Now I know why front wheels tilt, what about this?

[traxs]

Ummm...what's the point of that?

[Deas Plant]

Hi, Traxs.
Welcome to this little corner of the world.

Why do articulated grader frames articulate in the manner shown in your photo????????

Will, " 'Cos they can", do for an answer??????? Hmmmmmm. I didn't think so. Jeez, some people are hard to please.

Well, being able to articulate the frame in the manner shown enables the operator to position the drive's line of thrust directly behind the greatest load on the blade, helping to keep the grader travelling in the direction required and reducing slippage, both sideways and in terms of traction loss.

Other uses for this sort of articulation are to enable keeping the front wheels on smoother ground by placing them on the previous grader pass and allowing the front wheels to be put up on a batter while keeping the drive down on flat ground.

Now I'm so tired after all this typing that I'll have to take my weary old bones and and have a nanna nap. G'night, to you and Grader4me.

And do you really know all the reasons why grader steer wheels tilt/lean? Maybe, if you haven't yet read it, you need to go back and read the posts on this thread:

http://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=2462

[Grader4me]

I agree with Deas, although it seems he was quite sleepy when replying:laugh Also good for wet ditching...keep the arse end up on the road and the front end in the ditch line. Also good for manuvering around tight places etc.

Reminds me of a little story.....I remember one time when I was grading a road and due to the length of it we used two graders so that we could finish it in one day.
I was lead taking the first cut and the second grader was coming behind making the second cut towards the center of the road.

Looking in the mirror I noticed that he had the grader articulated with the rear full to left (towards center of the road) and I thought okay what is his purpose in this. I watched him for about another mile and still couldn't figure out:confused:

So I stopped and went back and asked him as you know I person is never to old to learn something new. Now keep in mind that by having his grader articulated this way he was taking up a lot of the road making it hard for traffic to get by.

His reply...By articulating my grader this way I'm getting a wider pass! So we will end up with less passes to finish the road.

My reply...The blade is only 14 feet wide, so it doesn't matter which way you have you grader articulated! Straighten the dam thing out so that the traffic can go!

He was a tad bit embarassed :Pointhead

[Blademan]

As mentioned above , :notworthy there are many reasons and plenty of times articulation comes in handy . I've never had the chance to run a grader that didn't have it ( I think they were called straight frames ?? ) , but I would imagine it would be a very fustrating thing in a hurry . Especially when building roads for subdivisions or parking lots and space becomes a premium ( wierd angles , water valves , manholes , catchbasins , etc . ) .

I worked for a outfit once where there was a young lad being trained . He was laying out material on a new subdivision road and things were getting quite busy for him as he was coming up to a intersection with valves , manholes , catchbasins etc , all the while trucks trying to squeeze by to dump their loads . Lots of action and a very hectic pace ( he was trying to impress with his speed :rolleyes: ) to say the least .
Anyways , he had just made a pass and was fully articulated around a set of manholes , and then he started to back up while looking back over his right shoulder at the next truck coming up , and wasn't really paying any attention to his front tires . In that ten seconds that he had ' forgotten ' he was fully articulated , his front tires had mounted the sidewalk , knocked over a labourer ( who was dumping trucks and had also not paying enough attention :Banghead ) and ran him over !! :eek: Luckily , although heavily bruised and somewhat very embarrassed , the labourer didn't sustain any major injuries . It was a lesson to all of us that it only takes a few seconds and two people not paying enough attention to what was happening to have a potentially very serious accident .

[digger242j]

he had ' forgotten ' he was fully articulated , his front tires had mounted the sidewalk , knocked over a labourer ( who was dumping trucks and had also not paying enough attention ) and ran him over !!

Not to get off topic, but there's an example of where the backup alarm wouldn't even have been any use, as the laborer was not actually behind the machine.

[Blademan]

Not to get off topic, but there's an example of where the backup alarm wouldn't even have been any use, as the laborer was not actually behind the machine.

Well ....... I tend to think ,there is a danger zone around the machine , especially as they can articulate or crab around objects . In this accident , it was the result of the operator not really paying attention to as where his front wheels were going to be , as well as the labouer ( a very senior and seasoned individual , BTW ) not paying attention to what was happening as the machine was backing up . Had he looked up when he heard the backup alarm , he would of realized that the machine just wasn't simply backing up straight and could of avoided being knocked down and run over . Two small and avoidable errors combined to make this accident possible .

