If you ever wondered where Gradall's came from...

[LowBoy]

I got the honor a few weeks ago of transporting a brand new Gradall XL3100 from it's birthplace to a dealer in upstate NY. Below are some photos of various components that were around the factory that I thought would be of interest. Of course, pictures don't do it any justice...the vastness of an operation like that really needs to be appreciated by the human eyes to realize the amazing processes in which these machines have gone through.

Thanx.

[Grader4me]

Great pictures! I don't see gradalls around this area anymore. I always wanted to try one. Anyone ever operate one?

[LowBoy]

Great pictures! I don't see gradalls around this area anymore. I always wanted to try one. Anyone ever operate one?










I'll chime in...

Yes, I have operated them, and got to play with a new one recently, which was a pleasure compared to those of yesteryear...

The old saying about Gradall's goes, "Those that can run 'em love 'em...those that can't, hate 'em..."

They're certainly handy for sloping banks, with it's built-in "wrist-o-twist" feature as the whole boom rotates. As for city utility work, driving it to the site every day is another viable option. You can't beat them when equipped with a slab bucket for pulling up concrete slabs or sidewalk and asphalt in short order. They don't have normal SAE or Cat controls, so that will hairlip the Pope in most cases, but once your brain catches up with your hands, it's pretty nice to run.They tend to be bouncy if you let them, as there's no stabilizers, so if you're a savvy operator, it won't take long to figure out the true meaning of "smooth manuevers"...:cool2

If you're new and not that observant, chances are better than average that you WILL be wiping out the cab or at least the windows, because the boom will collide with the truck cab if it isn't elevated high enough to clear it when swinging. My buddy wrenches for a company in Ct. that owns a couple of these XL3100's, and keeps having to bang the cab and window frames back out with the sledgehammer to replace the glass. The bucket will hit the windshield if you have the inside boom sucked in too far, as well as the main boom crashing into the cab. I think if you really wanted to torture someone mentally..have them locked inside a Gradall cab and then have some yahoo up top trying to load a truck...Most likely the guy in the cab would have to go to the rubber room after all that slamming and banging.:dizzy

I know some are thinking, "why don't you just run it 180 degrees from the cab?", and that's plausible, but not always possible in some situations. Most of the time I'd like to think that's the way you should be facing, but we all know how things go sometimes.

All in all, I think they're a great tool in certain applications, although they aren't useful in every facet of the industry. But then again, what IS?:beatsme

[Tigerotor77W]

But then again, what IS?:beatsme

a) A good operator and b) engineers who love their product for what it is, not for their paycheck. Maybe moreso the former than the latter...

[Grader4me]

They're certainly handy for sloping banks, with it's built-in "wrist-o-twist" feature as the whole boom rotates. As for city utility work, driving it to the site every day is another viable option. You can't beat them when equipped with a slab bucket for pulling up concrete slabs or sidewalk and asphalt in short order. They don't have normal SAE or Cat controls, so that will hairlip the Pope in most cases, but once your brain catches up with your hands, it's pretty nice to run.They tend to be bouncy if you let them, as there's no stabilizers, so if you're a savvy operator, it won't take long to figure out the true meaning of "smooth manuevers"...

Great information. I would have thought that they had the normal controls. Hairlip the Pope?:eek: :lmao

[LowBoy]

Great information. I would have thought that they had the normal controls. Hairlip the Pope?:eek: :lmao











That may be an overstatement, Grader4me...but it certainly would be nice if everything had the same pattern, eh?:D

[LowBoy]

a) A good operator and b) engineers who love their product for what it is, not for their paycheck. Maybe moreso the former than the latter...










All I meant by that statement is that no tool (or machine,) has a 100% usefulness factor in ALL facets of the industry, that's all. You don't use a jackhammer to apply joint compound, do you?:beatsme

There's a lot of GOOD operators in this world, I consider myself a decent one with respect to equipment, smoothness and care being first and foremost no matter what the application. Sensibility on what the physical limitations of the machine can withstand is another good trait to possess. I've had excavators down over banks so steep working, that I had to have a D-8 with a wire rope sling hold me from falling down over the edge, and bulldozers standing pretty near to straight up and down, with my shoes on the dash to get that one last pass done so the laborers didn't have to bust their butts. While operating under those extreme circumstances, I'm always keeping in mind about oil pressure, oil supply, things along those lines. That's what I think, in my view, seperates an operator from a "lever puller".

Being consciencious about maintaining your machine is another good trait in a GOOD operator. A greasegun should be your friend, a couple times a day depending on the conditions.

No matter if you're in an excavator, on a dozer, backhoe, on a pan, or driving a triaxle...common sense, pride in your work, and a good attitude toward the job is what will ultimately be the deciding factor in whether or not you'll be considered for the next opportunity that arises.That goes for laborers and foremen as well, I suppose.

As far as engineers that love their product goes, they deserve a lot of respect as well. Those people have creative imaginations and intelligence (for the most part,) that play an important role in this industry. As long as they keep listening and learning and applying the certain concerns and ideas presented by us...the end user ultimately, then they have done their jobs as well as the operators completing a site development.

[Tigerotor77W]

All I meant by that statement is that no tool (or machine,) has a 100% usefulness factor in ALL facets of the industry, that's all. You don't use a jackhammer to apply joint compound, do you?:beatsme

I was just being a smart-aleck. :) It's something I have to keep in mind... I may know what I know, but that doesn't mean I know what I need to know.

Just a small, stupid comment -- didn't mean to interrupt.

[rino1494]

I have run a few and I tell ya, they are amazing machines for what they do. Sloping banks, ponds and digging swales. You can beat them.

[surfer-joe]

You have to have a natural ability to walk and chew gum at the same time to run a Gradall. Unfortunately, I have neither that ability nor anything else close to being able to run one of these beasts with grace and style. If it can't be hogged out with a dozer or a scraper, I'm lost.