As a one-call solution for fleet managers, FleetEasy also offers heavy equipment recovery, equipment towing and on-site repairs. Your heavy equipment works hard for you, but its weight does have its downsides. I can get stuck and become immovable without the right recovery equipment and expertise.
This happened recently to a Genie telescopic boom, AKA man lift, and they needed fast heavy equipment recovery in Spokane. Here’s how we got the job done.
Soft Ground and Heavy-Equipment Don’t Mix
Pro-Tow by FleetEasy received a call about a Genie man lift stuck in soft ground just outside Spokane, off the I-90 near Cheney, WA. They were doing maintenance on a telecommunications tower, and the gravel around the tower was deep and soft. The Genie weighed about 50,000 pounds, so you can believe the wheels were in there good!
Unfortunately, we couldn’t get our recovery truck right to the Genie to perform a lift recovery. Our truck would’ve been stuck right along with it. Instead, we backed in as close as we could, going around trees and obstacles, so we could get close enough for a clear winch line.
To perform the winch, we used two frame chains, two cluches and extra-larch shackles. We hooked up to the front of the man lift using the deck winch and pulled it out of the gravel. We had to move it about five feet to get its wheels back on solid ground.
When Heavy-Equipment Recovery Needs More Muscle
The Genie recovery was a relatively easy job. Sure, we had to back into a tight spot, but with the right rigging, equipment and know-how, we pulled it out in no time.
That is not always the case! One of our most notable heavy-equipment recoveries occurred about 10 years ago at the Howard A. Hanson Dam on the Eagle Gorge Reservoir in eastern Washington. An excavator had nearly completely sunk in the muck and mire and needed an entire recovery fleet and coordinated team to get it out. The job was called in by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and Pro-Tow was the right service provider to coordinate the heavy-duty recovery.
We calculated about 180,000 pounds worth of resistance, when you included the machinery and the mud holding it hostage. Team Pro-Tow estimated that we needed about 200 tons of tow truck capacity to haul it out of there.
To even get at it, we’d have to traverse about 500 feet of similar terrain. It was all hands on deck: loaders, bulldozers, dump trucks, excavators and four heavy-duty wreckers, plus two Incident Support and Command post vehicles. With all that equipment came about 20 professionals to plan and execute this very technical heavy-equipment recovery.
We rescued the sinking digger, and no fluids or contaminants from the machinery were released into the environment. Everyone, including the ecosystem, was safe after this challenging recovery.
We Want to Partner with You!
If your business has a fleet of heavy equipment and machinery, partner with FleetEasy. We offer complete fleet services and have the equipment (muscle) and expertise (brains) to get you out of any unfavorable situation. Whether you’re stuck in the gravel like the Genie, sunk up to your neck in the muck like that excavator, or had a Bobcat flip over, we’ll be there.
Our heavy-duty recovery services are available 24 hours a day, and we have a wide service area around Spokane, Washington.