A few projects I have done recently

[hvy 1ton]

Huh, we average a couple more inches than Seattle as well. I would have thought it would at least be in the 50's. Lots of track loaders in my area for the same reasons. Sewer and storm water upgrades are about the only time I see mid-size wheel loader. There are getting to be quiet a few 1-1.5 yard wheel loaders kicking around. A few years ago i saw a wheel loader digging a basement in ID. It was completely alien to me.

 

[CM1995]

Granite has a few on the I-65/I-20/I-59 interchange under construction, I drive through it almost daily during the week. I can see a wheel loader on a large utility or road job but for our operation it would be an underutilized piece of equipment.

A CTL is a great tender for the pipe work we do. It can keep the rock box full and string out pipe depending on the size. We're on a site now that had 42" RCP, the T250 didn't want any of that pipe.

If the job and/or the pipe is bigger our 420DIT tends the pipe crew. A rubber tire is a heck of a lot cheaper than a wheel loader and can dig a service when needed. Just my $.02 from what we do.

 

[td25c]

We drop the manual thumbs when we don't need them. A lot of times we are lifting heavy structures or reaching at distance laying pipe and the extra weight causes issues. Our profit is putting pipe in the ground, the demo and other things requiring a thumb are just part of the overall package.

In order to keep the bosses from spreading out we use an old pin when the thumb is off. This is the 321DL.

We do the same CM …. Why have the extra 500 pounds out there when your not using it . Don't take that long to rig & unrig it for the old cat's that have been doing this for awhile

Sorry, middle aged cat's ..


Now these young fellers would be looking around for the electric button or hydro lever in the cab to remove the thumb LOL !

Great idea using the pin to protect the bosses !

 

[AzIron]

Nothing handier then a well handed backhoe

Cm I see your point it's hard to justify equipment that's as expensive as wheel loaders that will sit more than used. For the same reason I have not bought a 14 ton ex it would be handy but it would sit more than it worked currently we are well developed into our backhoe market

 

[CM1995]

No doubt Az we all have to look at our company's needs and do what makes money as that's why we do it. Markets vary as much as the equipment does.

TD as you know it's not to hard to drop and re-hitch a manual thumb and the trade off is less weight and no hydraulic maintenance. When I do run a machine with a hydraulic thumb I use the hydraulics to set the thumb angle and use it like a stiff thumb.

 

[CM1995]

A little R&R in a country that holds Nicaragua and Panama together otherwise know as Costa Rica.

Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.


This is where the mountains meet the ocean.



These round river rocks have been pushed into that hole by the waves. There is a small river that dumps out into the cove in the first pic.

Those rocks travel from the top of the mountains down the river to the beach only to be pushed back up on land.

Mother Nature is pretty damn impressive.



Best Monday I've had in a long time.

 

[dirty4fun]

Good to see a few pictures of Costa Rica, amazing how the rock are pushed back on shore. Mother Nature does do what she wants when she wants. Enjoy you time off from work is this close to where you lived for a while?

 

[Landclearer]

Hey CM, enjoy your time off but don’t get used to Monday’s like that

 

[td25c]

Wish I had a machine that would move material easy as mother nature .

Enjoy the R&R CM !

 

[td25c]

Do you see very many 1960's / 70's American cars in Costa Rica ?

 

[CM1995]

Good to see a few pictures of Costa Rica, amazing how the rock are pushed back on shore. Mother Nature does do what she wants when she wants. Enjoy you time off from work is this close to where you lived for a while?

Dirty this was farther south towards Panama on the Pacific side than where I lived.

Do you see very many 1960's / 70's American cars in Costa Rica ?

You won't see any old cars TD, you won't see many new American cars either. Mostly diesel Toyotas, Nissans and Hyundai's.

There are a few Ford 150's and Superduty's but not many full sized trucks at all. However you can still buy Toyota Landcruisers with the old inline 6 diesel. Most of the SUV's are all diesel as well.

