A dirty job indeed

[Robert Goodale]

Whew, what a mess!

I haven't given many details on this list lately about what is going on,
but my wife and I just closed last week on house.  It is a very unique
two year old custom home and is on a 3/4 of an acre!

We searched for six months to find this house SPECIFICALLY because we
intend to build a large rebuilding shop on the property.  Because of
various zoning restrictions, location, etc. things had to be perfect for
our needs.  It is also getting harder to find acreage in Las Vegas
because it has been developing so fast.  We ended up getting quite the
deal.  This home/property was owned by a church who was desperate to
sell because they need to pay for their new building.

Anyway, there is lots of room to build a huge shop and we are hoping for
about 2000 Sq. Ft.  which should be enough for us to do sound board
replacements in addition to the typical rebuilding projects.  We will
also be installing PianoDiscs there.  Currently our dealer has very
limited room for us and we are installing an average of about two a
week.  YES, I have no life!

Anyway, (there is a point to all of this), the land in the back of the
property is substantially  low.  There is also an erosion problem with
water from the front of the property and part of the street running
above which flows between our house and the house next door.  I cut a
deal with a contractor who has 70 trucks of dirt he needs to get rid of
from another job.  I will be gettin about 20 trucks from him.  We also
need to build up and level a significant slope behind the house for
where the slab for the new shop will go.  They have been bringing in
truck after truck for the past two days so I hope that part will end
soon.

Well grading out dirt is a bit expensive as you could probably guess.
Being the optimistic do-it-yourselfer that I am I decided to tackle the
erosion back fill part myself.  I went down to one of the U-Rent-it
equipment sort of places and rented a Gehl mini skipper dozer, (a Bobcat
sort of a vehicle).  Actually this was a little larger than mini, one of
the larger sizes.  The rental rate was the same so why not.

So the the yard worker loaded it on a trailer and hitched it to my '99
Ranger.  Now I figured this would be a heavy load, but that is an
understatement.  Somehow I got my truck to groan to a start and away I
went to move my dirt.  I soon came to realize that this load was WAY too
heavy for this size truck, (a full size V8 should be minimum).  Somehow
after burning some clutch I got it wound up enough to get on the
freeway.  With it floored in first gear I gradually got it up to forty.
Once I was going I left it in third and cruised at 45.  Things were
going real good now and and I was feeling pretty confident that I would
get it there.  Then came a down hill area and the trailer began to
fishtail really bad.  After some hard and careful braking I slowed it
down and got it under control.  Fortunately I hit all the green lights
after exiting and slowly my little truck groaned to a stop as I pulled
onto our lot.   I let the ramp down, removed the tie down chains.
Mission accomplished.

Now a new challenge.  Having never driven a dirt machine before I began
the exciting task of self instruction.  Somehow I found reverse and
backed it off the trailer.
Now what?  Slowly I tried all the levers to see what each one did.
Right forward... ahhh, that makes the bucket go up, fair enough.  Then
twist the lever sideways.
to the right, that makes the bucket pivot down.  The other direction
makes it go up.  Okay, now we're getting somewhere.  Then the lever on
the right.  Forward for forward gear, pull it back and you are in
reverse, that makes sense.  Twisting it in either direction makes the
machine turn left or right.  Okay I think I got a handle on this now,
let's go move some dirt.  Oops, I stalled it... Oh, the brake is on.
Okay, here we go!  Very slowly I bounce across the lot toward my first
dirt pile.  Then I notice that there is a gas pedal.  Hmmm, didn't
notice that before.  BRROOOOOM!!   Hey, this is fun!  Kind of like
bouncing through dirt on an ATV.  Okay, a scoop of dirt.  As I approach
the pile I place the bucket in proper position and give it a running
start.  That worked, now let's raise the bucket!  Pull the lever and up
she goes.  Okay, I head over the the place where I want to dump it.
Going down hill now.  Oops, something's happening, I'm getting a little
fast here.  Slow it down... no, that's the wrong lever!!  I see the
bucket getting higher and higher and the machine starts to pitch
forward.  Ahhhh! Crash!!  Okay, so now I'm facing the ground.  Hmmm what
next?  Stroke of genius, I lower the bucket and use it as a jack to push
the machine back upright.  Here we go....  BOING!!! Well that worked but
it was quite a ride!!  Then I notice that the guy at the rental yard
forgot to lock the bucket into place and it falls off the machine.
Sheesh, what next!!  A little creative maneuvering and I manage to latch
onto it again.  This time with the locks secured I'm on my way again.

Well the hours go by and slowly I get the hang of it.  A couple more
hours and I'm Mr. hell on wheels with this thing.  Now I'm having fun!
Look honey!  See how fast I can scoop up dirt!, (she rolls her eyes).
Well somehow in 8 hours I manage to move more than 90 cubic yards of
dirt where I wanted it.  I get it packed down tight and flat and the
erosion problem seems to be getting manageable now.  A few loads of
gravel on top and it ought to stay there.  I call Alan Meyer and we
borrow his Daughter's Ram V-8 to return the machine.  To bad it had to
go, I was just getting really good at it, kind of like driving a big
Tonka Truck.  As far as myself, I was absolutely covered in dirt from
head to toe.  My hair was almost solid.  I won't go into the details but
let's just say what came out of my nose could have been used for laying
bricks.
More trucks have come today leaving more dirt.  I have decided that I
will hire someone a little more experienced and with heavier equipment
to lay out the building pad!!  I got a guy coming to take a look at it.
Once we get the dirt finished we can pour a slab and and build our shop.

The most amazing thing about this whole project is that it is ALL for
music!  From dirt to concrete to lumber to shop to piano.  Something to
think about the next time you listen to a concerto!!!

Rob Goodale, RPT
Las Vegas, NV