Masonry Magazine April 2003 Page. 26
Forklift
EQUIPMENT
When the discussion turns to maneuverability on a job site, one name usually pops up first: Bobcat. And coincidentally, Bobcat, West Fargo, N.D., makes a telehandler. "The Versa Handler TTC-Telescopic Tool Carrier is a telehandler, we just call it something different," admits Dan Klug, product marketing manager for the Versa-handler. "The reason we did that is because our intent with this machine is to market it with an emphasis on multitask versatility instead of just pick and place."
All telehandlers fall under a Class 7 designation from OSHA that requires operators to have completed a training course before they operate it.
The VersaHandler has the typical features found in a tele-handler, including the three different steering modes. "Even though it's a rigid frame machine it is very maneuverable," says Klug. "It has a front-wheel only mode, which is primarily used for high-speed road work where it would operate very much like your car. Then, once you're moving around a tight job site, you can put it into an all-wheel steer mode. This helps give it a very tight turning radius."
Also very helpful on a machine like this, and particularly for a mason contractor, it has crab-steer mode. "That helps the machine move perpendicular to the work site very efficiently," Klug comments. "If the operator is placing brick along a scaffolding, for example, and he needs to move it down ten feet, in the crab-steer mode his machine will always be perpendicular to the scaffolding and the front and rear wheels all turn in the same direction. Again, the axis of the machine stays perpendicular to where he wants to drop the load. That just makes that much easier and quicker to do."
Bobcat, probably because of its years of experience, uses a loader-type steering control. Klug explains, "Many of the traditional telehandlers separate the lift and extend function from the tilt function. That's sometimes a separate lever on a traditional telehandler control. Bobcat uses a loader type control that gives you lift and tilt on one joystick, and our extend/retract is accomplished with a thumb wheel on the same joystick. You're able to lift the boom, extend it, and operate the carriage all at the same time. This is for efficiency when doing bucket work, for example, or working with a grapple. It makes the machine operate most types of attachments very efficiently."
The joystick, common to telehandlers, can be a very sensitive control. Bump it accidentally, and the load can come crashing down. "We have a switch that will turn the joystick off," Klug notes. "So if you want to make sure you don't have any inadvertent movement of the boom, you can turn the joystick off so you don't bump it."
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24
Masonry
April 2003
www.masoncontractors.com