steep hill digging

[dirt digger]

Jim they are from up here in State College...they are replacing a natural gas line in the mountains and i try and make it out that way on Sundays when i have time to do a little off roading and picture taking....i have a ton more...PM me and i can send you the link to my photobucket account

 

[dirt digger]

Reuben i stumbled across 7 of their dozers today...all 7's and 8's...it looks like the job is wrapping up so my guess is they will start mobilizing everything soon...what did he run a 330 or 345? and where are they parked now?

 

[Reuben]

Reuben i stumbled across 7 of their dozers today...all 7's and 8's...it looks like the job is wrapping up so my guess is they will start mobilizing everything soon...what did he run a 330 or 345? and where are they parked now?

He and his son both ran a 345. That line is supposed to go al the way to harrisburg. I cant imagine they are even close to finishing the whole line. Last year I saw all their machines sitting between hawbakers pit and the road that heads up over the hill to center hall.

 

[JDOFMEMI]

Brian Hay has it right.

What you are talking about is Spider Hoe territory, or tied off to one or probably 2 winch cats dug in. In the rockies, they go down hills like that all the time, but they use special built machines and tie them off. In another thread I posted pics of the "ridgerunner" hoes they use.

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=7402

The pictures in post 20 show one of them, and there is the new Volvo. That takes care of engine oiling issues and the problem swinging, but you still have to be tied off. The one in post 20 has brackets on the track frame to tie off on and keep the cable out of the way.

 

[dirt digger]

Reuben here is the website...they say it will be operational by the end of 2008 so I can only assume they are wrapping up now...

http://www.dom.com/about/gas-transmission/covepoint/expansion/index.jsp#description

thats pretty neat both him and his son run hoes out there...i grabbed a bunch of pictures of 2 of the 345's i stumbled across one day.....the only 2 of the 10 machines i found with the door actually locked and the keys taken out.... maybe like father like son on responsible operating techniques...

heres one.....

PM me if you want a link to more..

 

[Lashlander]

like this not a good pict took with my phone . was grading a slope in mew mexico last winter. its a 345C

Kinda having a tough time with that pic Hoeman. Little to steep for a hoe to set let alone operate. Besides the bank at the bottom looks a little better as a slope to the left. The post at the top of it looks better straight up and down too.

 

[reddot556]

well everyone thanks for your input. i took a ride out there this last week to look it over,,i saw some natural 3:1's and a little distance on what looked like a 2:1 but nothing steeper than that...i forgot to mention my superintendant is a laborer by trade..knows very little about the capabilities of excavators or obviously how to determine slope ratios..no big deal tho...we didnt get the job...came in 3rd,$800,000 behind the winner

 

[BrianHay]

:falldownlaugh Hoeman had to have been joking with that one

Here is a couple great shots working on steep slopes. I know most of you guys have already seen these but I'm sure there are lots of new members that haven't yet.

 

[AllMtnConst.]

Nice pictures guys. I am with you Brian that is spider hoe territory unless you are able to tie off the machine or bench in. A lot of work I do benching in is out of the question and a conventional tracked excavator is going to leave way too much impact. Big Iron- real nice pictures. Sure is nice working on projects like that! More pictures of the Menzi on steep terrain in the thread Menzi Muck Photos.

 

[oriden]

those are some neat machines!

 

[thejdman04]

Thats too steep for me to work on

 

[DarrylMueller]

One thing to keep in mind. Keep the tracks going up and down the hill. If you do happen to get a little sideways make sure you keep the stick out. I have seen 245 laying on the counter weight in a sidehill mode with the counter weight down hill and the stick tucked in. Wish I had pictures.
I saw pictures one time of that took a 225 and modified it Like a Timber Jack or Volveo to keep house level like 15 years ago for a pipeline job.

 

[I AM IRONMAN]

Snow covered hill

That steep spyder pic is awsome! Makes me dizzy just looking at it!
Here's a picture of a machine that was climbing a snow covered hill and started sliding sideways. It flipped over when the bottom track went in a ravine full of snow. Luckily, the operator was ok, and still kept his job! He has covered 100's of miles going cross country, but just slipped once.......that's all it takes! :Banghead

Here's a link to the flip over, they had to bring the Kitty in for that. :bash


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb8G3BkfRCY

 

[DuraMaxMan66]

the grousers are packed with so much mud and snow they look like rubber pad tracks, or might as well have been.

 

[I AM IRONMAN]

No mud that day, it was about -5 degrees F, the ground was frozen solid and was slick to even walk on.

 

[Shimmy1]

Did 2 miles of this last fall. All (like most I do) was over the side. This slope wasn't quite a 1:1, but was more than a 2:1. Had to pull the stick most of the way in before starting the swing. As for the seatbelt, I had to get the retractor locked at the perfect position so it would hold me in the seat. After a week of being held in place by the belt, I was ready to be on flat ground again.

 

[hvy 1ton]

That's one of those situations where a 4 or 5 point harness starts sounding worth the effort of getting in and out.

 

[delectric123]

View attachment 167874 Did 2 miles of this last fall. All (like most I do) was over the side. This slope wasn't quite a 1:1, but was more than a 2:1. Had to pull the stick most of the way in before starting the swing. As for the seatbelt, I had to get the retractor locked at the perfect position so it would hold me in the seat. After a week of being held in place by the belt, I was ready to be on flat ground again.

How tight do you make your tracks for these situations? Tighter than manual specs?

 

[Shimmy1]

I didn't mess with it, but my hoe has less than 2000 hrs and the rails are still pretty good yet. The secret it slow travel, and don't try and make any sudden changes in heading. If you try and turn too much, the rail will slip out from under the bottom rollers.