Hello, well here in England we have what the media call the 'credit crunch' dont know if that term is worldspread now, guess its gotta be, well like most groundwork outfits, we had hardly anywork in nov-dec, and start of jan (diff story now, jobs booked in for next 3years!! ideal) so us operators persuaded our boss to get us a load of paint, new compnay graphics, and model stickers. We reprayed 4 machines tailweights, 3 terex site dumpers, fitted new quick hitches, and fitted new tracks, new cd players in everymachine, bascially tarted them all up! here is a few pics, our pc 210 is being preped as i speak, a full respray! its nice to start this year with smart equipment, though everyone is taking it slow to not make the first scratch! anyone else been doing the same with their kit now work dropped off???
If the media and the economists would just shut up about the recession , there would not be one . I am just about to give my excavatoer a paint job , i'm really over the Red paint the factory applied .
you have hit the nail on the head there! if they didnt make such a song and dance about it, it wouldnt be as bad as everyone makes out it is, because its in the news day in day out!
It's a real problem here fellas. No mistake. There is work about, but nothing that amounts to more than a couple of months. My area is sinking under the weight of parked equipment and sleeping operators.
The public , and businesses are just not game to spend any money . And you can't blame them , all this talk of doom and gloom puts uncertainty into their minds . They look at their bank balance and decide to leave it alone in case the worlds going to end and they need to buy groceries . I don't know about you guys but i'm doing my bit to keep the economy moving , i have never spent so much money on gear . I just put all this talk out of my head and carry on , the Puppeteers are pulling the strings . You watch , a "miracle" will take place soon and we will be in boom times again . Take advantage of all the cheap gear at the moment , it will save you thousands , help those who are doing it tough and also keep the dollar circulating . "Yes We Can " .
This is what I tell people almost every day.
It's good to think positive but you better take care that your money is secure for some time yet. Right now you can't borrow money for a machine unless you can prove you got so much that you don't need to borrow. I had one aquantance tell me he was required to have a signed work contract to show he could pay banker. Two years ago you didn't need any cash and the banker used the machine as the collateral on the loan. Any other stories out there?
those machines look like they are about ready to sit on a ritchie brothers lot...HAHA how do those JCB's hold up?....they really are the underdog here in the states...the only people that really run them are people that can't afford CAT, CASE, or DEERE... no offense to anyone
Not to hijack this thread back to its original topic, but I noticed a concrete mixer on the site yesterday that I thought looked pretty clean and shiny. I wondered if it was a fresh paint job. Once I got closer, I could see the overspray on the rear tires...
I saw on the news today that the auto parts business like Autozone, NAPA, etc are going through a little mini-boom with there business. Everyone is keeping their cars longer, due to the obvious, and spending more money on repair parts. I wonder if this is affecting the heavy equipment parts market? I need an undercarriage on my 953 but I have not put it on yet due to no work for it.:bash
:stirthepot:stirthepotwe call that a texas rebuild.
I too agree that the media has hyped this ressesion far beyond it's own reality. Living in Victoria B.C. we haven't experienced much of a slow down. The new residential construction work has almost come to a standstill but ICI projects are still going strong and will for some time yet. B.C. is hosting the Olympics next year and the spinoffs from that will hopefully take us though this slowdown. Hopefully. ps: We call that the 30 gallon overhaul.
is there rhyme or reason? getting about talking to blokes as i do, some are busy, some are at a stand still, one company says they've never been busier but generally its all over the shop. i see the challenge of 09 as being the one of getting your money in a timely fashion, already I hear of lots of people stalling payments and i think this will bring a lot of good businesses to the brink esp when its combined with the fact that banks just wont lend money. yeah getting funding for anything earthmoving is tough, try doing it from the position of being in a a 6 month old startup operation with basically no cash input... tho i guess my general interest rate of 5.65% might raise your eyebrows, we closed one deal a fortnight ago at 3.8% still i reckon its a time of great opportunity, things havent been this cheap for years and i reckon we've got a way to go down yet, all you've gotta do is work out how to get the thing paid for!
well dirt digger, JCBs are a british made product and a very good machine. http://www.jcb.com/ i believe that jcb have probably not established a good dealer network in the usa, so that would reduce the amount of units sold there. They have now developed there own engine, instead of using a perkins unit. I would be confident to say that jcb is one of the most popular excavator brands in the UK.
