Loading excavators, big cherry pickers, tracked vehicles, forks-best place to see how to drive them

On slow days. Sounds like you work for rental company? Drive each piece equipment around. Keep in mind most construction workers run equipment out of fuel. So might also know how to prime and start each type. If it's on rent leave it for another day . My take

 

Do you work for xyz?

 

Your dispatcher will be your greatest resource. He will always have other drivers that can walk you through stuff.

But like someone else said, watch some yt videos so you don't look like such a noob to the other drivers.

If you can't figure something out, ask for help and just play with the machine in the meantime to get to know the controls.

But never put yourself at risk, be patient and wait for help because you work for a good company with experienced drivers who can help you. But you will be constantly thrown to the wolves as six put it.

It's a test to see your common sense and problem solving abilities.

 

My advice is to make sure you know how to shut off something before you start it (same goes for stopping and parking!) Much of learning how to run something comes from just doing it. Operator's manual will be your best friend. A quick thumb-through of the manual should give you the basics of how to start, move, park and shut down whatever you're trying to operate.

 

Yeah, you don't want to rush. Definately not the job for the guy who is always in a rush to get home.

 

Another good thing is to have a set of keys for the equipment types that you haul. I have a 3" keyring full of different keys. The other thing is that if you turn the key on and you get nothing, you have to get back out of the machine and look for the battery shutoff switch. They can be in the most ridiculous locations too. Like opening every cover on the machine only to discover that they located it on the outside of the machine. Don't ask how long it took to find that one..... LOL

Here are some photos of the 3 most common ones that I run into.

 

Dood, if you roll by with a upside down car on a flatbed, that;ll be awesome....3 minutes at the scene...nice

 

Sounds like a great job.
Another tip is to watch the height of the load. Don't rely on "it's ok." Measure!

 

Axle loads will usually determine position.