During my surfing over the holiday weekend, I came across this video of a Menzi A91 4x4 climbing onto what looks like a shipping container that looks to be 12'-15' tall, a twirl and then a dismount. All of this was done in under 5 minutes. The capabilities of this equipment is somewhat mind-blowing! Gee, I wonder if the operator was wearing his seat belt? link to this address here: http://www.voelkerequipment.com/menzivideo.html Even with a dial-up connection, this video is worth the wait! :thumbsup I own an old Menzo 5000T but now I have my sights set on something a little more advanced when finances allow. I hope everyone else who views this enjoys it as much as I have.
Cool video. Click here for a page containing a whole bunch of videos.
Good find Treemuncher and wyldman. :thumbsup Have to add those to the collection. :yup
If you browse around the different categories,there are videos (LOTS of them) on every page.There has to be 30 -40 videos in total.
Dude that is so cool. Talk about a machine that you can brown your under pants very easy.
So are these machiens good at standard stuff I might use a excavator for, Looking to by a 5 ton class mini but these machines seem to have a big advantage when climing or hilly areas, Looking for some advice on where this machine excells and doesn't
Wouldn't catch me dead in an excavator on those hills :bouncegri
Not on the hills, just at the bottom when you roll down it.
There's a lot of steep slope work in my area to be done with a machine like that. A guy I personally knew had two Schaeff HS40's a few years back, those machines were responsible for a lot of his business and he had two 15 ton excavators, dozer, backhoe, couple dump trucks, typical excavation contractor that branched out into some serious specialty work. If the demand was high, and I think it will be in my area even more than it was in the past, I'd buy one in a minute. Nobody has one, you can charge what you want (within reason) and when it really comes down to it, being able to tackle a job nobody else can do is a good feeling. I love a good challenge, life threatening or not. I actually ran one of the Schaeff's as a kid, I must've been 13 or so.
Very cool, operator must have lots of nerve!!!!!!!!!!!
Here are some more videos http://www.youtube.com/user/rhorat Click on Kaiser short to see this one. I havnt watched the others yet. http://virtualvault.freedom2surf.net/2965341
thats a cool i think that might fun to run think they would let us demo one.....lol..:beatsme
I loved that mower idea, spits the material away from the ditch!
I just finished uploading 98 pics from my laptop for you guys I think you will enjoy them. But first the disclaimer: These are NOT my own pictures. It's a collection of pictures I got off the net while researching buying my own. If any of the pictures in this collection are yours please let me know and I will remove and/or credit you for them Here is the link If you look right bellow the Gallery logo you will see some little icons. Click the one on the left and a menu will slide out with a full screen slide show option.
Nice pics Brian, Have you been able to run your machine yet? How do you like it? Any of pics in there of yours?
Darn! Scary. I imgine they cable off the machine to safe anchors working a 60 degree slope?
I haven't taken delivery of mine yet...should be here really soon though This is it. It's a 96 Kaiser X4M TurboStar If it gets to crazy Mike there is a winch mounted to the undercarriage to tie off with. It will go almost vertical using the winch and will do 60 degrees safely without it.
i know we've discussed this in another forum, but after looking at your pics, i can see "maybe" 1 out of 10 situations in those pics posted that i couldn't do the same thing with my excavator .....you'll definitely be in a niche market. good luck
Yup you could do it but the job would cost way more then if a I did it because it would take you way longer to do. While your busy trying to get set up and figure out how your going to sit on those slopes...or even get to them I'm well into the job already. I'm half the size of a 200 track machine but have the same power, digging depth and reach. I'm as mobile as a rubber tire back hoe and have 7 more auxiliary hydraulic lines (5 on the stick plus 2 more for the winch). Those lines power a list off attachments a mile long. A few of the more useful ones are (excluding the obvious like hammers and packers) Mower Feller Buncher Mulcher Drill Processor Head Crane Gear Grapple Bucket Demolition shears Swivel and continuous 360 degree rotation of any attachment I can do anything a conventional machine can and a whole more. You seem to think it would be a hard machine to find work for, what am I missing here?
What's the max roading speed crusing around?
please give me a link that i can look up the specs of the kaiser....any google i've tried, gives me a dead link. thanks
A track machine should not go there. Does anyone appreciate what a 30 Degree, not a 30% slope really looks like? It’s darn tough to walk. Heck, I consider myself an ok skier, but 35 degrees scares the bravery right out of me. I'm a novice at excavation, but I'd be real scared to run a track excavator on a 25 degree slope. My machine drags it’s butt climbing up one that steep and yes, it’s drive motors will usually spin the tracks pushing with the dozer blade before stalling the motors. The very experienced dozer operator I hire slid his machine on a 25 degree slope of only 35 ft elevation. As it was dry hard ground, I was able to rubber tire up it with my TLB to get the stuff he gave up on. I thought I was going to fall over backward and when the Tractor slid a bit sideways, I really puckered before I recovered. Those photos of the Scandinavian Mountain slopes are incredible. A track machine is not going to work there. An honest 30 3egree slope most operators stay away from.
