Excavator tow dolly - GIF

[Altair]

Excavator tow dolly




Previously:

Cement mixer bouncing while being towed on highway - GIF
Rotating flatbed tow truck - GIF
Truck towing truck towing truck - photo
Truck-mounted crane for towing cars - GIF
Towing a truck off its rear axle - GIF

[jdurand]

Looking at that truck, that's a big excavator!

I've been in a pit mine a couple of times (not mining), had to have a short class on safety. As the tires are taller than my car they advise staying out of the way of the trucks zooming past.

[desbromilow]

They're called "Sliepners" (pronounced as sleepner) and used on even bigger excavators that that, and bigger trucks as well. The excavator using tips a bucket full of dirt/ore in the back of the towing truck as a "cushion" between the underside of the bucket, and the bottom of the tray. The whole system is reliant on the brakes of the truck, so moving on ramps is usually done with some serious risk assessment and controls. I do know some mining regulators are discouraging/ banning the use of sliepners due to various mishaps.
Why use them? - moving an excavator from one part of a pit to another is time consuming (slow tramming speeds), and introduces issues of track wear, and other mechanical issues. The use of a float, or sliepners means you move the excavator in reduced travel time, and significantly reduced track wear issues.