I have ran heavy equipment for 30 years, in the hills of ohio and w.va.backhoes,dozers,cranetrucks,etc. I have ran a 160 vovlo trackhoe for the last 3 years in the steelmills. but always on the flat floors. never on a slope. backhoes,dozers,etc no problem, but was wondering how to go up a slope and across a slope properly.boom up the hill, down the hill or what? I know with a rubber tire hoe you swing the boom up the hill but on a trackhoe the counter weight as me confused.
From my experiance you usually won't to see where you are going so up hill bucket first and if need be pull yourself up. Down hill usually bucket down hill in front if she starts to go side ways you want to see where your going to get her straight. thats my opnion
Hi Noah, Going around a steep hillside I would want the counterweight uphill. I am talking about 235 and 245 Cat excavators. Going straight up a hill it would depend on the conditions. Being able to see was never an issue as I always had an oiler on the ground.
Be aware of getting the boom to high if the counterweight is downhill. The weight transfer of the boom all the way up, combined with the counterweight hanging down on too steep of a hill and they can go over backwards. I have seen it more than once. Keep the boom and bucket below you when you can, and you can use it to push if the going gets too hard. If you slip, then with the bucket pointed down, it is easy to catch yourself. If it is too slippery, have your teeth pointed at the ground so they will dig in if you need to stop a slide. If you have to sidehill, you can put the bucket down on the downhill side and pivot around it, then stop travelling, pick the bucket up and swing it forward some, then put it down and walk some more. This is for extreme situations. Best to not need to do that, but good to know what to do if you are in a bind. Always move slow and steady on a hill. No jerky movements, or you will bring trouble to yourself.
I am on hills a lot with excavators and I always leave the bucket downhill - even if you start to tip, the boom will stop you. Keep it always close to the ground.
Thanks for the good tips.
When traveling up and down, or across slopes make sure you put the bucket in a position where you can quickly catch yourself if you start to slide or tip. Go slow, think about what you have to do before doing it, and put your seat belt on.
trackhoe on hills: Top notch tip... :thumbsup :thumbsup Another good one... and absolutely correct. OCR
how to use a Volvo excavator on a hill
My experience with climbing slopes is with 40 ton and smaller hoes, most of it on 12-20 ton units. I always point the hoe in the direction I'm going, so climbing uphill bucket in front to pull yourself up. Keep yourself stretched out if you can, that'll lower the boom height and center of gravity down. Also, you'll never make it up anything pushing yourself, at least that's been my experience. Coming down is easier, worst thing that could happen is that you end up nose diving onto the bucket, no biggie. Coming down I don't like to be too stretched out, usually keep the bucket mid reach not too far off the ground. I've taken 20 ton hoes up 1.5:1 without any issues in a variety of conditions, and while I only recommend it if absolutely necessary, I even jogged a 400 up a 25 feet of 1:1.