The one man show to grow

LC, I'm so glad you noticed the pool removal. I was quite proud of myself LOL. The pool builder insisted we bring masks for the airborne debris when we broke it out. So I made an early morning stop to get some. Then when I got to the pool I started thinking maybe I can do this. So after removing the concrete deck I just went around in a pattern and lifted up till it would start cracking. It took a bit of a strategy and I really got caught up in the challenge. What do you know it worked. Once I dragged out of the way I just smashed it up. Saved the guys from wearing masks and I didn't have to pick up hundreds of pieces. Was a first for me.

Well turns out I had a misunderstanding with the Cat guy. I'll be getting a 312E on rent tomorrow. That's the one I wanted but he said the 312's were all out on rent. They had two brand new 314E's up there last week that weren't even cleared for rental yet. Who doesn't love a yellow bucket. Good news is my C model is getting line bored finally.

Saw four of these T880's on lowbeds heading up 85N the same day. Definitely not Georgia trucks with those axles but somebody is getting four matching blue dumps.


I really like these.


Thought I was gonna get to run this for a week but it went out quick.

Those 299's are beasts. We have a few at work, and they will push almost as much as a dozer will. If you ever get your hands on one though, I'd go for the backup camera option, cause it's a big blind spot out the back.

Ran a 314 a few times last spring, and honestly felt like it was a bit underpowered for what we were doing. Course, we use mostly 321's so that could be why.

Getting that pool out of there like that is pretty cool. I showed my 13 year old stepson the photos and he said, "Uh...how did he do that?"

That was pretty slick and worked out good for you. I am not a big fan of pool demos because like you said, all the little broken pieces.

I will be curious as to your opinion on the new 312 compared to yours. I personally think the c series were the best excavators cat ever built. We had some 320c's and a 322c. I loved the 322. It was fast smooth and strong.

If I were to bet on it, I would say those are going to be Blue Max trucks heading to Charlotte. T880, not the best looking trucks.

Jim, that's a good shot of the Cat and that slope. Looks brand new. Sound like you get to play on all the nice Cats. That 299 is nice but geez it's just too much $$. I did see one this week with metal tracks and it looked great on grousers. You see the Cat CLR's mostly on road work like your picture around here also all brand new.

JNB, that's pretty cool your boy liked it. I know I did at that age.

Well LC, I really really liked the 312E...... but I love my 312C still. It'll be a minute before I make that change but it was an awesome machine and I really liked the looks of it. It does appear to be top heavy visually. I wonder if it actually does have a higher center of gravity. That goes for all E models vs. C or D models. On the tag along trailer is where it had me thinking it has a high COG. Still looks good and bulky in the dirt though. You can't see a thing behind you whatsoever and that could get aggravating in a cramped up back yard or in the trees. No camera on this one so I got the full E experience. Not that I'd trust a camera when within 18" or so of an object. But pre looking behind you before swinging is useless. But yes I'd love a 312E when the time comes. It didn't feel as strong when digging but that could be this new bucket I was using on it. I removed the 36" rental bucket. I used my 42" with 7 teeth I just bought but have yet to try it on my 312. Tomorrow will be the first time using it on mine.

Some shots of the 312EL. It was a good one.




The day before taking it to Cat. Got to leave this nightmare rock job but still have to come back one day when it dries up to load out 20 loads of rock.




Great news for me. None of the holes needed line boring. First time going to a Cat dealer. They treated me like I want to be treated and took care of everything from sending a rep to my house for a thorough estimate/assessment and getting me a discounted rental. I made a new friend and connection with the Cat product rep. He has ordered me some injectors and a marine cam for my Peterbilt and got me a line of credit with Cat and also with the dealer. Best treatment I've felt since being out there on my own and getting kicked around by others.

I would not like squeezing my personal machine through here. I took it as easy as I could.



Today after swapping them out and bringing mine home we fitted the new to me 42" bucket and I did some painting. It had some burns from cutting out the bushings. A total of 6 pins, the relative bushings, H link, the two links and it feels tight like new. Very quiet too. My monitor has been out for a year. They fixed it too, it was just a wire. I'm in love with her again. I bought some new glass for it but they told me I'd be better off having their sub contracted glass guy just come to my place. They gave me his contact info.

