One stuck hoe

[Anonymous Poster]

You know, poking around on the site got me to thinking about some photos I had of a Cat 320 we almost lost. This mud had no bottom in sight. The laborers were sinking 20 ft fence posts by hand for the "super silt fence", so I guess we should have thought twice about sending the hoe out there?

 

[Anonymous Poster]

This was at about 1600. She went in around 1300. There were a lot of nervous people milling around as we waited for the crane mats, retrieval crew, light towers, etc.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

She stayed running the whole time. Thankfully Cranemasters was around the area so they sent a crew over and hooked her up to what I believe was a 955 track loader.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

We sent the operator back in with a pair of hip waders on. He worked the stick while the track loader tugged her out. It was about 2130 by the time we got it out! A few thousand dollars in electronics and a good pressure washing and she was back in action. Never did smell quite the same though!

All told this little exercise cost us about $15K. Not bad when you consider the machine cost about $250K and it only had about 600 hrs on it at the time.

 

[MossRoad]

Man, what a mess!

 

[ScottAR]

All I can say is that it could have been worse.../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

Modern Art!

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I saw that one last night, that's what reminded me about our debacle!

 

[ScottAR]

I have a few more... not as funny as that... Here's a Komatsu in the same situation...

 

[ScottAR]

Komatsus must like to swim or somthing...

 

[ScottAR]

Kitties don't like ice....

 

[ScottAR]

If you ever go to a mine/quarry, watch out for, um, traffic...

 

[ScottAR]

This one just makes me laugh...

 

[jwstewar]

He thought only 6 tons in the bucket..../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

LOL. WOW, those are some pretty serious pictures. Man! Why would you ever risk brining a huge dozer or trackhoe out on ice. I never ever trust ice, even though they say it's really thick (when I'm out snowmobling, that's what they say). Those workers must have bailed in the knick (sp?) of time! Great photos though.

Blake
WA

 

[diggerjim]

And I thought those things only happened to me! Wow, I bet someone caught heck from the boss.

 

[ScottAR]

I actually found the second picture of the Stieger scene
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.farmphoto.com/homestead/forum.asp>Here.</A> Looks unhurt.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

From this angle it looks like he almost made it!

 

[ScottAR]

Yeah! Just chain it to another tractor, unhook the chisel plow or whatever and tug it out... This kinda thing has happened several times in my area, a few times the county paid the repair bills when they said the bridge would hold such and such load.

 

[gerard]

<font color=blue>I never ever trust ice, even though they say it's really thick</font color=blue>
I was watching on tv the other day a documentary about how tandem tractor trailers drive across the frozen lakes up in canada all winter. They can't exceed 15 mph because they create a wave under the ice in front of them and if it hits the shore as they approach it'll blow out the ice. Now THAT's some serious driving. Not for me............./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif