Cat 385C LME

[tensaez]

muy malo el operador no puede posicionar de esa forma el equipo, que pasa con la seguridad .

[25mfd]

One of your shortest and yet most CONTROVERSIAL vids.

Many opinions pro and con but what does CAT say about running the machine in this manner.

Seems if anyone has a LAST WORD on the issue,it would be the manufacturer.

[Groundhogsan]

You should be using a backhoe loader for this job.

[vantagetes]

@Groundhogsan Yeah cause backhoes with 8yd buckets are common.

[decibalz08]

why wouldn't u set urself level so ur not swingin uphill, easier on the machine and u can improve production time

[vantagetes]

@decibalz08 because then I wouldn't be able to reach the bottom of the ramp I am digging out.

[Lcguy87]

For some reason that thing looks so cool working on that hill nice machine

[TheHairybaz]

@FUCKINROCKIT just found this again after a few months. dont know about these vids bein educational but is certainly comical that advantage gets the whole world arguing and fighting after postin a 30 second vid. rock on advavtage you just crack me up

[earthmover76]

what a moron...cant be bothered going into it, why would you need a bloody dover...moron.

[vantagetes]

@earthmover76 Um, what?

[kmaghan]

wow!!! this video fully explains that there are operators and then there are "OPERATORS"

[vantagetes]

@kmaghan And the difference being?

[hawker800FO]

@vantagetes ones an operator the other an OPERATOR

[sjaderlund]

Get a job homebrewkoksmoker

[TheHairybaz]

agree with most of comments. he has great material to make a good bench and as for slewing uphill. must be a hollywood wannabe. straight p45 from my gaffer

[vantagetes]

@TheHairybaz Or if you read the rest you'd see I was digging out a ramp and in a production enviroment your first job is to move dirt and your second job is to fix your bench/pad/pile. Any good dirt boss would fire someone for having the trucks sit for 10 min while the hoe played with his pad rather than having to swing an extra couple seconds for 2-3 truck loads until the ramp was pulled.

[Maudster69]

@TheHairybaz do you even know what slewing is you fuckin retard?

[markdmy]

why dont you run it on quick for the hydraulic setting?

[vantagetes]

@markdmy Because you lose power which would make the cycle time slower in the end.

[TOTSPOTTA]

come on then, show us a picture to make our skin crawl!!!!

[vantagetes]

@TOTSPOTTA You've got mail.

[miller7455]

uhh, yea, swinging up hill stresses the swing drive and will tweak the boom and stick. also affects the all the fluids in the motor. This guy wouldnt last 5 mins on our site.

[vantagetes]

@miller7455 Swinging with a full bucket of dirt and then stopping also "stresses" the swing drive. I assume you're one of those people who need a dozer to babysit your pile all day? If you've never seen or don't think an excavator can work on a slope you need to expand your horizons. Or send me a message and I'll show you a picture that will make your skin crawl =D

[HomebrewCigarsmoker]

@vantagetes dude your a cowboy retard, and as for expanding horizons you diffenatly stuck inside the box. This time you got it all in the frame and you cant hide. what you doing there looks cool on camera but we operators know its jackology. Peace out dip shit.

[vantagetes]

@HomebrewCigarsmoker You sound like you have everything benched out for you and a dozer babysitting you all day. We run one cat per site and he pushes truck dumps to grade in the fill. I had to pull a ramp to get up on the pile and the dig it back out to get the trucks around the mud hole. That's I'm doing in the video. 3 quick loads sitting on the ramp like this then I have a nice vertical edge to get the trucks close (ME setup so no reach) and I sit flat on the top of the pile.

[miller7455]

This guy should be ashamed of himself. swing up hill you idiot!

[vantagetes]

@miller7455 Uhh isn't it already swinging uphill?

[balacau]

Fantastic video, love to hear the sound of the working machinery!

I've seen a few CAT 385CLME's over here in the UK, two of which were loading some brand new (also Cat) 777F's. I wonder if O&K is being replaced in this larger excavator category? Still plenty of O&K shovels kicking around though.

[lukesta96]

i wonder if he thinks he's saveing production time by not walking back, pulling two buckets and sitting flat....