Hi ron what part of B.c are you in. I'm in Nanaimo right now. Mine only has one travel gear, 6mph. The new ones have 2 and will do about 12mph. There is a few websites down on the net, I wonder what's up with that. Kaiser's address is www.kaiser.li it's down now but I'm sure they will get it up again. If you go to the downloads page there is pdf files with specs there. The new 07 specs they got there aren't as detailed as last years. If you want those you can email me and I will send them to you. They are to big to post. The biggest change this year is they bumped it up from 132hp to 157hp not bad for a little ten ton machine eh. Here is the basics weight: 20,723 lbs dig depth: 236.6 inches max reach: 319.7 inches lift capacity: 12,125 lbs @ 10 feet, 6173 lbs @ 16 ft, and 3527 lbs @ 23 ft
Abbotsford to be more precise. The local Police force here are so laid back, they all wear plaid.
100% is a 1:1 and 60 degrees is almost .5:1 REALLY steep. I'm not used to thinking in degrees ether. I would probably tie of at 60 degrees. I'm safe at 100% though.
Right on, I like that area a lot. I travel though there at least twice a year.
All those attachments are nice but they are real proud of them. For example over 18,000 usd for a grapple bucket. Seems a little steep but that said I am in the process of selling my Harley so I can buy one.
Hey another Spyder Hoe guy!! Right On! Welcome to HEF Foster! Have you got some pictures of your machine for us? Selling your Harley for a grapple Now there is a man who loves his machine lol I agree the prices are steep but from what I here you should never have to buy another, they are extremely tough and well built. How is the wear on your cleanup bucket? The first thing I noticed is that they don't have changeable cutting edges on them. But apparently they don't need them? I have seen a couple old buckets that still look really good.
I was going to edit my last post to add this but it wouldn't go just kept loading forever, but anyways. Did you have your avatar when I answered your first post Foster? I didn't notice it but then again I often post from my cell phone and turn the pictures off so they don't show unless I click on them. Makes a big difference on my phone bill. And even on my laptop avatars are really small and I can barley make out whats on the back of the truck. Looks to be a Menzi Muck?
Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums Foster! :drinkup
Thank you for the welcome. Yes had avatar and yes I have more pics of Menzi, Too soon to be able to post. Its a 2001 A71 with about 2000 hours on it. Was last owned by the city of Sarrasota Florida, Just picked it up about 3 weeks ago. Been trucking since 1976 and its' getting real old. Hopping I can make a living with the shovel instead. Its a blast to operate and set up with a lot of common sence. ps, bring extra shorts with you to work. Bret.
Just looked again and found out I can post pics
nice pics Brian !! that looks like a hand machine i think that would be nice on some of our bridge jobs where a smaller machine don't sink in mud as bad when we get down in the creek full of water ......wonder if you can put a cal 2500 breaker on one?
That's a nice looking machine Bret :notworthy I'm sure you will do well with it. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of your projects.
Hi tw, I'm actually anticipating a lot of bridge work this spring. It can work in six feet of water, is almost unstoppable in the mud and runs biodegradable oil. I know there is breakers available for them but I don't know much about which ones are compatible. Maybe this will help Max oil flow is 50gal/minute-system preasure 300 bar
Kaiser's website is going again. You check it out yet day? http://www.kaiser.li/content.php?SiteId=46&lang=eng The S1 is 7 Ton and the S2 is 10 ton
yes, appears to be a very versatile machine, but doesn't "quite" spec out to a 200 sized hoe. i'm sure you'll find plenty of work for it, as i hope you do.....i stiill maintain in my market area, there wouldn't be enough work for a unit as that and be able to make payments. you'd have to travel 400-500 mile radius. our digging conditions here on the prairie wouldn't warrant it. we need something on the flat ground that's more mobile than that, we're into primarily sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water main work....that machine wouldn't apply at all, we track too much, move too much. good luck
A machine like that doesn't NEED to spec out like a 200 size hoe. Most jobs with a machine like that you're getting paid just because you can get a machine to a difficult site, not because it can move a hell of alot of dirt, quickly. My friend that had one years ago actually had two of them and he kept them both busy all the time. He did have to travel to keep them busy, but he was getting paid fairly handsomely to do that as well.
i didn't say it had to either...brian said it spec'd out the same as a 200 class excavator...hp yes, reach and dig depth, no....i think you're reading my posts all wrong. apparently brian has done a lot of market research for his area and has come to the conclusion he can keep that machine very busy, and very profitable...more power to him!!! all i've been saying, that here on the prairies of south dakota, i'm of the opinion that you would be hard pressed to keep that machine busy for the intended purpose for which it's designed.
I've only seen one of these excavators in my area, back when Fisheries did a reapir job on a fish rich creek, the walking excavator was the only machine able to cling to that hill side, quite impressive. Owner of the excavator I believe is Strohmier Excavating, based out of Chilliwack.
No one said it had to speck out the same as a 200 or be a mass excavator. Dayexo is right, I stand corrected . It's reach and digging depth is closer to that of a 120 size. Which is still very impressive, a 120 is over half again it's size. It has the same horsepower and a little more lifting capacity then a 200 which is almost 2 and a half times it's size. I have no idea what the terrain or the market is like in your area Day and if it seamed like I was trying to say a Spyder is the better choice for anyone in any area I wasn't. I may have misunderstood you as well. I thought you were saying the same thing but from the other side of the fence when you said a Track Hoe could do almost any of the things in the pictures. Believe it or not I have really been enjoying your criticism here and in the other forum we talk in. It kinda helps keep a guy looking at things from all different perspectives. I'm new in business and when a guy who has been successfully in business for years has something to say I listen and put a lot of thought into it.
BrianHay - Just wondering if you took delivery of your Kaiser yet. Let me know when you do and how well you like it. I've got a Menzi 5000 that I've had a couple of years. It's a trip to operate and can get you into some pretty difficult terrain. You need to be a really good and smooth operator to run one of these things safely. You need to be several moves ahead in your mind to keep yourself out of difficult situations. The abilities of these machines are very impressive to say the least. I would really like to try one of the new 4x4 models and see how they perform. I'm planning on selling the 5000 for now but I will likely get something newer in the future. I always look for specialty work in the niche markets. I like a challenge to keep my head busy. If you get into much swamp work, a rubber tracked dumper like my Yanmar C60R works very well together with the walking hoe.
No, haven't got it yet but it shouldn't be long now. I talked to Kaiser last night and it was shipped about 10 days ago ! I don't know how long the boat ride is but I imagine it should be hitting our shores any day now....then we just have to wait and see how long it takes to clear customs
I rented one and they are real nice, they will do things that no regular excavator will do. You might be able to do a few of the things it does with your regular excavator but it would take more time and money. I don't think you could work in 6 feet of water, or walk an excavator off that tall of wall (I walk a 200 John Deere off an 10 ft. wall and didn't like it, thought it was going over) or place rock on that steep of bank, just to name a few. I will agree that it would be a niche market, but that is where the money is. Regular excavators are every were. But special excavators are not. That is why I got in to the market I did, (long reach excavators) Now that a few more contractors are buying long reach excavators, I'm going to cut back and do some thing else in a niche market. BrianHay You will do fine finding work for it. Good luck.
Hi RKO sorry it took so long to reply I haven't had time to stop into the forums much lately. What did you do with the one you rented? Work is looking really good for when ours gets here (Jan sixth if all goes well clearing customs). It is coming at the worst possible time of year for finding work but it doesn't seem to mater, we are already booked Are you considering one as your next niche?
Brain Hay I'm thinking about one pretty hard. I used one on several jobs: First one being placing/building retain wall along an interstate, I sat on a 1 to 1 slope, picked the material up behind the machine and placed it in front of the machine. Next job was repairing a storm sewer in a drainage ditch. The water was 4 to 6 feet deep. I could only set in the water as the golf course did not want it's course tore up. I wad to walk the machine off a 10 foot high box culvert to get to the ditch. The last job was placing a sanitation pipe line 6 feet deeper along side a 96 inch storm pipe. All these jobs could?? be done with other machines, but only with more work, time, and expense dayexco Maybe in the type of work you do just plain sanitation pipe work there is not a big need for one of these but. South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas have about the same terrain/construction. From experience/talking to contractors there is lots of work for this type of machine. Brain Hay Post pictures of machine and jobs you do. It is amazing what they can do. Even tho they do not spec. out with a 200 class machine they will out do one in most cases. I was not sure about renting one but after running it I would rent one again in a heart beat. You will do good with one of them.
The county here has one to clean all the drainage ditches and whatnot here. Its wild to watch it work. Just walks down the ditch.
Spiderman! That's impressive, but you should really see my friend Andy, aka "Spiderman" work the cliffs on the California coast in his Kaiser Spyder with Rototilt. Andy literally hangs upside down, digging below himself, while hanging from one of the Spyder's legs, see... www.aisconstruction.com . WOW!
I haven't seen a 200 working beside one yet but have heard several comical stories about it. The Spyder guys get laughed at when they show up on a job conventional machines are working on...everyone stops laughing when they see what it can do and the conventional machines get sent home. My machine is at the rail yard in Vancouver right now and should have gotten its customs inspection today. If that went well I should be posting pics tommorow night. I'm bringing it to a friends place just outside of Mission for a few days and then out to Vancouver Island. If any of you guys are in the area and want to see it up close, give me a shout. Any chance Andy would stop into the forums and visit us?
I'm just across the river from Mission, how many days to be exact?
I finally got to put a few hours on her today! ! It's everything I had hoped it would be and more. Kaiser is top shelf. It's like a new machine. They fixed it up really nice, even put a new cd player in it for me. I took a bunch of pics with my cell phone but these were the only ones that turned out small enough to post. I'm having a really hard time trying to post them because my phone keeps going out of service...hope they post. I'm not sure how long I will be here Ron, probably not long. I don't have a job to do here I'm just spending some time getting used to it before putting it to work.
Congrats on your machine Brian!
Congrats on the machine Brian. I know its been a long time coming. :drinkup Will be awaiting the action shots.
Spyders Congrats Brian, much fun ahead. Mr. Beavon is my hero!
The machine looks really great!!!!!! From the picture of your first post of the machine on earlier post,it looks as tho they really went over the machine before they shipped it. I noticed things painted better and also the new hose cover guards on the hoses of the boom. Is this the same machine you first posted ???? now that i think about it the other one might have been one you just found on the net to compare and posted:beatsme So how many hours are on this machine,i also thought you said about 6000 hr on other post? Will be looking forward to pictures of your furture work and jobs. Good luck with your new machine and you new adventure(business):usa
Also forgot to add!!!! The machine looked like a pretty tight fit in the truck box. Also how'd the inspection go when it got here???
Thanks for all the congrats and good luck wishes guys! Yes it's the same machine. When I first talked to Kaiser about it it was out on rental and it was of course hard for them to give me a price without bringing it into the shop first. But I needed to know for our leanders so I could get the cash together. So they gave me a price for it fixed up no mater what it needed. They REALLy held up their end of the deal. Anything that wasn't in new condition they replaced and gave it some paint. They even painted inside the cab were it normally gets worn from boots, key chains and stuff. That's a custom paint job too (factory ordered when it was new) they were blue and red stock. I didn't get the digging bucket I ordered. They sent me a way better one...a little large (100mm or 3 foot) but I like it a lot and the machine handles it well. I was bulking some really heavy wet dirt today and a full bucket, fully extended was no prob. I will get a smaller one later if I need it for something. It has about 6600 hours on it now and is as tight as new machine. The first pictures I posted were all I had seen of it before it arrived. How often does it work out the way it did for us eh. Normally its never the way it looks in pics and I was worried I would be disapointed when it got here. But it is way better then I had hoped it would be. I like those pics of it coming out of the container. Really shows just how tight of an area it is capable of getting into. Sitting outside of it it sure doesn't look like it would fit. Customs inspection went really well. It took $250 and one day. I was a little worried. I've heard of machines getting held up for a full month there.
Have enjoyed following your story Hi Brian I have really enjoyed following your story on your new machine. Congrations on your new purcase. I am curios to know if you have come up with a price per hour to work your machine. It is a specialty machine. Thanks Winn
Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums hottimedancer! :drinkup
Thanks Winn I'm really flattered how many people are interested in what I'm up to. I frequent a couple of other forums as well and if I don't post anything new for a while someone usually asks for an update. As well on my own site over 1000 people have added it to their bookmarks already...that blew me away when I seen those stats. I do have a rate in mind when I bid a job but I would prefer to set a price for the finished job. I think that works best for the customer in most situations because then they know exactly what it will cost before I even start.
Flipped spyder http://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90038&page=5 Hi Brian, Check out this forum it has a picture (mid-way down on the forum page) of a flipped kaiser at Crystal Mountain in Washington. Have you heard anything about this? Worked with Andy from AIS and his kaiser knickfuss this past summer in Colorado. Trying to find out who owned the spyder that flipped- maybe Roger @ kaiser has heard something? These machines are absolutely fascinating!
For those of you who hate surfing:
Hi AllMtnConst. Welcome to HEF. Roger showed me a bunch of pictures of that machine. He went over there to assess the damage for them. I don't know the story behind how it happened but I do know it's fixable and they are going to repair it. I feel bad for the operator, thats a nice machine. It's an S2 only a few years old. Hey Ron I kinda thought I would hear from you to meet up and check out our machine. It's still in Mission but I'm out on the Island right now lining things up to bring it here. I'm not sure yet exactly when I will be going to pick it up but if you want I will PM you when I do and if things work out we can meet up.
I'll see how bored my old man is, give him a poke with a stick every now and then.
Welcome to Heavy Eqipment Forums AllMtnConst.! :drinkup
Check these guys out. They advertise doing conventional work with their machines as well as the extreme stuff http://www.allterrainexc.com/ Now that I have some seat time in mine it's not hard to see why. I will of course go for the extreme stuff first. But if there is a slow time in that area I would not hesitate to put my machine up against any other machine of comparable size/specs on flat land work as well. It is FAST and efficient in all situations.
Anything you do with a walking excavator is considered extreme, just loading/unloading it onto/off a truck with out ramps would be extreme in my books.
Just finally looked at this vid, wow, that is awesome. great vid Trbo
I'm just tossing this out there, something I'm pondering. I had considered our machine booked on a hand shake. Another contractor on the island had said he was swammped in work and wanted to sub our machine as soon as it got here. He had a truck to transport it and would pick it up as soon as it was ready. I kept in touch and kept him updated but it turned out to be all talk when it came time to actually go to work. So now the machine is in Mission ready to go to....? It's not a big deal, I have a few good leads I'm working on that I'm sure will work out. But in the mean time I would like to get it to the island and ready to go here when the time comes. I was thinking if there is some one out there with a truck I would consider swapping a day or two work for a ride to the Island. That would get our machine out there and seen and a cheap demo for some one who has a truck to move it. It will climb right into the box of a tandem axle dump truck so it's cheap and easy to transport. Here is a link to my contact info
Here is a couple of cab shots. I will get some better ones later.
Wow, it's more...um...purple than I imagined. Yeah, seems the days of the good ol' handshake are over, doesn't it.
haha I gotta get a real digital camera the cell pics arn't to great. Ya sucks that had to be my first lesson in business. I knew it would happen one day but on the first hand shake... I guess a guy has to get a signed contract or a deposit to book in advance.
There are some major buttons to push.
Thanks for the welcome. Once I am able to post some pictures, I'll send some of what I am doing. Brian, Kaiser did a heck of a job refurbishing your machine. It looks great. Best of luck to you.
So now that you've got some time in the seat how do you like running it? Is it a lot different than a regular tracked machine? Seems like it would take some time to get use to with all the different ways it can articulate.
I love operating it. It has Cat controls on the joysticks and then as you can see lots of additional buttons, levers and pedals (six more that you can't see in the pics). But the layout of the controls makes sense, it didn't take long to catch onto them. The 4 buttons on each joystick that you can see control the legs up and down. When your sitting with the big wheels behind you the two inside buttons on each side control the front legs and the 2 outside the back. There are two buttons you can't see on the front of each joystick for auxiliary hydraulics. The buttons bellow the joysticks are for the legs in and out. The pedals from left to right are. Auxiliary for grapples and and other attachments, Drive wheels and extend a hoe. Then for steering when you are driving there is a lever to the right that moves the legs with the small wheels both at the same time. It has a really roomy cab and the seat is excellent. It has two swing speeds one if your sitting level that is really fast and the other for if you need more swing power. In slow mode it is still just as fast as any other hoe I have been on.
hey That little thing looks like fun, how do you backfill with it!
Hi Tonka it's a blast to operate. I'm not sure what you meen? I guess I would backfill the same as any other excavator does...or in some situations maybe I would be able to position myself better then most.
get off the laptop and get some pics of it working
Haha right on, well here is a couple of shots for you...I need a camera man. When I was in the best positions for pics I couldn't get out. Ether the mud was to deep/soft for me to walk on or I was hanging by my seat belt. Even though I got into the mud deep enough to get the back of her engine compartment dirty I was not even close to stuck. Just had to be careful swinging. Their ability in soft ground is amazing. edit: doesn't look like it's working posting the pics from my cell phone. Will add them when I get home
Ok here they are
I posted this on another thread or farther back in this one ,but i agree they did a great job refurbished your machine.Didn't you say it had around 6000 hour.Looks like new. Or at least it did As far as moving it,you will have to try and get your own truck,but i know just starting out you can't have everything.I'm sure you know that. There always those words.I need, i need !!!!!!!! Just remember them. Again nice machine.Good luck:usa
A few photos of what I play around with. I like the steep stuff!
