using and uses for a gradall 660 excavator

[missourihick]

Well it is not a tractor,but here it goes.
I found a cheap gradall 660. it has a V8 detroit on the truck and a 6 cyl detroit on the digger.It has a 36" bucket on the digger. Has anyone here ever ran one of these? Can it dig like a backhoe? What other attachments are available for it?I was told you could get pallet forks and scaffold platform and clamshell digger and all kinds of neat things for it. Any information is greatly appreciated.

 

[lamarbur]

around here they are used very extensively for side road grading, large ditches, embankments,and such. You should have a twist wrist on the end of it, correct?

 

[texbaylea]

I have never used one but have watch them in operation. That thing was made for cutting and cleaning ditches. A good operator can meet any grade with it. He has control of roll, pitch and yaw on the bucket. A curl of the bucket cuts a beautiful ditch. Don't know how it would be used for other tasks thought.

 

[Egon]

It's best used for trimming and final grade work where you have to reach. Say like a ditch. For trenching like a hoe its very slow.
Operator skill required is perhaps greater than other equipment.

After 8 or so hours of the Jimmy you'll definetly be ready for a cold one.

On a city job pull into a back alley behind some apartment buildings at about 07:00 AM on a Sunday Morning and go to work. You'll be the most popular man in town.

Egon

 

[Darren]

The olds ones are cheap for some reason. One of the limitations is the lift height. You're not going to use it lift pallet loads several floors. I'm not sure the skill level is any different than running a backhoe or an excavator and digging a level ditch. A local crew was using one to unload H beams for drilled in piling. The Gradall operator was able to drag a beam along the road to the point the drill rig could snag it.

Most of the ones I've seen are owned by highway departments.

 

[Egon]

The bucket has more funtions than a hoe and when trying to grade to specific levels and slopes it gets a lot more complicated.

Egon

 

[AndyMA]

I think it's a cool machine and I've always thought I'd like to have one to do banks. The only problem with equipment like this is not the initial cost, but have you checked into what it costs when something breaks? I don't know on a gradall, but I know on a large excavator, every major part they talk about ends with the word thousands../forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
Andy

 

[KiotiJohn]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I don't know on a gradall, but I know on a large excavator, every major part they talk about ends with the word thousands )</font> I agree. Run do not walk away from the gradall. Replacement parts (and labor if you're not handy) will be prohibitive. John

 

[Chechnya]

Gradall makes an awesome machine, espcially forklifts. My framer was chosen to test out a prototype JLG/Gradall forklift a few months back. Its awesome. Although this is a forklift, they still do make the best excavator.

 

[coopers]

I've never heard of a gradall excavator. I'd have to look one up and see what they look like. huh. anyway, excavators are AWESOME machines! At my work, we carry kubota kx 121's and 41's (121's being the most popular) and then JD 120's. Those machines, the 120's and 121's are AWLAYS being used. The 121's have three buckets to chose from, a 1' 2', and 3' (clean out) bucket. Good machines, very quick at doing the job and with a hyd. thumb, are even more useful. Anyway...

Blake
WA