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excavator falls off trailor

special tool

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Jun 15, 2008
Messages
878
Location
Bethel, Ct.
you own a 385 cat? they're a NICE machine!!

I know you're busting stones, but I think some of these guys say "my machine" = just means they care about the machine.
If I owned that machine and he called it his, I'd make sure he's the only one running it.;)
 

td25c

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Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
I have had a few close calls in the past loading the excavator over the rear like the vidio.I got tired of the circus act and welded steak pockets on the tailboard of the lowboy just inside the tracks on each side.I drop a 2 inch diameter pin in them when I load the excavator.The pin sticks up maybe 6 inches above the trailer floor.Know trouble loading now.Excavator cant slide either way.
 

Vantage_TeS

Senior Member
Joined
May 28, 2008
Messages
495
Location
Calgary, Alberta
Occupation
HE Operator. Surprise?
I have had a few close calls in the past loading the excavator over the rear like the vidio.I got tired of the circus act and welded steak pockets on the tailboard of the lowboy just inside the tracks on each side.I drop a 2 inch diameter pin in them when I load the excavator.The pin sticks up maybe 6 inches above the trailer floor.Know trouble loading now.Excavator cant slide either way.

We did that when I used to run forestry equipment. The processor had a free swinging head on it so you couldn't use the boom to stabilize yourself so it got a little hairy sometimes. Put a couple pins in and no problem!
 

AtlasRob

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Feb 8, 2008
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Location
West Sussex UK
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owner operator
I've been giving this a bit more thought as to how he got in that position.

He could well have been sat dead centre when he tracked over the axles, if not why would he not reposition himself, no weight on the bucket at that time, he would be free to slew anyway he needed to get in line, so I have to assume he and everybody else was quite happy thats things were safe at that point.

As he started to pass the balance point at the rear of the trailer he had the bucket placed on the ground to steady him/herself. Wouldnt we all.;)

This is where it gets tricky and is what I was hinting at in this thread
https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=15342

when I said

For all those that think they have the experience / bottle / nerve, to do it. Set an excavator up and climb over something, be it a log, rail track, girder, concrete kerb, whatever, but make sure your bucket does not slide or your tracks spin, now go and do it on some steel plate and achieve the same

IF he did not bring the dipper in as he tracked back the tracks would have spun and the machine would have slipped sideways as it pushed against the dipper that was holding it.
How many ops have you seen that slide the bucket when coming off benches or down steps. That is ok on muck out on site but not steel on steel.
I suspect this is what has happened up to the point where the video starts.
He is now sat on probably an inch or two of trailer and very few options left.

At the point the video starts I reckon he had only one option and that was to get assistance. Whether that be another machine, trailer, winch, block and tackle or just a strong coffee he needed help.
 

AtlasRob

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Feb 8, 2008
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West Sussex UK
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owner operator
I drop a 2 inch diameter pin in them when I load the excavator.The pin sticks up maybe 6 inches above the trailer floor.Know trouble loading now.Excavator cant slide either way.

I believe our military has something very similar for when loading tanks etc.
 

plantman.uk

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Joined
Oct 4, 2009
Messages
201
Location
uk
Occupation
excavator operator
Rob. look at where his bucket is ...on the arse end of that trailer the bucket should just be hanging closer to it. so in my opinion experience is what is lacking it looks to me he is tracking against the dipper, you are correct it's ok to do it into muck but tracking steel on steel is not easy therefor thats where apptitude comes in..anybody can get it up the heap not a lot of folks can get them off...hope i've not opened a can of wormswith my comment..i don't mean to offend anyone
 

stock

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Aug 4, 2008
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2,022
Location
Eire
Occupation
We have moved on and now were lost....
scan0001a.jpg

From my viewing of this the driver has made a proper ass of it before he gets to the point of dropping it off the trailer.At the point shown he has 20t odd sitting on one set of springs and axle, secondly why has he got this excavator sitting up in the air when he is so far past the rocking point (CoG).Had he raised the boom prior to this point, the front of the tracks would be sitting close to,or sitting on the dirt where he would have had a greater amount of control.
Now having said that would a beaver tail not have been a better type of trailer to have used? Silly mess for nothing.:mad::mad:
 

heavylift

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
1,046
Location
KS
It appears to be an m870 trailer... 8' wide with a folding neck.
the m747 trailer is 11' 5" wide. rear load
and the m1000 is 12' 1". rear load

the deere 200 has a center to center track width of 7' 10".... and 3 different overall track widths 9' 10"... 10' 2"... 10' 6"

It would fit on the smaller m870 trailer...

