Hey guys. Need some suggestions. They are moving me to a new job Monday that has steep hill about 1000 feet long. Friday some of the guys tried to get up it with a D61 winch tractor and a 220 Komatsu hoe. No luck with either. Monday I will be there with my D51 and I'm gonna make a run at it. I'm thinking of trying to zig zag up it by trying to keep it balanced between too sidling and too strait up. Problem is it's kinda wet and we only have a 60 foot right of way. I'm no stranger to steep hills but I haven't seen this one yet. The D51 is heavy on the rear by design and that thing will climb till it rolls over backwards(or at least it makes me think it will LOL). So what do you guys think? Bad idea? How would you do it?
I think going up zig zagging is a very bad idea. The last thing you want to do it start sliding sideways on that slope. Try going up backwards if your machine seems rear heavy. This will also come in handy if start to slide as you can use your blade and also see where you are going! Only other way I can think of (if you reeeeeeally need to get up there) is to start at the bottom and cut benches as you go. As you will be dozing uphill and have to cut a pad wide enough to turn around every time you switchback it's going to take a while. Also I suggest keeping your blade to the down side while you are turning around in case the soft dirt you just winged out gives way. I don't know about you but I'd rather fall off an edge blade first rather then go over backwards.
Put a different operator on the hoe..........
I think the zigzag idea is no good too , as soon as you turn it will spin a track and that will be the end. Maybe just give it a go ,both ways if you like, just because sumone else can't doesn't mean you can't!
Locate a local heavy tow co. have them help winch you up using a snatch block anchored at the top. Winch up backwards. Stay safe. Dwan
Do you have any pics of the site?
Have to agree with this.... You should be able to just about climb a tree with a modern excavator. Is this hill made out of dirt, or concrete?:tong If it is beyond the oil pickup angle of the sump, then just bench and climb.... It might take more than 5 minutes, but anyone with any experience should have no problem at all. Any type of dozer will be a lot more difficult, and require more skill.
if its heavy in the rear wouldn't you do like like a farm tractor and back up the grade?
I've taken excavators to some pretty extreme places... The pucker factor sometimes kicks in and you end up tasting foam but not many places they won't go! I usually chicken out well before the machine can't go somewhere...
What is the elevation your are going to climb?
if its a new komatsu 51 they are a pleasureto operate and they will climb but some pics would help
Hey guys. Well it rained all day today so didnt get a chance to try it, it's not looking good weather wise tomorrow either. I did get to see the hill today tho. Not as bad as I was led to believe it was, don't look that tough to me. If it was dry I'm pretty sure I could climb it. I know a hoe will climb it. The hard part is gonna be dealing with the mud and several small rock ledges but all in all it won't be too bad. We've done a lot worse. Oh well, I was looking forward to a little fun. LOL
pics..pics...pics....please thanks
True on the sliding sideways part. Only reason I was considering ziz zaggin is I have angled up hills that were too steep to climb straight up before but there is not enough room on this job to angle all the way up without changing directions. Cuttin benches is not possible. There is only a few inches of dirt or clay on most of it with rock underneath. It's gonna have to drilled and blasted. Another good point! I had definitely rather be blade down if it gets away from me. LOL
Bingo!! Problem solved.
I will get some pics as soon as I get a chance.
Howdy neighbor!
well its good you got to take a look it and realized it was rock teh zig-zag i'm guessin is like at a 45*angle t oone side then try to work it back the other way that would work on dirt but nothin for rock and is it a new d51 or no
Would like to see pictures too. Don't know much, but I would recommend going up backwards, as mentioned before.
I sure don't want to hear of anyone getting hurt or even a machine, but if there is strong chance of rolling the machine I suggest video. It might be worth that grand prize on TV. I do like the idea of different operator in the excavator. That is only construction type equipment I have really run and thought they could climb any grade with use of tracks and bucket. Then I only play on piles of dirt 5 to 15 feet high. Seriously be safe. This is as good a place to say this as any where, as an equipment admirer and the operators who have pride in their work it is very interesting to read much of what is posted here. You guys make a real difference. Do be safe. :notworthy
Yeah it's a new D51. I've put almost 1000 hours on it. That is what I was thinking with the zig zagging.