Because of this incident , I now tell anyone on the crew , that once the backup alarm sounds , to have a quick check . I know it happens hundreds of times a day and can be really annoying , but it's the safest thing for us both . I do my best to always be attentive , and I expect the same from the ground personnel too . You just never know ...

Uhhhhh , back to topic , lol ?

[Dwan Hall]

I am hoping with my Grader crabed like that and a front blade on it I can clear a 18' to 20' path in 1 pass when plowing snow. ?? 13' blade and 9' plow.

[traxs]

Thanks for all the answers guys.:drinkup

[Grader4me]

I am hoping with my Grader crabed like that and a front blade on it I can clear a 18' to 20' path in 1 pass when plowing snow. ?? 13' blade and 9' plow.

Lol...you nut:) You have been busy with your AW...Installed articulation...Did you do this before or after you painted?:laugh

[Dwan Hall]

It does not articulat but has rear wheel stering.
I did not install it but did have to repair it so it would work right.
I am still not done with the cleanup and painting, because we had a record snow this winter and I was busy. (over 200")
Now I have to repair what we broke last winter then back to the AW project.. Wireing will be next along with the interior work.

[Grader4me]

It does not articulat but has rear wheel stering.
I did not install it but did have to repair it so it would work right.
I am still not done with the cleanup and painting, because we had a record snow this winter and I was busy. (over 200")
Now I have to repair what we broke last winter then back to the AW project.. Wireing will be next along with the interior work.

Well I'll be...I never knew it had rear wheel steering. I have never operated a grader with that feature. Next time you have a chance post a picture of the rear wheels turned will you?

[telescooper]

Do you guys straighten out the machine, when backing up. I have problems backing up when the machine is fully articulated or close to it. I wouldn't call myself an expert grader operator by any means. I just know the basic fundamentals, But I love operating them.

[digger242j]

Had he looked up when he heard the backup alarm , he would of realized that the machine just wasn't simply backing up straight and could of avoided being knocked down and run over .

I guess it's not so terribly off topic, becasue, to my way of thinking, the backup alarm is probably located somewhere behind the cab, and engine, and the guy got run over in front of the cab. He may never have heard the backup alarm. The point being, that because of the amount of articulation, there exists an area where you can get run over, that's not protected by the backup alarm. (And the fact that the visibility forward is not obstructed like it is to the rear, is a moot point if the operator is looking rearward.)

The idea of "a danger zone around the machine" is a good one...

[Grader4me]

I guess it's not so terribly off topic, becasue, to my way of thinking, the backup alarm is probably located somewhere behind the cab, and engine, and the guy got run over in front of the cab. He may never have heard the backup alarm. The point being, that because of the amount of articulation, there exists an area where you can get run over, that's not protected by the backup alarm. (And the fact that the visibility forward is not obstructed like it is to the rear, is a moot point if the operator is looking rearward.)

The idea of "a danger zone around the machine" is a good one...

Any grader that I have seen has the backup alarm on the very back of the machine. I never never back up with the grader articulated, especially working around other machinery/crews.


Do you guys straighten out the machine, when backing up. I have problems backing up when the machine is fully articulated or close to it. I wouldn't call myself an expert grader operator by any means. I just know the basic fundamentals, But I love operating them

My answer is above. You have problems backing up when fully articulated because it is much harder to control. Remember for what ever reason you have your grader articulated going forward, the forces will be opposite when backing up, making the machine very hard to control.

Plowking and I discussed in a PM some safety tips that would be distintive or set apart from other types of equipment. This would be a good one.

"Never back a grader up while it is articulated" Just my 02 cents

[Deas Plant]

Hi, Grader4me.
Me being me, I have a different slant on this never reversing with the machine articulated business. You mostly drive forward steering with the front wheels, the LEADING wheels, and your rear wheels follow inside the turning circle of your steer wheels (Assuming your frame is straight.).

So, why not leave the front wheels straight and steer with the articulation when reversing to give the same net result? After all, - in theory - you ought to be looking behind you when reversing anyway. And your - straight - front wheels should then follow inside the turning circle of your articulated rear end - which is now at the 'front'.


