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  1. M

    Advice on tandem dual axle goosenecks - 25ft vs 30ft ??? Please Help...

    I recommend avoiding powder coat for that application, when it starts to crack that is all she wrote. Take the machine and fold it up like on a trailer and think of your front bucket flat on the deck with your rear arm folded and bucket flat. Measure the distance to include hight of your...
  2. M

    New company and first job out of the gate

    Worked for years doing dirt work and ended up on the demo end of the company, after 14 years of working for them the company was bowed over with the economy flux and they started layoffs. I lasted for 5 rounds of layoffs, but even after lasting that long it was down to a very small margin and...
  3. M

    Can GPS help a young in experienced operator do quality professional grading?

    Was not due to surveyor or engineers, get a GPS system near a mirror reflection and it has signal bounce, polished granite stone, marble etc or polished stainless steel will also enhance deterioration of the signal. A few call it ghost signals, or interference. Regardless of situations bot of us...
  4. M

    what to do with big trees on dam

    What is the composition of the material in the dam? Is it a berm or spillway?
  5. M

    Can GPS help a young in experienced operator do quality professional grading?

    True about maintenance and upkeep, but now having 60 to 72 thousand dollars in small parts have been known to grow legs also. I was a working superintendent for three cut and fill metro jobs and the owner had three topcon units, they did work well up top on a airport runway when you had clear...
  6. M

    Can GPS help a young in experienced operator do quality professional grading?

    I am sure they are top notch units when new, but give them time and something will go down.
  7. M

    Can GPS help a young in experienced operator do quality professional grading?

    I have seen them work, and then not work. Smart goes in and smart comes out, someone has to program and plot and if you would have incorrect data then you will be off grade or the slope will be screwed. I was trained back in the 70's and not the type to deny new technology, but if it works then...
  8. M

    312cl bucket and thumb issues

    Where were you three years ago? Excellent post and photos!
  9. M

    Going IUOE... which way

    Well the union is only as good as your local, I was a member of IUOE 77 for three years, my family was union and after getting out of the military the boom was on in the D.C. area and they were begging for bodies. They were not taking just anyone and the master mechanic tested you out and after...
  10. M

    Operator's Wages

    When I was working in Northern Virginia pay was all up and down the charts, some smaller companies were paying far more than the big ones and had better benefits. Depending on your skills, experience and being close to D.C. your criminal background since many jobs required some type of...
  11. M

    Keeping up with rising cost of fuel

    I have read the same thing in reference to your post, not knowing the full process since the shop was the one doing the final blend. Most of the time my job was to recover the used oil from various places and return it to the shop and pump it out into the holding tank outside, as a driver and...
  12. M

    Keeping up with rising cost of fuel

    How my old company offset fuel cost, they made friends with every place that had a deep fryer or used oil. We made a pump truck and with filters, another filter system in the shop pumped, filtered and blended the used fry oil into the fuel. 2k per month savings off the bat and we did not use a...
  13. M

    Can GPS help a young in experienced operator do quality professional grading?

    I vote no, to be quite honest GPS can be screwed up more than a cut sheet made by a drunk taxi driver, input calculations, GPS signal and connections that are not secure is some of my personal traits of distaste for the grind and go level system. Make a friend with a old hand with experience...
  14. M

    Protecting Driver and Dozer While Clearing Brush

    Sweet cage and root rake on that dozer.
  15. M

    How much do you give back to the community?

    I was a volunteer firefighter for years and lived in a very rural area of Virginia, I was closest to the box we called the department and would do whatever I could to give back in other ways. Where I lived and worked was 60 miles and quite often if I was moving equipment the owner of the company...
  16. M

    Mechanical Gooseneck and a new way to make it easier.

    Well I am not an expert but know that slick clay or snow and ice would make any normal hook up a little difficult, with that rig it would be a mother of a problem. The first lowboy I ever had ran was a Hyster and that thing gave us problems new, goose neck would slide around if you were not...
  17. M

    Mechanical Gooseneck and a new way to make it easier.

    That would be a slick setup if I was working on solid ground all the time but could not work under most conditions I have loaded with.
  18. M

    Earthmoving Company Taglines or Slogans

    Not official but when we did the cut and fill tunnel, We run your business in the ground so you don't have too.
  19. M

    ''steep slopes on dozers''

    When we were doing the tunnel at Dulles airport we picked the bid up for the dirt stockpiles, no spoils were trucked off site and the airport maintained the stock with PMC as the management. When the company took over the stock piles we had to go and re profile three hills as they called them...
  20. M

    salary or hourly

    I have been in this situation a few times, it is a tough call and depending on how many hours they will make you work after salary is negotiated. I went salary one time and the pay was not worth it, the hours increased and the owner thought that my truck was company then with the attitude of...
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