[vantagetes]

Then you couldn't reach the bottom of the ramp. The piles leveled just had to pull the ramp back so the trucks could get against the pile (there was a pretty nasty soft spot).

[crguy500]

right a machine on tracks will slide before it will tip. the only time i saw one flipped was because an embankment gave way.

[vantagetes]

Unless you change the balance with your bucket or momentum =p I've picked up a track way more than I've ever slid in a hoe. Dozers are more true to the slip before tip rule.

[sjaderlund]

I've sat in a machine in the northeast for the last 10 years. Unfortunately flat ground is hard to come by, so I get by with feeling things out by the seat of my pants (aka..notApussy)

and using my head.

Anyone who has any shit to say about this very talented operator from the North can EFF-off, because they clearly have never been off their computer and on-site like vangetes.

[HomebrewCigarsmoker]

@sjaderlund your another dumb ass. What you think thats the only place with steep slopes requiring bench work. We trying to throw the dude a bone but he seems to be a vegitarian.

[Maudster69]

@HomebrewCigarsmoker dude suck a giant cock. your a fuckin mouthy retard who needs to grow up. i sit in a machine 8 months of the year 90 percent of the time the ground is no where close to being level. and i have never used a bench on flat ground.

[HomebrewCigarsmoker]

@Maudster69 Who ever said anything about a bench on flat ground. The reason its best to invest in the time to create a hasty bench is in the long run your not losing time and its much easier on the machine. It takes the same amount of time about 2 min to get a temp bench set to load and grade flat. Or it takes about 2 min longer to load the same amount of trucks set on that grade swinging up hill. Then dig your real bench on the same grade you want the floor to reflect always loading trucks.

[ls2401]

compliments-beautiful - series of videos ,but truck traffic not seen much always work in the quarry,,,, greetings

[mikac4444]

he clearly could make a flat ground for excavator in that material, the lubrication of the engine is poorly in that angle position. Operator must tend to excavete in flat ground condition where is possible, because of him and mostly machine.

[vantagetes]

It's not as steep as it looks in the video, unless the engine is at idle the C18 is rated for just over a 1:1 slope without losing oil pressure (assuming the fluids are at the proper level). This was just pulling back the ramp so the trucks could get in next to the pile, so it was only for 3-4 truck loads and then the 385 was level again.

[mikac4444]

I love when the operator knows the technical details of the machine, good job.

[hrvstr626]

if you can operate on any given angel on on steep terrain your good not these pussys that need to be on flat ground in operate machines in the forest harvesting division and theres not such thing as flat ground so to the dude that said you need a flat bench go fuck your self you coward just cause you cant do that or you dont have the balls you fagot

[vantagetes]

I wholeheartedly agree. I actually got started in the equipment thing with a small forestry company, so I know all about rough terrain and doing what needs to be done to get the job done (safely).

I do have one request however, try to keep the language down. I make a lot of these for the kids (cause I was one not so long ago) to learn as everyone has to start somewhere. Hope to see more of your comments soon!

[HomebrewCigarsmoker]

@vantagetes My deepest apologize for my language I will clean it up.

[frnres1cue]

how is that bad operating? i dont undersand? sofandi go fuck yourself

[vantagetes]

A lot of "operators" believe that the only way to run an excavator is if a dozer comes and cuts a perfectly flat bench for them to sit on. Also there should be a dozer to clean up and push any ramps that need to be cut out to where you can reach it without having to sit on an angle for 3 truck loads. Or something like that *wink*

[HomebrewCigarsmoker]

@vantagetes WE can all do what you are doing. However it is the serious operators who are progressed beyond their ego that use the best tool for the job and take the motion envested against material generated more serious than a little fun time and glory. Iv, got good news Im gonna avoid your vids from here on out cause you are relating to the step 1 operators. Shame you dont wanna learn you COULD be great if you where to listen. But then again your hands my be tied by those above you, pitty.

[chasejanus]

@vantagetes i personally think what you did there was realy neat, though i personally never seen a dozer cut a bench for the hoe. thought i am of limited experience the hoe operators i know rarely have dozer flaten things the just put dirt under the racks to level it off somewhat so the cut is straight and that seems to work just fine

[red8023]

I couldnt of said it better myself, your right billymp79!

