Wheeled Excavators

Gmads

Anyone have any experience around these type machines?

TMatt142

yep, a few times the company I work for rented them. Did stuff like clean out ditches. We did some concrete work on a few of the highways, where we took out sections at each dowel joint that had failed. It was like a seven mile stretch of highway, about 38 slabs to remove. Depending on which brand your running, their ok I guess. Why what did you need to know?

dayexco

they're "okay" if you do a lot of moving...no they're not, they only do 20 mph. i guess if all you were doing is ditch cleanouts...that's their purpose. i can't see one on about 95% of my jobsites. what do you do after a rain? my opinion unless you're into ditch cleaning, a trackhoe is much better

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Gmads

We're going to be doing a job that requires replacing utilities at various intersections for an at-grade crossing of a light-rail system. So we're talking about quite a few miles of track and every intersection it crosses. So I see us doing work at one intersection for however long, and then moving 1/10 - 1/4 mile down the road to the next intersection and so on. It seemed convenient to move your machine whenever you wanted.

I was interested to know how they performed compared to a comparable tracked machine. Are lift capacities the same? Dig depthes the same? Are they less stable than a tracked machine? Reliability issues with the wheeled undercarriage?

I know you can go to websites and check out specs, but I was looking for real world feedback if possible.

TMatt142

All the specs compared to a track-hoe are a little different. Reach from the center is a little less. They may stand a bit taller than a tracked machine so your depth is gona be off a little, not that that matters in your situation. For a job like what you described, yes, a rubber tire excavator is the ticket. They have all the lifting power of their tracked counterparts, just that damn steering wheel that sits in the way of your downward front vision!!! They are actually very stable even when digging without the outriggers lowered, you just have to get used to the wobbly feeling but I have seen many operators digging without the outriggers down (I wouldn't do that unless totally necessary)....So if your job has you on existing pavement and not any type of soil....then the wheeled excavator is the way to go