I can tell you from past experience that steering with the articulation when going in reverse in soft ground will get you out of places that trying to steer with the front wheels while reversing in the same conditions will get you bogged. Not only that, but you can hear and feel the machine pulling harder when you steer with the front wheels in such conditions than it does if you steer with the articulation. And the whole machine steers better this way in reverse too.

F'rinstance, I worked a Cat 140G in deep, soft sand using my methods for 4 hours without getting stuck. Another operator relieved me for lunch and was bogged in under 5 minutes trying to steer in reverse with the front wheels. And he went crook at me for 'setting him up'. I can tell you that that was like water off a duck's back.

For mine, there are NO hard and fast rules for this sort of thing. Each operator needs to make his own decisions based on the particular circumstances at the time. I have commonly gone into situations with an articulated frame grader where I had to use the articulation to steer my way out of the particular place to avoid doing damage to something. I would not work the same way with a rigid frame grader. You use the machine you have at the time to the best advantage that you can.

Having said all of the above, there is really no right or wrong in this. Like most operating. it is very largely up to the owner of the butt in the seat how the machine is handled. Bystanders ought not to be telling the operator how to do it. Better that they should get they butt up in the saddle and SHOW how to do it.

Just my 0.02 (Australian which may not be worth as much as your 0.02 'cos our dollar is only about 0.78 cents U.S. at the moment.) (LOL.)

Hmmmmmmm!!!!!!!! Feelin' a bit tired after all that typin'. Better have another nap.

[Grader4me]

I hear you Deas, and you are right as everything has it's place. I should have been more clearer in my statement. Keep in mind that I work in an environment that while working the grader there are at times many trucks/employees working in the same conjested area. Backing up while in full articulation would be asking for trouble. Yes there are times that you have to use it in order to get out of a bad situation, but as a rule I always straighten my grader when backing up. I am looking at this as a safety precaution when working in close proximinty(sp) to other machines/workers. Thanks for your feedback, as you know your opinion is highly regarded by me.

[Blademan]

Do you guys straighten out the machine, when backing up. I have problems backing up when the machine is fully articulated or close to it. I wouldn't call myself an expert grader operator by any means. I just know the basic fundamentals, But I love operating them.



Practice and time and patience is all it takes . For doing certain jobs, say laying out material for a road in a new subdivision , I spend just as much time reversing as I do going forward . In many cases , I can't back out without articulating around water valves or manholes ... or TRUCKS .... lol . So I'm used to steering the back end with the articulation lever . It can get a bit wierd sometimes when you're all crabbed out and you've got the steering wheel turning this way and the back end doing the opposite , all the while picking up speed and gears going backwards , lol , but you get the hang of it after a while .
Also , as Deas Plant mentioned , if I'm in really soft or deep mud ( not much sand around us Deas ) , if I get bogged down going forward , I can usually just throw it in reverse and using the articulation I can wither myself free . If I 'm REALLY bogged , I also use the blade to back paddle myself free ( also using the articulation ) . With this method you can usually get yourself out of most situations . And if you're really , really bogged down .... well , that's getting way more off topic then neccesary , lol .

Digger242j :as Grader4Me mentioned , the back up alarms are located behind the machine , but it's loud enough to hear even 100' in front of the machine . Because our graders are usually working in areas with high densities of people and trucks and other equipment , they've got the beepers set to the loudest settings . That particular accident happened mostly because the guy on the ground got complacent and was probably thinking about something other then what was happening at the moment , and the grader operator was trying harder then he should have ( highballing ) and wasn't in full control of what was happening around him , ie. lack of experience . It really only took two small errors at total of ten seconds to turn ugly . Almost a blick of a eye really .
Could this accident been avoided had the operator not articulated ? Probably . BUT , not articulating is not a option for this particular situation . You just gotta get used to doing it and getting comfortable with it .

[Dwan Hall]

Well I'll be...I never knew it had rear wheel steering. I have never operated a grader with that feature. Next time you have a chance post a picture of the rear wheels turned will you?


Here I took these just for you.

