Checking map nice to she's still around 1982 Badger 211 Hopto,boom sitting in her cradle trailer ready to go. Dad past 5yrs ago property was sold cleared off. Truck has Triple nickel Cummins 13spd top drop axles & Badger 211 453 Detroit she floats down the hwy like a 30 ton Cadillac with 3 flat tires.
my dad had a hopto 300 mounted on a ford cabover truck. made a bracket where the room rode forward over the truck cab.
Long stick have to have the dipper straight out to keep the bucket from hitting ground in the truck cradle but the upper was setup for that bucket against bumper with extra pair of tail lights above the counterweight but out gate it was to big of excavator weight wise need permit & the trailer carries the boom in float keep from overloading steer axle
03 My ride was better but not as fun on ol' man's property. Hopto was flat a ground machine it had remote drive from upper & to move first it releases spring brakes before ingauging transmission drive let go stick had wait seconds for air to dump reapply brakes so get to where need to be plant bucket before stop crawling & summer hard clay time couldn't get the smooth bucket to bite it would free wheel 6ft til brake set 30ton on grade that's fast she ever moved. Property ol dozer road 2/3 way up to house was over 20%grade new owner us per city had to cut down under 17% with Hopto & dump got done . 8' wide truck with big honey on top was fun experience off-road
Company had a 4' extension built & added on to the dipper if truck needed any more weight carry
i neve i never made it to their factory in Winona, but my dad and older brothers were there many times. picking up new machines, parts. My dad owned 3 different truck mount 200's..and one truck mount 300. then he switched to Drott. a 40 he had mounted on a twin screw ford truck, and a 50 that was on tracks.
211 couple yrs ago word was she was going to work at a scrap yard to failure & (my odds it would not make it to first break) cut up there but so far best I know she still sitting .Odd 200s still around I know of 3 long parked but excavators 300,500 disappeared by 80s SF bay area only seen 2 Hopto 550s after in the 90s 1 in a field other was painted gray working digging out a waste oil tank. Back 83/84 Dad had a job offer with Badger as traveling a sales demonstration operator for em but damn kids/wife 20yrs later he was telling me I told him I would've understand if went out for cigarettes not come back;-) Dayexco you grew up in a fun time equipment wise I was 20yrs late. Google search pic still see your ol' man's machine & couple of my mine I've posted in past
Drott 80 would have been fun to see
I remember specs for & why boom design it was built to stay under 12' tall for transport
We had many 80's in the woods. I worked for the dealer of them from 1979 to 1981. They used them for cleanup on the logging roads and working under the yarders. There were at least a half a dozen of them working all over western Washington. The swivels were the components that gave the most trouble.
Make sense the 80s I see are in the woods was thinking Canada not much of a southern west coast machine
Kittitas County had a Drott 80, used it for several years. A county shop mechanic I knew IIRC they never really had any issues with it, but it probably didn't run that much.
Madonna in the seat stick holder. Hopto survival was the operator it's a road truck with excavator on top It's mess with your neck hairs bouncing around but it's controlled ol'man would get insulted on jobs because truck was bouncing-outsiders look at Johnny's pc300 crawler how smooth he no clue ol'man would get pulled to dig with pc300 around utilities safe get swap back to Hopto . After while he quit owner at our house begging without my dad hoe was quite divorce debt forced him to go back. Truck has 30k mi & over 16k hours greased it was cared for by operator. The pc300 were clapped out half time
i've been to the case/drott proving grounds at tomahawk, wisconsin. pretty neat place.
Past Cali pertrolum work was a specialized field hand full of companies built gas stations. Truck mounted excavators were getting dwarf scale of modern stations bigger companies had dozen Hoptos 550 & crawler 900s some had 1900 or Koehrings don't remember model 1050? but it had triple boom lift cylinders long boom & stick to reach opposite side before fiberglass tanks it was all steel & tanks gone the hole had to be hog out chasing contaminated dirt/gravel the lot would be 2/3 dirt stock piled off gas til inspection ok it for off haul small area for excavator to work ol days Dad's 211 would be horse shoed in 3 sides dirt piled 20' high
211 was a country club flex 200 was small for the work my dad in time need 6' more reach a corner would have a trench plate welded to bucket scrape it closer most holes 20' deep square x' x x". Some stations change hands tank got bigger unknown tanks would be found next to em filled with a slurry mix ol'man have to rip the rusty steel tank apart in the hole. Late 90s digging out stations was gone replaced all fiberglass piping/tanks & wells installed pull vapor & burner on site similar landfill. Random pics
Rare but not uncommon to ramp down to dig it deeper with a crawler loader or backhoe digging far side with excavator
Construction company I worked for, removing old leaking fuel tanks was the mainstay for several years. I hauled lot's and lots of crapped out tanks. Then I moved here and worked as a welder/fabricator refurbishing for airport deicing fluid storage. Arco made huge profits off deicing fluid, company here had the supply contract for 11 western states.