I'm surprised they didn't try to cowboy it off the side....
I've seen it done.. the first time I was barely out of the cab, the operator tracked right over the side of the trailer, spun the tracks 90 degrees, and folded the boom.
that went on for about a week.... I had just started hauling equipment. The boss just happened to be in the area on day... he wasn't happy when he seen the hoe flying on the trailer from the side.. NO more side loading, he said
Their trailers were folding necks that you had to winch the trailer onto the tractor...
 

td25c

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
Lowboy safety pins for loading excavator

I took a few pictures of my stake pockets & pins on the tailboard of the Lacrosse 25 ton lowboy this evening,sorry about the quality but it was getting dark.Each pin is about 10 inches long and I put them in when loading & unloading the excavator.The trailer is 8 feet wide and the excavator is 8 feet wide at the center of the track so there is not allot of room to play around and most loading trouble starts at the tailboard.The inside of the tracks has maybe an inch of play between the pins.I installed them a few years ago and they help allot .About half the time we are unloading on a county road beside power lines or in town beside a building or a house.It's bad to slide off the lowboy in an open field,I sure dont want to do it in town and get into power lines or a house.
 

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plantman.uk

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Oct 4, 2009
Messages
201
Location
uk
Occupation
excavator operator
just looked at ya man again tracking off the back look at where his idlers are...behind him...if thats the case he is either pressing down on the track pedals with his toes making it arkward or he is pulling on the track pedal controls with his hand so he is not in complete control of the machine.If the idlers were in front of him he could push the track pedals making it easier to control and having both hands on the boom and dipper levers...in my opinion less chance of him tipping the bloody thing over and getting it off safely
 

Deere9670

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Feb 23, 2008
Messages
387
Location
Illinois
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Farm equipment operator
just looked at ya man again tracking off the back look at where his idlers are...behind him...if thats the case he is either pressing down on the track pedals with his toes making it arkward or he is pulling on the track pedal controls with his hand so he is not in complete control of the machine.If the idlers were in front of him he could push the track pedals making it easier to control and having both hands on the boom and dipper levers...in my opinion less chance of him tipping the bloody thing over and getting it off safely

I understand what you are saying, but to get the thing on the trailer, he would have to pull the levers back as well, so hes kinda stuck in between a rock and a hard place when it comes to that..........
 

plantman.uk

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Joined
Oct 4, 2009
Messages
201
Location
uk
Occupation
excavator operator
there is that to it but it's easier loading it that way gearbox going on idlers coming off...but the only surefire way in that situation was to get me to take it off for him...(haha)
 

special tool

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Jun 15, 2008
Messages
878
Location
Bethel, Ct.
I took a few pictures of my stake pockets & pins on the tailboard of the Lacrosse 25 ton lowboy this evening,sorry about the quality but it was getting dark.Each pin is about 10 inches long and I put them in when loading & unloading the excavator.The trailer is 8 feet wide and the excavator is 8 feet wide at the center of the track so there is not allot of room to play around and most loading trouble starts at the tailboard.The inside of the tracks has maybe an inch of play between the pins.I installed them a few years ago and they help allot .About half the time we are unloading on a county road beside power lines or in town beside a building or a house.It's bad to slide off the lowboy in an open field,I sure dont want to do it in town and get into power lines or a house.

Sorry for OT - but I have a Lacross tag, very similar to your lowboy.
Mine is 20 tons though.
What kind of make and weight rating of tire do you have to get 25 tons?
 

td25c

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Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
Thats interesting that you have a Lacrosse trailer Special Tool,Dont see many around any more.They seem to be a good trailer.I want to say the brand name on my tires is "Power King".They are a standard low platform 8.25-15 tire.I would have to go look at it to see the load rating on the tires.I think Lacrosse also made a detachable lowboy as well.Not sure when they went out business.We have had good luck with ours over the years.
 

special tool

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Jun 15, 2008
Messages
878
Location
Bethel, Ct.
The wheels/hubs are exactly like yours.
The I-beam rails are ridiculously heavy.
I still don't know the tare weight - never did.
I don't put anything bigger than 32,000 on it, anyway.
I don't think it could weigh 8,000 pounds.
 

td25c

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Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
They are a well built Trailer special tool,I'l start a thread on it in the trailer forum so we can get down all the details & share some pictures and storys.
 

bill5362

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2007
Messages
353
Location
Indiana
Occupation
I own a excavation company and a rolloff container
That hard to rattle a person bones, hopefully they were able to walk away...
 

peter31

Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2009
Messages
15
Location
Barbados
Hope the operator is scratch free...not his fault these things happen cause metal to metal always slide
 
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