[Grader4me]

Well, I'll be dammed! To think I was poking fun at you in the previous post...Sorry Dwan. I really never knew that the old graders were rigged up like that. The old girl is looking really good!

[Grader4me]

I am hoping with my Grader crabed like that and a front blade on it I can clear a 18' to 20' path in 1 pass when plowing snow. ?? 13' blade and 9' plow.


Now that you proved your grader can crap walk...Yes, you can make a wider pass if you angle your grader just enough so that you can get the full use of your moldboard. Take a look at the picture of your grader face on and the way that it is angled. Position your moldboard all the way to the right by using the blade slide & circle side shift so that it catches the snow coming off the front plow without spilling to the inside, creating a windrow between the front plow and moldboard. This would give you the max width that you are looking for.

You probably wouldn't need to off set as much as your picture shows though. Be good for what you do parking lots etc. Little tricky plowing a road :)

Picture of the front plow that you are going to use?

[atgreene]

That is one sweet looking ride Dwan! :cool2

[plowking740]

That old Austin shines like new. Id be scared to get it dirty.

I have seen an old austin like that, but it didnt have the walking beams in the back end, just a single axle. the wheels turned as well. In the cab, there was only a 'T" handel for steering, no wheel. It sat abandonded along the highway a few miles from my farm back home for almost 20 years, and then all of a sudden it was gone. Still, would loved to have tried it.

[Dwan Hall]

Here is a slaes flyer clear back in 1938 showing the rear wheel steering.

[Grader4me]

Betcha the operator has a good white knuckled grip on the steering wheel:D Back then that grader would probably have the same impact as the Cat M series or Volvo would have today.

[Deas Plant]

Hi, Dwan.
Your old girl appears to be coming along nicely. Ye Gods, it's a long time since I had wunna those under my butt. I ran an Aveling Austin 6x6x6 with a 90 hp Leyland donk (English version of the Austin-Western) in 1973, a 20-ton Austin-Western 6x6x6 with a 250 hp V6-71 'Jimmy' in 1983 (including the day that Australia 2 won the Americas cup) and a Clark 6x6x6 with a 4-71 'Jimmy' in early 1997. Haven't even seen one since that Clark.

Thanks for the photos.

[telescooper]

I know that it is alittle late but our Vovlo has a back up alarm in the front of the cab as well. :usa

[Grader4me]

I know that it is alittle late but our Vovlo has a back up alarm in the front of the cab as well. :usa


I'm probably going to hate myself, but I have to ask ...why? Would it be like a "surround sound" so to speak?

[telescooper]

I don't why, but there is one up front at the cab. we probally stuck one on because the safety committe thought that it was a good idea.

[gravelgrinder]

For light work. If you run your machine on about 1/3 articulation with the toe of the mouldboard inside the line of drive tyres you can run one set of drive wheels on finished surface. This means the toe of the mouldboard is less affected by machine movement. Not for every situation.

[cat 385]

Betcha the operator has a good white knuckled grip on the steering wheel:D Back then that grader would probably have the same impact as the Cat M series or Volvo would have today.

i'll bet he does'nt you remember how the worm gear levers and the steering will worked--ouch!

[Deas Plant]

Hi, Grader4me.
I don't know about that particular model as, believe it or not, it was a bit before my time but all the later A-W 99H's that I saw didn't HAVE a steering wheel to get 'white-knuckled grip' on. They had a crossbar steering control in place of the steering wheel that worked the front steering and a lever in place of the Cat lean wheel lever for the rear steering.

Edumackayshun time????????????????????????

[Grader4me]

Thanks Deas as I never knew that. What's your saying.."when you stop learning, you're dead from the neck up?" :)

[Deas Plant]

Hi, Grader4me.
Yer welkum, M8.

BTW, congrats on your reaching 1,000 posts.

[OCR]

Hi, Grader4me.
Yer welkum, M8.

BTW, congrats on your reaching 1,000 posts.

Ahha, I took a while... never could figure that M8 thing after... Yer welkum,.

M8= Mate... right??? Better be right or... :o


OCR....:)

[Deas Plant]

Hi, OCR.
T'would seem that more congrats are in order.

The sequence of OCR's enlightening shown in Smilies.

