how I spent my saturday/sunday.....Pics

leeinmemphis · Mar 18, 2007

yesterday I spent the day running the dozer cleaning up several areas and got a whole lot of stuff done. Then cbu93 came up and we rode around some. While riding around we got out and walked around a pond that had been drained and now the levee has recently been put back together. He pointed out that it would be a good time to remove brush and I had actually been thinking about it. Well I went on ahead and finished up clearing a couple of areas that had some pine that I wanted to push over. After that I thought what the heck may as well go on ahead and clean around the pond. I went to the far side and started clearing and I got most of it just the way I wanted. Then I went around to the other side and pushed a few trees when all of a sudden....

so I decided this was a good stopping point for the day. I called memfuzz and asked if he would come help me get it out so I woke up this morning and put the backhoe on the tractor. I got up at daylight and jacked the dozer with the front blade and started putting some trees under the left track. I also got in there with a shovel and dug out the belly of the dozer and the right track. The mud was SO heavy, thick and sticky that I lost my boots in there twice and got to the point that I was absolutely wore out. Long story short is we did this for probably 5-6 hours or so with no luck. We tried to pull with my tractor but it just wasn't heavy/strong enough to do it....

I asked my wife to go up and start calling some builders I know in the area to find out if anyone could pull me out or possibly get a semi wrecker out there to try to get it out. Well she called the man that sold me the gravel for the barn and he offered to come out in his semi with a d7. About an hour and a half later he showed up. I wasn't familiar with his dozer but he told me it was a 20 year old dozer with a mercedes engine in it. I couldn't believe how quiet it was.

we hooked up some chain and ended up breaking 3 chains trying to get it out. We went and got some wire rope and were able to get it out after a little bit of tugging on it.

after we got it out I climbed down in the hole just to get a perspective of how deep/thick it was.

The pics don't really do it justice. I can't thank Memfuzz enough for all the help/advice. Also need to mention that the man wouldn't take payment for getting the dozer out and only asked that I pay his operator $50. I was honestly expecting a $500+ bill. I guess it goes to show just how good the people are out that way.

I've never been SO sore and tired in all my life. I'm going to bed.

dirtworksequip · Mar 18, 2007

Lee, next time you get stuck like that try this. I see that there were several trees close by. Tie off you cable to the bottom of a tree, now take a 20 or 30 foot 3/8th's binder chain and place the grab hook over the edge of your track pad on the outside close to the ground as possible. Now take out the slack in the chain thru the cable loop by doubling the chain back onto itself and hook the other grab hook onto the chain. Get the cable and chain as tight as possible. Now get back on the machine and put it in gear. As the track turns the chain will be pulled under the track and act as a winch and start to move the machine. Just go slow and watch that the chain does not go too far under the machine. Once the chain reaches the back of the track you will need to rehook to the front of the machine and shorten up the chain to get it tight. Your just kidding yourself if you think you can dig out a machine, most of the time when your stuck,your stuck. Of course the friendly guy with the Liebherr saved your day. The only thing is he may get tired of visiting you. Keep this method in mind the next time you get stuck. Even using it is lots of work,but when you don't have another machine to extract the stuck one, IT WORKS!

A couple other things..... it will work forward or backwards depending on which way you need to go with the machine to get it out. Try and pull in as straight line with the track as possible.

The pic below shows my Cat 935C with my Cat 941B trying to get it out. Didn't work, the 941 could not get enough traction to extract the 935. 12 ton machine pulling on an 8 ton machine, you would think it should come right out. In end we ended up putting a chain on the track and it walked right out.

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q259/dirtworksequip/P1010028.jpg

That looks like a nice D4C you have there.

scott_vt · Mar 19, 2007

Mornin Lee,
Interesting set opf pictures ! Looking at the pond water level I wouldnt think you would get stuck like that where the dozer is located !

I guess its a good thing I wasnt operating it, I would be stuck worse than that !

MossRoad · Mar 19, 2007

I couldn't help but thinking your dog wants to know if you found his bone down there?

Glad you got it out. Nice of that fella to help you like that!

Thomas · Mar 19, 2007

Least mother nature didn't decide to do some spring cleaning...rain...whew.

That was nice of gentleman to scoot over quickly to give a helping hand.

Podunkadunk · Mar 19, 2007

Lee,
That's a deep hole you are standing in! From the original pic with the dozer still in the hole, it doesn't look that deep. You standing in it tells the story. WOW.

Lucky for you on the $ of getting her out. Good ole Southern Hospitality I guess.

Thanks for taking the time to post the pics...they are truly worth a thousand words.
Podunk

leeinmemphis · Mar 19, 2007

Thomas said:
Least mother nature didn't decide to do some spring cleaning...rain...whew.

That was nice of gentleman to scoot over quickly to give a helping hand.

actually it is suppose to start raining this afternoon here. Yesterday afternoon when it looked like I wasn't going to get it out I called and told my work I wasn't going to be in. I sure was sweating getting it out.

leeinmemphis · Mar 19, 2007

MossRoad said:
I couldn't help but thinking your dog wants to know if you found his bone down there?

Glad you got it out. Nice of that fella to help you like that!

that poor dog was wore out last night. She ran and hung with us all day.

Adiredneck · Mar 21, 2007

I'm getting ready to rent a dozer after things dry up a bit this spring. I plan on making some roads on my property that I can actually use a tractor on. My worst fear is that we'll get the thing stuck up there.

I agree, it doesn't look too bad in the first pic, but seeing how deep it was in the end, you were really hung up on the undercarriage.

leeinmemphis · Mar 21, 2007

I am just now getting to where I can walk around. Man I have been terribly sore the past few days. I went back up there today and worked in another area for a while. I have decided it's time for me to sell the dozer. I'm almost done with all the dozer work I wanted. I'm going to work at finishing up my dozer work this weekend and then it'll be time to let it go. I've worked myself too hard this winter on the farm and I definitely need a break.

-lee-