Howdy back.
need pictures
Up the hill I would put a snatch block up thr hill to a large tree if there is one and winch the tractor with the blade facing down hill with wrecker oo big old truck with Tulsa winch , most of your pipe liners have such a truck . Just what i think i would do . :usa
Sorry Dwan Hall i didn't see your suggeston , i said the same as you .
I was thinking the same as you & Dwan.I guess we can take turns dragging out the cable.Love them old Tulsa & Garwood winches.They'l get ya back on the green side of the mountain.Holmes is one of my favorites.
Hello 25c , i am afraid our friend could get in a bad way with out help of a tow line . When i worked in Mobile , Al . i saw an Excavator in the 15,000 wt. class turn over on a flat side walk and the operator was badly hurt . That hill he describes is no place for an Excavator to climb either with out a tow line . Let's hope our friends do not get hurt . I would like to meet you for lunch if ever you are down around Louisville area . My name is Bill Clark :drinkup :usa
Great minds think alike.
Hello Dwan , how is the weather in Alaska. I am still a member of IUOE , 181 Retired do to spinal cord problem, do to operating heavy equipment fo 41 years . You are too far away to meet for lunch , if you are ever this way maybe 25c and we can meet and tell some tall tales . I have a few ! Bill Clark
Cool and wet. here in south east. cooler the farther north you go. and from here if you go east you better have a boat because it is really wet. I was there last summer ware were you? Spent 3 days up state looking for my cousin. (explain some day maybe) Beautiful state you have there. Here is what I was driving maybe you seen me LOL. first shot. Uncle, cousin and wife second and third shot along the way
Some have told me I'm crazy but like many of the excavator operators here you can feel a machine out and know what it will do and how far you can go. I've crawled up some pretty much vertical slopes, with the help of a bit of benching, and lots of paitence. Same with going down, just keep everything square and take your time. Its amazing with any piece of equipment when you get the right operator on somthing as to what he can do with it and make it look easy. Biggest thing, if you don't feel commfy doing somthing, than don't do it, thats when things happen. Trbo
:usa Hey Dwan nice looking out fit , i have seen one around , don't know if it were you or not , what part of south east were you at ? I am planning to move to southern Alabama before Christmas . Hope you are staying busy ! :usa
Hey guys. Sorry but I didnt get any pics of that big hill as I never made it over there. It turned out not to be as bad as they made it out to be from what I hear. Here are a couple pics of a little hill we were cleaning up today. It's not to bad, only a couple hundred feet high. Sorry for the bad pic quality, took em with my phone, my camera battery's died.
Hey I straightened the trees up for you :drinkup
I hope that guy was joking. Some of us are actually professional owner/operators on here - I guess he thought noone would notice the trees reaching only for the evening sun?? Not to mention the 2 minute life span of that Komatsu engine at that oil sump angle.
Joking? About what? I said it was a poor quality pic. I knew anyone would have to be blind not to notice the trees, never said I was a photographer. I just thought someone might enjoy the pics. Guess I was wrong. Maybe your the one joking or not as professional as you think if you think those Komatsu's won't run at those angles. We cable em off on much steeper angles than that and they run all day. They will blow a couple gallons of oil out of them if ran like that for long periods, but we have yet to have any trouble from it.
Wow, that looks like a 1:1 very easily. I'm surprised you were able to stick the slope with triple grousers, I pulled a 400 up a 20 foot 1:1 and had a real time just sitting on the slope while I was reaching out to pull myself up.
