When you absolutely, positively have to move massive amounts of earth and rubble, only the biggest bulldozer will suffice. The world’s largest industrial machinery companies all want the kudos of building the world’s biggest bulldozer, but only one will come out on top. These huge bulldozers push the envelope of what is technically possible. But which one is the biggest bull of them all? Read on to find out.
The first bulldozers were modified from farm tractors, but in the early 1920s a farmer and a draughtsman from the American Midwest filed a patent for an ‘attachment for tractors.’
By the latter years of the 1920s, tracked bulldozers were common, including the Caterpillar 60, but the term ‘bulldozer’ only referred to the attachment rather than the entire machine.
As with all types of agricultural and industrial plant, as the years passed, they got bigger, heavier and more sophisticated. Hydraulics replaced cables and winches as the method for raising and lowering the blade and automatic transmissions replaced manual gearboxes.
Today, the contenders for largest bulldozer in the world are unquestionably gargantuan but they’re also extremely precise, delicate machines capable of incredibly accurate manipulation and movements. Here they are.
Liebherr PR 776 Litronic
Liebherr Bulldozers (Photo: CHRISTOF STACHE via Getty Images)
Length: 5.8 metres | Width: 3.7 metres | Height: 4.4 metres | Weight: 73.1 tons
The PR 776 might not be the world’s biggest bulldozer but it is one of the most powerful, in part due to the fact that the blade is mounted very close to the dozer’s main body. The engine produces 768 hp and it’s one of the most heavy-hitting bulldozers on the market.
It is capable of ripping up rock or soil layers, transporting materials – up to six tons in a single pass – and is used in some of the world’s most difficult terrains and projects.
Shantui SD90-C5
A Shantui Bulldozer (Photo: China Photos via Getty Images)
Length: 11.5 metres | Width: 5.3 metres | Height: 4.6 metres | Weight: 106.2 tons
Shantui is known as the Bulldozer King in China and for very good reason. The SD90-C5 costs up to $3 million and is the company’s largest bulldozer.
When it was launched it was one of the world’s most modern bulldozers in terms of its thermal management system, low background noise and modular design. It generates 708 kW of electrical power, the equivalent of 962 hp.
Caterpillar D11T CD
A Caterpillar bulldozer (Photo: AntonMatveev via Getty Images)
Length: 10.9 metres | Width: 6.7 metres | Height: 4.5 metres | Weight: 112.7 tons
Not quite the biggest dozer in the world, but it’s close. The D11T CD from one of the planet’s most famous heavy plant manufacturers is used mainly as a bulldozer, though it can be put to use in the mining industry for ripping up rock or soil layers which sit atop coal or ore.
With a gross power output of 936 hp, the D11T CD can also be modified for agricultural seeding or rock removal by attaching a ripper – a long metal claw – to the back of the dozer.
Komatsu D575A-3SD
A massive Komatsu excavator (Photo: CHRISTOF STACHE via Getty Images)
Length: 11.7 metres | Width: 7.4 metres | Height: 4.9 metres | Weight: 152.6 tons
The D575A-3SD – SD actually stands for Super Dozer – is the world’s largest bulldozer in current operation. Made by Komatsu Ltd of Japan, the massive blade is capable of moving an incredible 24 tons of earth in a single pass.
The behemoth bulldozer is used in some of the world’s most challenging construction and mining sites and is powered by a 12-cylinder turbocharged, watercooled engine, generating a massive 1,150 hp.
Acco Super Bulldozer
Big bulldozer track (Photo: Philippe Gerber via Getty Images)
Length: 12 metres | Width: 7 metres | Weight: 183 tons
It’s fair to say that the biggest bulldozer ever made has consistently failed to reach its potential.
It was made in Italy by the Umberto Acco Company from predominantly Caterpillar parts and was powered by two, 675 hp diesel engines. It was built for export to Libya to help with large development projects.
However, as a result of global trade restrictions at that time, the biggest dozer in the world never made it to its intended destination and was never put to operational use. The company’s founder passed away and the ASB ended up in a storage shed.
At the end of 2012, the Acco Super Bulldozer was finally moved after a local business owner saved it from destruction, deciding to put it on display. A bizarre but true story about the world’s biggest bulldozer!
