This morning I spent three hours working on cleaning an excavator. Yes it’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it. This 325 Cat looks monstrous when it’s inside the shop. In reality it isn’t all that big. First things first. What can be removed from the tracks with a space must be removed. … Read more
This week I had the opportunity to jump in the side dump for a while. The tractor trailer is something I’m extremely familiar with. However, running a trailer that tips sideways is a new thing for me. After spending a few minuets getting used to the controls for the trailer I went to load. I … Read more
Sometimes things just happen. The first load of 3″ rock was delivered and spread to perfection. In fact subsequent loads were dumped in a pile as the dozer operator really wanted something to do. Sometimes you completely rely on the guy on the ground giving hand signal directions. Most often this works out very … Read more
Wednesday started out washing some equipment. Unfortunately, the key on the dozer we’d left drip dry over night broke when we attempted to start it. With no replacement part on hand I worked around it the best I could. Washing construction equipment is a dirty business. A nasty combination of dirty, clay, sand and … Read more
Back in July of 2013 I took the kids to watch the mini rod tractor pull. Naturally I decided to take a few pictures. Well… Pictures turned into videos. I’m not one for keeping cool videos to myself so it was uploaded to my YouTube channel. For some reason I was looking at view counts … Read more
Having heard the stories about The Edmund Fitzgerald and it’s disappearance on November 10th, 1975 we’ve been talking about making a trip up to Duluth in November. So arrangements were made to get the trip put into our busy schedule. As luck would have it the weekend, Duluth and the majority of Minnesota is being clobbered by … Read more
Here I sit, contemplating the scenery before me, behind me, beside me, all around me. Simply enjoying life and some good ol fresh country air waiting for the floater to arrive so that I can unload this fertilizer. Life is good! – QBall45
Class 5c gravel is a wonderful alternative to class 5 gravel. What makes it different? The answer to that is simply C. C is for concrete which is crushed into an aggregate of suitable size and used in the place of natural aggregate. Class 5c gravel seems to pack more firmly than natural aggregates providing … Read more
Sometimes the view in the mirror just forces me to stop what I’m doing for a moment. Sometimes that momentary pause is required to simply enjoy the unbelievable beauty of the surroundings. Sometimes I find that I need to stop a second to actually comprehend the complexity of the visual stimulation of current situation I … Read more
This is my last load of asphalt in the paving machine for this year. The last load of the 2016 paving season ended up going back to the recycling pile to be crushed and recycled into new asphalt.