Place a third steering axle halfway a factory 8×4 chassis and voilà – a 10×4 truck with 10 tons extra GVWR is born. This Volvo FMX conversion job was done by Terberg Techniek, an experienced Volvo truck and tractor customizer. The FMX is the tough guy of the FM family, specialized in heavy and dirty jobs. AWD configurations are available.
The steel bumper, consisting of three separate parts, and skid plate are in plain sight. Overall, the FMX clearly doesn’t have the smooth face of a dedicated on-highway roller.
The white unit on top of the cab roof is a pressurized filter system, it keeps dust and other pollutants outside the cab.
The third axle is also the only liftable axle in this line-up. To make things work, components on either side of the frame had to be relocated and reshaped. A distinctive feature is the Y-shaped fuel tank, you will find them on all similar conversions.
The Volvo, with an I-Shift automated manual transmission, is rated at a GVW of 49 tons (108,000 lbs). The payload capacity is around 30 tons (66,000 lbs).
AJK from Belgium supplied the all-steel dump bed with solid covers. The truck’s task is hauling sand, clay, gravel, granulates and also hot asphalt. Whatever is needed for the infrastructural project at hand, in other words.
Back in 2016, the Ploegam company took delivery of five identical Volvos 10×4 as replacement for their then 12 years old Terberg 8×8 dump trucks. One of those AWD Terbergs is seen in action here (photo courtesy of Ploegam BV).
And here’s one of the Volvo’s co-workers, brand new and still spotless. But that can change in no time in this muddy line of business (photo courtesy of BAS Truck Center).
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Odd shaped tank is for Adblue exhaust treatment fluid as usual its too small, but with that conversion theres nowhere for a bigger aftermarket one, interesting conversion from an 8 wheeler not one Ive driven or seen yet.
The Adblue tank is on the left side, between axles 1 and 2. See last picture, black tank with blue cap.
As our global streetscapes become more homogeneously filled with small- and mid-sized crossovers, it’s great to see such a distinctive truck that we’ll never see here in the US. No cabover dump trucks let alone any with 5 axles, 3 of them steerable. Nice!
I always enjoy Johannes’ posts with these thoughtful and well executed trucks – I’ve never seen on with 5 axles in the UK but I’ll keep my eye out for one.
Thanks for posting and explaining
Thanks Roger. I don’t think such trucks exist in surrounding countries, the UK included. Not for use on public roads, anyway.
The point is that these are created/converted (as the major manufacturers don’t build them, DAF included) strictly for the Dutch market thanks to the high gross weight limit, up to 50,000 kg for a straight truck or combination vehicle (truck with trailer or tractor with semi-trailer).
Close or equal to 50 tons GVWR isn’t legally possible with 4 axles, but it is with 5. So there you go.