How did you get it out?

[sled dog]

Long ago in the late 70's my Dad and I had a small excavating company. Took a job to replace 1200 feet of real old broke down plugged up 10 inch tile with an open ditch. Downstream would empty into an existing ditch, upstream end was a swamp with some small trees and brush, and one big cottonwood right over the old tile. We didn't own an excavator, so ditch would be done with 17A D7 and an 1150 case. Final finish if needed with an old 212 Cat grader. We had a cable pull pan for the 7, and the plan was to start at the downstream end and work up so the water had an exit. That way when we got to the swamp we could drain it, then do the clearing, then shape the ditch. I was running a TS24 on a union job during the day, then our own iron in the evenings. We got the exit started and the ditch coming right along, just like the plan. Came home one evening and he says "the 7 is stuck" . No biggy, I'll push you out with the 1150. "Uhhh, I'm stuck in the swamp". *** were you doing in the swamp? For what ever reason, that as long as he lived, I never did get a strait answer to that question. So....me and my best friend go take a look. He had pushed over that cottonwood, the blade rode the root ball and the nose of the 7 was in the stump hole. When the tree went over it opened up the tile and water rose and was running thru the radiator and the fan blades were just clipping it. The 7 weighed near twice as much as the 1150, I can't push it forward, I can't push it back cause I can't get in front plus the nearest solid ground is 40' behind it. Have a squat and a smoke and think this over and then maybe an idea. Back to the shop and get every chain we got in the shop, lowboy and farm then throw em all on the floorboards of the 1150 and off to the swamp. You all can picture it, the 7 nose in the hole, cable blade 2 blocked and hung on the root ball, water flowing thru the fan, and a 9 ton case is NOT going to drag 17 ton of helpless 7. So, 'bout 40' behind I sunk the blade of the1150, then lifted strait up. Backed up and sunk it again. I just made a 9 ton deadman. Run chains from the top of the 1150 blade braces to the tracks on the 7. I'm gonna make this old pig walk the chains and drag her self out. Ease the master clutch on the 7 and take the slack, then gently a little at a time to break the suction. Stupid easy how it came out. Gathered up the chains, slapped the skeeters, and my friend and I exited the swamp with both tractors. The old man a had a cold case waiting on us when we got back to the shop, and I forbid him, on pain of telling Mom, from going near that swamp till it was drained. There is always a way!!

So.......what's your stuck story???

 

[Deere500a]

Good times great memories. One of last times I worked with my dad I was desilting a pond with a pos Case 680 hoe & Deere 650 dozer pushing up bank get enough dirt jump off bail it with the hoe old man showed up damn kid he got on hoe with backend pulled him self lower down the bank to find it was a crust with grease underneath I had no bottom to help or chains I slowed my passes down & watched better than 40mins he fought the hoe & mud he got out & parked were I had it setup & left

 

[AMBMike]

When I was a rookie I was pushing off a dump site with a 963. There was 2-3 acres of dirt right where the trucks had dumped it and we'd had a lot of rain a week before. The piles looked dry on top but were holding a lot of water.

I got over enthusiastic and got the machine stuck up to the bottom of the cab. I decided to stop before I made it worse and called the boss.

He sent me back to the shop to get the lowboy and get another 963 from another project and said he'd meet me at the dump to help me get it out.

When I got back to the dump with the second machine the boss is sitting on his tailgate waiting for me. The 963 was out of the mud beside his pickup and he had a cold Coke for me.

He said he just rocked it back and forth a few times and found a bottom and it just drove out.

Did I ever feel cheap...

 

[skyking1]

There is more, but I got two.
One is like @sled dog story a bit.
I had a 350JD crawler loader and fancied I could do jobs with it. This one was up on steep ground in Tacoma overlooking Shuster Parkway.
The 3 units had cantilever balconies and I had to build a little bit of backyard under them, and took the ROPS off to get under there. The ground was stupid steep and about 12' between the houses.
It was going OK, a truck would back in and dump and I would dive it down between and around to the left and right. Truck got hung up at the pit or whatever, and I peeled it too deep and just went in nose first. The lift arms were up and out and the tracks were speared in like I was a lawn dart.
Oh boy.
I worked it until I got the tracks mostly level. The dirt was to the top of the tank behind me and the bucket was straight out on top of the stuff.
There was a glu-lam there that would span the foundations. We cushioned it with 2x4, and then used those chain hooks on the loader bucket to ratchet it out a little at a time with bucket curl.
Truck dumped a load in my mud hole, and I clawed back up over it and never went that deep again.

The other one I posted before about sticking a D9L about 3 miles down the haul road at an island we were building for the eagles and the ospreys behind Cowlitz Falls dam, before the lake was filled.
It was 4 trucks one every 15 minutes, push push and fall back asleep. It was rotten material and I got too cute with it and in one track went. I got enough bottom to 4 way and lift and scrabble crap under the track, and eventually pop out the side of the fill. I never could get on top. I ran around and patched it without getting stuck again and spent some quality time with the track shovel.


you can see the haul road in the lower left.

