I was just wondering what was everyones favorite machine to operate? Hoe, dozer, loader, grader, excavator, scrapers, skid steer....whats your favorite?
Excavator with a clean-up bucket ditching followed a close second to grading a road with a grader.
Loader Love the CAT 977 for doing hard demolition in the city. You really get the feel of the crashing and crunching all around you. :notworthy Much more intense than demo with the track hoe.
Definitely the excavator. I also love running dozer and track loader.
ive never operated anything but from what i see around here and the looks of one i think running a grader would be awesome, especially one with 6wd
gotta go wit the hoe:notworthy ! big bucket big cut YEEEEEEEE hAAAAAAA!!:usa
Cat 627 scrapers and D8L. Regards, Red
I love to grade. Nice D6K or 700J PAT, some cut sheets, and a lazer.:usa
give me my 345 digging under gas lines and fiber optics putting sewers at 15 feet with a trench box,,and im in heaven :drinkup
A hoe don't matter what I'm doing demo or dirt, but I like change and to hop on what ever I want to run for the day, as long as it has tracks I don't much care.
Dozer, grader or track loader are the machines I most prefer. A D6R LGP on a 200' 2.5:1 slope with lots of uneven topsoil and I'm in heaven.
I agree with Dozerboy, as long as it has tracks I don't care.:drinkup :drinkup :drinkup
I tend to like the equipment with tracks more than the ones with tires simply cause they can go more places. I like a track hoe the most for its versitility and a dozer in close second.
Excavator doing anything, running the loader for snow, and last would be doing site work with the skid. On the wish list would be dragline, tractor scraper combo and 6x6.
I enjoy running just about any earth moving equipment but I do like a change after a while.If I had to run a loader in a pit full time I would go nuts. I really do like doing site work just for that reason.Stump the land,strip topsoil,box out roads,mainline pipe work etc. Then you dig the cellar holes,backfill,utilities...........spread topsoil,always something different so you never get bored.Favorite???Maybe the dozer,big or small...........it is a nice feeling to be able to fine grade a roadbase,spread the process stone to get ready for paving leaving very little work for the grader.Sometimes I am the grader guy as well and you get the satisfaction of having been a part of it all when it is done. Plowing snow with a loader has to be the most boring job there is unless you can shear off a hydrant as I once did with a Trojan 4000 causing you to wonder why the snow was turning blue around you until you figure out what happened. Ron G
Hummmm......Grader!...I also enjoy operating a TLB with a ditching bucket. Played around with a dozer and I really liked it, but where I work there is no opportunity to operate one.
I love excavators. That is my favorite equipment. The bigger the better. I also like dumptrucks. Spec Cats trucks.
LMAO So thats how you get rid of excess salt at end of season huh?
id have to agree with 345cl, theres nothin like, digging around obstacles, gets a little strenous somtimes, but it feels good at the end of the day when you met your quota for the day and nothings ripped out or broken. but then again, every now and then its aslo nice to sit and load trucks all day, a little change of secenery now and then never hurts!
whats the hardest obstacle you have had to dig around, like a water line..gas line somethin like that?
x2 Although it gets a little stressfull when the locate guys cant locate their stuff properly. Digging around/under one thing is easy, its when you get a couple things running all different dirrections that it gets tricky.
one particular job i was on about 2 years ago, my crew was putting in sanitary sewer, off site , we started out of an exsiting manhole roughly 16 ft to invert of pipe, about 200 ft out it got really hairy, the road it self was only 16ft wide, i had overhead power lines on both sides of the road, secondary services crossing over top, going every which way, plus 12 inch water mains on either side of the road , plus numerous trees, fences, triaxles, double stacked trench boxes, besides my hoe which was a 330 there was another one that was behind me with a hammer on it , we had hit alot of rock, plus a IT28 running bedding and pipe, plus 2 buckets and a ripper. it was a little nerve wracking at times, but never ripped out anyhting on that whole off site part of the job. plus it was may first time digging on a pipe crew.:Banghead
An old 12KVA that fed Offutt air force base that didn't have any sand, tape, or anything. They said it was 6’ down and we had 3’ of cut (scrapers) it ended up being only 3.5’ down. Or a Phizer plant that has some much crap going every which way it looked like a bunch of kids where painting lines on the ground. There where 2 very high pressure steam lines that we had to cross the dirt around them was very hot to the touch.
