The ten highest-capacity ultra-class mining haul trucks, ranked by rated payload in short tons.
Quick answer: 1. BelAZ 75710, 2. XCMG XDE440, 3. Caterpillar 798 AC, 4. Caterpillar 797F, 5. Liebherr T 284, 6. Komatsu 980E-5SE, 7. XCMG XDE400, 8. Komatsu 960E-1, 9. BelAZ 75600, 10. Caterpillar 795F AC.
Ultra-class haul trucks are the largest land vehicles in routine commercial use: two-storey machines that carry more weight in a single load than a fully fuelled Boeing 747 weighs at takeoff. Mining companies buy them because cost per tonne moved falls as the truck gets bigger, and manufacturers have spent two decades pushing that curve as far as tyres, axles and haul roads will allow. This list ranks the ten highest-capacity models by rated payload. What stands out is the plateau: one Belarusian outlier sits far above everything else, and then six separate models from four manufacturers cluster within one percent of each other at about 400 short tons, which is roughly where the industry's standard 59/80R63 tyres run out of headroom.
The BelAZ 75710 carries 496 short tons (450 tonnes), about 12% more than anything else ever built, and is the only ultra-class truck with two engines and two steered axles. Its twin MTU 16V4000 diesels produce a combined 4,600 hp driving a diesel-electric transmission, and it rides on eight tyres rather than the usual six.
Launched in 2022, the XDE440 is the largest single-engine haul truck in production at 441 short tons (400 tonnes). It marked Chinese manufacturer XCMG's move into the very top of the ultra class, using an MTU 20V4000 diesel rated at 4,000 hp.
The 798 AC is Caterpillar's AC-drive ultra-class truck, rated at 410 short tons (372 tonnes) and introduced in 2019. It uses a Cat C175-16 engine producing 3,500 hp - less than several rivals - paired with an electric drivetrain tuned for steep, sustained hauls.
The 797F carries 401 short tons (363 tonnes) and is the most numerous ultra-class truck in the world's open-pit mines. Unusually for a truck this size it uses a mechanical drivetrain rather than diesel-electric, with a 4,000 hp Cat C175-20 driving through a seven-speed transmission.
First offered in 2004, the T 284 carries 400 short tons (363 tonnes) and is the longest-serving design at this capacity. Buyers can specify either an MTU 20V4000 C22 or a Cummins QSK95 at 4,000 hp, feeding Liebherr's own AC drive system.
The 980E-5SE matches the 400-short-ton (363-tonne) class standard but brings the most power of any single-engine truck here: a Cummins QSK95 rated at 4,400 hp. Introduced in 2019, it is Komatsu's flagship and the successor to the 960E line.
The XDE400 was XCMG's first entry into the 400-short-ton (363-tonne) tier, arriving in 2015 and giving Chinese mines a domestically built alternative to Caterpillar, Komatsu and Liebherr. It uses the same 4,000 hp MTU 20V4000 diesel found in several Western competitors.
Announced in May 2008 with a 360-short-ton (327-tonne) payload, the 960E-1 was for years the largest truck Komatsu built. It is powered by the company's own SSDA18V170 V18 diesel at 3,500 hp driving a General Electric alternator and twin traction motors.
The 75600 is BelAZ's conventional single-engine flagship, carrying 350 short tons (320 tonnes) on a diesel-electric drivetrain. It is offered with a Cummins QSK78 rated at 2,610 kW (about 3,500 hp), while the closely related 75601 variant substitutes an MTU 20V4000.
Rated at 345 short tons (313 tonnes), the 795F AC is Caterpillar's mid-ultra-class truck and its first AC electric-drive haul truck. Its Cat C175-16 produces 3,400 hp gross under SAE J1995, the lowest output on this list, reflecting a design aimed at fuel burn per tonne rather than outright size.
| # | Name | Manufacturer | Country | Payload (t) | Engine power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BelAZ 75710 | BelAZ | Belarus | 450 t | 4,600 hp (2 x MTU 16V4000) |
| 2 | XCMG XDE440 | XCMG | China | 400 t | 4,000 hp (MTU 20V4000) |
| 3 | Caterpillar 798 AC | Caterpillar | United States | 372 t | 3,500 hp (Cat C175-16) |
| 4 | Caterpillar 797F | Caterpillar | United States | 363 t | 4,000 hp (Cat C175-20) |
| 5 | Liebherr T 284 | Liebherr | Germany | 363 t | 4,000 hp (MTU 20V4000 C22 or Cummins QSK95) |
| 6 | Komatsu 980E-5SE | Komatsu | Japan | 363 t | 4,400 hp (Cummins QSK95) |
| 7 | XCMG XDE400 | XCMG | China | 363 t | 4,000 hp (MTU 20V4000) |
| 8 | Komatsu 960E-1 | Komatsu | Japan | 327 t | 3,500 hp (Komatsu SSDA18V170) |
| 9 | BelAZ 75600 | BelAZ | Belarus | 320 t | 3,500 hp / 2,610 kW (Cummins QSK78) |
| 10 | Caterpillar 795F AC | Caterpillar | United States | 313 t | 3,400 hp (Cat C175-16) |
Ranked by the manufacturer's rated nominal payload capacity in short tons (2,000 lb), with the metric equivalent given in each item's facts. Short tons are used as the ranking metric because that is the unit in which these trucks are specified and marketed, and because several widely reproduced tables mislabel short-ton figures as tonnes - the BelAZ 75710, for example, is often quoted as '496 tonnes' when its actual payload is 496 short tons, or 450 tonnes. Figures come from Wikipedia's ultra-class haul truck table cross-checked against manufacturer specification pages. One entry per distinct model: the Terex MT6300AC and Bucyrus MT6300AC (both 400 short tons) are excluded because they are the same machine sold under successive corporate owners, and the Liebherr T 282C is represented by its current-generation sibling the T 284. Prototypes, one-off builds and trucks no longer offered by any manufacturer are excluded; where a model family spans several generations, the highest-rated current generation is used.
The BelAZ 75710, built in Belarus and first delivered in 2013. It carries 496 short tons (450 tonnes), uses two MTU 16V4000 diesel engines producing 4,600 hp combined, and is the only ultra-class truck with eight tyres and two steered axles. Nothing else in production comes within 50 short tons of it.
Because that is roughly the practical ceiling for a six-tyre truck on standard 59/80R63 mining tyres and a conventional two-axle layout. Going higher means either more tyres and axles - which is why the BelAZ 75710 has eight wheels - or a bigger tyre that no manufacturer currently mass-produces. Four manufacturers converging on the same number is a sign of a shared physical constraint, not coincidence.
Ultra-class trucks are normally specified in short tons (2,000 lb), and this list ranks that way, with the metric tonne equivalent shown in each entry. The distinction matters: 400 short tons is 363 tonnes, so a figure quoted as '400 tonnes' would be about 10% too high. Several widely copied online tables make exactly this mistake.
The industry convention is a rated payload of 300 short tons (270 long tons) or more. That threshold takes in every truck on this list plus a handful of others in the 300-340 short ton band, such as the Hitachi EH5000AC-3 at 326 short tons (296 tonnes), which falls just outside the top ten.
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