The new Terex Advance Charger FDC300 front discharge mixer represents what the company claims is a first-in-its-class truck design for delivering ready mix concrete to jobsites in congested urban areas.
Starting from a fresh design slate, the new Terex Advance Charger series truck is lighter, offers a shorter concrete charge height, and delivers the same tight turning radius characteristics as traditional Terex Advance FD/FDB front discharge mixers. These new attributes of the FDC300 front discharge truck meet the expectations of concrete producers delivering concrete in densely populated cities. Competitively priced with rear discharge mixer trucks, the new FDC300 keeps all the popular benefits offered by the FD/FDB series trucks - driving directly into the jobsite, quickly discharging the load from inside the driver's cabin and eliminating the chute man - which helps to save companies, on average, up to $50,000 per year.
Through application-matched component selection and new design innovations, total truck weight for the new FDC300 truck has been reduced. The 3-axle truck design incorporates a non-driven front axle, lighter drum and drum drive, powerful 9-liter engine, and durable single frame construction to reduce weight compared to the traditional 3-axle Terex Advance FD3000 front discharge mixer truck. This gives the new FDC300 truck a concrete payload capacity of up to 10 yd3 (7.6 m3).
"Producers already receive up to an additional load of concrete delivered each day with the front discharge design," says Mark Aubry, director of customer engagement for Terex Advance. "With its lighter weight, the new FDC300 also offers producers more payload per delivery, while meeting axle load limits."
The new Charger series front discharge truck features a 12-ft, 4-in (3.8-m) concrete charge height, making it 16 in (406 mm) shorter than traditional front discharge mixer trucks. The lower profile of this city-class truck eliminates the need to make modifications to the ready mix plant to fill the drum.
Offering a more effective solution than rear discharge mixer trucks for urban concrete delivery, the FDC300 truck's non-driven front axle with disc brakes offers a rated capacity of 22,800 lb (10,342 kg).
The new design allows the truck to take advantage of the axle's increased wheel cut to provide a tight turning radius, making it perfect for delivering concrete into congested jobsites and maneuvering the streets of major metropolitan areas.
This new Charger front discharge truck comes standard with a redesigned 10-yd3 (7.6-m3) mixer drum with 46-in (1,168-mm) opening for fast and efficient charge/discharge of material. To provide the optimum balance between durability and payload, the drum shell is constructed with 3/16-in (4.8-mm) thick AR400 brinell steel, similar to that of Terex Advance FD/FDB series front discharge mixer trucks. Drum positioning has been moved forward on the frame to offer a one-third to two-thirds weight distribution over the front and rear axles respectively to improve driving comfort and responsiveness.
Built from the ground up in the Terex Fort Wayne facility by the same craftsmen building the traditional FD/FDB front discharge trucks, the chassis of the new FDC300 truck incorporates a single rail frame with a 130,000-psi (8,963-bar) tensile strength for added durability. It features the popular Allison 4560RDS, 6-speed overdrive automatic transmission with maximum 565 hp (421 kW) and 1,650 lb-ft (2,237 nm) torque ratings. A front multileaf spring axle and Hendrickson PRIMAAX EX air ride tandem axle suspension systems offer a smooth ride to reduce operator fatigue.
The new Terex Advance Charger series truck features the latest designs to enhance operating safety. Forward positioning of the cab gives the driver a 20% wider field of view than traditional front discharge trucks. The truck's lower profiled also delivers easier entry/exit of the cab, and its new cab design offers three-point-contact access. New exterior lighting improves truck visibility on the road and at the plant.
The new truck is powered by the 380 hp (283 kW) Cummins 9L CARB and EPA 2017 complaint diesel engine. The driver controls concrete discharge and chute positioning from inside the cab, and a new chute extension storage design provides for natural driver movements for installing/uninstalling. All fluid fill-points and checks for the engine and water, fuel and DEF tanks are conveniently located in a centralized service area on the truck's street side. Capacity for the fuel and water tanks are 70 gal (265 l) and 125 gal (473 l) respectively.
"The new Terex Advance Charger FDC300 front discharge mixer truck is built to be a rear discharge market disrupter, as it offers all the advantages of a front discharge design in a highly maneuverable, high-payload package competitively priced to rear discharge models," says Aubry. "Now producers who run a mixed fleet of front and rear trucks or who haven't considered purchasing a front discharge truck before have a purpose-built, cost-effective option for making the switch to the front discharge design."