Everything new here.



Replaced the stick to boom pin and bushings along with the upper pin and bushing on the stick cylinder



Taped off the roll pan and coated it with Cat spray paint all the way around.

Bet she feels almost brand new again, you really keep that machine shining. How many hours? I wish the other guys at the company I work for would care for the equipment even 1/4 as much as you do.

That is a beautiful excavator you have. Wish most people would take care of their equipment a tenth as well as you do.

Looks great. Not having to bore is a testament to your grease schedule! Saved a lot of $$$

Thanks fastdirt, that 314 was fresh off the factory floor on that job, but honestly it felt a bit small for most of the tasks. Company I work for runs cat excavators (though the Volvo dealer apparently made us a pretty good deal, cause a few oth those have snuck into the fleet:badidea), being one of the largest Heavy civil contractors in the Mid-Atlantic we do have a few nice toys to play with :usa

tylermckee said:

Bet she feels almost brand new again, you really keep that machine shining. How many hours? I wish the other guys at the company I work for would care for the equipment even 1/4 as much as you do.

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Thanks. I've always liked a clean straight machine and always will. Although when I had a few jobs going at one time in the past and damage was happening you tend to say heck with it it's all about just getting it done at the end of the day. I currently am just doing the one man deal and have complete control so I'll keep everything up as well as I can. In the future I will progress but not at the moment.
She has 7500 hours right now. That is twice what it had when I bought it exactly three years ago. After renting two new machines this last week I feel even better about it. I though I might get bummed out when I got back on it but that is the furthest thing from what I'm feeling. I really do love it's performance.

RCTech9 said:

That is a beautiful excavator you have. Wish most people would take care of their equipment a tenth as well as you do.

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Thanks. RC

AKSNOW said:

Looks great. Not having to bore is a testament to your grease schedule! Saved a lot of $$$

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Well I was ready for the line bore ordeal and was getting ready to take a hit. I already had the estimate and was just removing the bucket so I could take it to the shop and I noticed the bushings were still all there. I was thrilled to find that because I thought for sure it was in need.

JimBruce42 said:

Thanks fastdirt, that 314 was fresh off the factory floor on that job, but honestly it felt a bit small for most of the tasks. Company I work for runs cat excavators (though the Volvo dealer apparently made us a pretty good deal, cause a few oth those have snuck into the fleet:badidea), being one of the largest Heavy civil contractors in the Mid-Atlantic we do have a few nice toys to play with :usa
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Great Pics. I love the Peterbilt lowboy shot hauling that Cat. I'd probably run off the road rubbernecking if he passed me LOl. We have a company locally around here that dominates the DOT work. They did over 500 million in 2008 with the DOT alone. They have all those brand new Cats scattered all over the state. I think Cat just takes them off the trains and boats and just drives them straight to that company then sends an invoice. I see Cats on the side of the road that I didn't even know came out yet. Maybe once the Cat reps sees those Volvos on the jobs he'll drop his price LOL.

Glad to hear how good everything worked out for you with the repairs and not having to bore. With the new pins and bushings your 312 feels like new and it sure looks like new. It says a lot about you to have a machine with 7500 hours look like yours does!

Landclearer said:

Glad to hear how good everything worked out for you with the repairs and not having to bore. With the new pins and bushings your 312 feels like new and it sure looks like new. It says a lot about you to have a machine with 7500 hours look like yours does!

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Thank you sir. It ought to serve me well for awhile longer. I idolize d digger and his 25K hr. 330L but who knows what the future holds. It is tight though. I will pop the bucket up just to hear the thud like on those newer rentals I ran instead of the super loud clang heard from several streets over I was used to.


Recently I saw those two new 314E LCR's at the dealer and posted a pic or two. Funny thing. My buddy who actually got me into dirt about 20 years back is a big time super intendant for a specialized company around here who is growing to the top of the chain locally. They've done the new Falcon's stadium amongst other phenomenal jobs. Well he says they just bought two of them. I told them I saw them at the dealer and wanted to check them out when he got them. I had a job close to his job in the city today and broke away to check them out and take a break. One of them was going at it in the street and the other one was at the staging area. Both were fully equipped with blade, rubber tracks, QC coupler, aux. hyd. lines, etc. They have 90 pieces and are growing stronger by the day and I think Cat is going after some of their business because of what he said they paid. I played around on the one for a minute.