:slomo :idontgetit :beatsme :duh :notworthy :drinkup; ;) :thumbsup

[Grader4me]

Hi, Grader4me.
Yer welkum, M8.

BTW, congrats on your reaching 1,000 posts.


Thanks Deas. Did you recieve your free "HEF hat & jacket" when you hit the 1000 post mark? Maybe I better be careful what I ask for, and just appreciate getting this far without being :ban :)

[Deas Plant]

Hi, Grader4me.
Nope. Musta bin a stuff-up in the U.S. mail system - couldn'ta bin here - we don't have a 'system' to stuff up. All mail that arrives here does so by accident. LOL.

On getting this far without being banned - seems to be a bit of that going around lately, even to [-Agent] being banned TWICE in one thread. The boy wuz quick - so wuz ther mods.

[Squizzy246B]

On getting this far without being banned -

Yet!

[LowBoy]

I guess I'll admit my slowness on the "M8" deal as well...I thought it was some newer model dozer that I didn't read up on yet.(Like a D-8:beatsme) :drinkup

[Grader4me]

Morning Lowboy, I actually caught on to that one right away. Strange for me ;)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Deas Plant
On getting this far without being banned -

Mr. Squizzy's response: 'Yet!

I'll try to do better...promise..:Pointhead:beatsme:p

[LowBoy]

G'day Grader4me...
My normally sharp wit I think is slowly diminishing because of the job I'm on nowadays. I was afraid in the beginning that the "stupid" would rub off on me if I wasn't careful, but they're suceeding it looks like.
From having no functional plan or goal to work for each day I'm there, to being told to build waterbars and silt ponds out of silt itself on 30% slopes, expecting to see them gone Monday morning and being correct in my evaluation. No kidding. Last Friday they were in a big yank to have me divert a stream into a freshly built swale I made (against my better judgement,) and Monday morning the laborers were 300 feet down the bank out in the woods shoveling a foot of silt around.
In addition, having laid 120' of 18" aluminum drainage pipe in 4 days digging in pure silt again has a way of getting on my nerves. It's being put in on a 15% pitch uphill, and each stick they check with the laser. Ray Charles could dig and install it himself on a 15% run and not need a transit, but they insist every piece be checked for "positive flow" as the highly skilled and intelligent personell I'm surrounded by puts it.
I'm sorry for the rant Mr. Grader, and for the jacking of your pure thread once again. I think I'm still trying to justify my lack of understanding of the "M8" term by blaming my occupational woes...:Banghead

[Grader4me]

Thanks for your rant. Sorry.. but I'm falling off my chair laughing so hard. Not so much at your misfortune of having to work with a bunch of nuts, but at the way you describe it. Good god man you just have to write a book...I would stand in line in the pouring rain for a copy..:notworthy

[LowBoy]

Thanks for your rant. Sorry.. but I'm falling off my chair laughing so hard. Not so much at your misfortune of having to work with a bunch of nuts, but at the way you describe it. Good god man you just have to write a book...I would stand in line in the pouring rain for a copy..:notworthy


It's the little things in life that'll get 'ya I've been told...and they are certainly starting to.:duh

This book thing is starting to become an interesting concept to me, looking at what I've been through to what I'm suffering through right now. reading all those posts about slowing economy, laid off workers and lack of work does give me the reassurance of being one of the fortunate few to be working 70 hrs. a week in these times. However I'm concerned about them completely "brainwashing" me before I get this book completed in it's entirety.

If that does happen, the book will have no topic, no title, no structure, and the dedication page will be to "all the engineers and inspectors who've taken my desire to achieve any goals whatsoever"...It will resemble a book by Bill Clinton entitled, "Faithfulness for Dummies".;)

[EZ TRBO]

Not to bring any snow too soon but here are a few pics a friend of mine(whom is a highway dept worker) took on one of his days off. This is myself working on making one of our townhip roads wider. He is very handy with a grader and myself I have never really had anyone help me with the most effiecent ways to use one plowing snow. Have always got the job done but he really helped me in when and where to do certain things.

Trbo

[EZ TRBO]

Few more, same day, there were many days spent doing nothing but this all day long.

Trbo

[Grader4me]

Nice pictures. Why do you have the grader articulated like that?

