Hardest piece of equipment and favorite

[Phxrider]

What was the hardest piece of equipment to learn to run and what is the most fun to run, in everyone's opinion? I heard graders were the hardest to learn?

 

[grandpa]

My vote would be grader.

 

[CM1995]

953 loader for me. Bought mine 11 years ago new and it took many, many hours until I could cut grade with it. I don't have any grader experience.

 

[GregD1]

Drag line or clam shell bucket.

 

[JBGASH]

Trackloaders are the most difficult for me, in the grade cutting & finishing areas of work with them, a mechanical draw works type sideboom takes some serious learning too in the pipeline field

 

[Georgia Iron]

953 loader for me. Bought mine 11 years ago new and it took many, many hours until I could cut grade with it. I don't have any grader experience.

I have heard the motor grade is it, but I have not used one yet. So I am with cm. 953. I have many hours on it and still get frustrated making roads and building pads...

 

[old-iron-habit]

In about 1970 Tree Farmer made a tree shear patterned on log skidder technology. They were a reliable machine but they only sold a few as it took a person with 5 arms and 4 legs to run it with any sort of production.

I ran it a fair bit and it was better than chain saw falling but it was a sweet day when we upgraded to a Cat 931 long track with counter weights outfitted with a shear.

Favorite, Thats more difficult. I need to think about it more. I like so many.

 

[John C.]

Crane and clamshell was the hardest for me. Drag line was always the most fun.

 

[repowerguy]

The hardest machine to run in my not so long career was a 963 Cat loader, that v pattern direction lever baffles me, I so want it to click in a gear like the old 955H that I find I keep pulling it back til it looks like a land speed record run. I did enjoy running a 503 Galion grader from time to time it was kind of pleasant getting in a good cut and moving some material. I have spent most of my career as a mechanic, so if you would want to start a thread about the most hateful ornery things I have worked on,well I have a few!

 

[CM1995]

953 loader for me. Bought mine 11 years ago new and it took many, many hours until I could cut grade with it. I don't have any grader experience.

The 953 was one of the hardest to learn how to run but also one of my favorites to run still. It can do so many things when you get to know what it's capable of.

If I had to pick my most favorite machine I've owned and ran would be a Cat 325DL, that was a sweet track hoe. Well balanced, plenty of power and just right in the size department for what we did with it.

 

[markshr151]

I do not like old Ford tractors

 

[td25c]

Hardest piece of yellow iron to learn on I have is a Suzuki RM 250 . Damn !....... I don't heal up a fast as I used to .

My all around favorite is tied between a dozer or motor scraper . Get to drive around the job site & move some dirt at the same time .

 

[Red Roan]

Cat 12 grader was the hardest to learn, but I had an easy job to learn on, I had to maintain miles of haul roads at a landfill, took me a summer, but I got fairly proficient on it.

Most fun was a 973 track loader, but the machine I was best on was an open cab 8N, spent thousands of hours on it

 

[ol' Grump]

An old grader hand taught me that basically a grader has two levers. .lever A and leaver B. I've seen guys pushing and yanking levers to no end while often it just takes some forethought to make the job easier w/o all the fuss. One thing he told me is something I think over before I start; decide how you want it to look when you're finished and everything in between will fall into place.

So to me anyway, the grader was the hardest critter to learn, but also the one I enjoy the most now. If i had to choose, I'd say the old Cat 12E was my favorite.

 

[ddigger]

I would say for me it was, the truck mounted gradall. With the old controls, 3 levers and four pedals and one horn button to give commands to the oiler in the truck cab. One lever for boom up and down one for stick in and out center lever to twist bucket. Left 2 pedals to curl and dump the bucket, right 2 pedals to swing the house. There are no outriggers so you timed your digging to the rocking or the truck. Same controls as the early Hoptos.

 

[JGibson]

Never ran a track loader or grader, and not trying to sound arrogant with this but I haven't really run any machines that were really hard. I mean when I first got on hoe or dozer it took a few hours to get used to it, but I haven't run any of the tricky stuff. I'd have to say my favorite machine I've worked with would either have to be the Bobcat 335 mini, or a the JCB 215S. I really liked a Case CX130C I tried at auction but ran it at auction haha so I can't say much other then it was smooth and comfortable.

 

[kshansen]

Hardest piece of yellow iron to learn on I have is a Suzuki RM 250 . Damn !....... I don't heal up a fast as I used to .

In that vein, I would have to say Sportster with sidecar, scared the crap out of me for the first year, now I can't wait to ride it again.

Well I was more of a wrench puller for the last 45 years so the only equipment I got to operate was something that I had to fix first!
Most fun? Might have to be any one of several Euclid/Terex off-highway trucks with 12V-71 Detroits, near the top of that group would be the old R30 with the I-beam front end, not the best riding but you knew you were in a real truck when running in 6th gear on the narrow haul road at the gravel bed in Lacona NY. I'm sure anyone with-in 5 miles knew it too!

 

[chevota84]

The one that gave me the most trouble was an older cat forklift with a hydrostat rocker pedal for direction and speed. I'm usually pretty good at oddball equipment but I just can't get smooth on that thing.

 

[CaptainAnalyzer]

953, 963, 973. Love hate. I'm a mechanic, I don't have years and years of seat time, but I could tell you my most dreaded and most loved machines to service. I'd have to say though favorite machine would be PC220 or 320CL. Both very smooth, and agile. I've half assed run big and giant excavators (PC490, 345C, 650D) kinda cumbersome I think. Maybe it's just my hands.

 

[FSERVICE]

im a mechanic by trade, the most fun was a 375bL excavator with a shear or thumb!! the trickiest piece was a cat loader with joystick controls!!! I think it was a 980 its been a few years back. had to drive(more like look like a snake go thru a shop door) it was interesting for a few seconds... LOL I enjoyed the dragline but I could see that getting old after the first day in it!!