The KamAZ-6520 is the twenty-tonne dump truck that took KamAZ into the heaviest class of construction work. It was designed from scratch in the 1990s, built from 2003 to 2021, and 61,230 were made.
KamAZ-6520 at a glance
| Maker | KamAZ, Naberezhnye Chelny |
|---|---|
| First prototype | December 1995 |
| Pilot batch | 10 vehicles, 1997 |
| Production | 2003–2021 |
| Generation | third |
| Layout | 6×4 tipper |
| Kerb weight | 13,100 kg |
| Payload | 20,000 kg |
| Gross weight | 33,100 kg |
| Engine | KamAZ-740.51, 11.76 l V8; Cummins ISLe 350 from 2008 |
| Power | 320 to 400 hp |
| Gearbox | sixteen-speed manual |
| Body volume | 12 to 20 m³, tipping 50° |
| Tyres | 315/80 R22.5 or 320-508R |
| Turning circle | 9.3 m |
| Built 2003–2021 | 61,230 |
The article is based on one source, the Russian Wikipedia page on the KamAZ-6520.
History of the KamAZ-6520
KamAZ wanted a lorry for large construction, quarry and agricultural work, and until the mid-1990s the range stopped at the thirteen-tonne KamAZ-55111 and the fifteen-tonne KamAZ-65115. That was not enough for many branches of the economy, so in the early 1990s the plant’s engineers began work on a new generation of tipper with a payload of twenty tonnes. The first prototype was built in December 1995 and a pilot batch of ten vehicles followed in 1997; the 6520 was designed from scratch rather than as a modernisation of the earlier trucks, and series production began in 2003.
The truck has the classic 6×4 layout with a cab of the 5320 type over the engine, but with considerably changed exterior and interior trim, and with the lighting moved into block headlamps on the bumper. The KamAZ-740.51 of enlarged displacement produced 320 hp with turbocharging and charge-air cooling in its first Euro 2 form; later engines met Euro 3 and the output was raised to 400 hp, and from 2008 some vehicles received the Cummins ISLe 350. Today the engine range reaches Euro 5. Behind it are a single-plate diaphragm clutch and a sixteen-speed manual gearbox, with hydraulic steering and pneumatic brakes; the rear axles have single-stage final drives and planetary hub reductions.
Specifications vary with the engine and body. In its standard form the 6520 weighs 13,100 kg empty, carries twenty tonnes and has a gross weight of 33,100 kg, with a body of 12 to 20 cubic metres that tips 50 degrees to the rear; a three-way tipping version is sold as the 6520-06. Tyres are 315/80 R22.5 or 320-508R, the gradient capability is 25 per cent and the turning circle 9.3 m, tight enough for a site. The four-axle KamAZ-65201 was derived from it in 2003 with the KamAZ-740.73-400 and a ZF transmission, and was itself replaced by the KamAZ-6580 in 2016.
Design and features
- Twenty-tonne payload: a body of 12 to 20 m³ built for quarries and large sites.
- New from the ground up: not a modernisation but a new third-generation design.
- 320 to 400 hp: the KamAZ-740.51 V8, with a Cummins ISLe 350 option from 2008.
- Sixteen speeds: a heavy-duty manual gearbox behind a single-plate diaphragm clutch.
- Three-way tipping option: the 6520-06 version discharges to three sides.
KamAZ-6520 versions
- KamAZ-6520: the standard rear-tipping lorry.
- KamAZ-6520-06: the version with three-way tipping.
- Cummins version: vehicles of 2008 and later with the ISLe 350.
- Euro 5 versions: the current engine specification.
- KamAZ-65201: the four-axle derivative of 2003, replaced by the 6580 in 2016.
The 6520 is the heavier brother of the KamAZ-65115 and came after the KamAZ-55111; the third-generation KamAZ-5460 is its long-haul relative. More trucks are in the KamAZ collection.
Sources
- КАМАЗ-6520, Russian Wikipedia: history, description, specifications