[EZ TRBO]

Nice pictures. Why do you have the grader articulated like that?

Well he took a ton of pics. If you put the front end IN to the snow, tilt the tires out you kinda go stright down the road keeping your rear wheels up out of the ditch. Other times, while winging, go the opposite putting your drives right into the ditch and in essence right behind your wing, Pushing it instead of having it off to the side. I've watched alot of the guys around here doing the same thing and it works. Kinda one of them things, keeps you moving forward, and heaving snow at the same time. You have alot more time on a grader than I do I'm sure, so if you see anything NOT needed or think i could do different feel free to let me know.

One other thing, I know the one pic it was more to keep the Vee from getting into the snow and kicking it out to the middle. But like i said, the things he showed me sure made it easier.
Trbo

[Grader4me]

I see your point Trbo but lets just take each picture and I'll give you my opinion. Everyone has their way of doing things, so I'm not saying your approach is wrong. I've done a ton of shoving back snow with a vee and shelving/benching with the wing.

Lets take the first and second picture. You are just using the wing as your grader is articulated so that your vee is out on the road. Okay, first thing is that you're taking up a pretty good portion of the road so that traffic might have a hard time getting by. You are trying to take to much with your wing as a lot of snow is falling back down and it also looks like your moldboard is hooking snow as well. Also you are only doing one function

Fourth picture you are making an excellent shelf. Couldn't get any better than that. If you would have had your machine straight and use your vee as well then there wouldn't have been as much snow left on the road. Again it appears that you are hooking the bank with your moldboard.
Best thing to do when shoving back using a vee and wing is to angle your moldboard the other way

The other pictures you have the machine angled so that you are only using the vee to shove back. I can see this if it's really soft, but it look like you are not getting the maximum out of your set up. I never see one picture that you are using the vee and the wing together to shove back.

When I shove back the grader is straight, with the vee into the bank and wing taking all it can take without rolling over the top. I have my moldboard angled in the opposite direction so that I'm not hooking any snow and bringing it onto the road. If the shoulder is soft I will articulate a bit to place my rear wheels on the hard surface but I still use my vee and wing together. There has been times in really high snowbanks that I've just used my vee to break the bank. Always backed up and put a shelf on it though.
Articulating hard one way or another means you can only use the wing or the vee, not both. You have to be careful as well as being fully articulated when shoving back heavy snow could put more stress on the machine.

Trbo, these are only my thoughts and maybe many wouldn't agree with me but you asked :)

[EZ TRBO]

I see your point Trbo but lets just take each picture and I'll give you my opinion. Everyone has their way of doing things, so I'm not saying your approach is wrong. I've done a ton of shoving back snow with a vee and shelving/benching with the wing.

Lets take the first and second picture. You are just using the wing as your grader is articulated so that your vee is out on the road. Okay, first thing is that you're taking up a pretty good portion of the road so that traffic might have a hard time getting by. You are trying to take to much with your wing as a lot of snow is falling back down and it also looks like your moldboard is hooking snow as well. Also you are only doing one function


Fourth picture you are making an excellent shelf. Couldn't get any better than that. If you would have had your machine straight and use your vee as well then there wouldn't have been as much snow left on the road. Again it appears that you are hooking the bank with your moldboard.
Best thing to do when shoving back using a vee and wing is to angle your moldboard the other way


The other pictures you have the machine angled so that you are only using the vee to shove back. I can see this if it's really soft, but it look like you are not getting the maximum out of your set up. I never see one picture that you are using the vee and the wing together to shove back.

When I shove back the grader is straight, with the vee into the bank and wing taking all it can take without rolling over the top. I have my moldboard angled in the opposite direction so that I'm not hooking any snow and bringing it onto the road. If the shoulder is soft I will articulate a bit to place my rear wheels on the hard surface but I still use my vee and wing together. There has been times in really high snowbanks that I've just used my vee to break the bank. Always backed up and put a shelf on it though.
Articulating hard one way or another means you can only use the wing or the vee, not both. You have to be careful as well as being fully articulated when shoving back heavy snow could put more stress on the machine.

Trbo, these are only my thoughts and maybe many wouldn't agree with me but you asked :)

Point taken, wasn't worried bout traffic there and the snow in question was VERY hard(previous snows and melts). I belive Joe did say I was out too far, as I wanted to just keep my Vee from hitting into it and pushing a bunch back in the road.

