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New Beginning's - ARPI photo tour

756K views 3K replies 182 participants last post by  EA Quinn 
#1 ·
Well, after just graduating college and having my company pick up steam after being in business just a little over a year now, I thought I would start sharing pics of what I do. I certainly enjoy seeing everyone else's stories told through photos so I thought I would start contributing a little bit on here :waving: I've got a bunch of photos from last year that I will post as time allows, but I thought I would start with some photos of new equipment.

So for your viewing pleasure, may I introduce "The Beast" (or insert other witty name here :rolleyes:). She is currently on a Rent-Own program (so no one can call me out *trucewhiteflag*), that I hope to convert to a ownership program in 1.5-3 months depending on work load. She starts her first job this Monday clearing storm damage from ROWs an hour north of my home.

Enjoy and thanks for looking! Hopefully I will have many more photos to share in the coming year.

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#27 ·
Thanks MJH- I call it "extreme determination" as well. There is work out there- just have to be flexible to get it. Wasn't my plan to be in land clearing as it says grading and excavation on my truck. :rolleyes:

Bobcat Ron- Ya it is long. It's real interesting backing it into my driveway. The trailer is a 25' deck with a 5' beavertail. The plan is to put the grapple, mulcher, and pallet forks on the front of the trailer sideways to reach them from the ground and then drive the machine on the trailer backwards with the bucket. Oh ya- and have a Jobbox at the front of the trailer with a generator and air compressor in it.:dizzy:
I'm surprised you don't have ride control on the T320, it's a dealer installed option. If you are working in rough terrain it's a must have.

My trick for loading attachments is to drive them on forward and spin around on the deck and drive off. I don't like side loading attachments, especially on a busy street or narrow driveway.

 
#28 ·
Were I started we had a trailer like yours and would spin around on top, would freak people out that were watching. The ramps were too steep for the 1845 and don't know why we never backed up?

I am surprised at the number of you that have the big gooseneck trailers, I couldn't live without my dump.
 
#29 ·
awesome set up, Bobcat and PJ trailers, cant wait to see some of your work, looks like your off to a good start...


Oh yeah, you can save some room by putting the grapple on and then grab the bucket and then clamp down on it, I know your goin to have alot of attachments on the trailer, that might save you some room. also you might think of putting a deck up on the neck of the trailer...
 
#30 ·
Thanks all for the comments all!

Bobcat Ron: Ya, the machine is going to have a nice long warranty just for the SJC and the drive motors. The other T320 on site has had computer, SJC, drive motor, and fan issues. Granted I don't know how they run the machine, but it looked a little rough. Hopefully my machine won't have those issues.

Bombi: Thanks for the update on your machine! Nice to hear that you still like it and haven't experienced any major problems. The terrain you are working on sounds very much like the terrain I'm on (pics are coming!). And yes, after starting out on an 863 Bobcat with the rowing paddles and foot pedals, I will never use anything other than joysticks again. Alot more precise and less subject to hitting a pedal accidently in rough terrain.

Bobcatuser: It's funny that you mention ride control. I just saw that it was an option in the manual the other day. If I do end of keeping the machine, I will have the dealer install the option. As it was now, they turned the machine around in 3 days last week so that I could start today. There wasn't too much time to install anything other than the radio and forestry package. I'm not traveling that fast as it is, but going down the access roads I can definitely see why ride control is a nice option. Good idea on the attachments going on the trailer- depending on how things fit on there I will keep your suggestion in mind.

Junior: Thanks for the compliments! When the other attachments come in I will give your idea a try. I've done a similar thing in the past with a industrial grapple and bucket and it worked pretty well.
 
#32 ·
Thanks all for the comments all!

Bobcat Ron: Ya, the machine is going to have a nice long warranty just for the SJC and the drive motors. The other T320 on site has had computer, SJC, drive motor, and fan issues. Granted I don't know how they run the machine, but it looked a little rough. Hopefully my machine won't have those issues.

Bombi: Thanks for the update on your machine! Nice to hear that you still like it and haven't experienced any major problems. The terrain you are working on sounds very much like the terrain I'm on (pics are coming!). And yes, after starting out on an 863 Bobcat with the rowing paddles and foot pedals, I will never use anything other than joysticks again. Alot more precise and less subject to hitting a pedal accidently in rough terrain.

