286,601 pounds, and its impressive loading capacity was 771,618 pounds. Despite its large mass and size, it was characterized by good maneuverability. This was due to the fact that all the axles were steerable, and in the case of the front wheels, the steerability was as much as 71 degrees. Of course, such a behemoth required suitable propulsion.
The manufacturer used a powerful, 44,665 cubic-inch V16 Diesel engine from GM Electro-Motive Division. This 3300 horsepower unit was a generator for four electric motors mounted on the wheels. The amount of energy it could produce could power over 3,000 homes. As one can easily guess, Titan 33-19 consumed a lot of fuel. On average, it consumed 5 gallons for every mile driven, which translates to 302.42 gallons per 62 miles. Perhaps that's why the fuel tank could hold up to 853.68 gallons of diesel fuel.
The premiere of the prototype in 1973 was supposed to be just the beginning of mass production, with a price of 1.5 million dollars per unit. Considering inflation, today that amount would be at least four times bigger. Ultimately, however, it ended with one, pre-production model, which went to the fleet of the mining company Kaiser Steel and served there until the early 90s.
After being exploited, the vehicle was restored and its engine was removed. Since then, it has been a tourist attraction in Sparwood, Canada, in British Columbia. And it's something special. After all, it's one of the largest vehicles in history, which in 1998 broke the Guinness record in the category of the greatest load capacity. Then came the Caterpillar 797 and BelAZ 75710.
