New Life Up North

    With the closing of the Loadmaster plant at Culpeper, Virginia, production was moved to the City of Norway on Michigan's Upper Peninsula during the 1990s. The venerable LM-100 series remained in the new lineup with only minor changes, but was discontinued around the end of the decade. Of all the original series, only the famous LM-400 has survived, a tribute to its rugged construction and popularity with demolition waste haulers. For many, it remains the "Ultimate Weapon" amongst heavy-duty rear loaders.


A Michigan-built Loadmaster LM-120 from 1998



Beefed up late-model LM-100 sweep panel, and curved-face ejector



This unassuming-looking model LM-118 from 1995 has a surprise inside....



... a single-stage, vertically mounted ejector cylinder and floor trough!



1996 LM-125 Edge high-compaction



The Mighty LM-400, Loadmaster's Ultimate Weapon since 1971



LOADMASTER LM-400 VIDEO



Detailed HD video of a late-model LM-431 in action courtesy of George Lanoszka


LOADMASTER: THE NEXT GENERATION

    Joining the classic 400 Series is an all-new lineup, starting with the compact Elite and the full-size Excel/Legacy series rear loaders. These feature modern curved-shell bodies and slide-sweep packers with internally-located cylinders. Polymer blocks carry the slide panel, replacing the steel rollers used on the original models. The flagship Excel has proven itself as a capable heavy-duty rear loader in cities across America, and features a 3.7 cubic yard hopper and fast regenerative pack cycle. The all-new Eclipse Automated Side-Loader was introduced in 2011, and features Loadmaster's own design sprocket arm system.


Bruce Polit inspects a new Loadmaster Excel, part of large order placed by the City of Chicago



The Enviromaster has returned as a dual-stream rear loader



The 2011 Eclipse: a modern ASL for the 21st century


REFERENCES

Vintage Load-Master Literature in PDF at the Classic Refuse Trucks Library






7/4/10 (updated 12/08/24)

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