[billymp79]

I like how everybody is better than the next guy,being a operator I never met so many guys that think there better than everybody else, or they know the right way to operate equipment, GET OVER IT we all can still learn stuff and tricks to makes us all better operators. Vantagetes like your vids and think your a pretty good operator also.

[vantagetes]

Personally I think bad operators can only do it one way, and every way else is "wrong". A good operator can adapt to the conditions, what needs to be done and the equipment available. You're right about operators being bad for thinking only their way is the right way!

[CHRISPATCH69]

not been funny here chaps but if he was a shit operater am sure his boss would not let him on a machine of that size....

[JEFFFALL]

that is an incredibly stupid way to load a truck.

i loaded 152 100ton rock trucks with blast rock in 10 hours with a 385C

[vantagetes]

So how do you propose you cut out a ramp with a short stick then?

[sofandi]

true bad example of operating!

[MrExcavatorman]

Stojiš blbě !

[wahash22]

i dont know about u guys, but i loaded out 112 truck and trailer loads in an 8 hour shift with a 330 cat, digging the clay strait out of the ground into the trucks.

[vantagetes]

Everything is relative, smaller machine smaller trucks or bigger machine, bigger trucks. The best I have hit as an operator so far is 398 (40 ton) trucks in 7 1/2 hours with clay from OG (385C L Powerstripe). That's the record in the company as of right now, I don't see any of our guys breaking that anytime soon.

[chasejanus]

@vantagetes impressive



[rogueorange]

mate sumtimes u are unable to work on a flat surface, he is a very good operator because is not fully loading the bucket when he swings uphill, which is what you are supposed to do, because if u load it right up and slew uphil it puts high stress on the swing motor and surfaces in the swing drive

[vantagetes]

No actually when your company is getting paid by how much dirt it moves the first priority is to get dirt into the trucks and keep the trucks moving then sit and play around with your bench trying to get yourself flat. There are very few people around who can match my load counts for the day. If you think you can do it better by all means take some videos and share them with us.

[JOD1234567890]

i think id rather save wear and tear on the machine for a few trucks a day less ...

[vantagetes]

That's true, but the ramp still had to be pulled back. Underground machines working in the ditch work on angles all day and it's not any harder on the machine as long as you're not trying to stop the swing too fast or hitting the bucket on the way down.

[vantagetes]

Says the guy who bought a car that was designed to "appeal to women" (Design Chief Joe Oros quote). A good operator doesn't have to be level all the time to get the job done, it's the shitty ones who can only work on a nice flat pad. Stop wasting everyone's time, you have no idea what you are talking about.

[oswaltcobblepot]

shitty pad dude, whats up with that stick?

[5thgencarlokid]

hey about the stick  if ur talkin about how small it is its for more leverage so u can move more dirt ME =mass excavation in the name 385 LME if that helps lol i asked the same on another vid

[vantagetes]

I pulled some soil down to make a ramp to get up there, that's what I'm loading out in this video. I don't know if you've ever worked in a production enviroment but you don't ever let the trucks sit and wait while you fool around with your pile, you find a way to keep them loaded and moving. A good operator adapts to his work conditions. Someone who can only load a truck sitting flat on a premade pile is pretty useless without support equipment babysitting them (at an extra cost).

[xxfm12xx]

No need to be sitting at that angle. Hard on slew gear.

[vantagetes]

You've never done slope work or utility install? Excavators work on angles quite frequently and it's no harder on the swing gear than sitting flat and swinging with a full bucket. That's like saying you shouldn't take full scoops because it's hard on the boom. These machines were designed to withstand certain forces and have relief valves to hyraulically limit the force applied.

Also I don't know if you noticed but I'm digging out a ramp so yes to reach to bottom I DO have to sit on an angle.

[xxfm12xx]

Say what you like but a good machine operator would be sitting level when loading. All you had to do was pull some soil down to make a platform for yourself.

[TyQ6]

You swinging uphill and at an angle is pretty useless and dangerous hotshot!

[shamanmant]

i agree with u, and u cant just leave the ramp there and with that stick on that 385 it would be a bitch to get the whole thing without going on that angle, great vid man, i love loading off stockpiles..so much better then ground level haha

[vantagetes]

You should have seen that pile BEFORE I benched it the first time (this is my second pass on the thing).