If it's true that you cable off and work on much steeper slopes than the ones pictured, I'd like to see some pictures if you can get them. Do you use a harness to keep yourself in the seat? I've done some 1:1 slope work with an 80,000# class machine, and granted I wasn't cabled off, but it was a challenge to keep myself from sliding down the slope. Not to mention it was hard to just stay in the seat. The only thing holding me in was the seat belt and it surely wasn't too comfortable. So I would imagine working even steeper would make for a long day for the operator and the machine. If it can even be done without damaging the engine. Please throw in some pics I like to see people challenging themselves and pushing the limit.
gailute I'm sorry, but i am not gonna drink the cool aid on this one. 1st you are asking for help with you're thread, all of the board members provide help. then you post some crooked pictures. I know the 200 will not run at those angles. you have to bench when working that steep unless you have a death wish. if you cable stuff off all the time and have done it before why bother posting and asking the question??. just swinging that hoe around at that angle would bring it down,not to mention the oil sump.: . please post pictures of the steep slope jobs, i for cannot wait to see them. you could say we work on steep terrain here and up to 12,000 feet above sea level. not trying to be negative , but why flirt with disaster and put the operaters life at risk.? i don't think any one will work on a slope like that unless it is an emergency or there is no other way. most pros dig benches and work up or down,. just my o2Cents
Well said
I think this guy is fooling around with us a little bit.
i am waiting to see some of you cabeling and working on steep angles, i know that we will not do it. come on, who are you kidding? why don't y ou tell the truth that 1st it is a 200 not a 220. is it a rental? do you do this for real??why do we only see the foto of the hoe at the bottom of the hill?? you started off asyou aking for advice and now you are a steep slope expert. ok......
You think?
Trying to fool us I see a guy that is stuck between two hills and not going no where ! :usa :Banghead
First off, I didnt ask for help, I asked how would you do it. I never said we couldnt do it. I just thought it would make for some interesting conversation to see the different ways other people do things. Second, if you think those hoes or any other wont run at those angles then you don't know as much as you think you do and no, swinging it around won't bring it down. Look at the pics, the machine is turned around and if it fell over I would of took a pic of that.
please. stop it, please. otherwise keep fakin it or rollin it. you know what? i dont really care. just trying, go ahead and kill that rental iron
Steep Slopes IMO There isn't many can'ts or won'ts working on a pipeline. I may be wrong but I also can't help but think you boys are going to end up with an Earfull of Cider before this is over with. Just my 2 Cents.
Lets see some of your pics of your steep terrain. I dont have any, never said I did. Tell the truth? I never said that was a 220, never said it was a 200 either. Never said I was a steep slope expert either. The reason the pic of the hoe is of it at the bottom is because he is starting to go up the hill. I dont know how all you experts do it but us mere mortals have to start at the bottom to go up. Go back and read what I posted and try to comprehend it this time. I said it was a pic of a little hill we were cleaning up. That means the pipe is already in the ground and many different pieces of equipment have already been up and down it many times. As for the trees in the pics. I was not focusing on trees when I took the pics, I was looking at the hoe. I was sitting on a side slope myself and didnt even think about leveling the camera. I noticed it when I loaded the pics full size on my computer. I decided to post them anyway because, frankly, it is so blantently obvious that I never dreamed anyone would try to make more out of it than it is. I should of known some of the anal retentive types would try to make a mountain out of a mole hill. Here is a few pics I do have of a hill we did last spring that is just a little steeper that the one above. It's just steep enough that the hoe will sit on it but he is not able to dig without pulling his self down. I'm on the winch tractor, it's a D61 Komatsu, my D51 doesn't have a winch. Look close you can see the cable hooked to the hoe. Pic is taken thru the back window. Oh, BTW, that hoe is a 220. The hoe kept pulling me down with him so we hooked this 750J to the front of me to help anchor and also help pull me up when we needed to move up. Here is me pulling the drilling rig up for the blasting crew. I didn't need the 750's help for this. This is after the guy on the 220 cleaned the hill off making it much easier to get up.
Really? Hmm.... Poor quality pic, but you get the idea.... Going up !!
Those pics tied off to the the Komatsu and the Drill Rig look like Cider to me.
Cider? Thats a new one on me, I dont get it. I see you sig says you love burning timber. Come on up. You would love this job. We usually chip all the timber but there is the one land owner that wants it all burned and buried. I hate doing that. Boring nasty job.