I give up what was you doing.I think i would have the packers guys going ahead of me.Just in case. What brand is your spider machine.The boom on it looked more on the excavtor type,compared to Brains. Also thinks for sharing the:cool2 pictures.Keep them coming:usa
The spyder in the photo is a kaiser s2 knickfuss 4x4 from AIS construction. The other photos are from constructing a ski lift over the snow to minimize impact to the environment. We built a new ski lift on the back side of Arapahoe Basin, Co. I climbed up the front side of the ski area, to the summit 12, 472 feet, then dropped down the backside to dig tower footings over the snow. The snow cats were keeping the snow packed in front of us so we would not sink out of site. I built a spreader bar so three snowcats could assist me back up to the summit after the job was completed.:drinkup
I have nothing but good things to say about our dealings with Kaiser buying this machine. They far above and beyond to be sure we would be happy with it. Last I looked at the hour meter I think it had 6657 hours and it looks, feels and operates like it's new. We want to get a truck as soon as we can but for now I have to find someone for our regular moves. It would be nice to find someone to use regularly on the Island and the main land. Those pics are incredible AllMtnConst. !! Both machines are Kaiser machines Construct'0 but the S2 is newer. Mine is a TurboStar, the previous series.
While we're on the subject of ski hills and such, for those that have not been in a snow cat, if you're given an opportunity to go out for a night, do it. Scariest crap ever, I've done some insane stuff with an excavator, but if you get with the right guy in a snowcat it'll be a white knuckle night. Those guys are nuts and those machines will go just about anywhere.
1:18 mark shows a walking excavator, putting a Unimog (I think) back on its wheels. Would be nice if the tree wasn't in the way but you'll get the idea. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yqEZpffmfI
I need one of them 8x8 trucks in the video. you could go anywhere
Cool video, I didn't watch the whole thing though. I have a really slow dial up connection. I want one of those trucks too! Those are awesome.
Hi ! Brain I checked out your website by clicking on your name.I liked your business name. First off i thought you have a great website,and just want to say this one thing that i would change.Others might like it,but i felt it takes away from your site. It is the moving letters.The information is good,it's just that it follows you around over the site,it covers parts of your information,unless you move the curser off to one side.I fell it distracts from you other information. If you could set it at the top and have it run across the top of your site like a bill board i feel would be better. Please don't take this the wrong way,again just my feeling.Hope it helps get you work.Great job all and all !!!!!!!:usa
Thanks for the compliments Construct'O and I appreciate the feedback. Your the second to say that you don't like the words. I tend to forget they are there because I use Firefox now and they don't show up for me. They just say "Nothing is out of reach". It says that under the heading too so I think I will take it out. My site changes almost daily. It has become a very time consuming hobby but I enjoy it. Any more feedback would be welcomed.
All that work on my website paid off today. I start a project with Hazco on the 11th. They found my website searching the net. It's a contaminated site excavation on Vancouver Island. The site is all steep slopes and rocky outcrops Between now and then though I can't believe no one has taken me up on my offer to work the machine in exchange for a ride to the Island. Anyone who frequents this site knows how much I love our toy. Get it on site and just try and get me to stop working it if I have nowhere else to take it I would of thought anyone with a truck would jump on that :beatsme I know I would. Oh well, I will give it a couple more days and if no one is interested I will start calling around and book a move with the next available truck in the area.
I would take you up on it ,but we are quite aways a part. Theres a guy on here in Texas, on the dozer posts that could sure use you for a few days. I would at least be kind of looking around for a cheap dependablity truck,just might come across a bargain at the right time. When i first started i was just rent to own agreement for my first dozer and i bought an old truck and trailer to move it before i owned the dozer.Deopending on someone else to move your machine is always such a pain in you know what. Maybe the company your going to work with will throw in a ride,altho i know it looks bad to have to ask for a ride,but you never know until you ask. It's a tuff call some times.Again good luck always good to see someone trying to get ahead. Okay you fellow country men give Brain a hand,for a job in return.He isn't asking for a free ride now !:usa
Good people those Hazco, they really like their Cat toys.
I'm going out today to look for a truck to hire to move it as well as a truck to buy. It will probably be a little while before we find a truck of our own and get it ready for the road though. We have the cash to pay for a move but I thought if there was someone here that had a truck it would be a good thing for both of us. As I'm sure you know it's normal to charge the customer move in costs so I figured for a guy with a truck to be able to get me for a couple days just for his cost to move it...opportunity like that doesn't present itself every day. :beatsme I'm going to find a spot in Nanaimo close to the hiway that I can park it on display until I'm ready to take it to the job. Best advertising I can think of is getting it out were it will get seen. I worked for them in the early 90's in Southern Alberta. They are a good company for sure. They are among the highest paying in the industry with great benefits, nice equipment and really treat their people well. I am happy to have the opportunity to work with them, I'm looking forward to it.
Wouldn't Hazco be able to move it around for you? Seems only fair to me.
Possibly, I meet with them next week to go over the details. But I would still like to get it to the island before then. If they have a truck available and want to move it from wherever I have it when the time comes that would save them paying me to hire someone to do it.