 

[td25c]

You won't see any old cars TD, you won't see many new American cars either.

And I was hoping you would run in to a nest of Chevy , Mopar & Fords down that way old buddy .

Starting another project & looking for an old set of wheels to build it around .

 

[JNB]

And I was hoping you would run in to a nest of Chevy , Mopar & Fords down that way old buddy .

Starting another project & looking for an old set of wheels to build it around .

I hear you on that one. I scored a nice set of '66 farm truck plates awhile back and I've been looking for a suitable truck to put them on. Like I need more projects.

 

[td25c]

Found you another project JNB

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/chevrolet/el-camino/2125386.html

 

[CM1995]

Started a 55K SF warehouse addition this week. Our scope is erosion control including grassing, temp. access road, grading (of course), fire line with a new hydrant, stone under bldg slab, stone under new parking and roof leaders. This project is 20 mins from home and I am loving it.

Pic of the access road leading to site and the site office trailer. #4 rock for the road with filter fabric underneath.




Temporary HDPE roof drains to divert 1/2 of the 100K sf of roof water coming off the existing building away from the pad. We will try and salvage what we can from this temp pipe when we run the permanent ones for the new addition.




55,000 SF pad for the addition. We used two hired on-road tri-axles to move fill from the borrow area on the other side of the transmission lines. I had 1.3 weeks in the bid to move the 4K CY's of for the pad with two hired trucks. Our team completed it in 3 days.


Blurry pic but I was on the 533 compacting chert.

The old and the new. 325FL with less than 200 hrs coming down from the borrow area while the 321DL sitting just shy of 6K hrs gets a new fan belt. We also gave the old girl some fresh ELC as well.

I like the sun reflection off the hyd. cylinder.



The future in the construction industry is bright and I think it's just starting to rebound.

 

[td25c]

Keep up the good work CM !

I love the jobs that are close to home more I age .

 

[willie59]

I wager it took a little while to tie all those downspouts into that HDPE, but well worth it with our southern frog stranglers that can pop up on a moments notice and wipe out a fresh graded fill. Brilliant!

 

[CM1995]

A little 953C love. Folks this is one of many things a real loader operator can do with a track loader. One of my super's getting to push dirt and just be an operator for a day.

That area was graded only with that 953C.

Those sheepsfoot marks in the ground are the work of yours truly.



279D slicking off the topsoil stripping pile. This topsoil will be re-spread around the addition.

The grader attachment for the 279D came in today and the SITEC components are coming in next week. Soon we'll be able to grade to within 1/2".



On a total aside - had to go to the closest Tractor Supply to get a filter base for the 500 gallon off-road tank we had delivered yesterday from our fuel jobber that had no filter. It was hard to resist the 5' + tall metal chickens outside - they were very close to being works of art.

After a couple of pics and texts to the better 1/2, we decided to pass on the big assed metal chicken that would've stood like a T-Rex in our little back yard. Well that and the $149 "clearance" price tag had a lot to do with it.

 

[CM1995]

Keep up the good work CM !

I love the jobs that are close to home more I age .

Thanks TD. I've put over 6K miles on my new truck since March, so it's nice to be close to home.

I wager it took a little while to tie all those downspouts into that HDPE, but well worth it with our southern frog stranglers that can pop up on a moments notice and wipe out a fresh graded fill. Brilliant!

It was expensive with materials and labor but like you said this time of year we might get 1/2-1" of rain in an afternoon. Time is money for the client when they don't currently have enough warehouse to store what they are selling.

The really cool thing about this project is it was design build and I was fortunate enough to be in on the design stage and give a little $.02 here and there as the working drawings were produced.

 

[willie59]

I was fortunate enough to be in on the design stage and give a little $.02 here and there as the working drawings were produced.

More than $.02 cents. Rather foresight guided by experience, something the customer doesn't have. Experience is priceless and you showed your worth by noticing all those downspouts along the route of what will be new fill under construction. Nice catch.