Heavy Equipment Recovery for Excavator Stuck in the Mud
The skilled team at Mast Brothers towing company recently tackled an especially tricky heavy equipment recovery in Coos Bay, OR. The assignment? Rescuing a CAT 538 excavator that had become bogged down in deep mud during a right-of-way clearing job for a power line project.
With the excavator weighing in at a whopping 70,000 pounds and firmly stuck in a remote, hillside location, the Mast Brothers team knew they had their work cut out for them. To reach the site, they had to navigate a dirt logging road that wound through challenging terrain.
Once they arrived, the heavy equipment recovery specialists got to work, carefully assessing the situation and devising a plan of attack. Using a 2002 Kenworth T-2000 truck with a Vulcan 940 wrecker unit, they rigged up a system that included a D8 CAT bulldozer blade and multiple blocks to change the direction of the pull.
The team had to make adjustments and reposition everything to get the pull just right, all while contending with the tight space and challenging conditions. Finally, after two hours of focused effort, the excavator was successfully extracted and brought to safety.
It was another impressive feat for the Mast Brothers crew, whose expertise and determination make them the go-to choice for heavy equipment recovery and off-road rescues in the area.
Details of Heavy Equipment Recovery for Excavator Stuck in the Mud
Mast Brothers recently assisted in a heavy equipment recovery in Coos Bay, OR, off of Ocean Boulevard. The dispatcher sent out a team of 2 and a heavy duty 2002 Kenworth T-2000 with a Vulcan 940 wrecker unit for the heavy equipment recovery.
The heavy equipment recovery dispatcher learned that the tree company was clearing the right of way for some power lines. They had a CAT 538 excavator with a mower head on it that they were using to do the job. However, it hit a soft spot in the bottom of the canyon, which resulted in the sinking of the excavator in mud all the way up to the cab.
The excavator weighed 70,000 pounds and a heavy equipment recovery crew was needed for the job. The heavy equipment recovery team had to take a dirt logging road to get to the hillside location. Once they arrived, they got straight to work on the heavy equipment recovery.
From the heavy duty truck, the heavy equipment recovery operator ran one block off a D8 CAT bulldozer blade that was on the scene to change his direction of pull. Then, he hung another block off the undercarriage of the stuck excavator and out of that block up to the bulldozer blade. He then deadheaded to the blade on the bulldozer and started pulling.
The heavy equipment recovery crew had to reposition everything to get the pull just right so it could come up to where they were pulling. Finally, they took a dirt 4-wheel road since they couldn’t back out of the tight road. The entire heavy equipment recovery took the team around 2 hours.