Ron Horner heads to a clay mine site near Brisbane to do an on-site review of a Komatsu WA480-5 wheel loader that’s still working like a Trojan with 20,000 hours on the clock.
“There are two Komatsu 480-5 loaders on the site,” Ron says. “They’ve been tremendous workhorses operating 24-hour shifts, often in dusty or wet conditions.”
The machines have four forward and four reverse gears, he says, and can reach a top speed of about 35km/h.
“On a 12-hour shift the loader moves about 500 tonnes of clay,” Ron says, “which rounds out at about 180,000 tonnes per annum.”
That said, the Komatsu WA480-5 is a great mid-range production machine capable of moving far greater tonnages than those required at this Boral site, he says.
It moves quickly across the ground, is comfortable and well appointed, has power to burn and is economical to boot.
Check out the video above, and read Ron’s full review here
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