There's an old sayin among Gamblers that if a Guy comes up to you with a brand new deck of cards on which the seal has never been broken and offers to bet with you that the Jack of Spades will jump out and Squirt Cider in your Ear. Don't bet with him cause sure as you do you are going to get an Ear Full of Cider. BTW, Nice Pics Galute, keep em coming.
I don't care if the photos were tilted and blurry, that is still a steep hill. As for the second set of photos, I am impressed! Looks scary to a rookie like me.
BTW. If anyone's interested. Here is a pic of the same hill taken from the top out the door of my dozer taken this morning. And before anyone brings it up, I know it's Sunday, we did have to work today. BEWARE!!! THE TREES ARE NOT LEVEL!!!!
Double Time:notworthy Did they put a hot bend in at the bottom of that hill? We got some like that up here. Just not very many and not very far to the bottom.
They put a 45 in it. Plus it's 20" poly pipe which allow quite a bit of fudging when it comes to bending it around. LOL
thank you for showing it like it is, sorry to be so salty
No big deal, don't sweat it. I know how easy it is for things to get out of hand on forums like this. I knew better than to make seemingly outrageous claims without proof to back them up. My bad.
I did some work like that out in BC i found it fun but a little un nerving for the first week
My Bad. I didn't know what you were laying down there. I just figured it was pipe. It's just an observation but the Twine Line Pics seem to have silenced the Peanut Gallery.
Thanks for the pics. I love seeing stuff like that. But, I know it's hard on the body working at angles like that.
Wow You came out of the corrner swinging and punching , i like that ! :drinkup Sorry for not believing .
Apology's there Galute the first time I have seen that done,but the pics were grainy and didn't look convincing, there is always someone out there to sharpen a stick for you but do keep the pictures coming Thanks .
Trees are plumb. The ground is level
pics! Great pics Galute. I saw the start of this thread then missed it for a while. I caught up again with the Kommi at a silly angle and immediately thought sweet Jeez H as he must have slid, a bit suprised that both the dipper ram and windscreen were still intact, lol. Then I started looking properly and spotted the trees, I have to say, great catch, and you sure caught a few, me included for a little while. Great to see that we can eat humble pie when we need to. :thumbsup I had the duck shaping a bit of a batter a few weeks back about a 1 in 5 from memory but still thought it would be a good picture op and handed the camera to the labourer to take a few. Waste of time, it looks flat the way he had the camera angled, look at the field in the distance it is suppose to be virtually flat
Man you sure got that right. Especially sitting at those angles then trying to twist around and keep an eye out the back window to watch the guy below me. I keep my chiropractor's home phone number on speed dial. LOL
Thanks dozerbill. I expected a couple nonbelievers but Holy Cow! I didn't see that coming. LOL :drinkup
No problem. I just assumed that most operators had either done that or seen it done before, it really never occured to me that there were so many that hadn't. Glad you enjoyed the pics. :drinkup
Here's a couple pics of a job I've been working at a local ski area here in NJ. The slope was thin dirt over ledge and when I started down it, I slid a good 85 ft or so....don't want to do that again. ointhead
Nice pic. Don't be too hard on the labourer over the pics. It is hard to make true slopes show up in pics. I realized this after the tree pic fiasco. LOL. I called a photographer buddy of mine and asked how to take good pics of a slope like that. He just said good luck with it, it's like trying to capture speed with a still pic.
Looks like the rest of this job is gonna be boring. No more real slopes to deal with, just rolling hills. I'm doing final clean up now. This is what it looks like in front of me. Man those hoe operators can make a mess of things. LOL This is what it looks like behind me. This is a mudhole that I cleaned up yesterday.
Galute, you said earlier that they chip the trees, do they come after the ROW is cleaned up with a chipper? Interesting thread and pics.:drinkup
It depends on the job. That land belongs to a paper company. They like to have the chips spread across the ROW to use for erosion control so we clean it up first. Next week sometime we will be back on private property and those particular owners want the trees burned, buried and grass planted so in that case we get rid of the trees before clean up. It's the land owners call as to chip or burn. We are shut down till Monday. They let us off today so all the out of state guys can make it home for Thanksgiving. Now what am I supposed to do with 5 days off? Happy Thanksgiving everyone! :drinkup
:drinkupsounds like a plan:drinkup
Great pics Galute, you obviously know how to work on steep ground!