that project at offutt were you out in s. eastern neb/ s. western iowa? if i am completly in the wrong place i must be thinking of a different base
favourite machines/jobs Hi, Folks. One older operator with whom I worked some years ago summed it up pretty well for me. He reckoned if it burned diesel and made noise he was happy. Having said that, I have done a few pioneering jobs with a dozer away up on the side of a hill/mountain where nobody comes to bother you 'cos it's too far to climb. Great!!!!! I also enjoy push-loading scrapers, especially if they are a good crew of scraper operators. I like running a good grader boundary riding for scrapers too, doing their haul roads, keeping the fill in shape, etc.. I thoroughly enjoyed running a dragline too, especially the one I had to set up 'cos there was not a single fitter on the company payroll in their main workshop who knew anything about setting up a dragline. I've enjoyed running excavators, 4wd and track loaders, face shovels, cranes, sideboom pipelayers, scrapers, dump trucks and the list goes on. Hell, I'm just a kid in a (BIG) sand pit and happy to be that way.
Dozers, excavators & skidsteers...BUT ONLY A CAT as NOTHING beats their controls... :notworthy
ointlaugh :umno :crazy ....can't say that I agree with that one. I really enjoy operating dozers, but wheel loaders are home for me.
i got to go with my 2007 d8t things great i could run it forever cd player in it just put in some music and hammer on it. see must of the time im cutting trails in the woods for a water line so its great all alone start on one end and to to the other there always deer everywhere so dozer all the way
I would say a 325DL is my favorite. From clearing and grubbing to loading trucks. Close second is a 953C track loader - jack of nearly all trades.
Yep it was NE
alright im glad i was thinkin of the right place, if you hop over to the iowa side just northeast of there i know that area up there real well
no way. brand new 644j with a 20' box on the front in 2ft of snow during the middle of the night, dont get much better than that. the new 450 hoes are nice machines too:drinkup
if that snow is very wet/heavy....w/a 20' snow box, 2' of snow...you'll be nibbling about a 1' of snow at a time....and don't want to get stopped until you reach your push point. we have a 544 w/14'er....that's "enough" of a blade on a 12" snow
our 544h dosent even come close to the J when pushing snow. didnt have too much heavy snow this year, but if you get a good enough head of steam, it'll push it.
I've found that some guys just hate plowing but I enjoy it for some reason. If you have to get the lot done for shift changes or to pushing big snow with a pusher or blade its fun. If I had to plow with bucket only, I would not do it but with a big pusher or blade it's way different.
our pusher, has taken our target store from the 544 w/ 2.75 yd bucket, two pickups/blades w/wings 3.5 hrs....to one pickup, 544 w/14' pusher.....1 hr. 10 mins. seasonal bid, kind of a no brainer, but i agree. snow removal SUX
i will take a 9520 with dark tinted windows with 2 bowls pullin down a long hill. oh and gotta have the tunes up on the sirius satelite radio. and just sit back and listen to the whine of the turbo
I have not had a chance to run a great variety of equipment like many of you but of my stuff I really like to run my mini excavator. I wuld like to run a bigger one someday but really enjoy digging a straight flat bottom trench or digging out stumps.
Love track loaders for their beauty and gracefulness, but I've never operated one. I really enjoy skid-steers and MTLs (haven't been on a CTL for digging... yet...), so I'll take a 287B in my dream fleet (which thus far consists of a few scale models).
Lattice boom crawler cranes, large dozers and excavators in that order. :thumbsup
Backhoe and excavator for me,I also got to run a new Deere 650J playing on logging roads and was impressed how it handled and how comfortable it was to run with the newer controls.
I like excavators but a Loader is my favourite because of how creative you can be, and how much dirt you can shift in a day. Sitting in a quarry loading trucks is not for me though.
Excavators are my fav and I really like the Kobelco Bladerunners for their versatility. Either one with a hyd. thumb is a great clearing machine. Second are 953 or 963 loaders, both the Bs and Cs have their pros and cons. In my work I don't have a call for a dozer too many times. I turned down a temp position pushing rock in a quarry with a D10R just for the monotony factor. 5 12hr days a week just going back and forth ointhead
wherabouts in missouri are ya from unimog?