I've done that a number of times(vee and wing) and it has worked fine, if i remember right I kept sliding down into the ditch and having to back up, there keeping the front end out kept me out on the road.


Thanks a bunch, as for the photos I was trying to shove some of it back into the ditch, but couldn't get them to push at the same time and move any snow. I was shelfed in spots as high as i could go, and a fence was there as well. I am going to copy and print this out for future reference. As one of my old operators told me one day, "I can tell you things all day long, but you have to put your ass in the seat to really learn."

Thanks

Trbo

[Grader4me]

"I can tell you things all day long, but you have to put your ass in the seat to really learn."

Exactly, and if you can learn from your mistakes then you're on your way. Believe me I've seen many that don't. In the pictures it definitely looked like you was having a blast though...:)

[Deas Plant]

Hi, Ez Trbo.
Those photos and the way you have your grader articulated make sense to me. You're setting your machine to counteract the forces working against it while delivering the material you are grading to where you want it. THAT is the essence of operating a grader, particularly an articulated grader, or all-wheel-drive, all-wheel-steer machines like the Austin-Westerns, Aveling-Austins, Aveling-Barfords and Clarkes, either 4x4x4's or 6x6x6's.

Good stuff.

[EZ TRBO]

Hi, Ez Trbo.
Those photos and the way you have your grader articulated make sense to me. You're setting your machine to counteract the forces working against it while delivering the material you are grading to where you want it. THAT is the essence of operating a grader, particularly an articulated grader, or all-wheel-drive, all-wheel-steer machines like the Austin-Westerns, Aveling-Austins, Aveling-Barfords and Clarkes, either 4x4x4's or 6x6x6's.

Good stuff.

Thanks Deas, I've talked with G4M on this subject and he has given me some more things to try as well to add to what I was doing that day. I wish I could have had more photos from this winter, spent alot of days on the grader and although no where near perfect I gained a ton of knowledge as to how to go about different types of snow(hard packed, and fluffy) and how to make the most out of the little room we have to place it in(keeping it off farmers fences). That particular area had been blown in and pushed out and blown back in almost daily and the snow was getting very hard packed and as G4M said try to do both functions at once(which I was able to do at a number of locations) but here it was just two much for the machine.

Thanks

Trbo

[MKTEF]

On jobs like the one shown here i realy see the positive thing about our front blade.:)

I would have used my front blade to cut/push the high side of the bank further out.
Then with the front wheels leaned and in the snow on the side of the road.;)

Main blade then used to lift/push the rest further out (and up).
Articulated to keep the back wheels on the road.

Would have been as if u had your wing up front and using the main blade for the lower part.;)

[EZ TRBO]

On jobs like the one shown here i realy see the positive thing about our front blade.:)

I would have used my front blade to cut/push the high side of the bank further out.
Then with the front wheels leaned and in the snow on the side of the road.;)

Main blade then used to lift/push the rest further out (and up).
Articulated to keep the back wheels on the road.

Would have been as if u had your wing up front and using the main blade for the lower part.;)

IN that case we were about out of room on that side, and was unable to push anymore to the right. Otherwise I sure would have, remember this was blown and re blown in numerous times. We have a blade for the grader but its worthless when it comes to having to blast through a road that is totally blown in. Hell we have had some places where we have worked for hours just back and forth shoving with the Vee to just heeve the snow up and out. If it is too bad, like some of the roads, and we dont' have to HAVE it open, we just leave it until we are able to get there.

Trbo

[Grader4me]

We make a video a few years back of opening a road using a vee plow. There was this side road that run between two other roads and there were no houses on it and rarely used. There must have been six feet of snow or better and packed down with snowmobiles. We hooked up a vee on the plow truck and started at it. With the truck you had to be careful as snow would roll back behind the vee and you would get stuck. You had to plow straight for a bit, back up widen to the left, back up then widen to the right. Then repeat the procedure.
We also put the vee on the grader. Same procedure, but with the grader there was less chance of getting stuck. Big job opening that road, but it sure was a lot of fun.

