It's been awhile since I took and pictures but I seem to manage to take tons of videos these days. So here is a throwback to the photo days. Since we are known for some big hoes, lets share a couple pics. 1st pic is a 312C and 330C, then the 330 by itself, one of our 385's and the Deere 800C.
Ok our first pic now.... sex on tracks seriously. My 973C after her 4 week date with the track loader hospital. Then some comparison pics of a 973A and 963C. As for my 73C, she is lookin sexy today. She got a brand new undercarriage from pads to rollers. The only old she still has left is frames. She also got a brand new turbo, the engine was pulled, every line under the cab was replaced, drive motors were pulled and spiffied up, cab was fixed up inside with some new vents and little things like that and it's awesome factor was increased by at least 5 points.
So a little while ago there was a thread about Quick Attaches on track loaders. In the one picture you will see my hand slipped in between the lugs on the bucket and the horns of the Q/A unit. And you will also see the dash of the 973C and the 73 sitting on a spill pile lookin all cute and stuff.
Lets take a step back in time.... I have managed to catch this truck in photo's before but rarely up close. This is HH-1 our very first float truck. She's the retro ride driven by one of our classiest drivers. He isn't exactly super classy but he is british so even when he swears at you it just sounds so regal if you know what I mean. Also I will include some videos of my adventures over the last few weeks. I have more pictures I will post em up later.. 2 of our finest Caterpillar 657E's dropping off some dry clay for backfill. YouTube - Caterpillar 657E A How To video.... digging with a hoe pack. YouTube - How to dig with a hoepack Ripping up asphalt with a Caterpillar 312C YouTube - 312 Pulling up Asphalt Caterpillar D9N fanning out some wet clay to be dried for backfill. Outside mounted camera. YouTube - Caterpillar D9N Pushing Clay John Deere 330LC Loading a tandem with wet clay. From Waiward YouTube - John Deere 330LC Loading Tandem Caterpillar 345BL Series 3 just moving some dirt over on a slope. Now with personal shot at Dirtman2007...lol YouTube - Cat 345BL Cam Caterpillar 973C Cam number 16... I have lost track of the number of 973 videos, but it's from outside the machine and it shows my tracks slightly tighter than they were before. YouTube - Caterpillar 973C Cam 16
look's like some pretty good pic's to me. how much more productive is the 973A compared to the 963C ? Pj
There is a big difference, all of the 73A's have bee repowered and almost all of them have more power than they ever came with. The 73 has the weight the 63 just doesn't have. Sureway is almost exclusively 973's but they do own 1 63C of their own. IGL had a bunch of 63's and they all suck. That is one of the newest 63's they have and it has issues. The high speed doesn't work for the hydrostat so you go everywhere in slow mode. The computer also needs to be reflashed as the engine does not throttle up anymore when you turn. There is also something wrong with the hydrostat unit because the tracks no longer counter rotate. The 73C I had last year had the same problem with counterrotation except only on one side. All we had to do was recalibrate the steering system and they were fine. I tried with that 63 and it didn't help. But the operator for the 63 says it has been like that since new and he isn't interested in mentioning anything because... well I don't know why. Either way I could care less. I don't run 63's and I never want to run a track loader with a Q/A.
How does that Deere 800 compare with the Cat 385?
It doesn't. The 850 is the only thing that comes close, and I'd take the 385 any day. Hey Alex. Little tip? Turn off your radio, your musical selection is terrible. :bash
that truck driving SCREAMS friday afternoon, time to go home for the weekend:bash Great pics Alex.
sounds like a sig quote to me , I hate Q/A too. i have 4 963C's and have wondered if i could replace them with 2 73's...........whatchya think? we dont do any basement's or tight quarter's stuff, its mainly land clearing and grubbing etc. for us, so manuverability is not a huge concern (it is alway's a little concern) but I have never been around a 73, a few years ago i bought a pair of 973's but never seen or operated them. I got a job done and sold them without dealing with the big basterds, kinda wondering if I shoulda kept one,.......if I remember right one had a trans/motor seal leaking and I guess it was kinda common :beatsme Pj
You just don't know good taste in music you fool. As for replacing 4 963's with 2 973's.... sounds like a fair trade to me. Sadly I would say shy away from most 973C's. They run and push like crazy but they aren't exactly known for reliability with us.
I am hearing rumblings on this coast that it starting to get busy out there again. just wondering how you are finding it.
Things are starting to pick up, we are busy again which is nice. We will see how long it lasts.
Sometimes wet dirt is a bit of a problem for backfill.... so thats when you bring in the dirt haulers. Some companies might view this as overkill.... but its only 2 657's.
Nice photos as always Alex, do I see that right that even your ME's have quick couplers?
Yep, all the big hoes have the hydraulic Q/A's. I think the only big hoes that don't are the PC1250's. EX1100 and the older of the Komatsu 750's. I don't think I would want to change the buckets on the 385's manually.
Pussy. We broke 3 chains trying to get the wedge out of my old 375. Used a 825 to yank on it and had to use the crane on the mech truck to get that thing back in. 385 didn't even have a wedge, it's pinned on (not that we had another bucket for it anyways). Of course the 850D has a nice Q/A. Only one bucket though, and last year our prostar of an op kept hitting the button by accident and spent quite some time trying to fish the sucker (still full of dirt) back out of a 40 ton ADT Oh good times right there (this is the same fellow who preferred to side BESIDE a berm to load it out, and insisted on backing the trucks in everywhere).
Didn't you break the Q/A on the 850 playing a joke on the operator? I seem to remember a text message about it one day....lol And you callin me out.... a pickup truck operator? You just go back to makin walk around videos.... maybe a walk around video of the girlfriend would get you some views...lol
It was working fine after I flipped the bucket upside down on him, if it breaks when he's trying to put it back on that's his fault not mine
:falldownlaugh:notworthy I smell a bit of jelousy coming from burnout!
Lol hardly... I bet he sits in his little dodge and wishes he could be running the hoe on site. But jealous of the girlfriend maybe? Well she is pretty hot. So maybe......
So you bump to some eminem when operating huh?? lol
Lol... I bump to anything... and airguitar when suitable.
Don't be hating just cause I'm more awesome then you I don't really wanna run that hoe, it's the 850D. You know how I feel about JD. I did use it to set some steel plates on the road crossing today (video to follow).
More awesome than me? I think not chief. Yes I know how you feel about JD.... too fast for you. Gonna have to run Cat until you get that whole operating thing down right? Hey Krissy and I were just watching one of your videos.... when are they gonna take the training wheels off your old hoe?
The pontoons you mean? ... I have a bad habit of hijacking your threads don't I? (it's cool though cause I have pirate flags on my belt).
Go ahead Hi-Jack away my friend... im just inching closer to the 973 post count. I wonder if I can get it permanently set at 973 posts. I will admit.... I wish I had pirate flags on my belt:notworthy
You know that when you hit 973 you can't post anymore right? You'll have to create the Burnout2 account. Eventually you will have 8506 Burnout accounts all with 973 posts.
As long as I have 973 posts im happy. I got a new video.......973 car chase scene cam. YouTube - Caterpillar 973C Chase Cam