Hello everyone I am a second year apprentice for the IUOE 101 in Kansas city, missouri. Recently I went to our training center and ran a 621 Caterpillar scraper. I heard terrible things about them but I enjoyed my time on it. My ol man dreads them and I don't see why(it could be that he ran one for eight years prior to his leaving the union). So if you could give me tips, thoughts, or stories the information would be greatly appreciated.
What model 621 was it?
It was a model "a". It was a used army scraper, for somethin so old it moved some dirt. It had a cab on it, but the mechanic took the door off for the summer.
i would rather be kicked in the head repeatedly then run a scraper.
Haha you sound like my old man. I liked runnin it, wasn't as bad as I was told it was.
Run it balls out for a full day and tell me what your body tells you in the morning
Haha I was kinda soar. But I feel that way alot from lookin behind me in the other machine I run
No more outlaw scraper racing anymore?
101 has a really nice facility, don't they? Wait until you get to run the 627B they have...you'll never want that 621 again! Wear your seat belts, let the seat take the beating not your kidneys...don't run around with the pan all the way up/gate ahead/ or the lip open when you don't need to. Keeping the pan low means if you need it as a brake, it takes less time to be able to use it, and keeps the center of gravity low. Open apron and the ejector forward when not dumping beats the pins and bushings and linkages unnecessarily, and the ejector ahead will beat the packing out of the ejector cylinder. Poke your head in the rear of the bowl some time and check out how long that cylinder is. Be careful of your blind side and keep backing up to a minimum. Enjoy your job and be safe. welcome to the club! Alan627b Local 571 Nebraska
I recently hopped on one of those 27s and I was thrown off by the two accelerator pedals. I loved it, but the 101 has agreat facility. Every year they rent new equipment for us. So far the union has been fun to work for (could deal without the jackass operator), but thanks for the advice.
Scrapers...........................I looked at all the scraper hands back in 1975/76 stooped, young men looking like they should be retiring and said ......naw thanks, I went with all the other bits that were available but a couple of loads with a TS24 and a 637 convinced me to stay away and I have done. Enjoy the experience and as long as YOU enjoy it that is what matters. :drinkup
outlaw scraper racing is fun. running scrapers is awful. cat and pans are a bit better.
Alan 627B did you work under the 101? Where you an apprentice too?
We used to call them Kidney Buckets ! Remember to ALWAYS wear your seat belt. I have witnessed a 631E upside down after the operator backed it over the edge of a deep ditch (3to1 slope no less). The operator was still in the seat hanging by the seat belt. He was completely uninjured until ---- he released the seat belt before we were able to help him get out of it. He suffered a really nasty shoulder bruise when he went head first onto the roof of the ROPS. He was unemployed the next morning for his stupidity
Ahhh, the first love of the inexperienced. Scrapers seem fun at first, and then as you do it every day, you become calloused to them like your old man was. I liked them in the beginning, but it did not take me long to beg to get off of them. Fortunately I had talent on other machines, so I did not get stuck on them for long. Since I didn'y run them for so long, I can still do it now and then and have it be fun. If you run one for a long time, you have to be a little nuts to still enjoy it. (No ill will to Alan627B)
:lmao thats got to be quote of the week. :yup
The 621A had the dreaded V8 engine. As I remember it was extremely powerful but could have a short life and many engines did fly apart before their time. It was light in the front and liked to bounce, most operators only lasted a few years. As fast as it was, I think it made every other scraper out there look bad, and it was an engineering marvel, except for the engine. A scraper operator is a hard life. Fighting to keep from getting stuck in the spring and fall, then sucking up dust in the summer. It can be quite exciting too, there is always an edge to work to and always someone has to dump on the blind side of the topsoil pile. There are usually soft spots to fill in to make it interesting. I wouldn't go back and do it over again, but it has an appeal to a certain type of person. Phil
I took an angledozer training class at Local 101, and used to live in Blue springs until 1975. Bob (older guy who I think runs the program) is an old friend of a real good friend of mine. That facility blew me away. You don't have to be nuts to like scrapers, but it helps! Here's the beast I'm currently running for Dondlinger and sons from Wichita Kansas. I'm working on 8 miles of highway 61 west of McPherson, Kansas.
Here are the other guy's scrapers, a pair of 637G's that cost $1.4 million[I apiece...and they have 2 new 14 M graders onsite. A bit different from the 627B's and 140G's I'm used to...
Now for the 637G's....
Alan627B last time I was out there last week, they told me Bob was no longer there. I was training under Randy Bates and Karen Stephens. I hopped on that 140G but the air line froze up and that being my first time I parked it. But I got on that 27B again, Im still gettin a diesel rush from that engine (if it starts) haha
Oh btw that looks fun haha. And nice dually.
Back in 1996 when I got my apprenticeship thru Lcl 139 in Milw., I told them I didnt care what machine they would put me on and the next day they put me on a Fiat Allis 262B scraper and I loved it, call me crazy I dont care. I wanted to run anything and I loved moving dirt. I spent 3 months on them till they moved me to a Link Belt 2700q and 4300q digging footings for commercial buildings then underground utility work. I love to dig but I gotta say I kinda miss scrapers here and there.
scrapers are what you make them, if your tearing up your body your tearing up the machine. some outfits want you to saccrifice your body, you need to wrk for someone who takes care of the haul roads and makes it a priority. keep your can low, dont horse the hydraulics or slam the blocks most of all have fun. alan is that a regular E or a E2 your operating?
