Loaded Mixer In To Foundation Hole...

[Tow411]

Topic Originally Created by EdsTowing in February of 2015:

 

Got a call for a front discharge, AWD Terex Mixer with 8 yards that fell in to the foundation hole. The driver got in to position which was tight and prepared to start dumping. As soon as the barrel started to spin, the bank gave away & the ass slid in the hole...

 

 

 

He immediately stopped turning while everybody else ran....

They were afraid that it was going to fall over which was quite a possibility...

 

 

 

There wasn't much room to work which made this a nice job for a tator. We had an excavator on scene so I had them pull it in the woods and figured he could help hold the barrel so it wouldn't fall over. Doubled up a recovery strap over the barrel and hooked to the chassis with a foundry hook. Then we hooked the other end with a shackle to the bucket...

 

 

 

 

I rigged two 5/8 chains around the rear frame and set up off set to the left to get some swing on it...

 

 

I lifted the whole truck in the air and walked it back as the excavator followed with the barrel. Had to take small bites at it due to room. At first I tried to have the driver in it and help but when I got the unit off the ground, the chassis was bowed & the fan started to hit the shroud so we had to turn it off. Once I got 1 axle on level ground, he held it so I could pull forward to get another bite...

 

 

The bank gave away under the RF tire which added some "drama" but we were able to over come it. By then I could set it down some and have the driver in it. I had him lock the front diff & help to back out while I pulled. The tire walked right up the bank...

 

 

 

Overall the job went good & they were happy. They didn't loose the load & more importantly the truck! I although needed 8hrs of sleep & a bowl of Wheaties after the work out....LoL

 

mushspeed said:

Ed,        Good to see you are keeping busy,  plenty of snow, ice  and stuff,

Awkward job with little room for manoeuvre  I guess it was about 30 tons   66,000  ?

with a shelf life of 2 hours..... a hot load !!

The holmes trees probably  not substantial enough,  the excavator was a good a good call

Nice Job...  Thanks for sharing.

John.

 

EdsTowing Said:

Thanks John.

These trucks are pretty much grossed out with 8 yards which is 73280. The last one I scaled was an Oshkosh but they are pretty much the same and it was 38k & change empty. 4500# mix and your there. We have had them with a "good" load which will be 80+... towing them is a bear since the tag doesn't hardly touch the ground when lifted and the steers get up in the 23-24k range which spanks my truck.

As soon as I did my walk around I started looking for Holmes trees. I found a couple of "440's" but was looking for a "850" if you know what I mean...LoL I intended to do a 4 part line to lift and the second line off a tree to the barrel. Then the site foreman said his excavator was already coming over so I figured it would give us a little more control. Plus he could go right over the bank in to the woods to set up. I knew the operator and with my remote we could communicate together. 

 

mooresbp said:

That was a load, very nice.

 

Acestowing said:

From looking at the pictures, he was able to reach to start unloading? I'd lift the rear, hold the high side susp with the hoe and unloaded as much as they could take, makes the recovery much easier and make the same money

 

Bryce Weber - Aces Towing
WM 091409 Level 6/7
1-519-889-3350
  

EdsTowing said:

Well we entertained all options before starting. Yea I could hold it but from where he was, we were only going to use a yard or less. Then it would of been a wheel barrel job to finish the footers - a lot more time then I felt like sitting there. The second truck that was there had already filled in the left side footers and the front. Then they discussed just dumping it on the ground to save the truck which is a viable choice but I didn't want to see them scrap the load if they didn't have to. So... I "leave the door open" and said lets try this 1st before we go throwing any money away. Then if it doesn't work....we go to plan B. In this case....and most cases...I came out the hero and everybody was happy....the Mixer company manager shook my hand with a smile and money rained from the heavens....

Thanks,

 

miracle 1 said:

Minus the cold and that white stuff, looks like a gravy job for the JD......

Kenny

 

EdsTowing said:

Ahhh Kenny a little cold won't hurt you... This day wasn't too bad. Last Sunday & Monday were ridiculous though. -7...-9 w/ a -37 wind chill factor? Yea that's freeking cold. I got to the point where I brought the guys in and said enough...it isn't safe to work in it.

I imagine in Florida "windchill" is a term used when the little umbrella blows out of your MaiTai cocktail...

 

miracle 1 said:

Being from Florida any amount of cold is too much cold.....  Heavy recovery presents enough challenges without adding ice and snow into the mix....

 

towgod46 said:

I spent my last ten yrs driving in a mixer. You take evrything you know about driving a truck and throw it out the window the first day you start training in a mixer. Our company in Lansing mi. Had all front discharge mixer the five axel could scale 10.25 at 80,000 and the six axle could scale 11 yards at 84,000 which was good if you had a good driver. You take a new guy that doesn't know how to wash correctly you have to add the the 1 to 3 yards hanging from the fins in the drum and the axle weights are quite a bit more. We had chains we pulled each other out with or a dozer. The guy in the first picture was steering him self right into the whole and had that chute pointed hanging over that side pulling him right in.we always would swing them to the other side or at least straight out in front if you didn't have room on other side. Some of the places we took those mixer had a very high pucker factor.the stockholders in the company before they sold out to U.S concrete were the five of the biggest construction comp. in Lansing.so if they told you take it there it was their buts if it went in the hole.i've seen mixers go some slop and mud you wouldn't beleive and then get stuck on wet grass. Great job getting it out though and getting driver to listen to you.The older drivers will say we're a liitle set in their ways. Most of them knew their stuff though.at 4,000 pds a yard that's a lot of weight on a straight truck

 

EdsTowing said:

When these trucks were introduced, it changed our industry with recovering mixers. When I was a kid we did mixer winch outs all the time through the building season. Sometimes a couple a day in the spring. Then these units came out and once drivers were educated to operate them correctly, they hardly ever get stuck. Then with the trend of having excavators at job sites all the time, you hardly ever get these calls anymore.

In PA they are legal @ 73280 on 4 axles. With the way the bridge law is written, they would need 7 axles to get to 80,000. Obviously the weight of the extra axles would deem it useless to go through all that so they are all on 4 axles.

 

 

[EdsTowing]

I remember that job with my old "Shaker"... That truck was "reborn" and lives in NJ now.