Have you guys ever had days or weeks even where your grader just totally kicks your ass?? For about the past 4 days ive been having great troubles trying to carry grade, im not sure whats up but sometimes it feels like ive never run one before!!!! :Banghead lol well not really, but its pretty bad! Im going to crack a beer in hopes that this curse leaves me tonight!! :drinkup Thanks for listening!
Usually lack of sleep, it catches up over time and then you lose the "sight".
Dunno what your talking about. I will say, most old time blade operators i know had to have the alcohol consumption the day of, not the evening before.
That is why they call it "Blademen's Coffee." Two fingers coffee, three fingers Korbel or some other "seasoning." Never forgot the first taste I got of that from an old time blade guy a long time ago at 9:30 in the morning.
I found that I have the wrong music on and I can't seem to get into the groove, I change music. It seems like I have to change to something fast and busy to still my mind I have the two way on as well and so have lots of distractions my mind goes into autopilot, it seems to just flow, But thats justs me.
I had a uncle that was a welder. He welded all his life. Could not pass the test sober but after a drink he could pass all the positions.
i've had days when i felt like i couldn't find the ground,even had days when the morning sucked, went to lunch come back no problem.:beatsme
Paving dates getting close used to bother me.When you really needed to be on your game and do things right the first time because you were running out of time it seemed like I couldn't do anything right.I will concede that working long hours and not really getting enough rest played a part in it for sure.I remember one particular job that got paved early,I had another day or two of prep work with the grader and got rained out.The boss called me to tell me to stay home for the day.The next day I went to work and it was all paved!!The paving company had a big job going that got cancelled and their silos were full of asphalt so they paved my job and just charged us what it scaled out to take.I would have normally been there in case anything had to be done but I missed it.Ron G
Thankfully my rotten spell only lasted a week or so. Things seem to be back on track up until today when my rear end decided to take a bad one and snap off where the two back tires attach to the body.... This in turn made for a long day dumping trucks in the 37 Degree weather! lol
SEAT TIME!! You never stop learning on a motor grader Danial. It takes dedicated practice, thousands of hours. I put a lot of effort into understanding the geometrical dynamics of the machine itself. For instance, if I'm on grade and I articulate, lean wheels, steer, turn the circle, etc...then certain compensations must be made. Every function of the grader requires understanding. Then theres the operation. Timing is very important for basic blading. Reactions and corrections for changes that can be felt by the front and rear tires. Then there are many, many different approaches for any one given situation. Many people have different ways of doing the same thing. Some know what they're doing, some don't. Just remember its the ultimate machine to master and it won't happen overnight. Some people just cannot ever get it and some will For me, the worst thing I can do is get pissed off about whats going on with my operating. Usually the anger comes from personal insecurity about my own abilities. Now after years of practice, my confidence is where it should be and I have few bad days. When I was first learning, I used to be very preoccupied with what people watching were saying, thinking, etc. Especially during finish work at a time when the 30 man paving crew is there ready to run up your ass. I learned to have "tunnel vision" I totally block other people out of my mind other than where they are for safety. Otherwise I'm super-focused on what I'm doing, what I just did, and what I will do next. Exceptional motor grader work requires superior concentration. But you must be careful not to over-think certain things. Thats hard to explain though. Stick with it, practice every chance you get. I used to stay late and work for free just so I could have more seat time. Eventually, after ehh, around 1800 hrs, I had my ass in a 2006 140H full-time and finishing base at age 21. I used to get so nervous, all the rest of the guys had been out there many years, and were twice my age. However my boss told me several things I'll never forget. 1. Don't ever let 'em see you sweat. 2. Don't ever lose your grade 3. Make every lick count 4. Keep your material contained. 5. "Boy, you run that grader in a straight line" 6. "It ain't no miracle to run a motor grader, it just depends on how bad you want to do it." Later I realized how these applied to sooo many parts of heavy equipment work. I can't remember the rest right now. Best of luck!
GPSGRADER, after reading this thread, I just couldn't move on until complimenting you on what you have just written. I've only been operating a grader for six years and am loving it. I go into each job I do with enthusiasm and reasonable confidence and that plays a major part in the success I achieve in the job I do. If a job comes up that I have never done before, sure, its uncharted waters, but I look at it as another piece of experience under the belt. I had forgotten about all the anxieties and complexes that can occur, especially when first starting out, but if you can overcome those hurdles, you won't stagnate, and your learning abilities will almost be limitless. I can relate to everything that you have written and you are spot on with what you have said, cheers.
Aahhh Sounds like opening a beer (or two) might be the road back!
First gear ,drive a straight line don`t deviate off the line.I use two hands to keep grade ,than its a breeze .my 6 years exp. leveling leases in Alberta,CAN .has made me pro .good luck .I realize this is an old post ,but what the !@#$!!!
To funny good post's yes I think every operator gets that mate. Loose the touch. Get of it. Go drive something else for as long as you can stand it. Me that's about 2 hours. Have a good sleep. Next morning you will run to your Grader believe me. Cheers. :drinkup
Looks like you got plenty of good advice here! Good Luck and Cheers!
I've had days like that, where you just can't keep grade and you always seem to cut too much material. Usually I end up realizing that I'm in a bad mood so I'll sing along with the songs on the radio and that usually puts me in a better mood and usually the blading seems easier
Ears, too much noise, wind or earmuffs. No grade. Its not what you see,( GPS, lasers, blade control,) its what you feel. Climbing on a strage grader it like getting on another mans horse, you have to get to know it. If you can focus on where you are going, what you want to acheive, and understand the material you are working with its easy???!!! Like most good things it just takes a while.