I run a D6M setup with GPS that I really enjoy. Even when I'm not using the GPS it's a nice, tight, responsive machine, real handy to fine grade with. Also have an older 953C, one without pilot controls, still linkages , that fits like a glove. Never really liked running excavators, usually get the nasty jobs the boss doesn't trust anyone else doing.
G,day Pushcat....welcome, I see your from Earth.....How's things on the blue planet?
Apparently pushcat has changed his location from "earth" to "USA". That narrows things down considerably...
Yep, don't want none o them earthlings here on Planet HEF Sorry PushCat...couldn't help the funning around.... Not everybody here is as sarcastic as me...well cepting digger that is.
Belton, on the south side of Kansas City.
oh no kiddin, i used to wrastle down there when i was little
Favorite Machine I really don't have a favorite I like to operate them all Except One Machine and that would be a roller I hate to operate a roller I don't care if its a dirt roller or asphalt. It just seems like everytime I get on a roller I instantly get tired and the day goes forever.
EXCITING roller operating Hi, Dozerdewees. Firstly, welcome to the forum. I normally agree with your comments about rollers. However, here is the story of one rather interesting roller ride. On one job that I was on, I was operating a self-propelled vibrating smooth-drum roller and filling in wherever else I was needed. This particular machine had what is known as a hydrostatic drive – that is drive was achieved through hydraulic pumps driving hydrostatic motors that supply drive to the propulsion wheels or tracks. One lever controls both speed and direction and is also the parking control. When the lever is in neutral, the drive motors are locked hydraulically. With such systems, travel speed is infinitely variable within the range of the hydraulic pumps and motors. In earlier machines and systems, this range was somewhat limited, so this machine had a 4-speed, manual shift mechanical gear range box between the drive motor and the rear wheels. This range box was a little worn and had a habit of occasionally jumping out of gear, especially when lightly loaded. One evening, I was doing my last run of the day up a hill and back down again before making my way to the re-fuelling tanks to re-fuel and park up for the night. Just before I got to the top of the hill, a grader came over the top and headed down toward the fuel tanks. I got to the top of the hill seconds later and moved the control lever from forward to reverse to begin the trip back down. At this point, the range box neutralised itself and the machine started rolling backwards, leaving me with no connection between the drive motor and the rear drive wheels, NO chance of getting it back into gear - - - and NO brakes. All I could do was to try to steer the machine as best I could as it raced back down the hill - - backwards. This machine had its engine at the rear, behind the driver’s seat and above the rear wheels. This configuration made it actually steer better backwards than forwards, a fact that made it fairly easy to steer the roller in the above situation. It didn’t take long at all to realise that there was really no need to worry as the roadway was fairly wide at this point and I could easily keep it in a more or less straight line to follow the roadway and there was another hill to slow it down so that I could regain control of it. On the way down, I overtook the grader that had passed me earlier on its way to the fuel tanks. The grader operator was an owner/operator. He had a look on his face that was worth bottling as I went past him, backwards and waving happily to him on the way past. I beat him back to the fuel tanks which were on a levelled area part-way up the next hill. When he got back to the fuel tanks, he wanted to know what had happened that I had overtaken him in such a fashion. He was still shaking his head after I had explained it all to him. So I guess you could say that even operating rollers can have its moments.
Good story Deas. I had the same thing happen with a Buffalo Bomag. Only there was a 90 degree curve at the bottom of the hill. I swung wide hoping to make it just as a lady with two kids nosed out in a car. The road had been cut down a couple feet. When I plowed into the bank it went about 10' In the air. It was nose heavy and came straight down. It landed on a steep drop off so it never hit hard at all. It then rolled on down the hill back onto a road at the bottom. I cut it into the ditch and bounced along til it stopped. The guys on the job figured she was doing 45 mph or so. I'm not sure but I do know It the fastest I've ever saw a roller go.
I spent an entire year on a roller one summer...
How Fast???????????? Hi, Lashlander. So I'm not the only one it's happened to. I have no idea how fast mine was going by the time it hit the bottom of the hill but I rounded up the grader in fine style and he was in the long cog heading home so he wuz movin'. And I still had time when it stopped to slip it back into a gear in the range box and get into the fuel tanks before the grader arrived. BTW, the grader operator wasn't the only one blinking a bit at that sight. Several others saw it too and were moved to comment about how fast a roller oughtn't travel. After I got over the initial "Ooooppss" feeling and realised that there was no need to have any real fear and no need to wear any brown undies to stop it showing, I actually enjoyed the ride and the looks on the faces of the people I was passing by. I'm no longer that young but I'd be surprised if I'm much less silly.
