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Writer's pictureRALPH COPE

The World's Biggest Excavator



The Liebherr R9800, one the world’s biggest backhoe excavator, is an absolute beast. Weighing in at 800 tons it boasts an insane loading capacity. With mines and trucks getting bigger, it makes sense that the excavator grows in tandem. Built by Liebherr in 2008 at their Colmar factory, in France, this machine is ranked one of world's biggest hydraulic excavator alongside the CAT 6090 FS. With a shovel attachment, it weighs in at 810 tons, and 800 tons with just the backhoe.


The machine is powered by two 16-cylinder Cummins QSK60 diesel engines producing 4,000 hp and 1,800 rpm. It can also be powered by two 12-cylinder MTU diesel engines generating 3,820 hp at 1,800 rpm. An electric motor version is also available.


It has a bucket capacity of 47.5 cubic meters and is able to fill a 220-dump truck with three passes in just over 60 seconds. It used 10,000 liters of hydraulic oil. To fill this bad boy up will require 17,500 liters of diesel. So, when you pull up to the gas pump and tell the guy to fill her up, you will need to fork out R330,000 (approx. US$21,500). The undercarriage is almost 11 meters long and makes up half the weight of the beast giving it a very stable center of gravity.


The Liebherr stacks favorably with the Caterpillar 6090 FS. Powered by two QSK60 engines, it boasts and total engine rating of 4500 HP. Its design is based on the Bucyrus RH400 after Caterpillar acquired Bucyrus in 2011. This mighty machine can fill a Caterpillar dumper truck in no more than 4 trips with its enormous 52 cubic meter bucket and 103-ton payload.


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