Ground Force has been building fuel & lube trucks for nearly 30 years with the first fuel & lube trucks designed for conventional chassis’ back in 1987. Rigid frame fuel & lube trucks followed in 1995, but the demand for yet another chassis option became prevalent in 1998. “Soft underfoot mining conditions, high maintenance and repairs on conventional units, desire for ‘more wheels on the ground’ for added safety, chassis availability and the desire for increase payload took us to the articulated chassis.”

The first articulated fuel & lube truck was built in 2001 on a used Cat D400E. The first 700 series truck soon followed in 2001 designed for a new Cat 725. “These trucks were designed to carry diesel fuel and multiple oils and coolants.” Seeing the need for a longer frame to increase safety, Ground Force introduced the frame stretch in 2001. Soon after, Caterpillar started building a long wheel base chassis, offering the longer frame on new articulated trucks chassis.

The concept for these trucks evolved after several years of providing both conventional and rigid frame trucks to the industry. “Utilising the articulated chassis as the prime mover, over the years Ground Force has refined the articulated fuel & lube body offering increased safety features such as baffled product tanks, optimal centre of gravity, and easy ground level operator access. Along with efficient product delivery, heated and enclosed body options, and full product filtration, we set the standard for fuel & lube delivery.

“With the desire to offer multiple options to the customer, as well as an understanding of how each truck will perform for specific site conditions, Ground Force continues to strive for product improvement on our fuel & lube solutions as well as innovative new ways to provide service to your fleet. Ground Force offers fuel & lube delivery on conventional, articulated and rigid frame chassis, as well as in skid form with multiple configurations for both surface and underground mining.”

Ground Force Worldwide offers full product support after the sale, including field service commissioning, installation and training, with part sales and product support. Parts and service are also available through the worldwide network of Cat dealers.