The JCB wheel excavator, which looks like an indestructible reinforced concrete vehicle with a boom and bucket, has finally been launched in the United States. We first saw the HYDRADIG 110W JCB called the wheel toolbox, which was officially unveiled at last year’s Bauma motor show in Munich. While the machine’s unique design has not changed, JCB has placed a new 4-stage final ECOMAX diesel engine under the hood. The machine made its North American debut at the 2017 show.
The new JCB ECOMAX uses a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and AdBlue (DEF) instead of diesel particulate filter to deliver 108 horsepower, the final level 4 standard. JCB says the engine uses 4 percent less fuel than the first-generation hydraulic engine. But this is probably the first time you’ve seen or heard of hydraulic excavations, so let’s talk about the design of this machine.
With this excavator, JCB places the engine, transmission and tank on the chassis of the machine rather than on the superstructure. In addition to giving the co-driver a slimmer look over the four wheels, it also allows the driver to see all four wheels from the cab, JCB said. In fact, JCB says the visibility of the hydradig is “Unparalleled.”
The design also makes the machine more stable because it has a lower center of gravity, while the added weight in the chassis reduces the balance weight and the tail swing, increasing the obstacle avoidance. Hydraulic propulsion also features full wheel steering, triple jointed arms, a trailer that can reach 25 mph and weigh 7,716 pounds, which means it can be used for trailer accessories and other work tools.
Inside the cab, the operator will find a 7 inch display with a rotating control, a 12 volt power outlet, a USB port, a 3.5 mm headphone Jack, climate control and a high backrest, heated, air suspension seat. JCB’s hydraulic quick hook system is compatible with hydraulic buckets and has three buckets: Small and large general purpose buckets and grading buckets.