Bobcatuser: It's funny that you mention ride control. I just saw that it was an option in the manual the other day. If I do end of keeping the machine, I will have the dealer install the option. As it was now, they turned the machine around in 3 days last week so that I could start today. There wasn't too much time to install anything other than the radio and forestry package. I'm not traveling that fast as it is, but going down the access roads I can definitely see why ride control is a nice option. Good idea on the attachments going on the trailer- depending on how things fit on there I will keep your suggestion in mind.

Junior: Thanks for the compliments! When the other attachments come in I will give your idea a try. I've done a similar thing in the past with a industrial grapple and bucket and it worked pretty well.
You may want to talk with Yellow Dog. It sounded like that Bobcat RC was not all that great. I love it, I have had it on every machine I get since 1999. It is a huge time saver. I can haul ass across most jobs sites with a full bucket without losing material or killing the operator.
 
#33 ·
KSSS- Thanks, I will. The ride is a little rough but isn't unbearable. Just hurts goin over the huge, frozen, wheel ruts made by the skidders. It's all in how you drive the machine just like everything else.

To all the other Bobcat track loader users out there- does anyone have ride control? How do you like it?

Junior: No, I think you might have me confused with someone else. I was seriously considering a Cat trackloader but I never rented nor owned one.
 
#34 ·
KSSS- Thanks, I will. The ride is a little rough but isn't unbearable. Just hurts goin over the huge, frozen, wheel ruts made by the skidders. It's all in how you drive the machine just like everything else.

To all the other Bobcat track loader users out there- does anyone have ride control? How do you like it?

Junior: No, I think you might have me confused with someone else. I was seriously considering a Cat trackloader but I never rented nor owned one.
Hmm, I swore it was you, cause the avatar was a pick up just like yours with a CAT on a between the axle towmaster tag? Dang, I wonder who I am thinking of..
 
#35 ·
KSSS- Thanks, I will. The ride is a little rough but isn't unbearable. Just hurts goin over the huge, frozen, wheel ruts made by the skidders. It's all in how you drive the machine just like everything else.

To all the other Bobcat track loader users out there- does anyone have ride control? How do you like it?

Junior: No, I think you might have me confused with someone else. I was seriously considering a Cat trackloader but I never rented nor owned one.
I have a 2008 t190 how do you know if you have ride control????
 
#40 ·
Well before I collapse in bed for the evening, I thought some of you might enjoy some photos from the day today. Nothing spectacular but at least you can get an idea of what the terrain is like. On this job I am responsible for raking and stacking brush and debris on the side of the ROW after it is cut down. Overall, I probably cleared over a mile of tree line today and am about an hour behind being caught up to the work that has taken 2 tree crews and a mulching crew 4 days to accomplish. Not the most glamorous of work, but it sure is a nice change of pace for a month and a half. Interesting terrain to operate on...

Note: For a frame of reference for distance I cleared today, the hill in the distance in the first picture is about a quarter mile away from where my machine is pictured. I cleared up to and beyond that hill on both sides of the ROW for another quarter mile. (It's a long walk if I throw a track...)

Enjoy!

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#41 ·
Haha Junior- I know what you are talking about. That photo you're thinking of was my truck last summer. I had a Cat 236B skid on rent for my first job as a legitimate company. Hadn't even put the tank, box, or signs on the truck yet. Nice to see a little progress from lookin back on those photos.

My hat is definitely off to everyone who has been able to grow their own business- things take a little longer than expected to take off.

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#42 ·
Haha Junior- I know what you are talking about. That photo you're thinking of was my truck last summer. I had a Cat 236B skid on rent for my first job as a legitimate company. Hadn't even put the tank, box, or signs on the truck yet. Nice to see a little progress from lookin back on those photos.

My hat is definitely off to everyone who has been able to grow their own business- things take a little longer than expected to take off.
Yep, thats the one I was thinking of! Yeah, tell me about it, when we started last year I planned on having a skid on a RTO program, like you, by now, who knows? I am kind of slowing down now that some guys have talked to me and what they've told me..
 
#43 ·
good evening ARP...love your set up...as for the trailer set up I made my deck above to store all my attachment so I can leave them on there 24/7. Because I also do 24/7 recovery cleanup for local towing companys. I use my trailer for all my other equipment so having the bottom deck free works good for me. As for your contract work here are you getting pay by the hour or mile/acres. good luck Thanks Howard
 
#47 ·
Thanks Howierd. I thought about the deck over the neck but I really don't want that much weight that high up on the trailer- that's why I went with a slightly longer trailer in the end.

