Cut and fill for residential construction sites often presents unexpected challenges. Dealing with hard tasks such as removing embedded rock fragments, pulling out old concrete or stubborn hard-packed clay may add unnecessary time to a routine task.In these highly competitive days, you don’t need to have additional equipment on site to deal with some of these challenges, so having a powerful machine that can deal with handle tougher sites made perfect sense for Sydney’s Borg Civil.
Already with a fleet of Takeuchi loaders, the company decided to try the new Takeuchi TL12v2 vertical lift track loader which is an entirely new machine with additional power and a very handy high bucket lift capability. The addition of a rear ripper bar which is monitored by the rear camera completed the package.
A residential construction site in Southwest Sydney showed that this one machine could easily and very quickly complete a typical cut and fill operation to prepare for a concrete slab.
Borg Civil’s operations manager Jerry Zoric said “we have had the new Takeuchi loader for just a couple of months. We have four Takeuchi radial left loaders and thought it was worth trying this new TL12V2 vertical lift machine to see how it performed. It is a standard factory fitted machine with the addition of a ripper bar.
“We’re impressed with the construction specification – – reverse cameras and the excellent appointments in the cabin. It’s a great machine and has more than enough power needed for this type of application.“We are particularly impressed with the height of the vertical lift which enables us to pile spoil quite high within a constrained footprint which makes it easy for loading the truck. The bucket’s high lift allows us to get a full load right over the edge of the truck.
“ While the cabin is just 77 millimetres wider than the standard TL 12 model, it feels a lot bigger. There has obviously been a lot of thought put into placement of controls and the ease all functions can be selected. From an operator’s viewpoint, it’s considerably more comfortable.
“Placement of the lifting booms has been well-designed to optimise operator visibility, which is a real bonus when you’re working the bucket to cut to tight mark out lines.
Our machines are constantly used for contract work so they need to be super reliable to help us meet our tight timelines.
Our machines are constantly used for contract work so they need to be super reliable to help us meet our tight timelines.Weighing in at just under six tonnes, the loader is claimed to be the largest and most powerful machine in its class. Delivering up to 45-percent greater operating capacity over the current TL12 radial lift model, this machine has been virtually redesigned from the ground up.
Powering the loader and its systems is a Kubota 3.8 litre diesel engine that produces 81.8 kW and compliant with U.S. EPA Final Tier 4 /EU Stage IV emissions.
“There’s an electrical harness that runs down the loader’s frame that plugs into the hand control. This means you can operate attachments that require electrical functions such as a tilting dozer blade, laser blade or a profiler.
Because the engine is electronically controlled, the operator is able to select engine functions through the dash panel. This includes adjustment of horsepower or selection of economy mode for fuel economy when undertaking light duty work.
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