Thread: Have you ever operated heavy equipment?

I spent a summer working construction and driving a backhoe and dumptruck, and I've got to say, it was an empowering but also stressful position to be in! Operating such large and expensive machinery comes with a lot of responsibility...has anyone else ever tried it?

Closest I came was driving trucks in the military and when I worked as a Service Advisor for a heavy truck dealership, I used to move highway tractors around the yard and in and out of the shop.
Except for the military trucks some of them dating back to WWII (that was in 1970), where nothing was power assisted, I found driving Macks surprisingly easy, although they were empty and without trailers.

Nothing to the point you are talking about but I do remember taking shop class back in high school. I am going to assume that does not count. I still think it would be fun to drive a dump truck though (even if thats only to put a ton of manure on my exes driveway).

Originally Posted by creg

Nothing to the point you are talking about but I do remember taking shop class back in high school. I am going to assume that does not count. I still think it would be fun to drive a dump truck though (even if thats only to put a ton of manure on my exes driveway).

Lol! The dumptruck was definitey the easier of the two; I was less worried that I'd swing a bucket so fast that I'd knock someone over a cliff.

The most involved thing I've driven I guess was on the farm where I grew up.

I sometimes drove a tractor pulling a hay baler, which was also pulling a wagon. That's pretty straight forward till you get on some steep hills and may have to turn.

I don't think that tops a backhoe though.

Kudos, ToyotaGrl.

I have driven heavy equipment. My father had his own construction company. He had dump trucks, bulldozers, and a backhoe. I use to play with all of them.