I think it's a series 2...right now it's 7 hours south of me. I came back home to Nebraska when winter (and reality) arrived in Kansas. They intend to try and re-start the job and work 24/7, I'm not sure mother nature will co-operate with that. In the meantime, there's unemployment, which pays better than most of the weeks I worked down there! If I get re-called, I'll check the E to see what it is. At least it had a heater.... Alan
Alan I've been outta work for about two months and I can't train due to the weather. It's driving me crazy haha. I'm ready to move some dirt.
As someone said, "the funnest way to shift dirt" Good advice. Be precise in where & what you load as you usually have to drive over it later. Make sure that you go for a walk each day & stretch your legs (exercise) as they are a key part of your human suspension, bad posture is the downfall of many an operator. Usually if you like riding motorcycles, operating scrapers gives a similar buzz (and you get paid for it too)
Thirty something yrs. ago the first time I climbed in the seat of a pan/scraper Grumpy old George the push cat op. says Hey boy there's three leevers in there leever A leever B and leever C, if your smart you'll LEEVER B. Nother one of his says was If your not p*ssin blood at the end day your not runnin hard enuff. You come in here and F$$K-UP my cut I'll hit you so hard you'll see your ancesters. Learned a h*ll of a lot from Grumpy old George. As been stated already learn how to runem the right way, be with an outfit that takes care of the roads, a push cat hand that knows what he's doin, they can be a lot of fun. Good Luck :drinkup Bob
how do you start the rear engine in those twin engine scrapers? out here in vegas i have never operated or been on a job with twin engines! i have only seen a couple on other jobs, not very common around here. I am trying to find a place to jump on one and check them out i am very interested
I heard a few stories of guys running the front engine to x 1000 rpm for so many seconds as thats how they were told it started the back engine, others that it started when the C@t buttoned up, all sorts of terrible tales just like being told at 22yrs old that santa wasnt real I was devestated till I found out it was a lie On the Cats I believe you will find a seperate panel beside the rear engine. :drinkup On the UK spreads the black gang check um and fire them up. If we got to work and it wasnt running we were not allowed to start it. It weren't running for a reason.
Rear Engine First time that I drove a 637 (been on single engine elevators for years) up a 5:1 irrigation storage bank & wondered why it wouldn't turn didn't know to back off on the rear engine
Startin rear engine on Double barrel pan/scraper JS82, Step 1: check all fluids, Step 2: Make sure master/disconnect switch is in the on/run position, on Cat E&F models 2 switches, front & rear (if memory serves me right, 1995 last time I ran one that new) Step 3: Climb up in cab start front engine, Cats have a remote starter switch and rear trans disconnect, right hand side of dash, trans in neutral while startin, remember to re-engage trans.. If remote don't work you gotta climb back outta cab walk to rear of machine there'll be a box with gauges & starter switch, when you hit the switch/button turn your head, fan will throw dirt/dust in your face! Step 4: Do a walk around look for leaks, any problems, damage,etc. Step 5: Climb back in cab Step6: FASTEN SEAT BELT Step 7: Adjust air & stereo LOL Step 8: Go for a ride & be safe. Hope this answers your question.:drinkup Bob
Good thorough set of instructions Bob As my departed dad used to say "when all else fails, read the instructions" (the operators manual)
I spent the entire year, (2007) rebuilding some Army 621's I did 5 throughout the year. Took them down to the frame and rebuilt them replacing all electrical, hoses, bearings, rebuilt the engine, trans, cylinders and a long list of other required parts. They looked brand new when finished. It is a shame they went back to the army because they will just sit again. they were all from the early 1980's and all had less than 800 hours, one only had 250 hours and i believe most of the hours were idle time.
LOOKED! christ they were with the work you done to um Unbelievable that they would have that amount of work done, when we all know what they really need is a pile of dirt to shift. :crying
Wer've got one of those 621B's at out local's training site...I wonder why all the military units are spec'd without cushion hitches? A local contractor bought 3 of them a few years ago, around 800 real hours on each...they then bought the hitch catings and accumulators and converted all 3. Nicest 621B's I've seen in years. It's amazing how the government wastes our money. Just like all those rusted up D7's you see for sale, with low hours. Thanks for the pics. Alan627b
I guess the military needs them ready to go in case WW3 starts. I also did a D7 and a coworker did three 120 All stripped to the frame and rebuilt. It is part of a SLEP program. (Service Life Extension Program)
Ran a J-621 elevator scraper for 12 years & have the bad shoulder to prove it. The levers were so far back that your right shoulder was rolled nearly out of socket while you had your hand on the levers, which was all of the time as it was the best place to hang onto when the haulroads were rough. Which was almost always. The J designation was for the Johnson Brand scraper that was the elevator portion of the scraper. These machine would move a pile of dirt all by themselves & were a really a great finish machine. I worked at the John Wayne Airport in SoCal & the contactor sent the blade man off to another job & I did all of the fine grading until the very end of the project when the moved the blade back in to blue top the grades. A 621 is a great machine to learn on, so that when you screw up its not such big a mistake. Enjoy the experience while you're young, but keep your eye on all of the machines & learn how to run them. A finish operator on any machine is always the last to get laid off. C Ya, Patrol Man (Dan) goodearth13