How far can an excavator be driven

[Ne farmer]

I need to move my 200D. How far do you drive an excavator? I need to go 1.5 miles.

 

[petepilot]

I need to move my 200D. How far do you drive an excavator? I need to go 1.5 miles.

no good reason not to drive it that little distance

 

[check]

Around here in the mountains guys will get out every couple miles and feel the finals to see if they're getting hot climbing hills.

 

[Shimmy1]

I've walked one 6 miles before. Just walked mine 1 mile today.

 

[John C.]

I've had to chase them 8 to 10 miles in southeast Alaska. The roads were too soft and turns too tight to run a low boy up so they roaded them everywhere. As Check says heat is the only real problem.

 

[uffex]

Good day
A couple of points may be worth a thought check the crawler transmissions for lube make a good inspection of the undercarriage may save a breakdown along the way, in real terms it could be less costly to put the machine on a trailer.
Kind regards
Uffex

 

[CatKC]

I need to move my 200D. How far do you drive an excavator? I need to go 1.5 miles.

On my farm I go that far all the time, that's the only way I can get my Cat to where I need it. I don't like to leave it out in the weather so I bring it back to shed it. My only suggestion would be to check for 'hot rollers' (especially in Rabbit) when you stop.
Of course if you're 'not in a hurry', it's better to run in Turtle (slow) mode.

 

[uffex]

Good day
I guess you may have seen this simple idea could be a money saver if you have a tow tractor YouTube

 

[CM1995]

As long as you don't travel in reverse the whole way..

 

[John C.]

It's an excavator. It doesn't matter which way the boom is pointing does it?

 

[CM1995]

It's an excavator. It doesn't matter which way the boom is pointing does it?

Idlers forward for track wear?

 

[farmerlund]

Standing by with popcorn and a drink. Waiting to see the outcome of forward VS reverse travel debate. LOL.

PS I travel both ways over .5 to 1 mile occasionally. Wear out both sides of sprockets and pins evenly. In the end I don't thing it really matters in my opinion.

 

[John C.]

CM1995 is correct on the direction. It makes a big difference on wear on the sprockets and track bushings.

 

[CM1995]

CM1995 is correct on the direction. It makes a big difference on wear on the sprockets and track bushings.

There for a minute I was doubting myself....wait that is right, right?

 

[Shimmy1]

CM1995 is correct on the direction. It makes a big difference on wear on the sprockets and track bushings.

I'm curious if you have any real life examples where there is a substantial, measurable difference in life of the spockets and bushings, and what the actual difference in hours is. For example, two identical machines doing the same work, only one always spun his tracks around to travel forward for any measurable distance, and the other just went with the flow. Not disputing at all that you get more wear in reverse, I'm just also in the camp that doesn't think it matters as much on an excavator as a dozer. If you are consistently walking the machine several hundred yards or more in one direction on a daily basis, then I'd say yes, you should be keeping the idlers pointed the way you're going, if practical.

 

[skata]

I'd imagine driving in reverse puts more pressure on the upper rollers.

 

[John C.]

On a machine working in a mine or in many cases putting in utilities, the chains will be shot before the bushings. The links will spread on the pins. However the point of the thread is in how far can you travel. Out here we have turned excavators into logging shovels and the logging shovels have become skidders. Logging shovels do those miles each day and many times in some real steep terrain. I've had to get to some where walking was pretty tough. It won't take long going up and down those hills the wrong way to see the effects of reverse travel bushing wear.
Going up hills with the sprockets in front of you will pull the chains tight over the top of the track frames and try to compress the front idler spring. If you punch into a stump sliding down hill it will compress the spring and the track will go slack on the sprocket and the chain can free wheel over several teeth before catching. Makes for a funny sound and a white faced operator the first time they have it happen. If the spring is weak in the first place, the spring will compress and the chain will jump the sprocket also.
No one here really cares about the top rollers anymore. They can be changed in minutes and don't cost much anyway. On the logging shovels they use bottom rollers for top rollers and those take a little longer to change.

 

[CM1995]

Plus it easer to push the pedals forward with the front of your foot for 1.5 miles instead of using your heals.

 

[Shimmy1]

Plus it easer to push the pedals forward with the front of your foot for 1.5 miles instead of using your heals.

Lol. So you're saying you've *never* backed up a bit by using your toes to push the pedals rearward for reverse?? I know I have, and it's much easier than using your heels.

 

[CM1995]

Lol. So you're saying you've *never* backed up a bit by using your toes to push the pedals rearward for reverse?? I know I have, and it's much easier than using your heels.

Of course but not for 1.5 miles.

The cab on the 325FL is so darn roomy you could stretch out and prop your feet up to go in reverse - not so much so in the 321DL.