[shamanmant]

fuck i could imagine..do u ever feel kinda crippled with the short stick on that big fucker?

[vantagetes]

Nah just makes you really good at planning what you're doing because the trucks have to be RIGHT there. Plus I got really good at wet work cause you have to wade in to get any of it =D

[Dezzino]

In my opinion that´s the best 385c video on youtube! Just Awesome!

Why don´t you post some 375 video??? ; )

[vantagetes]

Because I spend as little time as possible in those horrid contraptions. I've been lucky enough to keep my seat time in a 375 down to 1 day in 3 years now (Didn't have time to walk my 385 6km to the new site).

[Dezzino]

Can i ask u why don t you like those machines???

[vantagetes]

I ran one for a season when I first started with this company. No a/c, didn't even have a fan that worked, very little heat in the winter, thing was ultra slow and it caught on fire twice. I call it the penalty box =)

[tallmickey123]

thats a bad idea loading on a angle like that considering if he has to much of a load he can tipe the hoe

[vantagetes]

Can tip one on the flat too if you don't know what you're doing *wink*

[tallmickey123]

yea thats true

[vantagetes]

I liked your "walkaround" video of the 330, you should put some up of you operating too!

[TKO550]

nice

[onico23]

My dear friend! Get me some work!!! :-)

Thoose prices are sick. Blasted rock here is 80% of the lifetime with a excavator of that size. And it payes as i said at the best 1000$ an hour.. and the machine costs around 1.5 m $... but, then there's only 5 cat 385c's in sweden :)

and they all load blasted rock or feed crushers.

[vantagetes]

Wow that's pretty crazy! My company alone owns three of the beasties! Plus two 375's a JD 800 and a JD 850.

[uberstinky09]

nice macines

[onico23]

are you serious about getting payed 210$ for each load that you send away? That's like dream figures to me. Here in sweden a digger that weighs 90 tonnes/200 000 pounds, at it's best gets payed like 1000$/hour.

Just got to love canada! :-) Take care friend!

[vantagetes]

It depends on the contract and what type of dirt it is. $210 is around average for the 70 ton trucks. I remember there was one pond we dug which was blasted rock and I think the 70 ton trucks were worth about $400 a load and the 40's were worth around $300. I was pulling like 300 loads a day =D

That only lasted 3-4 days but we were laughing the whole time!

[8213NATE]

Have you guys seen the "anger worker" vid? Search that one. Another hoe vid. Would anyone be interested in a 637E push-pull vid? I seen they were kinda limited and I just happen to be running one (637) on the current project we picked up. Any takers?

[vantagetes]

Post er up! And send me a message when you do =p

[8213NATE]

Ok. if you want you can subscribe to my vids. Its just a bunch of trains, but I will make some equipment vids too.

[here2LQQk]

you guys are noobs he is fine only thing he can hurt is his abs from rolling side back n forth its accully a good abs workout on angle loads lol

[carlsonsb]

i could only wish to be as smart as erismus..... however... whatever u have to do keep those trucks rolling sitting is sitting..... 5 percent downtime costs money... which erismus is only 3 minutes per hour .... keep trucks moving it is a cat backhoe..... not a komcrapsu or a kobrakeho or any of the others..... it will keep kickin

[vantagetes]

I see you know the finer points of time management! 55 seconds for a Komatsu 605-7 and just under 40 second for a Cat 740.

Average of $210 a load (and those are fairly low numbers) you lose alot of money spending 3 or 4 minutes playing with your pile.

4 minutes fixing your ramp. 4 x 60 = 240 seconds. 240 / 40 = 6 loads. 6 x 210 = $1,260 you just lost.

If you did that once every two hours in a 12 hour shift you lost $7,560.

Still seem like a silly way to do it?

[stadnek]

what a stupid way to do the simplest thing loading trucks. why not level out the pile and sit flat. tsk tsk tsk

[vantagetes]

Because its a short stick (3.4m stick) and has very little reach.

The pile was built in the winter so it was all frost. As this video was taken mid august everything under the pile is mud and the trucks can't get in there.

