It's time again to start making plans for the big show. I'm planning on going and as we have done in the past we've had a meet and greet of HEF members. So anyone going chime in and let's see if we can put something together. Looking forward to it.
Registration is cheap right now, $149/head until January. Where y'all normally stay? I've been told Fremont Street/downtown works well.
Sounds good, I'm goin to Minexpo in September.
I like downtown, specifically the Golden Nugget but it can be hard to get transportation during a convention. The wife and I were in Vegas for a vacation and we stayed at the Golden Nugget on our last night. Unbeknownst to us there was a tech convention going on that started the day we were to fly out. Almost didn't make it to the airport because there weren't enough cabs to handle the demand. There will be bus service for the convention from certain hotels so check which ones are on the route before you book a room. I prefer to stay on the strip with access to the monorail as it will take you to the convention and it's easy to get back to your hotel. Booking airfare and rooms now.
I plan on going, as well as MineExpo later this year. I am not sure which days yet, but would sure like to meet up again with any who can make it. CM, I believe I owe you one this time.
I reserved a room at the cockroach and bedbug inn just in case, but I don't imagine I will make it. The last one turned into cancellations and the worst week of my life, so I'm not going to get my hopes up for this one. Hope you lads have better luck.
I am kicking around thoughts of going, would be fun to meet up. I know I would enjoy the show the bad part is getting rid of the ideas that I need to buy something new and greater.
Rooms booked at MGM and airfare is a done deal.:thumbsup I'll take that and raise you one.
There is an unsubstantiated rumor that I'm going to be there.
Good deal.:drinkup Our rooms and airfare are booked looking forward to it.
has any body registered just tried to register on web site and that page won't load
Yup, was a bit hinky, but got it done.
Yeah I had some issues with my registration.
Haven't tried the Conexpo site yet, but airfare and rooms are booked. Going to be 3 of us plus the wives. We decided on the Excalibur.
I was kinda hoping I didn't have to go this year but no luck. I will be there from Sat to Sat.
Is everyone staying for the full duration and if for a few days which ones? Starting to plan but can't make a week out of it.
We're getting in Sunday night, leaving Friday at noon.
Think I'm in on Monday, out on Saturday morning....
I will be going for the first time this year. Flying in Monday and out Friday.
They're forecasting 130,000 plus attendance... crazy
I'm flying in Monday night and leaving Saturday noon with a co-worker
Cool. The wife and I are coming in Tuesday and leaving Saturday.
I got a Deere deal on Thursday Eve anybody else going there
I am going. I will be there from Wednesday to Sunday. Is there a time or place that we all in HEF could meet and greet? I would love to meet all of you. Thanks
I'm going to a Deere thing Tuesday evening at their hotel. Was told 1000 guest will be attending.
So, who's going to coordinate the HEF meeting?? Kinda been looking forward to put faces to names.
I have plans for Wednesday and Thursday evenings. I have a feeling that any one chosen time won't work for everybody. Not sure how to handle that...
What is the secret handshake anyway? But then if you told me it wouldn't be secret anymore.....
That's one of the reasons we're getting together. We have to come up with one...
Time's closing in and we have to get this together. I come in Tuesday and leave Sat. The only plans I have is for a concert Friday night, so I'm open from Tuesday to Thursday. I'm not a big enough fish to get invited to the fancy after parties, so if anyone has a friendly exhibitor that we could meet up at let us know. That's how we've done it the last two times, meet up at an exhibitor and it worked well. Crusher buckets in '08 which led to the vacuum cleaner races (there is a thread in the archives on this) and dinner after the meet and greet in 2013 which was a blast, I skipped 2011. I'm fairly familiar with the Vegas strip so we could meet somewhere other than the convention but in the past it's been more fun to meet up at the show.
Some tomfoolery from 2008. The meet and greet from 2013.
General Equipment invited us to their Wednesday evening party at Lagasse Stadium. Sounds to me like most everyone will be into town by Wednesday, so maybe us guys that get there earlier can scope things out?
Digger where are u going on wed? I will be working an event that night if they dony ask for me to give up my ticket. I hope to see all you guys try your hand at the Contests in the gold lot. I will be on one of them.
I've never been there before what all contests is there?
We managed to beg a couple of invites to our local CAT dealer's party, so that's one we don't want to miss. I'm curious about the contests too...
Same here, only the Komatsu dealer. Should be a good time.
There is a beer garden in the Gold lot that we could meet up at. The Gold Lot IIRC is where the competitions were held in past.
Beer garden sounds like a good time.
My thought was we could have multiple days of meet ups for ones who have prior engagements and can't make a set meet and greet.
Why in the hell does the forum not want to load up?
Don't work for me either
I'll be there, flying down in the morning
Hope I have feet left tomorrow morning. Showing the wives the sights. I think I've walked 20 miles.
The wife and I will be there tomorrow afternoon.
There was some sort of server problem this morning. Obviously it's sorted out now. I concur with CM that we might need to have multiple times to meet, just so nobody gets left out.
Meet and greet 3PM wed. at the south Gold lot beer garden.
We snagged some invites to the Case party at the Brooklyn Bowl. Pretty decent show. Sitting on the terrace if anyone else is here.
Had fun yesterday talking with these guys
Some pretty shady looking characters there. I might be inclined to run away if I see that gang coming towards me. If you see a HEF hat at the show, it'll probably be my head that's in it. Be sure to introduce yourself.
10-4 on that I will try and keep my eyes open we're going to try and check out the cranes and the stuff over in the gold lot today are they doing any competitions over there
I saw a couple of mini-ex ones yesterday, tried one. Sucks they set the machine at idle, not much control there.
I saw them this morning your right their not letting you wind them up to have better control
The Link Belt challenge looks pretty legit. In line right now.