Okay Ron get off your behind,your not doing anything much right now.Get your big brothers truck and move Brain over to some of your jobs for a couple day then make the trip to the island. Might do you some good to get away from your confort zone and see what going on in the real world.:beatsme Go for it.Later:usa
It's to late I found a good connection and got it all lined up. Loz Logistics in Nanaimo found us someone to move it at a really good price and I found a perfect spot to store it right on the Trans Canada highway.
Forget that pal, ferry rates are a PITA for a gravel truck and trailer, and I hate all those pricks in the scales on the #1 highway.
don't store it, go wear it out!!!!
Don't need a trailer ron, just the truck. It will climb right into the box. Won't be long now day But when it's not on the job I have the perfect spot right on the side of a hill next to the busiest highway on the Island. I will put a sign in the window with some info on it and my contact details and hopefully it wont sit there very often.
Hopefully you don't end up with some weekend warrior just wanting a hole dug for some kiddy pool in his back yard.
Yes, we do.
Cool, I didn't know that's who you work for RPM. How long have you been with them?
Brian, in answer to the operator that you worked in Pincher, his name is Al Miller and he no longer works for Hazco, last i heard he was working in calgary runnig a 600 Hitachi.
About 8 years now, did one project in the pincher area about 6 years ago.
I remember seeing Hazco at the Pickton piggy farm on TV all the time as well as the Sumas First Nations disposal site, boy did those poor Indians get bent over on that one.
Al was a good guy to work with. It's been a good 10 years since I talked to him though so I couldn't remember his last name. Pincher is a nice area except for the wind. It sure has grown the last five years.
Oh the stories, could spill quite a few beer talking about that old fart. hehehe. I normally don't have to go down south now, the calgary office takes care of that.
HaHa for sure. Now that I know his last name I should see if he is in the book next time I'm through Calgary.
nice video
Hazco project is finished now, great bunch to work with I really enjoyed it. There are a ton of pictures of it in my gallery. Here are some pictures of the cab and the mechanical end of things I said I would post.
Some of them are to big to post. Most of my best camera phone pictures go over the limit by 1-10kb
pics Thanks for the pics Brian. I hope that toy is everything you hoped it would be. I haven't picked up on one negative remark since you got it which is great. :drinkup If you have MS PAINT on you computer take the pics there and use the STRETCH & SKEW option in IMAGE to reduce pic sizes. Save the pic with an a or 1 added to the file name and you will keep the original and have a smaller one to post. If you dont have " paint " then disregard last paragraph In last picture of both your posts there are five or more electo magnetic switches, each held by 4 small bolts and electric connector on side. Do yourself a favour and find/locate/buy yourself a spare/replacement and keep it with you. Also when you have some spare time try and work out what each one does ( if you dont know already). By disconnecting one at a time and seeing what has stopped working. One day you will need one when you are in the worst position imaginable, if you know what some of them do you can swap them around to get youself out of trouble. I lost high travel coming off a busy roundabout in the morning rush. Blew the fuse and stopped me dead. Low travel got me onto the verge, and then I swapped Low for High and was mobile again.
It is for sure all I had hoped it would be, it's a great machine. Sofar all I have done is replace one small hose on one of the legs. The rest of the pictures are in my Gallery, it has a 2mb limit. I could resize them using the Gallery but they fit no prob in the other 3 forums I go to and I don't want to have a seperate album just to post here. I have a hard enough time keeping everything on my computer/website organized lol I checked out your website, really nice site. That's a sweet machine you have. Some nice looking work you do with it too. Great advice on the switches, I will get an extra for sure.
pic and stuff Thank you for your kind comments on my web site I am glad you like it. I've had a browse at your gallery, that baby is something else ! wow. I consider myself a well above average operator and can put most things to productive work but my hat comes off to you.:notworthy Well done. I am fasinated to know how you got the idea to get the machine. Especially as you had to import it. Its not like you saw one on a site down the road and ye, I want one. ? or was it.
Hi Rob, thanks for the compliments! I got the idea when I found one listed in with wheeled excavators on machinerytrader.com That was the first time I had ever seen or heard of them. I had been pondering getting a machine for a really long time but I didn't know what I wanted to get. I wanted something different that wasn't very common. When I seen the Spyder and did some research on it I knew that was the machine for me.
busy Hi Brian, good to have an update. Amazing how different people get to be owners, operators, or both. I know from other threads you have broad machine experience, which is why I was so intrested how you came to get the Syder. :thumbsup I see you have been busy changing your web site. I look by now and then just to see the amazing places you can put that toy of yours :notworthy Not seeing you around for a while hopefully means your keeping busy. :drinkup I've had a few night shifts on the motorway job I'm on over the last week, plus Bank holiday here yesterday so have had a chance to read up on more of the info on here.