Thats pretty funny. The mechanics had to come work on mine. I think something got a little bent in tranny before I gave up and decided I'd better steer. As far as I was concerned it was gonna go back in gear.
I know exactly what your saying! :salute
I prefer a D9L. In rock, the shorter u/c of a 9L makes it rip as good if not better than a 10N. The good ol' days of the 2U's, 46A's DW21's and 9H's are a thing of the past. Besides, most operators wouldn't know where the key goes to start an older Cat. :Banghead Excavators, ya cant beat a 245D. Sadly, the company I work for is selling the older units off in favor of the newer low emission politically correct smokeless machines.:beatsme
Deas, that's an awesome story... I wish I were there to watch it, but I'd be sporting brown undies if it were me in the seat!
Thats the story he told the boss. Heres what really happend puase for dramatic affect. It was quiting time, and he didn't want to have to wait in fuel line
You'll NEVER know for sure Hi, PSDF350, You may just be right in your version but you'll never KNOW for sure. I, on the other hand, DO know what happened. So, being the mean and nasty tyoe that I am, I'll leave you wondering which version is correct.
Either way good story.
This afternoon I shot this pic and I want to change my choice for favorite machine I would like operate. I know it won't move much dirt but you sure could pick up alot of chicks with it.:bouncegri
Welcome to HEF RollOver Pete! :drinkup
I grew up on skids and mini ex, but excavators are my favorite by far. I like working steep terrain, preferably off in the woods somewhere. Utilities make money, but I get way too stressed out on some sketchy jobs where the location of the current utilities is under question. Give me a 200 with a good thumb and send me out in the woods to cut road, that would be just fine with me.
Does the cd player skip when you start bouncing or moving? The one in my pickup does thats why I'm asking.
The CD player in our D6R is impressive - I think my operator has only had it skip twice. It truely shocked me, I thought it was a joke when the machine arrived and had a CD in it but it works pretty darn good. I don't know who makes it for Cat.
I don't think mine ever skipped, but I can tell you they don't work upside down.
Alright - we all need to know how the CD player got turned upside down.
My favourite machine is our RH120E 'White lightning' She doesnt like working on angles and is not a strong walker but gee she can dig, the best part is hearing the turbos whistling when she starts to work hard
Or under water . . .
Non-working CD players Hi, Folks. So now it sounds as if there are 2 stories about non-working CD players that we need to hear. C'mon, Wolf and Dozerboy. Give 'til it HURTS.
I know that would inspire some questions. Luckily it wasn't at work I was wheeling in my Blazer and ended up rubber side up. So Wolf you got some explaining to do.
I hafta say the excavators are my favorite, it never seems to get old. I also really enjoy running the loader, and dont forget about the dump truck:usa
cat 330 and a d5xl building ponds
mine would be a 385cl, 35ft. deep pulling trench boxes, with reach boom and stick, two buckets and stone mizer.
Im a grader guy 100%,since im also a grading foremen. I like the little graders by psi.
Embarrassing Story All right, all right. I thought I would keep this between me and the rental car agency, but here goes. First, let me say thank goodness the CD player was in a rental car. It was out on the Olympic Penninsula in Washington state. I had been on a backpacking trip with my buddies. Flew into Seattle and rented a car from Budget for the week to go backpacking. We drove into an Indian Reservation to start our backpack trip. La Push was the name of the town, at the end of the Olympic Penninsula, to be exact, for those of you who know the area. We left the rental for a week to go off on our backpacking trip. Well, the weather was, typical for Washington, wet. I hiked with an umbrella some of the time, believe it or not. It got pretty stormy that week, and when we returned to the vehicle, apparently a branch fell in a storm and busted the windshield. All the shatterproof glass fell out, as it tends to do. Then we had to drive out of the reservation, and as you might imagine, the roads were unpaved and, well, wet with big puddles. We came upon one puddle, I should say, lake, and there was no other way to get out but to go right though it. So we got a running start and forged ahead. Shall we say the puddle was a bit deeper than I expected, and we had water washing up over the hood of the vehicle. It eventually got deeper, and the water washed through the broken windshield area and eventually saturated the entire dashboard. Needless to say, that was the end of our tunes on the CD player. I wish I could say that the rental agency didn't notice when we returned the vehicle. . . .
