Truck-Mounted Rig Configuration for Mountainous Terrain

Working condition profile

Mountainous drilling programs string water supply, investigation, and geotechnical boreholes along valley floors and upland plateaus, connected by paved and graded mountain roads with limited laydown area at each collar. Productivity is measured by drive-in, rig-up, drill, and drive-away time rather than by any single hole's depth. A conventional skid rig would need crane trucks and road permits to move, which is uneconomical when the next hole is hours away on switchbacks, while mixed overburden and hard rock require top-drive torque and multi-method drilling (mud rotary and DTH air). Both winter cold and summer heat fall inside the operating envelope.

Equipment selection

For deeper production and water wells, the configuration uses the truck-mounted all-terrain drilling rig XSC30-1200, rated to 3000 m on 114 mm drill pipe, with a 1200 kN maximum lifting force, a dual-stage top drive outputting 27500 / 18300 N-m, a 571 kW deck engine, and a 15240 mm mast working stroke. It handles mud rotary, DTH air percussion, and foam drilling, and its 14.2 m transport length keeps it road-legal.

For shallower, more mobile investigation and construction holes, the configuration adds the truck-mounted all-terrain drilling rig XSC5-280, rated to 500 m on 89 mm drill pipe, with 280 kN lifting force, 11000 N-m top drive torque, a 164 kW deck engine plus 220 kW chassis power, and a top road speed of 96 km/h on a 54% gradeability chassis. Both rigs are part of the truck-mounted drilling rigs line and rated for -25 C to +55 C ambient work.

Configuration & key specifications

Key specifications below are verified against published product data for the two rig models.

Delivery & field capability

Both truck-mounted rigs drive themselves between valley sites, eliminating crane-and-low-loader mobilization. The heavier XSC30-1200 covers deeper water and production holes, while the quicker XSC5-280 serves the shallower investigation program. Top-drive multi-method drilling lets one rig handle overburden and hard rock without switching equipment, and the tilting mast fits the tight pad geometry common on mountain collars. Programs are typically sized by road distance and hole depth: the light rig to short, shallow jobs and the heavy rig to long, deep ones.