Articulated dump truck rental

You can appreciate the higher prices of fuel and related increases as time progresses, it does usually pay to be efficient and to bang out a job if at all possible.

You may want to consider an expedited game plan, it could save you vs. absorbing the escalated costs later on.

30 cu, yd. articulated dump will work, a pair would be ideal for cycle time, depends on how far the material is being hauled. You'd be better off with a 235, or say a 350 + size machine with a large bucket on for one of these, 225 is a little small for cycle time, though I realize you'll have to make it work, remember the fuel you are burning, slow production with higher fuel consumption. With the money you have invested in this thing, the time and dealing with weather related delays, you may want to consider rental equipment to bang it out and be done, will stop the clock on escalated costs and may prove to be cost effective just to be done.


I'm not sure but most of these are 30 yd capacity, I've run komatsu's and volvo's of that size in the past, not sure of the fuel efficiency. Now they'll run circles around a tandem dump, these were 15 speed models, and I was using a 350L to load em out. You will have to get used to backing them, it's like a trailer, but by habit you will try to back em like a straight truck, have to remember the articulation part. They'll run in soft areas, but you do not want to ever get one stuck with a full load on, well you can dump off, but the suction is strong, one young inexperienced guy drove one right into a clearly marked off borrow pit filled with soft material, fully loaded, even after we unloaded him, it took 2 D8K's hooked onto the back at the same time to get him out, that also included digging out the sides with an excavator, they'll run in soft material, as long as it's not a deep pit pumping up water. Larger excavator will give you the reach and capacity to be efficient, I'd crunch the rental numbers on a larger excavator, a pair of artculated dumps, 1 operator and whatever you need vs. slower production and escalation and see whats what, at this point of the job, I'd be hard pressed to get it done even if that meant financing the way prices are going, pay now or pay more later.

That site looks manageable, but I hear you on the rain, we keep getting thunderstorms, everyday for a few weeks now, certainly slows things down.

[quote="Billy D7 4T"]You can appreciate the higher prices of fuel and related increases as time progresses, it does usually pay to be efficient and to bang out a job if at all possible.

You may want to consider an expedited game plan, it could save you vs. absorbing the escalated costs later on.

30 cu, yd. articulated dump will work, a pair would be ideal for cycle time, depends on how far the material is being hauled. You'd be better off with a 235, or say a 350 + size machine with a large bucket on for one of these, 225 is a little small for cycle time, though I realize you'll have to make it work, remember the fuel you are burning, slow production with higher fuel consumption. With the money you have invested in this thing, the time and dealing with weather related delays, you may want to consider rental equipment to bang it out and be done, will stop the clock on escalated costs and may prove to be cost effective just to be done.


I'm not sure but most of these are 30 yd capacity, I've run komatsu's and volvo's of that size in the past, not sure of the fuel efficiency. Now they'll run circles around a tandem dump, these were 15 speed models, and I was using a 350L to load em out. You will have to get used to backing them, it's like a trailer, but by habit you will try to back em like a straight truck, have to remember the articulation part. They'll run in soft areas, but you do not want to ever get one stuck with a full load on, well you can dump off, but the suction is strong, one young inexperienced guy drove one right into a clearly marked off borrow pit filled with soft material, fully loaded, even after we unloaded him, it took 2 D8K's hooked onto the back at the same time to get him out, that also included digging out the sides with an excavator, they'll run in soft material, as long as it's not a deep pit pumping up water. Larger excavator will give you the reach and capacity to be efficient, I'd crunch the rental numbers on a larger excavator, a pair of artculated dumps, 1 operator and whatever you need vs. slower production and escalation and see whats what, at this point of the job, I'd be hard pressed to get it done even if that meant financing the way prices are going, pay now or pay more later.

That site looks manageable, but I hear you on the rain, we keep getting thunderstorms, everyday for a few weeks now, certainly slows things down.[/quote]

Well, so far, to dig the existing part of the pond and pile up the spoils, I have spent about $6000 in fuel. Most of it last summer when I was only paying $2.43/gallon for off road diesel.

I hear what you're saying, but there is no way with owning a 225 am I going to go out and rent a 235 size machine and hire 2 drivers & trucks...

The only problem I'm having right now is the tandem spinning it's wheels. The last thing I need it to destroy the clutch on that truck.

Cheapest thing for me to do is wait on the weather...

At the most, I would rent one articulated truck, and "bang it out" with the equipment I own...

I'm even having issues with my 225, cycle time is very slow due to weak hydraulics. But even still, renting a 235 machine & two trucks with drivers would cost me more than if I continued limping along with what I have. I only need 1 week of dry weather and no machine breakdowns to finish this damn thing.

Considering you have a truck, can you create a haul road with some 4 inch material from a quarry. Even better would be to get some rock out of a stream or dig a hole deep enough to get some rock. That way you could create a haul road, atleast in the areas where there are grades causing slippage of the tires.

I hear you, my thinking can be a little agressive having been in and around this kind of work over the years, not the easiest site to work on, add some rain and things get difficult if not impossible.

Those conditions can cause more than clutch problems, running a heavily loaded tandem like that in off road conditions, soft material, hard on the rears and drive train, I had a power divider fail on an off road haul job in soft conditions, the gears blew right through the side of the case like a grenade, still have the pieces. It does not take much, you need a tough truck and a good driver, don't over load it, better to take smaller loads out when in soft conditions.

I think many of us can really appreciate the threads you have posted on this, it really demonstrates what it takes to mass excavate an area, and the problems that can be encountered.

Aside from my aggressive, "contractor" type thinking, in retrospect, I think 1 30 yd articulated dump would still help, though you can really move some material with the right set up, larger excavator, pair of 30 yd dumps going, dozer pushing off, grade the hole as you move out and complete areas as you go, knock out the dam holding back the water at the end. As long as you can load out, you may still move 2x the material vs the tandem, because it can handle double the load and negotiate off road conditions, it's better suited for the job, + it may save your tandem from abuse. My thoughts are always in the direction towards high production and substantial completion, weather and cost escalation really put a damper on this work, drive costs up, but you can only do what the budget allows, hopefully you can see the light at the end of the tunnel by now.

How is that D6 holding up, looks like you have made good use of it so far.

The D6 has been may favorite machine. I've put probably close to 700 hours on it since I bought it back in 2005. No major problems with it.

I would not be where I am without it...

The D6 has been may favorite machine. I've put probably close to 700 hours on it since I bought it back in 2005. No major problems with it.

I would not be where I am without it...

[quote="ETD66SS"]The D6 has been may favorite machine. I've put probably close to 700 hours on it since I bought it back in 2005. No major problems with it.

I would not be where I am without it...[/quote]

Totally agree. I've been using it for years with little maintenance. It's a beast.
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Marius
Truck fleet

When I dug my pond there were several truck used. Off road and others. I had a B-52 Mack here and traction was an issue, we solved it with tire chains. Made the truck much more useful. Mud sticking in the bed was not an issue with the off road truck and we used 315 Cat hoes to load. I'm a couple hours from you, if it weren't Archery season I'd come lend a hand for a day or two. If your still digging after deer season let me know.

When I dug my pond there were several truck used. Off road and others. I had a B-52 Mack here and traction was an issue, we solved it with tire chains. Made the truck much more useful. Mud sticking in the bed was not an issue with the off road truck and we used 315 Cat hoes to load. I'm a couple hours from you, if it weren't Archery season I'd come lend a hand for a day or two. If your still digging after deer season let me know.