Vinpetrol
Well-known member
No extra weekends , some may start a little earlier though and some might drag on a day or 2
Mick-the-fitter
It’s what I do!
Lots of plain English in that film, not sure about the spelling of Ganja!
Lancs Lad
Well-known member
Hope we haven't scared Michigunners off?
JD450A
Feral as Fk 🐾
Theres something about that name....
B
bobthebuilder
Well-known member
normal then
Bri963
Well-known member
He’ll soon be back under his other name.
V8Druid
do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
nah -- time zone thingy
Lancs Lad
Well-known member
He should be up now
6
6feetdown
Well-known member
Probably trying to decipher all the bs in the previous postsHe should be up now
V8Druid
do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
William127
Well-known member
Reminds me of the Only Fools and Horses episode with the pregnant German woman, after 10 minutes of trying to get help in the Nags Head, 'Please does anyone here speak English??) 
V8Druid
do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
talking of Americans, we haven't seen our other American member (Keith was it?) lately 
M
Michigun
New member
Thanks everyone for the welcome.
I have been in construction since the late 80's. I spent the first 17 years travelling around the US (mostly East of the Mississippi, but often West too) installing restaurant equipment, 15 of those years being self-employed. In 2006 my wife asked me to stop travelling so much and get a 'real job'.
I hired on as a project manager for a general contracting firm. I managed mostly restaurant remodel work, as I had so much experience with restaurants. I did that for five years, before then hiring on as a construction manager for a global CM firm based out of Australia. While working for this CM firm I worked on restaurant projects (McDonald's and Burger King) and on projects for Chase bank.
I spent five years with that CM firm before then going back into project management for a different GC. My whole time with this GC was spent on financial institutions (Chase bank and Huntington bank). All this time from 2006 to 2019 I was travelling almost as I was before my wife forced me to get a 'real job'. So, after 30 years travelling around the US for work I decided to go back out on my own (with my wife's blessing).
Unfortunately, my timing of starting my own company in late 2019 soon coincided with the Covid-19 outbreak. Our beloved Governor shut down the whole damn State of Michigan in early 2020 and I was scrambling to find work to keep me busy and make some money. It was a tough Summer, but by Fall of 2019 things turned around.
I started hiring myself out as a jobsite superintendent to larger and more established general contractors. I've got three good ones that keep me busier than I ever thought I'd be. Between supervising projects for them and doing some smaller residential projects on the weekends, I barely have any time for myself.
While this pays well and I enjoy the work, I hate being dependent upon other GC firms like I am. They all treat me great and I have been able to pick and choose my projects, which has allowed me to stay within 20 minutes of my house. I just trying to diversify a little bit by getting some heavy equipment.
I started out thinking I'd get a mini-ex like so many others start out with. I don't have my Commercial Driver's License (CDL) yet, so I've elected for just a 26,000-pound GVWR plate on my Chevy 3500 HD. The Chevy has a GVWR of 14,000 by itself, so that limits my trailer to a 12,000-pound limit. I have a nice 12K dump trailer, but it weighs almost 4K all by itself, leaving me just over 8K for a payload.
Trying to find a mini-ex under 8K with a nice cab, air conditioning, and the other creature comforts I wanted was proving difficult. I spent months looking and really wanted to get a Caterpillar. The biggest I could get with all the options I wanted and under 8K was their 302.7 CR. After spending way too much time with their helpful salesman trying to price this out, I ended up deciding it was just going to be too small of a machine to try and make decent money with. I decided I'd wait on a mini-ex until I got my CDL.
Then I started looking at the various mini-skid steers out there. These seem quite versatile, and I could not only use them on my residential projects, but also on the commercial jobsites that I was supervising. After doing as much Internet research as I could, I narrowed down my choice to the Vermeer and Ditch Witch models.
While researching the Vermeer's, I came across their Compact Articulated Loaders. I learned these are just re-badged Multi-One units, but even though they weren't manufactured by Vermeer, I was still quite intrigued. As no matter how hard I try, I seem to keep getting older each year, the thought of sitting down in an air-conditioned cab, as opposed to standing on the back of a mini-skid, looked quite attractive.
I was ready to purchase their largest model, decked out with a cab and most of their options, but Vermeer wouldn't even take a deposit for one. They just had no idea when they may ever get any new stock, so I had to keep looking. I was sold on the versatility of a compact articulated loader, so that is what I searched for.
I don't know how I never came across Avant during all my Internet searches, but I wasn't aware of them until I drove by the very last equipment dealer in my area that I hadn't already visited. They had a few of the smaller Avants right there in stock and even two of the 760's, but once I got on Avant's website and saw the 860i, I knew I wouldn't be happy with a 760.
I placed my order back in September with a promise that I'd take delivery in December. I knew that was a big gamble, as the supply chain issues are still wreaking havoc here in the US. They came through though, delivering my loader on December 19th.
I've got a broken leg at the moment, so I've not been able to do as much with this as I would have liked these last 10 days or so. I've tried out two of the attachments I bought, the snowblower and the 4-in-1 bucket, and both of them have ended up leaking hydraulic fluid out of loose JIC fittings.
I spent a few hours on the machine today and I'm slowly getting better at the articulation. I'm fine moving forward, but going in reverse is a challenge. It seems as though I'm only moving the steering wheel 10 degrees and the back end is already tweaked way off to the side.
Sorry to be so long-winded. I actually deleted the longer post I made and this is the shorter version. Here are a few photos for now.
I have been in construction since the late 80's. I spent the first 17 years travelling around the US (mostly East of the Mississippi, but often West too) installing restaurant equipment, 15 of those years being self-employed. In 2006 my wife asked me to stop travelling so much and get a 'real job'.