 

[Welder Dave]

I had a JD355D loader stuck in small stream trying to build a bridge for dirt bikes and quads. It was all sand and basically in the middle of nowhere on crown land that allowed OHV's. Thankfully I had about 25 feet of chains that was just enough to reach a decent sized tree. I rolled the bucket forward and used boomers to tighten the chains. Then did like Skyking and rolled the bucket back to pull the machine forward about a foot at a time. Glad I got it out. It was the first thing I started on after unloading it. Otherwise would have wasted a whole day and had to get someone with another machine to pull it out.

I've had to cut logs to throw under the tracks on my 931B to get out. It has a backhoe and just sinks in soft ground!

Worst was when I broke through about 3" of frost in a peat bog. I stopped as soon as I broke through but trying to back up just dug it down. Backhoe was no help to pull it backwards and there were no tree's large enough to put a strap on. All around the sprockets was packed with wet loam. It was in November and as luck would have it, it was calling for colder temps. I called the guy I know from the gravel pit to see if he could bring a machine to pull it put. He couldn't get there for a few days but brought a D5M to try and pull me out. The tracks and everything was just frozen solid! When he tried to pull he was just digging through the frost into the loam. After several tries I lifted the back of the machine with hoe while he pulled and we got it out. I bought a big tarp and used a torpedo heater with my generator for about 9 hours to thaw the tracks and packed sprockets out. I'm sure if I would have waited till spring it would have sunk a couple feet more and needed a big excavator or something to get it out. I had to get the recently rebuilt starter rebuilt again because it got rusty from condensation after using the heater under the tarp. Really glad I got it out.

 

[Deere500a]

Long time ago pushing dirt over bank filling a washout with the old hoe as my dad brought dirt in with the dump his 3rd load each time I'd push out & bucket in float back up keeping rear tires on native dirt,wheel roll back forth with front tires each pass but last push front end dropped no where to stick bucket no diff lock high side tire spinning twist drop outriggers & every movement of the hoe she would start moving love u babe shut her off as went off the back end had a coke watching once she stop moving & stable got back on was able pull her out with backend got the dirt road fixed as he showed up with next load it was a long damn 1hr half. Dad didn't like ROPS 20 worked didn't needed'em exit stage right he worked Cail coast hwy 1 with her ya roll cage don't mater pacific is 200ft down getting off was more important but she had umbrella

 

[chidog]

I liked the time a 20 something guy running one of the D8's got it high centered on a large firewood size, chunk in the upper yard and came down asking for help to get it off. It would be turning circles etc.
Yeah got on had it off in seconds. He was impressed.

 

[Coaldust]

Flew from Ketchikan to Craig, then caught the crew boat going across Trocadero Bay to a road building job on Shaan-Seet land. Got plenty sea sick and beat-up crossing the Bay.

Found a Komatsu PC200-5 stuck in the middle of a creek at a bridge project. Water up to the swing bearing. Batteries were dead.

Robbed some batteries from something else and started troubleshooting. The fuse panel
cover was missing. Komatsu put it under the seat at floor level, wet & covered in mud and sunflower shells.

Cleaned it up, replaced enough fuses to get it to crank and boom it out of the creek before the land owner saw it. Taste the rainbow in the salmon stream.

Then, did a few more trips to take care of a laundry list of maintenance on it. That was an adventure. Became lifelong friends with the family that owned that construction company.

Don’t have to manage forest land like that anymore. Make more money selling carbon credits to California and printing a glossy prospectus at the end of the fiscal year. Cha-Ching.

 

[Deere500a]

SOB coaldust you're the cancer fairy you stole more trucks from me than dreams

 

[Deere500a]

2017. 99 Pete 3406E Not legal in Cali I went right don't det stuck but it was a matter of time til got stopped company got fined & I got a plastic Peterbilt

 

[Coaldust]

A plastic Pete! That’s terrible.

 

[Deere500a]

Don't last long after high heels suck can't kick a tire but o'right in the cab

 

[Shimmy1]

Don't last long after high heels suck can't kick a tire but o'right in the cab

Anyone have a translation for this lol

 

[HATCHEQUIP]

Don't last long after high heels suck can't kick a tire but o'right in the cab

What the hell deere is this one of those part timers

 

[HarleyHappy]

More like Tourette’s!

 

[Deere500a]

2017 new Pete was short 115" bbc, cab was physically smaller knees in dash & Ca CARB required low fifth wheel 3" lower. Maiden voyage loaded pulling TK70 from stop light turns start grabbing gear hit crown in the intersection turning mid shift neck is coming down on drive tire rough way to loose momentum slammed down gear goosed it keep from getting stuck in the road afterwards had to pay attention to drives. Raised the bags helped but put truck rear rails closer to bottom neck. Weird Al has song "Driving my truck with high heels on"

 

[Deere500a]