There is a couple of reasons that jcbs are not taking hold in the U S..Their dealers are far and few between. No Service. And the machines just flat out does not have what it takes. A few rental companies have them around here. Most have breakers on them. Bout the only other place you will see them are on farms and usually don't see more then 5 or 10 hours a year And there is a manufacturing plant in I think savannah georgia as well. As matter of fact there is alot of equipment made it the south. Daewoo,volvo,deere/hitachi,cat, komatsu, kubota, kobelco, just to name a few.
Back to topic Nice job on cleaning the equipment up and ready for work. Do you do much mech. to the units, new pins or bushings. It nice to see that you are taking pride in your fleet no matter what brand. I too agree that decent looking equipment shows your customers that you take pride in your apprearance, and I feel this ususally reflects in your work. Nice job and lets see that 210 pic when its done.
Mike360* Whats the story on the 8080? Over here N Ireland they are considered troublesome brutes-a real lemon. Dirt Digger, I have a JCB 5052 5 ton mini digger bought new in Nov 2000 which has 5800 hrs or thereabouts. The only major problems have been a set of seals for the rotary coupling at 2200 hrs,the left armrest safety switch which took JCB 4 years to sort out and a rear crankshaft oilseal and injector pump seals which are about to be replaced. Did you know Case machines are virtually identical but seem to be a much higher build quality in the js range? This is the crux of the matter with JCB they get cheap on the build quality and parts they buy in-the 8052 or 8060 machines plus the 3cx's are the only JCB's worth buying in my opinion. Neil
Shot my 128uu a couple weeks ago. Decal set came from www.quipcal.com - very fast and proffesional. Oh, that's CAT yellow..... ...SACRILEGE!!
hey special tool wh ere in bethel do you live I live in bethel also I've never seen your machines I live off of resevior st. I usaully notice when people still run the olders cats there great machines
I live by the orchard. My machines are never here - usually always down in the Bedford area. This Komatsu just came back from Mahopac, but before that it was on Linda Ln.. You should have seen this IH though, I am always going to Arrow recycling with it. Are you near that condo project that looks like it slowed down a bit?
yeah I live on bethpage I heard via the excavating rumor pipeline that the excavator on the condo job is maybe calling it quits but thats just what I heard they are a big company they have many 330s,a 350, d9, crushers a couple d350 adts and thats just that job. is your international an ex o&g truck just saw the bumper. I also work mostly in new york I'm in 137 out of briarcliff manor I did alot of work in mahopac,somers,carmel, now I'm in yonkers working for a company out of nj , fletcher creamer they are about the same size as o&g but no material yards and we only have a handful of 10 wheelers but I hear we have 1200 peices though they are the best company I've worked for
Naah, that's no O&G, they don't paint high-vis stripes correctly! They paint just vertical lines. I always wondered why they did that (probably because its easier) - all ATHS. truck guys know that you do it close to 60 degrees with bottom closing. Here check this site (the best site on the net for old trucks) http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/trucks.htm These guys know how to do it. Those guys are all a LOT bigger than me! I am just an own/op with a few pieces. Hey was that you guys doing the bridge at the exit 29 on Sawmill, couple years ago?
Neil D: well all us lads on the firm like the 8080 as its zero swing, i had a track motor hose go last summer, the fitters had to take the exhaust manifold, belly plate, the whole back weight off and a whole afternoon just to replace the hose. So service wise is crap. Also we have had problems with the computer, it sometimes comes up with random warning buzzers! But apart from that, its nice to drive, what my boss enjoys about it that it shares the same pins as our 3cx, so breakers, buckets can be swapped etc. Didnt relaise case were same as js range? yep i aggree, 3cx is best jcb to get, though the most popular is surely the js 130, there are hundreds of the things about, i must of operated at least 8 different ones now! bill5362: yeh we do alot of mech work to the machines aswell, the 8080 had new bushes, new quick hitch and pins in the dipper boom, and new tracks. Our js130 got new quick hitch aswell, and new bushes. The CAT 320d had has its tail weight resprayed, it got hired out to a farmer, he trashed it! Komatsu got full repray and valentino rossi stickers as the operator is a big bike fan! started new job on mon, very muddy, and wet, at a cider factory making adjustments to the orchard waste dams.
That's a nice looking machine, Doc.