DBA Mining Truck Parts
We admit it. We’re a wee bit self-absorbed here at DBA Silencing. And that’s why, when we publish blog posts, they’re not simply general discussions of specific subjects. Our pieces are certainly meant to be informative for all readers, but we often include details about DBA components and their advantages. There are a number of reasons for this. The first is that, although the most experienced members of the DBA team have been working in the mining industry for decades and have a great deal of knowledge about this field, the parts we know best are the ones we manufacture ourselves. And so we can speak most authoritatively on those units.
The second reason we include particulars about our own parts is that we believe they’re the best options available. We’ve worked hard to make them the best, and we’re proud of them. And that’s why we can’t resist singing their praises, at least a little. Perhaps we’re similar to new parents who will happily show you a hundred photos of their baby. That said, there will be no humblebragging in today’s piece. There will be overt bragging! And lots of it. We’ll get it out of our system in this month’s article, and attempt to adopt a more objective tone next time we publish.
Mining Truck Exhaust Parts
Several years ago, DBA’s general managers travelled to Newport News, Virginia, to meet with representatives from Liebherr Mining Equipment and tour Liebherr’s mining truck assembly facility. It’s a massive and complex operation, impressive in multiple respects, and DBA’s GMs were pleased to see so many DBA Silencing components being installed on Liebherr’s state-of-the-art mining trucks.
Most of these parts were exhaust units, and many of them were outfitted with our proprietary composite shells. If you’re interested in learning more about our industry-leading mining truck insulated parts, you can read up on DBA’s unique strategies for heat management in our recent blog post entitled “Exhaust Blankets vs. Composite Shells“.
Mining Truck Coolant Parts
Although we specialize in mining truck exhaust parts, exhaust systems, and exhaust accessories, we also manufacture some pretty terrific mining truck coolant parts and coolant systems. And of course we’ve patted ourselves on the back for these as well: “The Case For DBA Coolant System Components“.
Mining Truck Air Intake Parts
We complete the hattrick for mining truck parts with our air intake components and our air intake systems. Further info on this topic can be found in the article we published on December 23rd of last year. Some people are busy wrapping presents and quaffing eggnog at that time. Not us! At DBA, we spend the holiday season putting together posts about mining truck air intake parts, posts such as “Diesel Air Intake Systems In Mining Trucks“.
DBA Ladders
We do have a catalogue at DBA, and you can download it from our website. Not all the parts we make are featured in that publication, however. We have, in the last several years, started manufacturing more and more side-mount ladders for mining trucks in Alberta. We did mention these components, in passing, in our blog post from May of 2023: “Custom Truck Parts & Other Tailor-Made Solutions“.
Our ladders are actually an excellent example of DBA’s approach to problem-solving. We were contacted a while back by a customer having difficulties with the OEM ladders their mining truck operators were using to climb up from the ground to the mining truck landing, or bumper. Ladders are required because, as you’ll know if you’re a regular reader of our blog posts, modern mining trucks are absolutely enormous. They’re as big as buildings. And their tires are equally colossal. The LDR150, a mining truck tire from Titan International, features an outside diameter of more than 12 feet. With wheels that massive, ladders are clearly a necessity.
Of course, the specific component needed will vary from truck to truck. We’ve found that mine sites running Komatsu trucks order our two-step ladders because their vehicles tend to sit a bit lower. Caterpillar trucks – on the other hand – sit higher, and so customers with Cat fleets typically purchase our three-step units.
But back to the problem-solving we mentioned. Our customer was having trouble with their ladders. On some trucks, they had rigid ladders that moved up and down on hinges. These ladders usually worked well initially, but then twisted or broke the first time they were left down during operation. Other trucks were outfitted with ladders fashioned from steel cables. These units were tougher, and would often survive contact with a berm, but they still tended to bend and warp.
When our customer asked us to come up with a product that would eliminate the need for frequent replacement of costly ladder units, we developed a brand-new design. This design features industrial-strength, three-ply rubber belting, and steel treads that we weld and powder coat in house. Our standard belting is half an inch thick, but we can go up to 5/8″ when additional durability is required.
The primary advantage of DBA ladders is that, when they come into contact with unyielding surfaces in the field, they flex and then return immediately to their original shape. They’re also easy to install and modify; a three-step unit can be quickly converted to a two-stepper. {We don’t generally make four-step components but we certainly could.} In the end, our customer decided to replace all the ladders in their fleet. This was partly because we addressed the issues they were experiencing, and partly because DBA ladders are extremely competitive from a pricing standpoint.
DBA Wheel Motor Covers
Mining trucks are constantly evolving as mobile asset technology advances. There are new trucks that don’t feature wheel motors, but many mine sites are still using older vehicles equipped with these units. Wheel motors are expensive – they’re often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars – and so protecting them makes sense from a financial perspective. Particularly since, when a wheel motor is damaged, there’s not only the cost of repair or replacement, but also downtime and lost revenue as well.
As you’d imagine, wheel motor covers are meant to safeguard wheel motors. They do this in several ways. First: they provide a physical barrier that prevents rocks and other objects from coming into contact with the wheel motors. Early OEM motor covers were fabricated from fibreglass, but these units often split and degraded when exposed to the rigors of the field. DBA wheel motor covers are made from cross-linked polyethylene. This material is well-suited for this application because its properties include effective heat deflection, exemplary impact absorption, and above-average crack resistance.
Wheel motor covers are also engineered to prevent dust and other foreign particles from entering the motor and wreaking havoc. The vent holes are covered with mesh plates, and their size and shape has been carefully calculated so that – during operation – the wheel motor covers are pressurized. Air can circulate and escape but, because of this slight pressurization, dust is unable to enter.
DBA wheel motor covers are similar to other DBA components in the sense that they cost far less than their OEM equivalents but perform equally well, if not better. {For a more comprehensive exploration of the differences between mining truck OEM parts and mining truck aftermarket parts, check out our blog post from August of 2023, the one titled “Exhaust Tubing & Parts: OEM vs Aftermarket“.}
Mining Truck Parts From DBA
And that about does it for today. If you’d like pricing on any of the mining truck components or mining truck replacement parts described in the preceding paragraphs, perhaps you can shoot us an email at info@dbasilencing.ca. You can also pick up the phone and give us a ring at 1-800-661-5886. We’re not exactly standing by {who has time for that?}, but we’d definitely be delighted to receive your call.