I've done that a number of times(vee and wing) and it has worked fine, if i remember right I kept sliding down into the ditch and having to back up, there keeping the front end out kept me out on the road.

Sounds like maybe you was trying to push it back to far? When I started sliding into the ditch I knew that I've gone beyond my limit. Let me explain...We push the snow back as far as we can but we don't leave a trap for the traffic to get into. We try to at least leave a one to two foot shelf on the shoulder of the road. Without this a vehicle might pull over on the shoulder and go into the ditch. Again, this is only how we do things.

Also and you probably know sliding off the road with a vee attached takes a little more time to get back out.;)

[MKTEF]

I see.:)

Like this operation we did this autumn.

Banks so high the plows couldn't throw it up over the edge.(9 feet+)
A grader first dragging down the snowbank into the road.
Snowblower one throwing most of it out. (L120 and a Øveraasen 110)
Second smaler snowblower cleaning out the rest.(L50 + minispin)

Have added a pic of the second loader, L50, showing how the bank looked afterwards.:)
Just adjusted the blade don to the road fence, not touching the poles.

Drifting is a problem on many of our main roads.
Only thing helping is raising the road over the terrain, a tunnel or a wooden wall beside the road.

[EZ TRBO]

We make a video a few years back of opening a road using a vee plow. There was this side road that run between two other roads and there were no houses on it and rarely used. There must have been six feet of snow or better and packed down with snowmobiles. We hooked up a vee on the plow truck and started at it. With the truck you had to be careful as snow would roll back behind the vee and you would get stuck. You had to plow straight for a bit, back up widen to the left, back up then widen to the right. Then repeat the procedure.
We also put the vee on the grader. Same procedure, but with the grader there was less chance of getting stuck. Big job opening that road, but it sure was a lot of fun.

.

Sounds like maybe you was trying to push it back to far? When I started sliding into the ditch I knew that I've gone beyond my limit. Let me explain...We push the snow back as far as we can but we don't leave a trap for the traffic to get into. We try to at least leave a one to two foot shelf on the shoulder of the road. Without this a vehicle might pull over on the shoulder and go into the ditch. Again, this is only how we do things.

Also and you probably know sliding off the road with a vee attached takes a little more time to get back out.;)


Problem was we didn't have ANY room to push the snow and no blowing equipment(the county is the only one). many would say just leave it shut, problem is we live in Milk country and the farmers have to have their milk picked up so you do what you can. I know there were times we were not going to gain much pushing back but when you have people B!%^ing about the narrow roads you try to do what you can.

Trbo

[Grader4me]

Problem was we didn't have ANY room to push the snow and no blowing equipment(the county is the only one). many would say just leave it shut, problem is we live in Milk country and the farmers have to have their milk picked up so you do what you can. I know there were times we were not going to gain much pushing back but when you have people B!%^ing about the narrow roads you try to do what you can.

Trbo


The best is all that you can do my friend. People are going to bitch no matter what. They see you out there trying your best and hopefully some at least will appreciate it.
I know where you are coming from. Narrow road, fences, probably high banks on both sides before the snow came.
Reminds me of a story..we had this road that was similar as you describe and it was always jammed full of snow. Biggest problem was this dam fence that run along the whole length of it (about 1 mile). I was out shoving back one nice day and I had worked quite a few hours previously, so I was a tad grumpy before I went into this road. The snow was really jammed in and I shoved it back as far as I could going in but because of trees, high banks I couldn't get it much wider. Now coming back I had to dodge that fence until some snow came off the wing and snaped one wire. There the owner of the fence is going to be ticked off anyway so what the heck. I gave her the cut in and took out most of the fence. Got the snow back where I wanted it anyways. While I was doing this I keep thinking of that old saying "sometimes it's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission" :D
Got my first experience on fencing that spring...:Banghead :naughty

[ovrszd]

Great snow pics EZ. I had to push my township roads twelve times last winter. Got our new machine in the middle of it so I didn't complain too much. But I was tired of it by spring.

Where are you located??? Sure looks like my territory.

[CEwriter]

Some illustrations like the one below . . .

and a bit of explanation of the basic uses for articulated steering, and other grader features, here: http://www.constructionequipment.com/article/CA6412864.html?text=heroes+motor+grader