Out gate 211 had a hydraulic winch installed on the back of the boom couple sleeves down around up along center of bottom side of boom to end for pulling out the smaller steel tanks & a crane was used setting new tanks.
late 80s and early 90s, i made a small fortune pulling old tanks, installing new tanks...soil remediation. bought 1/4 of land 4 miles from town that met all the state requirements for stockpiling/cleaning that soil. hired an old guy....like me now, to knock the piles down with an old champion grader, and he pulled a disc daily over the material with an old 4020 deere until the PPM met the state requirements. lot of that material as accepted by the state inspectors, was hauled back to town and used for fill.
In Ca end dumps had to be environmental LIC to do off haul & some stations the dirt was sent to Mt Home Idaho hazmat dump. As a kid I would spend time on the piles with backhoe turning 'em as pops took his naps
Just farmed here in Washington till clean enough.
Made trip out to Cali had to stop & say hi. She's toast hydraulic's cylinders are pitted but tires all have air been sitting 6yrs. Closed up her windows
1 for Truckshop truck cab washer bag with foot pump she was high class
Old frame crack repair. OEM 4 point Upper & lower turnbuckle tie downs if the truck cradle was to be used
Bumper top hooks are for the wreaking ball to hang. Dad would haul the ball in the bucket going down road & on job he would uncurl bucket like a mid evil mace hanging from dipper start kissing the concrete tank slab. Down side truck would crack from digging & bouncing add ball for extra counterweight & storage it worked but cracked different stress on frame
Steel hard lines going up to pilots said before they would burn your leg
Offset the heat in the cab,the company did install ac unit behind the seat with vents blowing 3" from shoulders/neck still roast from armpits down but a least your neck would be cramping form the cold air.
4' extension built heavy. Trailer was expensive to build for the bridge law & original draft had the cradle over the trailer axle & would lift against the hitch overloading the steers plus engineer didn't design it to turn with dipper pinned so far back it had no swing travel ol'man was sent to pick her up from the fab shop he called the boss with the problems & was told to shut up he's a operator not a engineer with that he fired up the truck in the fab shop yard cut wheel & let the clutch out it slide the trailer sideways til it got in bind ripped the cradle from trailer after boss left him alone to figure out neutral point of the dipper to the house & hitch swing in a turn 3 points had to work together
I was maybe 11 got to tall to fit anymore but ol'man would slide the rig seat forward & make a sideways jump seat behind his going down the road for me. Surprise truckers passing excavator,kid waving from cab back window & driver,truckers switch on the Jake take another look at me thumbs up/horn & motor on
Couple doors down sits Hopto's OEM bucket & hoepak, Komatsu Tramac shoring hammer,JD 310a front bucket,Dynapac roller,Case 1816 & 43 Cat 3j dozer. Surprise to see all it still around
A shame the Hopto 211 couldn't have found a new home when it was idled. Looks like it was in very good shape at the time.
Early 2000's she was job ready to roll out handful of short jobs but keeping overweight permit valid/registration/Dot was a pit,boss open to sale & couple tries at auction no bites. 7yrs sitting at my dad's boss was going to send his guy to cut her up no no scrap was low & diesel laws basically handshake & box of history/manuals she was ours(he passed books/history was trashed house was cleared not me). 20+yrs we used her at home here & there she was loyal.
Popped up on U-Toob today:
Komatsu pc300 picking up the ol JD 500 hoe trans ring gear failed moving it out the way. Showing off to the Hopto. Power of modern vs the 211 the black pond liner rolls under hoe the Hopto only lift'em under the boom with the winch & bucket on the ground it was oem Lack of american hydraulic power.
i hated the house on the right side of the boom
Worked with a foreman telling stories his early days with multiple truck mounted hoes hogging out a tank hole,the right side cab excavators made it easy for operator give the oiler in the truck cab instructions hand or yelling for jockey around.
So you don't want me to post any more pix & video's ?
I'd say you're fine to post DD . Ol' 690 & most american hoes had the cab on the right but Cat & rest of the overseas excavator on the left
Along with my 211......
Auction flyer preview pictures maybe 15yrs ago in Ohio had to be one of the last Hopto's it was listed as a 1987 211 .
A short stick no dumping in front of the carrier. The bumper bucket cradle is odd & short stroke on the bucket not loading trucks but she was a honey in her day.
i don't remember saying, or implying anything like that....but whatever trips your trigger. i just said i didn't like the house on right side of the boom.
Dayexco did you ever get a hold of the guy on YouTube with the model?
working on it. he didn't reply to youtube msg. my nephew has a doctorate in computer science. he's working on it for me. i guess there are ways to find out without taking a zillion years.
May have luck on Facebook