Great Pic's Galute! While you have all that time off, why not post some more pictures? I work with quite a few contractors putting in poly pipe, it's fun watching, I'll post some of them putting it in. Not in terrain as steep as what your in, but some of it gets that way. How are those Deere dozers in the steep stuff?
Pipeline pic's Here's some pictures of the guys putting in some poly pipe, not real steep, but sometimes it gets that way. One of the pictures looks steep.........but the trees are kind of sideways too! LOL, not my best photography! In this location, they had to thread the poly under a steel gas line, then pull it about 200 feet to fuse it. Went like clockwork!
Hi IRONMAN. Cool pics. The Deere dozers are great on the steep stuff and about anywhere else. LOL. I really miss that 750J but then again, I'm just partial to Deere's and would swap that D51 back for the 750 in a heartbeat. Unfortunately that's not my call. The D51 will climb better and seems to be more stable on side slopes tho. Just a sign of the times I guess. Lot's of company's trying to save a buck however they can to cut cost to lower bids and keep working so Komatsu it is. I aint complaining tho, the D51 is a nice tractor and I'm staying busy. Could be much worse. This pic goes with the cabling pics. It's the hoe working to get us up the hill the first time and remove the trees as he goes. He had a hard time at first as it was very muddy and he couldnt get a bite to pull or push. He finally got it going his way and up we went. He had to pull me up on the 61 the first time as there was no way it would climb it. After we got to the top I winched up the 750 and we lowered the hoe back down so he could dig off the mud. The tracks on the right side of the pics is where I tried to climb it with the dozer. Wasn't gonna happen. LOL Sorry for all the hoe pics, but when you're surrounded by mostly hoe's :beatsme :drinkup This picture gives you a better idea of how steep the hill is. It's hard to make degree of slope show up in pictures. This is the same spot the hoe is sitting in the above picture taken from above where he is sitting in the first pic.
Is that an excavator nest you found in that valley! I wondered where they came from. Great pics :drinkup
Yep.... and there is a black sheep in every family too...
Yes I know what you mean but we have to face it those Komatsu's are really quite popular in some parts of the world :beatsme ..............
Outsider...
Thats exactly what i thought....
Somebody needs to tell the Case Operator he needs a bucket to dig not a breaker.
If you Arkansas hands need somebody to show you how to climb a hill look up G.Jackson in Bald Knob.He is retired now.
LOL to those first couple of pages of this thread, that is classic forum behaviour there! Your pics are very interesting anyway Galute, I can certainly see the need for anchoring the hoes to the blades. This thread along with that clip of that poor guy slipping and rolling down that slope in one of the other popular threads is gonna make me more cautious next year thats for sure! Everytime I see a pic of a slope now I picture myself sitting in a tangled 45t mess of metal at the bottom
Hmmmm didn't know you could let Hoes come on a job.But tieing them to a blade now thats going to far.
May I suggest that photos NOT be posted side by side? It makes the thread about 3 screens wide and almost impossible to read since some of us have to scroll back and forth for every line. Thanks.
There not side by side on my screen?
Mine are not that way either. It may have to do with the windows display settings.
Might have his Monitor laid on it's side.
I hate to show my ignorance.. but do you run a dozer on this slope?
I don,t know about you but I would much rather work in steep ground, kind of keeps me awake! Also if you have a full blade of dirt you can go down as steep as you want, but when your oil light comes on you have to push the blade down as far as fast as you can to lift the nose as high as possible.
them hills are crazy i could not imagine going to work and having to put my lunch pail on the windsheild cause thats the only spot thats level enough great pics!
I can see how after some experience, working steep hills would be challenging and fun. Im so new Its all fun, but I know after you work this equipment your whole life it would probably get pretty routine. Steep slopes would keep you awake!