The Champion 100T Grader
May 1, 2008
By Keith Haddock, Contributing Editor
The 100T was a hydraulically operated grader with an articulated frame and tandem rear wheel drive. An 8-speed power-shift transmission provided a top speed of 35 mph.
Champion's 100T was the world's largest grader ever sold commercially. Was it too big for the market?
In 1975, Dominion Road Machinery Co. of Goderich, Ontario, Canada, builders of the renowned Champion line of motor graders, took a bold step when it introduced the world's largest production-model grader. Originally designated the Champion 80T, this monster of the grading world tipped the scales at 180,000 pounds. With its wide, 24-foot blade and a GMC V16-71T diesel engine rated at 700 bhp, it was intended for use in surface mining operations to maintain roads for the largest haulers, or to reclaim vast areas of land.
In 1977, Dominion Road Machinery Co. became Champion Road Machinery, and the following year, the 80T grader was upgraded to the 100T and nicknamed the "Big Mudder." Changes included several modifications for increased strength, which raised its weight to 202,000 pounds. The same GMC engine was retained, but an optional Cummins VT-1710 at 700 bhp was also available. While huge in size, the 100T still boasted all the versatile blade movements found on smaller graders including blade power side shift and tilt, front wheel lean, and 45-degree circle rotation either left or right. Overall length was 50 feet 3 inches, width 14 feet 9 inches, and height to top of cab 17 feet 11 inches.
Only a few 100T graders were sold for work in surface coal mines, including locations in Illinois and the Appalachians, and also in the Canadian oilsands operations. Low sales numbers forced Champion to drop the 100T from its product line, and the last one was shipped in 1985 before even 10 had been built. Champion sold the manufacturing rights of the model 100T to Dom-Ex Corp. of Hibbing, Minn., in 1989, and continued successfully with the rest of its line. Volvo purchased Champion Road Machinery in 1997, and today markets a line of modern graders under the Volvo brand name.
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