New hood and transmission for Bell B18D and B20D

Bell Equipment has refined its entry-level B18D and B20D Articulated Dump Trucks (ADTs) to include many of the upgrades released to the larger members of the family, a new transmission, rounded off with a sleeker new sloped bonnet line.

Explains Bell Equipment’s Product Marketing Manager: ADTS, Trevor Musliah: “The B18 and B20 fill a key need in the market. Wherever tough haul conditions destroy normal road trucks these are ideal jobs for our ADTs. In addition often customers who are new to the ADT concept progress to the larger models once they get to know the machines. Therefore we have made some customer-driven improvements to make these smaller trucks even more attractive. The new transmission features a close ratio gear set and offers improved reliability, durability as well as improved gradability in the higher gears. The closer gear ratios means quicker shifting through the gears so that less time in spent in torque converter mode, resulting in improved fuel efficiency. Likewise the B18D and B20D now share their own unique bonnet and new mirror brackets. Previously they shared the same bonnet as the B25D and B30D, but we found that by changing the slope of the bonnet, in particular, we were able to optimise visibility and thereby improve safety. This is an important consideration bearing in mind that the B20D is licensed to travel on roads. The new mirror brackets, apart from being more robust, enhance the ergonomics as the walkway to the bonnet is no longer obstructed by the mirror arm.”

Other changes include new, more durable hydraulics and pneumatics for improved reliability and uptime. A new return line filter has been introduced and the steering return line is now also filtered.