So Many Tractors

At IZ Ranch, there are so many types of vehicles we used on the job! Most of them were different types of tractors, and I got to drive them all! These included a Catepillar, Skidster, Gradall, and Back Hoe. Each one was large and powerful, so driving them was quite the task.

The Gradall is a tractor I had already driven before. It is shown in the picture below. We used the Gradall to lift piles of wood for the shed, old wood scraps, trash, and even used it to tear down all the old buildings. 

The Skidster was a very important asset on the job. It is small, easily maneuvered and can tear apart, lift and carry items. It is multi-functional! However, because we were dealing with old wood and tearing apart buildings we had nails and old scrap metal everywhere. We had to be very careful to not drive over them! This would have popped a tire. Even though we avoided the nails and metal -- one of our team members got to close to a cement slab we were cleaning up and accidentally scraped the side of one of the Skidster's tires. We had to shut down the work with the Skidster for the rest of that day in order to replace the tire. Nonetheless, we had the Skidster up and running again in no time!

The Back Hoe is an excellent tractor. We used two different Back Hoes at Beaver Creek. One was very old - about 30+ years old. But we were still able to work with it! We used the Back Hoe to demolish old buildings. The team took turns using the Back Hoe to pull off walls and roofs of the white house, barn and different sheds. The Back Hoe has front steering and when parked and stabilized, you spin your chair to the back and use different controllers for "the claw". It almost feels like a video game -- all the controllers! Yet way more powerful and serious!!! 

The Caterpillar is the final huge machinery the team used at Beaver Creek IZ. For team members that had been to IZ before, we had used the three other tractors in previous years. So the Caterpillar was the tractor that was a brand new lesson of equipment to learn. This was very exciting! The Caterpillar was used to grade out -- "squish' -- the old barn once it was demolished. The wood pile was huge! So the Caterpillar drove over all the wood, scraps, and old dirt! This machine is very powerful. The driver must be very focused and attentive to the work they are doing with the Caterpillar. Caution and attentiveness is obviously necessary for all tractors, but the Caterpillar felt even more serious because it is massive in size. 

A teammate driving the Gradall!

The Caterpillar.