I hired on as a project manager for a general contracting firm. I managed mostly restaurant remodel work, as I had so much experience with restaurants. I did that for five years, before then hiring on as a construction manager for a global CM firm based out of Australia. While working for this CM firm I worked on restaurant projects (McDonald's and Burger King) and on projects for Chase bank.
I spent five years with that CM firm before then going back into project management for a different GC. My whole time with this GC was spent on financial institutions (Chase bank and Huntington bank). All this time from 2006 to 2019 I was travelling almost as I was before my wife forced me to get a 'real job'. So, after 30 years travelling around the US for work I decided to go back out on my own (with my wife's blessing).
Unfortunately, my timing of starting my own company in late 2019 soon coincided with the Covid-19 outbreak. Our beloved Governor shut down the whole damn State of Michigan in early 2020 and I was scrambling to find work to keep me busy and make some money. It was a tough Summer, but by Fall of 2019 things turned around.
I started hiring myself out as a jobsite superintendent to larger and more established general contractors. I've got three good ones that keep me busier than I ever thought I'd be. Between supervising projects for them and doing some smaller residential projects on the weekends, I barely have any time for myself.
While this pays well and I enjoy the work, I hate being dependent upon other GC firms like I am. They all treat me great and I have been able to pick and choose my projects, which has allowed me to stay within 20 minutes of my house. I just trying to diversify a little bit by getting some heavy equipment.
I started out thinking I'd get a mini-ex like so many others start out with. I don't have my Commercial Driver's License (CDL) yet, so I've elected for just a 26,000-pound GVWR plate on my Chevy 3500 HD. The Chevy has a GVWR of 14,000 by itself, so that limits my trailer to a 12,000-pound limit. I have a nice 12K dump trailer, but it weighs almost 4K all by itself, leaving me just over 8K for a payload.
Trying to find a mini-ex under 8K with a nice cab, air conditioning, and the other creature comforts I wanted was proving difficult. I spent months looking and really wanted to get a Caterpillar. The biggest I could get with all the options I wanted and under 8K was their 302.7 CR. After spending way too much time with their helpful salesman trying to price this out, I ended up deciding it was just going to be too small of a machine to try and make decent money with. I decided I'd wait on a mini-ex until I got my CDL.
Then I started looking at the various mini-skid steers out there. These seem quite versatile, and I could not only use them on my residential projects, but also on the commercial jobsites that I was supervising. After doing as much Internet research as I could, I narrowed down my choice to the Vermeer and Ditch Witch models.
While researching the Vermeer's, I came across their Compact Articulated Loaders. I learned these are just re-badged Multi-One units, but even though they weren't manufactured by Vermeer, I was still quite intrigued. As no matter how hard I try, I seem to keep getting older each year, the thought of sitting down in an air-conditioned cab, as opposed to standing on the back of a mini-skid, looked quite attractive.
I was ready to purchase their largest model, decked out with a cab and most of their options, but Vermeer wouldn't even take a deposit for one. They just had no idea when they may ever get any new stock, so I had to keep looking. I was sold on the versatility of a compact articulated loader, so that is what I searched for.
I don't know how I never came across Avant during all my Internet searches, but I wasn't aware of them until I drove by the very last equipment dealer in my area that I hadn't already visited. They had a few of the smaller Avants right there in stock and even two of the 760's, but once I got on Avant's website and saw the 860i, I knew I wouldn't be happy with a 760.
I placed my order back in September with a promise that I'd take delivery in December. I knew that was a big gamble, as the supply chain issues are still wreaking havoc here in the US. They came through though, delivering my loader on December 19th.
I've got a broken leg at the moment, so I've not been able to do as much with this as I would have liked these last 10 days or so. I've tried out two of the attachments I bought, the snowblower and the 4-in-1 bucket, and both of them have ended up leaking hydraulic fluid out of loose JIC fittings.
I spent a few hours on the machine today and I'm slowly getting better at the articulation. I'm fine moving forward, but going in reverse is a challenge. It seems as though I'm only moving the steering wheel 10 degrees and the back end is already tweaked way off to the side.
Sorry to be so long-winded. I actually deleted the longer post I made and this is the shorter version. Here are a few photos for now.
Attachments
Mick-the-fitter
It’s what I do!
Maybe he’s lost for words too, how big does the minority need to get before we have to have a full time translator?
L
LKSF
Pennine Hillbilly
6
6feetdown
Well-known member
Vot is your nameReminds me of the Only Fools and Horses episode with the pregnant German woman, after 10 minutes of trying to get help in the Nags Head, 'Please does anyone here speak English??)
L
LKSF
Pennine Hillbilly
S
Smiffy
Well-known member
How much time have you spent on loading shovels or similar??
On a larger scale I spent years driving pivot steer telehandlers on farm ( essentially a loading shovel with telescopic boom, I don't think they are very popular in the US)
Then a farm baught an old jcb loading shovel as a back up. Like a giant avant it has the cab on the front chassis whereas I had always driven cab on rear chassis machines. I really really struggled with it and still do. I haven't spent enough time to adjust but it takes me 3 or 4 x longer to anything with it than the caterpillar it12f that I occasionally drive. Whereas people I've spoken to who have never driven anything else seem to have little problem with the cab on the front setup
Gecko
Well-known member
Hmmm ... it might be scripted (mostly) in english, but there are accents not for the faint hearted.
(the scene in the pub describing Rory was in english, but still had/needed subtitles)
The title eluded me until I'd looked it up.
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