Can't access the area without the cold. Top pic is a B70 , off highway belly dump. with approx 50 yards of gravel in the trailer. On the ice bridge over the Colevile River . the ice is built to around 12 feet thick of fresh water ice. Bottom pic taken while driving down the ice road on the way to work for the night. At 35 below , an ice road is a good 40 mph road. Easy pie. As long as you know what your doing.
Warming up is what the back of the compressor is for ;-) a caged in shelf was built in at the back door of these compressors. We kept our drill oil , grease ect back there.
Nice pics! Ya i know colder is better when driving on ice. Ice really sucks when its 20-32 degrees. We get a few nasty freezing rain events every year and sometimes its so slick you cant even walk on the pavement without falling down. Why do they use big belly dumps vs using big end dump trucks? I would guess that the material would be harder to get out of the belly dumps.
They put really good seats in the B70s nowadays. Too many teamsters have got whiplash when the D9 spread cat smashes into the stinger on the back of the belly dump trailer. In 3rd gear , wide open , sometimes. The belly dumps are a lot faster and not as prone to rolling over as an end dump. Some day ejector trucks will be doing the job. But they are new and expensive. ALL B70s are Old ! And being able to pack 52 yards and dump/spread it at 20 plus mph is pretty dang handy. And a fast way to build a road. Over longer distances the material will freeze in the bed . Hence the need to get smashed in the rear by an 8 or 9 . They dump , on the fill , then drive down off the rubble end and head to the pit. Spread cat raises the grade a bit and advances the fill.
Yes the belly dumps are much better than the end dumps for road building. Ive never ran any of the big stuff, just dot legal tractor pulling bellys, sidedumps, or dot legal dumptruck.only kinda big machine ive ran is a 988 log fork front end loader back when the sawmill was still running. I think the iceroad stuff would be fun and scary at the same time!
A 988 is a big loader . Until you park it next to a 992 or 993 . They flat dwarf one. That job they loaded with Cat 390 hoes and used a 988 as the run around and clean-up loader.
My ported 441 has run side by side with a nice Dolmar 9010 in 24”+ wood. And my chain wasn’t -that- good.
I’m new to this site, and oddly enough am in the market for a new saw for my small scale firewood business. Most of what I cut and sell is larger oak. So I’m looking at the 70cc class, and having a really hard time deciding between 441, and 372. I like the features of the 441 over the 461 (m-tronic and AV) but I do occasionally cut and sell slabs (so it’s also a consideration) I really like the fit and feel of the husky, plus I think it has an edge in bucking speed. Dealer support for Stihl is better, as there are 3 good ones within 15miles, compared to one husky. Plus I’ve always run Stihl so I have spare bars etc I could use. Any real world experience with the 3 saws? They all seem like good options, but any of them are cords + of wood in value which is a lot of hard earned cash
2 of 3, I do. I have a 441c and a 461. My 461 is ported, so I don’t use the 441 any more. Last winter I bought 441c to buck my pile. Put the 25 inch bar full comp, not a problem in the spruce I burn. Not long after getting the 441, just a few tanks. A buddy sold me his ported 461, have not used the 441 since. I quickly became attached to the 461 power.
I only have the 441c. I also have a Husqvarna 562xp. Of the 2, I perfer the 562xp. I think I just expected more out of the 441c. Not much, but my 2 cents worth.
If the 372 said “Stihl” on the side I’d probably have already bought it. I like the dealer support options for Stihl in my area So maybe I ought to go the 461 route. It’s pretty difficult to decide.
So when it comes to dealer support the the 441 and 372 are close enough in performance you’d choose the 441?
