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Reading a 637 scraper

baexcavating

Active Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2013
Messages
43
Location
baraboo, wi
Occupation
Work like a rented mule to make ends meet
Looking at buying a pair of 637 scraper's... Wondering what kind of trouble I would get in by driving them home about 600 miles vs hauling them and buying all the permits. I know it's probably a bad idea, but who has done it and how bad can it really be?
 

Jakebreak

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
273
Location
Bakersfield Ca
Occupation
operator/pipelayer/mechanic
I have never done it let alone run a scraper that big but if it was me I wouldn't drive it I would spend the money for permits and haul them it make it easier and safer you would be putting a lot of wear on the tires by driving them not to mention extra wear on the drive train and that's a good size machine going down the road the brakes might not be that good what would you do if you had a tire go out on you going down the road at speeds to me it wouldn't be worth driving them I would haul if it was me if it was only less then 5 miles on a country backroad I would drive it not 600 miles not to mention they would drink a lot of fuel that's my .02 worth
 

clintm

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2013
Messages
974
Location
charlotte nc
Occupation
trucking,concrete recycling,grading, demolition
you still have to have permits here unless you are a farmer
 

Delmer

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2013
Messages
8,865
Location
WI
Old iron habit drove one home, but it was closer to 5 miles than 600 if I remember right. I've driven some crazy things and 100 miles in state I'd consider it. Not 600 with two.
 

Welder Dave

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2014
Messages
12,260
Location
Canada
I think you'd end up in the psych ward for a long time while they tried to figure out what was going on inside your head. 5 miles sure but 600 I think you'd face huge fines and they'd likely impound the scrapers.
 

Junkyard

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2016
Messages
3,621
Location
Claremore, OK
Occupation
Field Mechanic
Biggest issue would be tires. A close second would be brakes. After that is wear and tear on drivetrain. Time is $, how many days would it take, how much fuel would you burn etc. Anything over about 75 miles isn't worth it.
 

InsleyGuy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2010
Messages
75
Location
Howell, Mi
I used to work with a guy who drove a 637 from the Michigan U.P., across the Mackinac bridge and all the way down I-75 to the Detroit area. I don't think you could do that today.
 

DPete

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2007
Messages
1,677
Location
Central Ca.
The axle weight must be 50K per axle or more, If you get caught and weighed with portable scales that's how they would look at it, the fine would be determined from overweight amount. That's what would happen here in Ca. anyway. I never roaded my 623's unless it was within a couple miles and they were 80K lbs, not worth the risk
 

Jakebreak

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
273
Location
Bakersfield Ca
Occupation
operator/pipelayer/mechanic
Your right about that dpete around here sometimes it's a pain for the farmers moving their stuff around about a year my dad had a torque hub break and come completely off the carrot harvester they were roading on a backroad and it sent the duals out into a field those things are 12-14' wide that was a little scary I couldn't imagine losing a tire on a scraper
 

stars&bars44

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2015
Messages
142
Location
Trinity NC
Occupation
Earthmoving
I've heard of guys running them a few miles local over the road, and once or twice a guy might run one 15 or 20 miles, but that was in the 80's and 90's. It's pretty hard on the planetary gears and transmissions. They were made for power not high speed. If its cold the tires will bounce you all over the road from where they were parked. If you must drive it, pinch a couple truck tires between the apron and cutting edge to drag if you need to stop suddenly. I have pulled up a chunk of asphalt or two in my day with just a bare cutting edge. And you do know they wont let you on the highway. You wont get far if you try that.
 

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,305
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
I don't know much about scrapers, but my financial back-of-the-envelope says it might be more expensive just in rubber worn off the tires but here is what I would consider and try to put a dollar figure on:

-Tire wear
-Risk of blowout from driving so fast so long
-Man hours spent driving
-Permits and hassle
-Angry smokey
etc....
 

old-iron-habit

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2012
Messages
4,233
Location
Moose Lake, MN
Occupation
Retired Cons't. Supt./Hospitals
Old iron habit drove one home, but it was closer to 5 miles than 600 if I remember right. I've driven some crazy things and 100 miles in state I'd consider it. Not 600 with two.

I drove my DW-21 home 80 miles. Nice Sunday drive. It had been roaded everywhere it went for the last 10 years it worked. Often around a hundred miles. In about 1977 we roaded everything from DW-20s to 657s and 660s from southern MN to Buelah, ND. It was a distance of 504 miles. As stated you still may need permits unless it for ag. Mine had to build a logging road for myself so it was considered ag. I will get that road built some day. I may drive a DW-10 dump wagon home in the spring just for the adventure, 200 miles or so. After setting for years they sure run good after a good road trip blows the carbon out of them. That being said I do not know if the transmissions on the 737 would heat up or not on the road. Seems I read somewhere once that you had to stop or slowdown for them to cool once in a while.

EDIT: I drove mine from Wisconsin to Minnesota. Took backroads but still had to drive thru towns. No hassles at all. Around here the bigger front end loaders are running around all the time with oversized buckets and what not. I have never heard of anyone being hassled.
 
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poss

New Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2017
Messages
1
Location
south pacific
Looking at buying a pair of 637 scraper's... Wondering what kind of trouble I would get in by driving them home about 600 miles vs hauling them and buying all the permits. I know it's probably a bad idea, but who has done it and how bad can it really be?
I once drove a 631b from 184 mile on the MT Newman line back to 7 mile camp at Wickham near Roebourne
in Western Australia working for Morrison/knudsen back in the seventies. Also my farther in law who worked for Bob Kieth in the early sixties drove all the old Le Tourneau scrapers / graders /trucks, plus mobile camp from M Melbourne Victoria to Kununurra in Western Australia 3600 miles
 

jaclo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2014
Messages
108
Location
Midwest
If your brakes and flashers and turn signals work and you’re ok with the mileage on them, ask your state road department and see what they say. In Nebraska we can get a trip permit for $100 and it’s no big deal. They route us around a bridge they don’t like but we’ve never had a problem. Took one 150 miles west a couple years ago.

My biggest warning to you is about the idiots on the highway. They will pass you like you’re in a half ton pickup and be on their phones, the whole 9 yards. You’re just another tractor on the road to them.

I highly recommend you yourself and your most trusted hand help you along with a good set of tools and a beacon escort. Just try to make it look like you really went out of your way to be over prepared if you have a problem and are stuck on the road. Hydraulic oil if you blow a steer hose.
 

Nige

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
28,985
Location
G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
Running scrapers long distances in Africa used to be SOP, not sure now. Longest I ever saw was a fleet of 631Ds that were roaded 1200km (750 miles) from the port to a mine site, and that was back in the days of bias-ply tyres. No major issues other than it took a while. As others have said it might bear some investigation regarding costs of permits/fuel/labour/parts/lubes, etc, etc, vs hauling. Only you can answer that question. A twin engine scraper should road fine on just the front engine IMO.
 

Bls repair

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2017
Messages
1,612
Location
S E Pa
Occupation
Equipment operator,mechanic
Now days I don’t think it would work with traffic. You take life in your hands when you drive a car . What’s going to happen when you throw a 637 into it
 
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