So how are we going to know who's who.
Are you guys at the wacker neuson beer garden by the wolf tower crane
We may have kinda screwed this up today. There's a beer garden in the corner of the Gold lot, right next to the Bobcats. 100 feet away, there's more of what might be described as a beer stand. CM and I both found that one, and stood there and talked for a good hour before we ever realized that the bigger beer garden was someplace different. Wondered the whole time whether anybody else would show up. Duh. I apologize to anybody that was in the right place at the right time. Now that we know what we're talking about, if we want to try again tomorrow, I'm game. I did run into Jake, just by chance, and we had a real nice conversation. Shimmy's comment above, about the monorail was pretty accurate. I think they recruited the guys attending the doors from the sardine cannery. If anybody has a suggestion for trying again tomorrow that sounds like it'd be more difficult to screw up than today's attempt, I'm open to suggestions. (Just needs to be posted before we head out the door.)
Anybody staying at the MGM or just hanging out
How about by a contest??? Wacker, Volvo, Link Belt, whatever TF doesn't matter to me. We were at the Wacker garden until about 330, until I figured out that we were NOT at the "South" garden. By the time we walked our sorry asses to the Bobcat garden, it was after 330. We stopped at the "stand" west of the Bobcat garden, but not knowing any of you guys, we really don't know who we're looking for.
Hey Jakebreak. Did you hear someone holler "Jakebreak" as you walked past the Wacker garden? I was fairly certain that it was you according to your pics yesterday. We are staying at the Excalibur, right across street from the MGM.
Man I'm sorry I didn't hear you hollering at me yesterday I was with my brother in law and he had some friends we were trying to find if I had heard you I definitely would have stopped and had a few drinks with you
LOL. I said that to CM at one point--Everybody else is probably milling around within a few feet of each other, but since nobody knows each other in person, they're never going to make the connection. Ben Witter said somewhere upthread that he'd be working at one of the Volvo contests this afternoon. Why don't we try this--I'll be at the Volvo contest area by around 2, and then wander over to the previously discussed beer garden, by the Bobcat display, around 3. The HEF hat worked for Jake to identify me yesterday. Maybe today I'll wear the hat and the T shirt. Also, hopefully some of the others that had posted earlier that they'd be here have made it, and have just been too busy to post this week.
The wife and I are staying at MGM. I good for 2 at the Volvo contest. And beer garden by Bobcat at 3.
I try to Bee There too...
You guys want me to get a show girl or two to walk around with a HEF flag, so you can find each other? Wish I was there. windy and cold here.
Nah, we've already got one.
I was around the bobcat beer garden yesterday around 315 but didn't see any hef hat might have to look harder I would like to meet up with you guys if I could. A wrencher guy pry can't compete on the contests like the rest but I will cheer you on
The wives were over us looking at toys, so we won't be back up to the show. Well, I guess there's always 2020.
And you couldn't explain that sitting around the beer garden BSing wasn't the same thing as looking at toys? I'm disappointed... It was a real pleasure to meet Still learn'n, and MKTEF. It's disappointing too, to have missed the other guys who may or may not have made it. Looking at the toys is great, but on the whole, meeting and conversing with people, HEF members and otherwise, has been the high point of the trip. We're going to see Hoover Dam today, another first for me, and leaving for home at zero dark thirty in the morning, so I won't be back to the show either. 2020? Well, maybe....
Digger it was nice to meet you I had a great time visiting I wish I would of had a chance to meet everyone else I will definitely be going back in 2020 once again sorry shimmy for not hearing you hollering at me I really enjoy reading and learning from everybody on hef
Had a great time yesterday bs'ing with still learning, digger and MKTEF. It's fascinating to hear what MKTEF does. Shimmy should've brought the wives, my better 1/2 enjoyed hanging out, she was actually recruiting new members.
Yeah, that's not happening. Our wives want about as much to do with construction equipment as we want to do with Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and I'm not even kidding a little bit.
So now that the dust has settled a little bit what did everyone think of the show! I thought it was super seemed a lot busier than it was in 2014, pretty good place to have a show been to Bauma in Munich a few time and while maybe 2 or 3 times the size it's just not as fun! Haha. Favourite part of the show? Probably the Writgen stand or the Volvo stand. So many big shines big boys toys just waiting to get dirtied!!!! Raff
This year was my first time going I had a blast I wish I would of had more time to see everything I'm sure that's next to impossible I had a great time meeting digger I wish I would of had time to meet up with everyone from hef their definitely is a lot going on I wish I could of taken the shiny new toys for a test drive
They really need to make it more than four and a half days, just too damn much to see there. But then I suppose they assume most attendees are only interested in certains aspects, unlike nerds like me that want to see and touch everything there.
I never bothered to do the math, but last time i was there an engineer at the deere booth said it would be 86 miles to walk all 4 sides of every booth
I had a great time at the show and meeting CM1995, D Lang , Digger and MKTEF. I heard that if you walk all the pathways that it was 52 miles this show or something like 82 km
I have a polar watch on my arm counting steps.. I had 15km thursday, then 10, then 13 and 12,5 on Friday. In total 50,5 km. (We skipped saturday, leaving early) Of course there is some walking from and back to the hotel room at Circus, but still. Realy enjoyd Meeting you guys at the beer garden. Show girl was realy Nice, as last time!
It was very nice to catch up once again MKTEF, always interesting to hear what projects you are tasked with and the obstacles that come with it. Conex 2020? We'll be there.
Was at the Conexpo this year for the first time in LV and it is fabulous. Made the mistake of only going for the last 2 days and it's too rushed. I understand BAUMA in Germany is excellent too. So many great memories and equipment on display. If you've never made it - plan for it in 2 years.