These two trucks have a lot in common. Same drive configuration, same horsepower, same engine displacement, same wheelbase, same rear axle. One is used at $29,880 and one is new at $52,200.

That is $22,320 — a difference large enough to buy a second used truck outright, or to fund a great deal of maintenance on the one you have.

This is the cleanest used-versus-new comparison in the whole range, because the hardware is close enough that you are genuinely weighing condition against warranty rather than specification against specification.

The two trucks side by side

Note the identical wheelbase: 3,825 + 1,350 mm on both. That is the same underlying platform, which makes this a genuine like-for-like rather than two different trucks that happen to share a badge.

The weight figures do not line up, and you need to know why

The used truck lists a total towing mass of 39 tonnes. The new truck lists a GCW of 70,000 kg. On paper the new truck is rated for nearly twice as much.

But be careful. Gross combination weight and total towing mass are not always the same measurement, and these two sheets may not be using the same basis. The used truck lists 7,000 kg front and 18,000 kg rear axles, which sums to 25 tonnes — consistent with a 25-tonne tipper in this class. The new truck lists 9 t front and 16 t rear, which sums to 25 tonnes as well.

In other words, the two trucks have essentially the same axle capacity. The 39 t and 70 t figures are almost certainly measuring different things, or one of them is a towing figure rather than a combination rating.

Do not let the 70,000 kg figure decide this purchase until the supplier defines it in the same terms as the 39 t. If they turn out to be the same measurement, the new truck is dramatically more capable. If they are not, the two trucks are far closer than the headline suggests — and the $22,320 becomes much harder to justify.

What the used truck gives you

$22,320

On a single truck that is a lot of money. Across a fleet of five it is $111,600, which is two more used trucks.

A National V certificate

The used truck is homologated to National V. The new truck lists no emission standard. For the second time in this series, the used vehicle has the better paperwork. If your market requires certification, this alone could decide it.

A high-roof cab

Against a flat roof on the new truck. For a driver spending long shifts in the cab, the extra headroom and storage is a real daily benefit.

A marginally bigger body

5,600 × 2,350 × 1,500 mm, which is roughly 19.7 cubic metres, and 50 mm wider internally than the new truck’s stated 2,300 mm class. The new truck does not publish a body dimension, so this is not a clean comparison — ask.

A 440 rear axle and an 18,000 kg rear group

Against a 16-tonne rear axle on the new truck. More capacity at the back, which is where a tipper’s load sits.

What the new truck gives you

ABS, published

The new truck lists ABS. The used truck sheet publishes nothing about brake control. On a 25-tonne tipper working a quarry or a mine, that matters.

A known zero history

No previous operator, no unknown overload history, no hidden accident damage. For a dump truck — which is the hardest-worked vehicle in almost any fleet — that is worth a great deal. Tippers get overloaded, they get tipped on uneven ground, and they get worked well past what the specification intended.

Automatic air conditioning, power windows, central locking

Listed as standard. The used truck publishes none of its cab equipment.

A desert air intake system

The new truck’s product description specifically mentions a specialised desert air intake protecting the Cummins engine. If you work in dust — and quarry and mine sites are nothing but dust — that is a genuinely valuable feature that extends engine life.

A 350-litre aluminium tank and automatic air conditioning

Both listed. The used truck publishes neither.

The honest case for each

Buy the used GTL 400 if capital is tight, you can inspect it properly, you need a National V certificate, you want the high-roof cab, and your work is within the used truck’s real capability. A well-maintained 400 hp Cummins tipper on this platform has a lot of working life left, and $22,320 is real money.

Buy the new GTL-E 400 if uptime is worth more than capital, you operate in dust and want the desert air intake, you want published ABS and a full warranty, you need automatic air conditioning and modern cab equipment, and your market has no emissions floor.

For mine site and quarrying work specifically — which is what the new truck is marketed for — we would lean new. That is the single hardest duty cycle in road transport, and a used tipper of unknown history is the wrong place to save money.

Save money on trucks that sit in traffic. Do not save money on the one that gets tipped on a slope, loaded by an excavator and driven over rock all day.

What to check on the used truck before you commit

The listing is honest that this is a basic vehicle that will be refurbished, with basic maintenance, exterior repainting, tyre replacement and basic servicing, and a price that fluctuates by several hundred dollars depending on inland transport and refurbishment costs. That transparency is good. But you should still establish the following in writing.

Hours and kilometres on the chassis and engine, with service records. On a tipper, engine hours matter more than distance.

The condition of the tipping gear and the subframe. A tipper that has been overloaded or tipped on a slope will show it in the hoist cylinder, the pivot points and the subframe-to-chassis mounts.

The body. Look for cracking at the welds, particularly at the front of the floor and at the corners, and check whether the floor has been patched.

The rear suspension and axle. The sheet lists a spring count that does not parse cleanly, which is worth resolving — and check for cracked leaves and worn hangers.

And the refurbishment scope, item by item. "Basic servicing" is not a specification. Ask what will actually be replaced rather than inspected.

Where the extra $22,320 actually goes

Both trucks share a 3,825 + 1,350 mm wheelbase and an 11.8-litre Foton Cummins rated at 400 hp with 2,100 N·m. So the price gap is not the engine and it is not the wheelbase. It is everything bolted around them.

Start with the frame and suspension. The new GTL-E runs a 225/320 mm high-tensile frame section with 10 front and 14 rear leaves, an axle group of 9 t front with 13 t and 16 t rear, and a 4.76 final drive. The used GTL carries a 7,000 kg front and 18,000 kg rear axle on a sheet that does not publish a frame section. The new truck is specified for the load; the used one is specified for the road.

Then the environment. The new GTL-E is fitted with a desert air intake system, which the manufacturer explicitly ties to longer service intervals and reduced engine wear in high-dust work. If your trucks load under an excavator in a quarry, that is not a marketing line — dust ingestion is the most common cause of premature engine wear on site tippers, and it is the single item on this truck that a used machine cannot be retrofitted with cheaply.

Tyres and fuel are smaller but real: eleven 13R22.5 18PR mixed-pattern tyres and a 350-litre aluminium tank on the new truck, against ten 12R22.5 18PR on the used one. One more tyre per cycle, and a size that is easier to source in most export markets.

What you give up is the roof. The used truck is a high-roof cab; the new GTL-E is flat-roof. On a machine that spends its day within a few kilometres of the loading face, that is a small loss. On one that runs an hour down a highway to the dump site, drivers notice it every shift.

The honest framing: $22,320 buys frame, axles, dust protection and zero history — and costs you the high roof. Only the first four matter on a quarry.

Compare the two tippers side by side