For my contract work, I am getting paid by the hour, but I mentally treat it like a regular bid to keep my motivation and production up. I am expected to be on this 15 mile stretch of ROW until April 1 of this year. Right now we are working 8-10 hour days to get everything done.

Junior: While you still are young (heck I'm young still as I'm only 21 with a baby face no less) and should be enjoying life, HS, girls, ATVing, whatever, don't be afraid to go after what you want. I was never much of the partying type. I am also a extreme workaholic by nature as I worked all through HS and college and even through my breaks in college when everyone would go to Cancun. I did all that because I knew that when I graduated college, I wanted to work for myself doing stuff that I love rather than working in an office and having to report to an overzealous boss and do TPS reports. I even skipped going abroad for a semester so that I could graduate college early and put my saved money into my company.

While a lot of people have told me that I should slow down and enjoy life, my response to them is a polite "Thank you" and "I will enjoy life when I am sitting off a white sandy beach in the Carribean on my own yacht." My business, among providing future jobs for others and a legacy for my future family, is a means to an end in terms of a lifestyle I would like to live someday. Who wouldn't like the choice in life to either go play in the dirt or go out on jetskis for the day? It's for those reasons that I never slow down. You just have to think about how much you want something and then go after it.
 
#48 ·
Raschmid, I graduated with a degree in Business Administration. I concentrated in entrepreneurship with a focus on real estate development. My business is taking the place of my MBA :rolleyes:.
 
#49 ·
Junior: While you still are young (heck I'm young still as I'm only 21 with a baby face no less) and should be enjoying life, HS, girls, ATVing, whatever, don't be afraid to go after what you want. I was never much of the partying type. I am also a extreme workaholic by nature as I worked all through HS and college and even through my breaks in college when everyone would go to Cancun. I did all that because I knew that when I graduated college, I wanted to work for myself doing stuff that I love rather than working in an office and having to report to an overzealous boss and do TPS reports. I even skipped going abroad for a semester so that I could graduate college early and put my saved money into my company.

While a lot of people have told me that I should slow down and enjoy life, my response to them is a polite "Thank you" and "I will enjoy life when I am sitting off a white sandy beach in the Carribean on my own yacht." My business, among providing future jobs for others and a legacy for my future family, is a means to an end in terms of a lifestyle I would like to live someday. Who wouldn't like the choice in life to either go play in the dirt or go out on jetskis for the day? It's for those reasons that I never slow down. You just have to think about how much you want something and then go after it.
That was very well said.

Thought I was the only one who thought that way. Most of my friends rather party and raise hell than to go out and work. I'm the opposite, I much rather work now, save up and live life like I want to when I'm older, lets face it I don't think my body will like doing this type of work in 30 years, it hurts now at the end of a long day and I'm the same age as you. By then we can both sit on the beach, drink a few beers and watch Junior level the beach sand out with his T250:laugh:
Hopefully:usflag:
 
#50 ·
let me get in on this sandy beach watching the young gun play with his tonka toy...but as for me my business needs to wait until i get my PE...to do that I have to work under one for 4 years and then take a test...after i pass the test and start my company we can race our yachts HAHA
 
#51 ·
Well let me know when the race is on and I'll be there. :cool2: 10-15 years maybe? I'll let you two have the beers, I'm a Mike's Hard Lemonade (cranberry) kinda guy myself- got a serious sweet tooth. :cool2:

I still laugh when I hear about how the oil tycoon Roman Ambrovich brought his three, 200'+ yachts to a south american harbor and had breakfast, lunch, and dinner on a different yacht. Let's just say I get my inspiration from some crazy stories.:laugh:

And yes, as I was bumpin around the ROW way today stacking brush, there were definitely a few moments where I knew I would not want to have to be doing that everyday in 10-20 years. Don't get me wrong, I love equipment, but man, stacking brush sure can get boring and some of the bumps were pretty knarly!

Dirtdigger- good luck with the engineering training. After having several friends go through what you are going through, I can certainly appreciate the challenge you are facing. It will definitely serve you well in the end though.
 
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