Hi Guys, Is Cat 988 B too heavy to plow parking lots snow? Thanks
I would be concerned with your customers paved services. Using a 96,000 pound machine in a parking lot... even while froze is spinning the dice as far as the surface goes. A 3408 uses more fuel and an 88 while being "the" machine in the day, is not nimble or quick. Fuel expense, weight and machine wear kind of take it out out of the game. I think that traction on a frozen burnished surface will be an issue depending on what tires you are running. A guy with a good running 928 with a plow and snow tires would probably run circles around you.I worked in a mine at 12,000 feet and I have used both a 994 and 988 for stacking snow and throwing it over a berm some where. Generally though we plowed with 16's, a Mack Dump truck with a plow, 824's and 34's and D10's when it really got snarky. I love those 88B's, that said, unless I was plowing a huge volume off highway... I would leave that in the yard, unless you need it to stack.
We used 988A's to plow a huge mall here in Buffalo,NY. They were needed for the huge snow and blizzards but for regular snowfall they were slow and thirsty. Downsized to 980B's much quicker and less fuel.
I would say another problem would be manoeuvrabilty. The steering on the 988B is clunky to say the least, especially if the control linkage between the cab and the steering control valve has not been well-maintained.
Saw one used here on the streets in ‘86 after a huge blizzard. Still had teeth on the it. He was bucket loading the huge piles into trailers.
Same here in Buffalo's blizzard of 1985. The 988B was in a shop without the bucket on. The snow was so high at the door the machine would rise up and hit the ceiling. They used the loader arms to push the snow back. It took awhile but they got it out.
Around here, you typically see a big old dinosaur of a loader in the large parking lots, but most of the smaller snows are cleared with trucks or skid steers, the dinosaur is only an emergency last resort backup. Can't say if I've ever seen a 988b, but some close.
988B sounds a bit big and clumsy for plowing parking lots to me. I'd think something on the order of a 966 or 980 would be better. Especially if the lots are like they like to make them these days around here! Used to be only had to worry about some light poles, now they seem to think they have to look like some botanical garden or city park, can't go more than a couple car lengths without turning one way or the other to miss a curb or planter! Of course a 988B would solve that problem fast but you might not get the job for next winter!
Very Informative, Thank you Sir
Thank you Very Much
I understand it being clumsy but I would not worry about weight here after the first month or so of winter. 4 to 7 feet of frost will easily hold it up.
I wouldn't want to operate one around cars. The visibility to the back is not good. Somebody at the Dam job brought one up to the parking lot for some unknown reason, and he counterweighted Chris the crane operator's subaru right in the A-pillar/windshield. He then parked it and left the job, not waiting to be fired.
I know from experience that these skate along real easy on ice. I watched one slide down a slight incline into a truck it was trying to pull out of a ditch. Both wound up tied together in the ditch.
If not for the damages that would be comical.
It was just terrifying when I watched it happen. No one got hurt. About seven of us had to visit the water closet afterwards.
I know you can get jobs doing snow removal around here but you'd best have chains. I have cleared flat lots with a backhoe or loader, but you eventually have to go down a hill.