Bummer, but i gotta ask. Did you take the insurance?
Jperfect, ever heard of dan allor pluming, or solomon plumbing? they're fairly close to you.
dan allor - ive heard that name before not solomon. why do you ask
Welcome to HEF jcb307! :drinkup
welcome jcb307:notworthy
dan and his sons own dan allor plumbing and solomon plumbing. they have their shops along 96 couple miles east of south milford road. danny's a very good friend of mine.
Embawassing storwy Hi, Wolf. What's embarrassing about that story - - - - unless you were actually cutting the tree down and it fell the wrong way???????? If you were out hiking when the tree fell how are you to blame? Once the tree had fallen, you simply did what was needed to get your butts outa there and get the - slightly damaged - vehicle back to its owners. Maybe you look at things a bit differently from the way I do but I can't see anything embarrassing in that story. Unfortunate maybe, but not embarrassing. And it was probably 'character building' too, was it not? Dozerboy's story is way more embarrassing than yours. And I'd guess his experience was 'character building too. Thanks for sharing.
Panasonic (for the most part)
CD Player upside down and in water Had a 1994 honda civic, just put $2500 into engine work and new rubber. I was on my way home from my first gig with the band i was in at the time, had two buddies in the car packed with gear (guitars in the trunk, amps in the back seat) So, we were pumped and i was clippin at a good speed when i decieded i needed to drain the lizard. So with no hesitation i gradually started to slow from 110km/h knowing where a good spot was. I had slowed her down to about 50km/h when i approached the turn-off and started to turn in, at that moment i hit loose gravel from all the transport trucks going from dirt to pavement and it locked her up heading straight for a sign with 3 neatly placed 4-5ft boulders in front. So, I went into action mode cranked the wheel back to the road pulled the E-brake, which swung the tail out, then floored it and slamed the E-break back down, everything was lookin good as i jetted back out to the highway but unfortunatly there had been a washout on the far edge of the road which left the curb and no material below so instead of hopping up on to the road my passenger tire got caught and swung me back toward the ditch. At this point i thought i was in the clear as i figured the worst that could happen was i would just hit the bottom of the ditch and wipe the **** out of my pants and call for a tow... Needless to say i was wrong the car came to a stop and started sliding down the bank to the passanger side,
CD Player upside down and in water we hit the top of a 20'f diameter culvert dropped 10` on to the roof of the car in a creek that had a bout 4 feet of ice cold glacier water. Smashed the passenger windows, back windows and sun roof instantly as we hit the creek bed. Next thing we know were being carried by the creek into the 20' culvert with water raging in thankfully the car stoped before the 10' drop on the other side. Both passangers got out with a few minor scratches and bruises, now this is where the story relates to the CD player. There was a moment during this whole ordeal where i remember being upside down in my seatbelt looking at the control panel with all the gauges lit up and i looked towards the center console and the CD player was still running i uncliped the seatbelt with some struggle and brought my head the the surface still in the car and the car was still running and the cd player was still playing (as for the song i have no clue) needless to say it didnt last long but for that one moment i was laughing to myself seeing this cd player under water and upside down still pumping the tunes.... So, that was 2 years ago and i definatly learned a lesson or two from that incident. Unfortunatly i bought another honda and typicaly im having big problems with her 15 days before i leave to an Apprenticeship program with the Operating Engineers for running Excavator. So some words of advice if you want an easy fix dont buy a Honda... Enjoy. You guys at HEF are saving me as the days dribble by.
i have 6 favorite machines :cool2 :cool2 -Cat 385CL LRE -Cat 330DL -Cat D6T -Cat D8T -Cat 980H -Cat 740 Greatz Yanko de Graaf
Welcome to HEF Lochoe115! :drinkup
Excavator first and foremost, track Loader a close seond, finish blade dozer third....
This is a hard one, Top 3 are as follows: 1. D8R series 1, twin tilt U blade, single shank ripper, pin puller, and lighting group. 2. Kobelco (!) SK330 LC high and wide undercarriage. 3.5 yd bucket 3. Cat 980G series 1, 7.5 yd gp
i was wondering if anybody operated the gradall with tracks [10-20 ton class and do they make them with rubber tracks