LeeBoy has unveiled its largest ever tracked asphalt paver, the 8680, which is designed to be a commercial paver but with highway class features.
“It’s that in-between machine,” said Brian Hall, LeeBoy asphalt training specialist, during the paver’s unveiling at ConExpo 2023.
Projects for the 8680 include state highways, county roads, subdivisions and large distribution center parking lots. It’s for contractors who don’t need a 40,000-pound mainline paver, yet need the weight and power to handle large commercial and road projects.
The 8680 weighs 28,000 pounds and runs on a 210-horsepower Kubota engine. The company’s next largest paver is the 8616D at 23,450 pounds and a 127-horsepower engine.
Hall noted that many pavers in the 8680's class have 130- to 150-horsepower engines.
“Why do we need 210 horsepower? Because we didn't come to play around,” he said. “We want to make sure that you can get in and out and make sure you’ve got the exact right engine to get the power done all day, every day.”
Chris Broome, LeeBoy senior product manager, says the paver fills a gap in the market that customers were requesting. “This machine features higher production, higher horsepower and will be capable of doing more road paving projects and those larger production jobs we’re seeing more of in the heavy commercial class market.”
LeeBoy gave the paver rubber tracks that Hall said cause it to ride as “smooth as a Cadillac.”
“It really makes for a comfortable day,” he said.
The company beefed up the undercarriage, and the tracks deliver 99 inches of ground contact for a “soft footprint.”
The 8680 also gets a heftier HD Pro Screed, which can pave at widths of 8 to 15.5 feet and weighs 4,750 pounds. The upgraded, heavier screed is based on the same model on the company’s 8530 and 8616D pavers with the same adjustment controls.
“We try to keep everything in what we call the ‘LeeBoy family,’” Hall explained. “If a customer jumps off of an 8616 and gets on this machine, he's completely comfortable with what he has to do.”
Operators will also be able to swivel out at up to a 45-degree angle for better visibility. “If he sits in this position, he can see forward, he can see in the hopper, and he can also see what's going down on the ground,” Hall said.
The operator’s controls are the same on the left and right sides and have touchscreen displays. The weather-proof control panel was first introduced by LeeBoy at ConExpo 2020 for its pavers. The display includes conveyor and auger speed, ground speed and hydraulic pressures.
Along with the high-speed, smooth rubber tracks, the paver is equipped with a four-speed drive system, power tunnel shields and height-adjustable, quick-change augers. It can pave at 300 feet per minute, or 3.4 mph. Travel speed is 616 feet per minute, or 7 mph.
Following ConExpo, the paver entered testing after being under development for a year. It is expected to hit the market in 2024, LeeBoy says.
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