I have been really busy but not in the seat unfortunately. That will be changing soon though, things are starting to really come together for us slowly but surely. Now that pic size isn't an issue anymore (thanks Steve and all others involved :thumbsup:thumbsup )I can post a few of the best from that Hazco project for you guys As I mentioned before the operator wearing orange is not me. He is a supervisor with Hazco that used to be a Spyder Hoe operator in Switzerland. I let him have a go at our machine and got some great pics
I love the shots I got near the buildings, they really show how steep it is.
pics Hi Brian, sorry to read about your truck getting pinched. :Banghead A set back that you could easily do without, but I am sure you will not let it beat you. Very frustrating though, I know ! Good to hear things are coming together, keep us posted with progress and pics :thumbsup That toy makes me smile every time I see it :notworthy
Great pictures as usual :notworthy:cool2!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing.Good luck:usa
I high Jacked this thread long enough I started a new one for my pictures
Hi foster How is your bussiness going up there. Are you busy Yet. I am just wondering if you are doing better then Brian. sincerly Hottimedancer
Did not get enough interest in the Menzi this spring, so had to go with the sure money and get back into hauling a tanker, good money and home every night. I will spend the year promoting the Menzi and try again next spring.
Foster Nice looking Truck Hi Foster Thank You for the Reply. I know I am being inpolite buy asking you this, But if you decide to stay on the Road and you want to sell or rent your machine. I would be very intrested in Buying it from you. I do live in Idaho. In the Moutains. Of what I can see it is in great shape. My Business Phone number is 208-309-2525. Or my email is [email protected] or Just leave a message. I sorry for my great spelling. I wish you the Best in Life and Business. Sincerly winn weaver
Never give up Foster....I had a really hard time getting started and more tuff times are ahead yet I'm sure but keep at it and it will come together. Hi Winn, if your looking for one I can put you in contact with the right people. I keep in contact with several contractors in the U.S and Canada that have them as well as 3 dealers, two in the U.S and one in Canada.
Thanks for the offer Winn, no offense taken. Bought my first truck in 1977 and I have had enough of the road, but it is what they pay me to do. Took me three an a half years to find my Menzi. not quite ready to sell but I will keep you in mind if the time comes.
Thank You for the offer Thank You Brain for the offer. I still wish you the best of luck and I very much enjoyed your story. I would buy if the right machine came along, but I am in no hurry. Thanks winn
Foster No problem No problem please do keep me in mind. I understand completely. It takes a long time to find what you are looking for. Every time I hurry I get screwed. Best of luck. Sincerly winn
New Bucket? Has the new bucket arrived yet? I'm looking forward to hearing about it and seeing what it looks like on your spyder-hoe
Not yet Bear, estimated shipping date is June 20. I have a great project for it when it arrives, another rock wall. The last one I did was with 2-3 foot rock and wasn't to hard to do with my cleanup bucket. But the next one is 3-4 foot granite rocks so I'm waiting for the PowerGrip to takle that one. Should make for some great pictures.
Ok Thanks for the update Brian. That's an awesome machine you have there and I can't wait to see the new bucket. Have fun!
That is a very interesting excavator design. I've never seen anything like it before.
I know what you mean. The thing looks to be an awesome way of getting into and out of some rough jobs. I ever take the plunge I may get one, lots of work could be done around here for sure.
Only a few days left and the new bucket should be on its way :bouncegri For those that have been asking me where to find. I know where there are two right now for a great price. A 93 and a 95 TurboStar for 75k each.....wish I was ready to buy our next machine because I would not hesitate to scoop em up.
I started this landscape project in my back yard last spring, so far all I have into it is time and fuel.
A few more pics, nearing the end of the project.
Nice job! How many hours do you have in it?
The work was for myself so I was not watching the clock, I was just out having fun.
You do good work! I was the operator of the 1st Menzi 5000+. They told me that it was the 1st of 5 prototypes for the "A" series. The owner also bought an A71 a year later. I have over 3000 hrs between both machines, So needless to say, I konw the machines.
Hi Thom Cat you cant get away with a comment like that and no further info I am sure the members that run em and a good few of the rest of us here would be very happy to hear any comments, PHOTOS and thoughts you have on these machines. :yup :thumbsup Personally I havent quite found the words that best describe my thoughts that are suitable for general consumption but .................awesome, will do for starters
Thanks Thom Cat, you must be very good with the Menzi, I have about one thousand hours running mine. Still have a long way to go before I can say I know what i'm doing. I'm with AtlasRob bring on the photos and storys.
Hi Guys,
I just delete 25 minutes worth of reply. :cussing I wiil redo soon.
All that experience and still learning, your just like the rest of us after all