For the 3-4 loads it took to pull the ramp out and get back up top, it wasn't worth benching out and taking in two cuts as I would have to stop loading trucks and our company gets paid by the load, not by the hour.

Keep up the comments it's great to have feedback =)

[buckweat7080]

your not going to hurt the cat

[kipd21b]

Some of you dudes only work in great conditions with lots of support.

[BoliviadaHT]

ainda tem gente que quer comparar cat com PC com FX etc...para né CAT é CAT em qualquer lugar.....olha essa maq...detona ela pe show !!!!

[vantagetes]

Well no doubt there is more load when you swing uphill then ground level, thats kind of a given ;)

And yes if you swing uphill it will wear faster than if you are level all the time.

However this is the same arguement as say digging rock. Sure its harder, but its nothing the machine wasn't designed to do.

Again same thing with production. You get way more production digging say topsoil than you would rock, but you have to do what you need to get the job done.

[erimus1]

You can't choose your ground conditions but you can choose how you go about carrying out your work (which should be the most productive) - this is not so! - Vantagetes, its not you driving is it?

[vantagetes]

It is! The ground under the ramp was the only hard ground near the pile. The ramp had to be pulled out so the trucks could get in. Where the truck is sitting in the video I had to give them a push to get out again.

[erimus1]

I'd sack a guy if I saw him dogging a machine like this - that's a lot of strain on the slewing ring and motors loading on an angle like that - and he looks stupid!

[vantagetes]

You are aware how relief valves work right??

I'm a former equipment trainer for CAT and you won't cause any harm to an excavator loading like this.

Before you get into damaging load on the swing motors they will dump over relief preventing any harm. That is unless they are not set properly =p

[erimus1]

I'm an operator and not a fitter so I haven't got a clue about what you're on about i'm afraid. I have however got enough experience to know that driving a machine like this not only causes excesive wear, but is also not productive. Thanks for the information though.

[xxfm12xx]

i agree. well said. very hard on slew gear. thats an angle you'd work a mini digger!

[allistairc123]

wow, that is a set of powerful slew motors, but the gears wont last long in those conditions!!

[kiozama]

hahaha nice EMBANKMENT dude.. LOL scared that..?

[vantagetes]

No sir, I'm fairly comfortable with the limits of the machines I run. I started off running machines in the woods (a forwarder with no brakes) and you get them on some crazy angles trying to get in and out of there sometimes not to mention getting good at planning how to stop without brakes.

When I was loading out that pile the ramp was getting so steep that I couldnt swing uphill anymore. I had to swing to the left first and then swing hard to the right and use the momentum =p

[JimBruce42]

Nice little video of a nice big machine there.

[izzwardo]

Nice Machine!!!

[vantagetes]

Hey thanks =) It was running a little slow that day due to clogged air filters, if you look closely you can see its smoking a little more than it should.

[izzwardo]

I run a John Deere 450 C LC, and our company is thinking of switching to a Cat 345C excavator. How do you like the Cat?

[vantagetes]

I like the joysticks way better on Cat excavators. The JD sticks are long and skinny so you have alot of extra movement to get the same response out of the machine. The Cat sticks are shorter and fat. If you relax your hand your thumb naturally touches your index finger. This is exactly how big around the Cat sticks are =)

[izzwardo]

Yeah that sounds like a nice feature. It must be fun to run a big hoe like that. I thought my 450 was a big machine. Next to that thing, mine looks like a JD 200! How many yards is that bucket? How often do you run that Hoe?

[vantagetes]

The bucket is 8 cubic yards (7 meters) struck. With a good heap I can pull around 14 yards. That only works if you are sitting above the trucks top loading because the stick is so short you lose alot of dirt trying to reach up into the truck.

I operate that hoe 6 days a week =)

[izzwardo]

That's pretty cool!!!

[vantagetes]

Yeah I'm going to miss it =( I'm going to another company. Either commercial basements with a JD 450 =D or water works with a 324.

Haha dinkies I tell you! It will be weird running small gear again. I'm used to running 385/D11N/657 scrapers.

[izzwardo]

Yeah, once you have run the large equipment, it is hard to go to the small machines. You don't feel like you are getting anything done with the small hoes. With the larger machines you can load a truck with five scoops, with a smaller one around fifteen of so.

[skizmog]

when??