Classic dumpers: The R15 Euclid rear dump truck

The backbone of the New Zealand Ministry of Works haul truck fleet on hydroelectric power projects from the 1940s into the mid 1970s, the ubiquitous Euclid R-15 can still occasionally be found earning it’s keep.
In 1934 Euclid became the first manufacturer in the world to successfully produce a dedicated off highway truck. Prior to this time other manufacturers had offered dump trucks (notably Mack), but these were adaptations of existing on-highway vehicles and often fell to pieces under punishing conditions.

Euclid off-highway trucks were purposely manufactured for the hard jobs. Extremely ruggedly built and simple in design and construction, the R-15 could, and did, absorb a tremendous amount of punishment and still come back for more.

Originally introduced in the USA in 1936 as the type 1FD, the majority of the R-15 machines imported into New Zealand were actually built in the UK and were available with a choice of five engines – Leyland, AEC, Cummins, Rolls-Royce or GM.

Two body styles could also be fitted depending on the machines intended application; standard (with parallel side sheets) and quarry (with tapered side sheets and added external and internal reinforcing). Both were rated at 15 tons capacity and held approximately 12 cubic yards. Examples of both body styles were imported.

Employed worldwide and enjoying one of the longest continuous production runs of any off highway dump truck to date, the Euclid R-15 in its various sub types was produced literally in the thousands,

It was replaced by the R-18 in the USA commencing around 1957 and by the R-17 in the UK in 1968.

The R-17 continued in production under the Terex brand name following the US anti-trust lawsuit in 1968.