Concrete delivery in Armenia is a short-radius, heavy, low-speed job: a batching plant, a pour site a few kilometres away, and a drum that must keep turning the whole time. The vehicle configured for Armenia in this category is the Foton Loxa mixer built on the GTL 8×4 chassis, a 12-cubic-metre truck rated at 44 tonnes. It is a simple, heavy, low-geared mixer aimed at construction delivery and infrastructure projects — and its specification sheet carries a weight discrepancy and a basic-model note that a buyer should read before paying.

This article covers one scenario — concrete mixing in Armenia — and one vehicle. Every figure is from the listing. The weight-class note and the basic-model engine reference are flagged rather than smoothed over.

1. The engine and the 5.73 final drive

The mixer runs a Foton Cummins ISGe4-400, an 11,800 ml six-cylinder diesel rated 294 kW / 400 PS at 1,900 rpm with 2,100 N·m of torque at 1,000 rpm. That low-end torque is exactly what a loaded drum wants leaving a plant: pull from barely above idle, not peak power at high rpm. Drive goes through a Fast Gear 9JSD220TA nine-speed iron-case transmission, rod-operated. The rear axle is a 13 t Steyr-stretched unit with a 5.73 speed ratio — a steep, low-geared number that tells you this chassis is built to move a full drum away from a plant and up a site ramp rather than to cruise on a highway.

If your batching plant and your pour sites are close together, 5.73 is the right ratio. If you instead haul concrete long distances between distant plants and sites, a taller ratio might suit better — ask the supplier whether one is offered. The emission standard is Euro IV, with high-pressure common rail and a silicone-oil fan noted on the engine. The hydraulic drive for the drum is a Rexroth motor, which is the established name in mixer hydraulics.

2. The chassis, the axles and the dimensions

The truck is an 8×4 on the GTL platform, wheelbase 1,800 + 3,050 + 1,350 mm, with overall dimensions of 9,935 × 2,495 × 3,900 mm and a chassis length of 9,358 mm. Track is 2,010 mm front and 1,880 mm rear. The frame section is 225 / 320 × 90 × (8 + 7) mm — a heavy multi-leaf frame suited to the 44-tonne class. The front axle is rated 6.5 t and the rear axle group is 13 t. Tyres are 315/80R22.5 at 18PR. The cab is a flat-roof GTL-2490 with an H4 standard interior, and the steering gear is an AM90L-S. Suspension is a front longitudinal leaf spring with shock absorber and a rear integral balanced leaf-spring setup (leaf count 13 / 14 / 12).

Brakes are a dual-circuit air service brake, a spring energy-storage air-cut parking brake, and an engine brake as auxiliary. That engine brake is genuinely useful on a mixer that descends site ramps loaded, because it saves the service brakes on the way down. The product model is BJ5319GJB-AF, and the unit is a heavy truck in the N3 class.

3. The 40-tonne / 44-tonne discrepancy

Here is the line to resolve. The listing title and the working-condition classification both state a gross vehicle weight of 44,000 kg, and the truck is marketed as a 44-tonne mixer. But the vehicle-usage section of the same sheet describes the mixer as having a "maximum total mass 40 t". Those are two different plated weights in one document. They may reflect a rated chassis limit versus a market-specific plating, or a data inconsistency; either way, the number that appears on your registration plate decides your legal payload, and you must know which one you are getting.

A second note: the basic-model section references an ISGe4-380 with a PTO and a 9JSD200T transmission, whereas the main engine line is the ISGe4-400 with a 9JSD220TA. The basic-model entry describes a different (lower-power) variant of the same platform. Confirm that the unit quoted to you is the 400 PS / 9JSD220TA configuration and not the 380 PS basic model, and get the rated gross weight — 40 t or 44 t — stated in writing.

4. Drum, body and the daily pour

The drum capacity is given as 12 m³ in the listing title, and the tank body material is T980CGJ. The chassis is built for construction delivery and infrastructure work, with an activity range noted below 3,000 m altitude — relevant for Armenian high-plateau sites, though confirm your specific site elevation against that figure. The mixer is a transfer vehicle between batching plants and pour sites, which is the standard Armenian concrete pattern. The clutch is a Φ430 pull type with manual hydraulic air-assist operation, and the drum is driven hydraulically rather than mechanically from the engine.

Concrete Mixer Truck · Armenia

Foton Loxa GTL 8×4 — 12 m³, 400 PS

Foton Cummins ISGe4-400, 11,800 ml · 400 PS · 2,100 N·m @ 1,000 rpm · Fast Gear 9JSD220TA 9-speed · rear 13 t, 5.73 · GVW 44,000 kg · Euro IV · Rexroth drum motor

Listed at $70,880 · Construction delivery and infrastructure projects

View full specification →

Axle-load law and the road reality in Armenia

Armenia follows the post-Soviet weight standard — a single-axle limit around 10 t, a tandem limit up to 24 t and gross combination weight near 44 t — enforced by the Ministry of Transport. Landlocked Armenia hauls freight over mountain roads to Georgia and Iran. The practical catch is that the mountain grades and the long crossings to the ports make durability and parts the deciding factors. The core business is mountain freight and copper haulage, and a truck that is over on any axle is held at the weighbridge until the excess is shed.

For a mixer the constraint is the site access and the bridge limits on the way to the pour, where a full drum plus the chassis must stay inside the legal axle caps.

What Armenian fleets already run

In Armenia the fleet is a mix of Russian KamAZ and MAZ, reconditioned European trucks (MAN, Scania, Volvo), and the newer Chinese entrants — Sinotruk, Shacman and Foton — that are winning share on price and a clean bill of health. The Russian and European stock wins on familiarity and parts but loses on age and the rebuild cost that lands within a couple of years. The new Chinese truck wins on warranty, and in a market where a breakdown on a remote corridor is expensive, a fresh truck is often the cheaper bet. Foton’s pitch is that middle ground.

5. Pre-order checklist for the Armenia Loxa mixer

Resolve the 40 t / 44 t gross weight. The title and working-condition class say 44,000 kg, while the usage text says 40 t. Get the plated weight in writing — it decides your legal payload.

Confirm the engine variant. The basic-model note references a 380 PS ISGe4-380; the main line is 400 PS. Verify the quoted unit is the ISGe4-400 with 9JSD220TA.

Check the 5.73 ratio against your sites. It is right for short, steep, loaded site ramps. If you haul long distances, ask about a taller ratio.

Confirm site altitude. The sheet notes activity below 3,000 m. Verify your pour sites fall within that range or ask about derating.

The price shown is the published listing figure and is a starting point for enquiry, not a landed cost — freight, duties, and local registration sit on top. Settle the weight and engine questions first; they change the payload and the truck you actually receive.