This is another one of his jobs from today at a State Farm site.




Here are couple of my humble little recent jobs.

From today. Could only get out two loads because of nowhere to efficiently dump due to wet ground everywhere. I had dirt piled everywhere. Way too much.




This was a pleasant setting out in the country.

Every time I see one of your pool excavations Fastdirt I am amazed to see the material stand up vertically like that. Definitely different material than we have around here. As usual, very nice work!

It's a sharp looking rig to say the least. With all the hazard lights and strobes going, it's hard to miss too, hah.

Yes a tight machine is s pleasure to run. 25K hours is a pretty high number but look at it this way, you are 1/3 of the way there. Looks like you had that Mack get into a tight spot for sure, how many loads came out of that pool total. The job on the farm looks like a nice change for you, out of the neighborhoods. Nice site with nice dirt. I am jealous, I have to go to an apartment complex and dig one tomorrow. I will get pics of that mess for sure.

Oxbow the dirt will hold really good. Some better than others. One thing you can't do is gouge it over dig it and you have to be super careful not to break corners off getting in a hurry. Sometimes you have to push first then pull and vice versa. Also many times I have to bring the dirt up to grade. Sometimes to 4' or more but usually around 3' or less on average if the yard slopes. Everybody wants to walk out of their door and onto the pool deck without any steps and the yard can be way out of grade. I'll have to pack it with my bucket and that is rough on me and the machine. It is painful but you can shear cut it if packed good.

This was from earlier this week. It shaped up great but I was having another fight as I was running out of space to sit as I was getting to the end. Had to make a stepped down bench and then ease my way back up there so I could see. I also had a 50 year old retaining wall right on the property line about 6' tall that I was pushing my luck on. Plan was to haul out the dirt and they ordered a truck but I told them I needed the dirt to sit on as I worked my way out and off the grade.


Loading out dirt. I talked them in to keeping the dirt. Did a load or two...hit the overhang/gutter or spill dirt on the neighbors patio....


Some nice dirt though for shaping made up for the headaches







No wonder neighbors get ticked at new development.... It's the one's that have already torn a house down and rebuilt a monster that give us grief. This is in prime downtown Atlanta. What a difference in size. Nice view for the neighbors. I don't understand people. Give me acres.

Jim, I love that 379 with matching frame to the 4 axle lowboy. A 10 out of 10. Thanks for posting. I've worked for several big grading outfits and most of them had over the top long hood Peterbilts with a couple of them running KW 900L's. All of them spec'd to the max. I did get to ride shotgun moving a D9L once at one of the companies. I think that's why I am fascinated by them still.

LC, she has never once let me down. Lot of those hours I like to think are idle hours but either way I've missed the low hour sale/trade so it's in my best interest to run her. Maybe one day I'll let her go but it's really a great machine and no need to. I do love the country jobs. I get to mix it up a lot. This week I did five pools and one of them was out in the wide open. The others not so much and really tight. We had to leave all but two loads on the one job you mentioned because of mud at the dump site.

It seems at least once a week I'll get to dig on an estate with several acres. Now those are my dream homes. Not these million dollar 1/4 acre houses.

I had to go to Chattanooga for two digs. It was a haul. Left at 5 am Thurs. got home at 9:30 Friday. Poor ole dump truck got rung out on the way home.

For a ministry here. This is where the hotshot former land owner/land developer/jerk had us dig the Baptismal pool in the wrong place. He had a major chip on his shoulder and found the worst place on the site in 2' of silt. Long story but he left after about 20 minutes of pushing us around.

Loved the truck and was all over it... tri axle, black, 550 Cat


Then the Pastor showed up and wanted us to put the Baptismal pool under the crosses on the top of the hill. That's more like it and where we all thought it was going. That was mid day that we started over. Still didn't understand the jerk former land owner's problem earlier that morning. He was just acting as an advisor for the pastor but the pastor is so busy I understood and had no problem. Really enjoyed the scenery and myself on that dig and decided not to charge for it. The pool builder was my favorite builder and he was donating it so I just followed his lead. It is 2.5 hours away though. We also did another pool just 10 minutes away the next day.