Tag : LeTourneau

Classic Machines

Early development of the ripper-it started with a ‘rooter’

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These days, most of us do not pay much attention to the ripper fitted to a dozer, loader or motor grader, but there is quite...
Classic Machines

Equipment Controls – the cable era

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caption: Another very popular LeTourneau PCU was the front mounted Model AN8, seen here fitted to a reasonably new Caterpillar D8-1H series. The tractor also has a...
Classic Machines

Earthfill Compaction – A Brief History

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Good compaction of fill is essential if you are to avoid subsidence. The Romans and Egyptians knew it and so did the so-called “primitive” tribes...
AtecoForgotten companies

Forgotten companies: Ateco

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Once the number one go-to organization for tractor rippers and a myriad of other useful attachments, the American Tractor Equipment Corporation (ATECO) enjoyed major success...
Forgotten companiesLaPlant-Choate

The LaPlant-Choate TS-300 motor scraper

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LaPlant-Choate’s TS-300 owes its origins to a design formulated prior to World War 2. The TS-300 was LaPlant-Choate’s first motor scraper and despite being taken...
Contractor

The Clark-Michigan 180 Wheel Dozer

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In some countries, particularly New Zealand, wheel dozers are an under-appreciated item of machinery. The wheeled bulldozer is actually an extremely versatile piece of equipment...
LeTourneauModel A TournapullScrapers

LeTourneau’s Model A Tournapull

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R.G LeTourneau conceived the idea of the self-propelled motor scraper while recovering from a near-fatal auto accident.  He approached Caterpillar with the concept but they...
Forgotten companies

Forgotten companies: Carco

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Many of the readership will identify the name Carco as being associated with logging winches and forestry equipment. However, Carco’s roots go much further back...