The Time my Truck Driver Tried to run an Excavator.....at the wrong time

So, we got to demo this building behind me and the problem is we can't leave any marks on this asphalt. So, our solution pulling a wheeled excavator. See if truck driver John think he can do it. Think the truck driver can do it. I don't know. Maybe it's not a truck driver. I think he can do it. NO. OH, it's going the wrong way. God, guys, one of the very first pieces of equipment I ever bought was a tractor loader backhoe. Could literally drive it right to a job site, start working, and then drive it to the next job site without ever bothering loading it onto a trailer, which I didn't own at that time. The only problem with a tractor loader backhoe is it's kind of like a Tyrannosaurus Rex with little tiny arms trying to dig. You can dig from here and move it to here. And when you really want to move dirt, then you got to back up. You got to reposition yourself and you got to move it again. Well, Volvo came up with this thing called a wheeled excavator. Their technical name for it is something like ECW60. What all these E stand for, but the machine itself is really cool. And today, guys, we're going to be testing it out. So, let's get going. Test out the driving capabilities of a machine by having it delivered to your actual job site. So, I had it delivered 5 mi away from where it had to go. I mean, come on. What good is an excavator with wheels if you don't test out the wheels? So, this travels down the road like a TLB, but it operates like an excavator, meaning you have 360° ability to go around in a circle over and over again. So, this is kind of like a hybrid combination of both. and gives you the digging power, capacity, and functionality of an excavator, but the ability to cruise down the road, get from one job site to the next job site, just like a TLB. So, what he's showing you right now is it does have the capability to not only rotate, but just like a TLV, the boom can move independently of the body. So, the project that I specifically lined up to test out this Volvo excavator was a small demolition on an asphalt parking lot. I was not allowed to leave even a mark or a bruise on that asphalt, but I had to remove that entire building and then there was a thick concrete slab beneath it that also needed to get lifted up and hauled away. And I thought this might be a good test of the power and capabilities of this excavator. All right. So, I want you to watch these two front axles. They float independently. As he comes on the sidewalk, you're going to see that this side goes up. Okay. Right there. You can see where that this has come up. Now what's happening is the machine is a is leveling itself out so that the operator is stable. He can now hit a button inside the cab and that locks everything in place. This is very similar on a TLB when you put your downriggers down and you lock in place. This is kind of like the same thing. All right. Now watch as he backs off. This tire is going to actually float in the air because it's locked to this terrain. Go ahead. Come on. Get close. You can actually see that tire because it's locked. [Music] Yep. So now he just unlocked it and that's how this machine stabilized itself and it contours to the ground so that when you're in it you don't feel tippy. So, another thing that I absolutely wanted to know was how is the visibility? And what I found out is when the operator's in the cab of the excavator, he can actually see into the bed of the dump truck. So, John, our truck driver, wanted to give the machine a test run, but he jumped into the cab at the wrong time. You see, we had to remove this wall and it was right next to a sidewalk that if we damaged it, we would end up buying it. Let's see how he does. So, Tim, we're going to try to lift that wall out with surgical precision because if we just push it, it'll crack the sidewalk. Think he can do it? Think think the truck driver can do it? I don't know. Maybe it's not a truck driver type situation. You don't think so? What do you think? Bets. Bet on. On or off. Hurry up. He's moving. Bet on or off. I think he can do it. NO. OH. OH. OH. He doesn't want to do it. He doesn't want to give it up. He doesn't want to give it up. John doesn't want to give it up. He's being stubborn. He wants to do it. He wants to do it. You can do it, John. You can do it, John. [Music] gets the the look of consternation on his face. It's got to go up and straight into the white pit behind it. It can't go forward. It can't go sideways. It's going to fall down. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Call him right now. He's like Oh, it's going THE WRONG WAY, JACK. It's going. That's not the way we WANT IT TO GO. GOING JOHN. GOT TO CONCENTRATE UP. HEY, JOHN, you're on camera. No pressure. WHAT'S GOING ON, JOHN? NO PRESSURE, JOHN. OH, he's See that? He's got that totally wrong. Well, that might just go that way now, but it feels like crackhead. Say it again. Say it again. Said, "Do you want Danny to do it?" That's not work. Oh, that's funny. So, so what do you think about the fact that I'm going to name a title, what happens when you put a truck driver in an excavator? It's a new excavator, so I'm being gentle. Ah, what do you mean? You You treat my other ones worse. Just I know I'm better. Uh-huh. I've seen them. That was That was a very good politically correct answer. Oh, look at look at Tim's got to get exactly positioned right. Oh, look at him. Look at him. Look at him. Now, remember, I loosened this. So, so Timmy's getting a a well loosened uh thing. Great. So you you've already messed it up. So if it breaks, it's your fault then, right? Oh, no. No. It's just All right. It's got to go. [Music] Nothing. Sidewalk damage. Oh, Sidewalk is fine. White sidewalk. We did spill. Now, I know for some of you excavating purists out there, the first thing you're probably screaming at your computer right now is, "You need a thumb for that machine." And yeah, you know what? You're technically right, but I also needed to get the job done. And this excavator didn't have a thumb set up on it when they delivered it. I also grew up making do with what we had. And we never could afford a thumb, but we demoed plenty of buildings and still got the job done. So, if you're fortunate enough to be able to have every tool you've ever wanted at your disposal, well, good for you. I didn't always have that, and so I learned to get creative. For the rest of us that don't have all the tools that we always need, get creative. And then when you finally do get those tools, you'll be even better ahead. All right, guys. When I was done with the first job site, I drove it 15 miles down the road to the next job site. This wasn't just any job site. This was a site that was really tight. In fact, part of this project had us putting the butt of the excavator right up tight to a retaining wall that had to stay in place. But yet, we still had to remove a swimming pool and all of the concrete all the way around it. That boom that operates like a TLB and then rotates like a cab came in pretty handy on this next site. He's got his back end right up to a deck and the concrete he's got to remove is almost on top of that retaining wall below me. What he's trying to do is break it up enough that he can finesse it out of there and get it over onto the pad beside him so the skid loader can come around and pick it up. Hey guys, this machine is just an amazing hybrid between an excavator and a TLB. I mean, it'll cruise down the road at 19 mph. Spin. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You uh Okay. So, you just can't go in and just start digging. Of course, you have to when you're in an excavator, you can hit the tracks on an excavator all day long and rip them up. So, I mean, you know what? They can't childproof these things. Oh, that's cool. You getting the slabs on here, too? Yeah, we're going to have to. They're too high. Slab elevation's too high. We got to pull them out. Got to get the water to flow the right way. [Music] Wonder why I have foot marks on the top of my car. Now you know. HEAT. seems to have enough power to get the job done. That's for sure. It's not a big excavator. I think that's a 14,000 lb machine. So now what he's going to do is push it all into the contain all into the lower U unit contain it. Then we'll scoop it up all that away. Then fold the sides of the concrete in and then take that out.