Cover story: Morooka MST110CR

North of Auckland, a busy subdivision project is forging ahead with the help of a Morooka MST110CR tracked dumper

Being in charge of Magnum Equipment’s rental division means Charles’ phone is regularly glued to his ear, and he’s always on the move around the greater Auckland region and further when the need arises. It’s a full-on job and chances are, with the upcoming dry season, it will only get busier.

The current project on the hilly outskirts of a North Auckland subdivision includes a wide selection of machinery carrying out the major backfill of large gulleys to create benched lots, roads, culverts, and other infrastructure works, so residential buildings can be created to house the region’s constantly increasing population

“The developer will be creating over 400 lots here over three stages,” says Charles. “I’m told there’s allophanic soil on this site, which can make things awkward — the more you work it, the wetter it gets apparently.”

With allophanic soil, stiff jelly-like minerals coat the sand and silt grains and maintain a porous, low-density structure with weak strength. This is identified by a distinctly greasy feel when moistened and rubbed between the fingers. The soil adds another layer of complexity so it’s easy to see why the developer decided to bring in a Morooka tracked dumper.

The decision seemingly becomes more obvious when you take the steep terrain in account.

“They could have skied excavators in here at the beginning,” says Charles. “Although the bulk earthworks slowed down over winter, they worked on pipelaying along with other drainage projects during that time — and from my perspective, that was where the Morooka came into its own.”

Morooka MST110CR

The Morooka MST110CR, available to purchase or hire from New Zealand distributor Magnum Equipment, weighs in at 16,000kg and is designed to comfortably carry an 11,000kg payload or approximately six cubic metres heaped.

The machine itself measures 6000mm long by 2980mm wide, with a dump body of 3050mm x 2750mm x 635mm. It sits on 800mm wide proprietary Bridgestone-made rubber tracks, designed to leave a minimal ground imprint. The machine is powered by a CAT YDS-C7.1B, which outputs 186kW@2600rpm, delivered through a hydrostatic transmission — all controlled via an in-cab joystick control.

Getting across the site

As the Morooka climbs a relatively steep damp clay incline, it’s clear to see that it’s working in an unsafe territory, perhaps even dangerous for a machine that wasn’t a Morooka. On terrain where it would be difficult to operate any kind of rubber-tyred machine, the Morooka powers through with ease and even traverses a drainage bund without missing a beat.

“This machine can easily handle the wet ground and get across the site,” says Charles. “Any other site dumper with tyres would sink or slide.”

Rotating upper body

Another key feature of the Morooka MST110CR is the ability to rotate the upper body 360 degrees, lessening even further damage to the ground underneath the machine. There’s no need to ever reverse the Morooka unless the immediate vicinity has limited space for rotation.

Once in position, it’s a straightforward matter of loading the tracked dumper with its next six cubes of clay before it heads off to the dump point. With a travel speed of almost 12km per hour, it won’t break any speed records, but thanks to the advanced suspension system, it seems plenty fast when looking at the rough ground the machine is traversing.

With the ability for Morookas to work in difficult conditions, it also becomes obvious that this goes hand-in-hand with the need to establish less on-site infrastructure, such as extensive roading networks for rubber-tyred site dumpers.

In-cab features

A comfortable air-conditioned environment greets the operator. Warning lamps, along with an LCD monitor are located on the right side of the seat. A 360-degree camera is positioned to check the front, rear, left, and right sides of the machine.

The operator joystick controls forward/reverse movement and also houses the horn, high/low travel switch, along with tipping functions.

A full ROPS/FOPS cabin protection system is in place, along with safety locks and other functions to ensure the machine is as user-friendly as possible.

Keeping at pace

“The developer has had the machine in here for over four months, and it has been ideal for working on this sensitive ground without doing damage,” says Charles.

“It has been useful for keeping them going at a good pace, especially in conditions where other dumpers can’t be used. It has added a layer of safety to the work they have been carrying out and has enabled work to be done that previously would have had to wait until things were drier.”

As the site moves into the summer season, Charles says that bulk earthworks will fully get underway, with the Morooka continuing to work on pipeline and drainage duties.

“I don’t see too much changing for the machine with us. There are a number of tasks that it’s ideal for, and with the weather conditions changing often, it doesn’t take much to slow things down, so it’ll be kept busy for as long as they decide to keep it onsite.”

For sales enquiries, contact Liam Field at 021 334 098 or Luke Field at 021 988 223 and for hire enquiries, George Francis at 021632455 or Charles Pipitolu at 021 755 795 or visit magnumequipment.co.nz

Images by DOW staff