Terex (formerly Euclid), was one of the major suppliers of heavy earthmoving equipment in the USA and had been founded in 1909.
It manufactured tough and sometimes innovative machinery and, as the company grew, established manufacturing facilities in the UK, Luxembourg, Canada and Brazil as business expanded over the years.
It was therefore a great surprise when in 1981, General Motors (Terex’s parent company), sold its entire operation to IBH, a German owned conglomerate.
This sale did not turn out well for Terex, or any of the other companies within the IBH group as, in 1983, one of the major German banks that supported IBH crashed, taking the company with it. The German courts decided the company should be liquidated!
General Motors, who was still a minor shareholder, and not wanting to see all its former hard work go to waste, repurchased the UK Terex operation and the Terex story began again.
The ‘new’ company chose an articulated frame dump truck to re-enter the earthmoving market.
An idea originating in northern Europe, the articulated dump truck concept was born of necessity to keep jobs going through adverse weather conditions and several companies were already producing this type of equipment and doing very successfully with them, notably Volvo, Moxy and Orenstein & Koppel.
Articulated dump trucks can be used almost anywhere, from construction site to small and large quarries, their all-wheel drive, articulated frame, and robust suspension allowing them to traverse the most severe terrain even in bad weather conditions.
The first of the “new generation” of Terex machines to be released following the IBH debacle, was the model 2366 articulated dump truck, which was originally known for a short period as the model 32-04.
The initial model 32-04 ADT was a 6×4 drive machine with a 23 metric ton payload capacity. It became quickly apparent 6×6 drive was a far superior option and all subsequent Terex ADT’s have been all wheel drive machines.
With a whole new management team in place, Terex Scotland was able to fit whatever powertrain combination that they thought would adequately do the job for their new ADT.
For power, Terex chose a six-cylinder Deutz BF6L 513FR diesel rated at 189kW for the 2366. This was connected to a 6-speed ZF powershift transmission.
In ‘as-delivered’ condition, a new Terex 2366 weighed just a fraction under 20 metric tons bare and could zip along at 50km/h fully loaded.
At only 2.5m wide, it was also legally roadable in most places and could devote its time between several small quarries or work sites if necessary, without having to be transported.
Construction.
Manufactured at Terex’s Motherwell, Scotland facility, the frame of the 2366 was built from high strength steel box beam, pivoted approximately one third along its length.
The articulation hinge, which allowed the truck to steer, had a range of 45 degrees either side of center that made the truck very maneuverable in close quarter situations and the machine rode on six identical 25/65R25 tyres.
The 2366 was manufactured up until 1989 when it was supplemented by the slightly larger model 2566 that held 25 metric tons.
As well as a two ton increase in load capacity, the model 2566 received a new engine, a Cummins LT10C but, apart from that, the 2566 was practically identical to the previous model 2366.
A further upgrade to the 2566 resulted in the model 2566B, but this model was only in production for a short period of time.
At this stage of machine development, Terex also expanded its range of ADT’s to include three larger models including the 27.5 ton model 2766, the 30 ton model 3066, and a big 40 ton machine as well, designated the 4066.
These were all very successful machines for Terex and cemented its place among the top three suppliers of ADTs.
As time went on, upgrades became necessary to keep the machines competitive with the opposition, and also introduce any new safety or environmental equipment that was required, and so it was during 1992, the entire Terex ADT line received an upgrade in order to keep the designs current and maintain market share.
The 2566B became the 2566C, the 2766 became the 2766C, 3066 became the 3066C and the big 40 ton machine became the 4066C.
Terex made the call to replace the earlier Deutz diesel engines of previous models and the machines received more fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly Cummins LT series engines apart from the model 4066C which got a new 385 horsepower Detroit Diesel Series 60 engine. Changes were also made to all the machines electronic systems to keep them abreast of current technology.
A change of numbering and a change of colour
In 1998, Terex completely re-numbered its entire off highway truck line, including rigid frame dumpers and articulated dumpers, giving the rigid frame machines a TR prefix and the articulated machines a TA prefix.
After the prefix came the machine’s body capacity, so for example, a TR35 was a rigid frame dump truck with a 35 ton capacity, and a TA40 was an articulated dump truck with a 40 ton capacity.
It was also at this time also that Terex ditched the familiar lime green colour of its vehicles and went to high visibility white with red and black trim, thus ending decades of the famous Euclid & Terex “lizards”.
There was also a further renumbering of the ADT range when the TA30 and TA40 became the TA300 and TA400 respectively.
It is correctly stated that ”time never stands still” and that is indeed vary apt for Terex’s articulated dump truck line.
After negotiating the early 2000’s with several more product upgrades, Terex once again dropped a bombshell by selling its ADT line in 2021 to Volvo, one of its major competitors.
Along with the sale came a new name, Rokbak, and also a reduction in the number of ADT’s that are currently manufactured.
The new range includes a 30 ton capacity dumper, the RA30 and a 40 ton model, the RA40. These are state of the art ADTs and I await what other products will emerge from this new group.
Terex ADTs in model form
You have a good selection of models to choose from. NZG of Germany issued a 1:50 scale model of the 2366 back in 1984 and it wasn’t too bad a model apart from its anorexic tyres. NZG has also issued 1:50 models of the 2566C, 3066C, TA25 and TA30, the latter in white rather than the usual Terex green. If you are wanting to part with even more dollars, there is a brass limited edition model of the TA40 made by OHS Models, but these are a little harder to come by and will set you back around US$500.