How the Belarusian MoAZ-49011 competed with the K-700

First, it is worth recalling what the Mogilev plant, founded back in 1935, is like: this enterprise is a division of the largest holding company in Belarus, OJSC BELAZ. It is clear that MoAZ "will not be exchanged for trifles" and its product range includes multi-power wheeled road and construction equipment: cranes, rollers, dump trucks, loaders, etc. What was missing in the assortment was a powerful agricultural tractor. And MoAZ decided to fill this gap by starting the development of the 90 model in the late 49011s. But how successful was it to create a competitor to the K-700? This is a question worth looking into.

What is the MoAZ-49011 tractor

The equipment, made on the basis of an articulated articulated frame, was assigned the fifth traction class. The tractor has a rigid undercarriage and hydraulic steering, which provides rotation at an angle of up to 36 °.


The required pressure in the system, 16 MPa, is created by the pump NSh-100A. The hydromechanical transmission includes a six-speed gearbox. Some basic technical parameters of MoAZ-49011:

✅ weight - 14 tons (on the front axle - 5 tons, rear - 8,5 tons)
✅ turning radius - not less than 7,8 m
✅ hinge frame folding angle – 36°
✅ power plant - YaMZ-238ND5
✅ speed - up to 35 km / h
✅ fuel consumption - 17,1 kg per hectare of cultivated land

The Yaroslavl eight-cylinder engine YaMZ-238B (sometimes installed YaM3238 ND 5) provided power of 300 "horses" and thrust of 50 kN. The tractor has drum brakes on both axles. "Kirovets" had similar technical characteristics, but was lighter (weight 12 tons) and its gauge was already - 1910 mm (for MoAZ - 2115 mm). The Belarusian tractor was intended for agricultural work requiring the use of powerful equipment with wide-cut agricultural implements. MoAZ-49011 is capable of carrying attachments with a total weight of up to 6600 kg.


In appearance, the brainchild of the Mogilev plant is a bit like Kirovets. However, if you look into the cab, you will see: the tractor driver in MoAZ sits in the center, and not on the side, as in the K-700.

Factory testing

They were successful, as the commission considered, and the tractor was put on the conveyor. In total, no more than 25 units of equipment were produced (there is no exact data). But then they refused to further release the novelty. It was understood that the MoAZ-49011 would compete with the Russian Kirovets, at least in Belarus. However, the villagers preferred the K-700. The second point: the Mogilev unit was not planned to be included in competition with the Minsk Tractor Plant, since it produced "small things". But unexpectedly, in 2003, MTZ demonstrated another and already energy-saturated model - Belarus-2822.


And this was only the beginning: then the Minskers began to produce other, no less powerful units.

The technique was also tested in a real environment. Three tractors "trained" in one of the Belarusian farms. After several seasons, a problematic place was revealed - a hydromechanical transmission. Also, tractor drivers noted the weakness of the frame, an unfinished air cleaner. But the automatic transmission did not cause any complaints. The general opinion of the "testers": the tractor is "raw" and needs to be improved. They tried to modernize the car at the head enterprise - BELAZ. The overall result for MoAZ-49011 was sad: the project was slowly closed down, leaving "for later".


Today, it is only known that some "surviving" tractor models are still in operation at Belarusian agricultural enterprises. Even offers for sale come across: for example, for MoAZ 49011 produced in 2006, they ask for 1,48 million rubles. And for a separate second-hand engine YaM3238 ND 5 - 390-400 thousand rubles.