i thought i would ask another framer what he thought of the all terrain loaders out there. i am looking to buy one before the end of this month (tax year) and i have only operated the skytraks and zoom booms.
i am looking at the jcb unit and ingersall rand machine. if ou have any experience with any or all, i could use all the info a can get.

thanks fluffy,
fish

Hi Buddy,
Ya gotta love the reach equipment that’s out there these days. Especially if you’ve been around as long as I have. I can remember laying out many a top. Standing the plate against the building and then pulling it up. Toss the headers, cripples and sills up there and re-stacking them as not to be a set of pickup stix.
My troops prefer the Gradall 534D10-45. 10,000lbs and 45’. Anytime a Skytrak showed up they sent it back. That doesn’t mean that the Skytracks aren’t good machines as I’m sure they are. Just when you have operators acclimated to one type of equipment something new comes up, then their performance drops off on the new stuff while achieving the learning curve.
It would scare you to see some of the stuff I’ve built using these things. Hell scares me. Four story apartments over a two story P-T deck in downtown San Francisco. I actually had a 2 story x 24’ wide opening engineered in the structure for Feeding material from one lift at street level to the other lift two stories above on the P-T deck. At the end of the job the Gradall could be driven to the edge of the building and jerked out of there like a tooth with a crane. Leaving about 4 apartment units to frame in to close the site. Now days I use a lot of cranes. Thought about if the brakes ever failed on a Gradall up there nothing would stop it. Could end up in the middle of Mission Street (shudder).
There is a new forklift out there. I have a pamphlet at work. I will try and find it Monday. The cab and forks can rotate 360 degrees on the frame. Looks great for tight sites. Still like the Gradall’s on the big sites as the have a relatively mph for this type of equipment.

Catch ya later 8)

from what i could barely understand from Skank's post, i have to ask: Fish, you are buying this for personal use??? :lol:

Can this thing scrape off asbestos popcorn ceilings?

The popcorn ceilings aren't asbestos!!! Ask anybody! LOL Someone get Mah a book or something. Asbestos is in the glue that they used to put in the tiles in the kitchen with. Maybe even in the glue they used for your base-boards and other trim. Everyone always thinks it's in the overhead. I was part of an asbestos abatement team for the Texas Department of Health for almost two years. Mah, please believe me when I tell you that you are safe with the popcorn. I just wonder what the new stuff will look like when it comes back as designer fashionable again.

the machine will be for work, cant fit it into my garage at home, not
to mention what the neihbors would say. of course i could just go flip there suvs over if they bitched.

thanks for the info fluff, i am going to demo a jcb unit starting monday am. then i have a skytrak dealer that wants me to demo one of his machines after that.
only prob is that i need to buy before 1st of year. (taxes).
oh well, could be worse.
it's not such a bad thing to be looking for a $80,000.00 right off after a meeting with the accountant.

mah- just wait a couple of years and that look will be back in style.
fish

http://www.liftlink.com/ProdServ/productreviews/index2.cfm?articleID=1319

My brother - in - law Know what you going through.He Had to buy New suvs that weight at or over 600 pounds last year for taxes law that change for Real estate business.

that is one heck of a machine! that might be the best all-round loader i have seen.
however the $190,000.00 price without a ny attachments and another $20,00.00 going to a basket and winch (probaly wouldn't get winch) thats out of my budget.

the machine i am looking at now is a JCB Loadall 532
it has 7000lbs lift and 40 reach with outriggers in front.
have three days left to decide.....
fish

bought the JCB Loadall today. best quaility machine i fond around here and the only machine that has a full service dealer in my area.
got the 4x10 steel man bascket with removable sides (custom made in my town here) and a truss jib.
all my worries are over and life should be grand from here out.......
or at least thats what my accountant says.
fish

VERY COOL fishgod 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D