Month: October 2021

There are sites that are easy, and then there are sites that are boggy, muddy, steep, swampy, treacherous or covered in snow and ice. For the former, 4WD and diff-locks are usually enough. For the later, you may need a Fat Truck.

We first reported on the Fat Truck 2.8C back in 2019. Now the company has come out with an upgraded amphibious version with pickup truck capabilities. The new Fat Truck pickup version 2.8P from the Canadian firm Zeal Motor is designed to transport people material and tools to the jobsite through just about any conditions.

“Some companies have both people and equipment to move,” says Michele Ashton, Zeal Motor sales manager, speaking with Equipment World at the Utility Expo. “It also has a lower price, with the 2.8P model priced at around $120,000, while the 2.8C comes in at more than $140,000.”

The pickup model of the Fat Truck is designed with utility contractors in mind. It can be outfitted with a variety of options including a high-speed capstan, vegetation control spraying unit, water tank, firefighting foam kit and small service crane for equipment and material recovery after heavy rains or storms.

“It has the same bottom, motors, engine, hydraulics and hydrostatic drive as our other model, but the frame is different,” Ashton says. Additional options include front winch and rear hitch, roof rack, rear ladder, rear ROPS, electronic inclinometer, tow package, storage box, tow package, transportation trailer and an extra battery. The company is also working with Provectus Robotics to offer an autonomous version.

The Fat Truck 2.8P carries a payload capacity of 2,200 pounds and can travel up to 25 mph on land and 3 mph on the water. If you’re facing seemingly impossible hills, the truck can climb grades up and down hill on grades 70% and traverse sidehills as steep as 40%.

With its big, high traction tires, the Fat Truck’s footprint is just 1.6 psi, which is five times less than the weight exerted by a human footprint. In addition to great flotation, the low-impact tires tread lightly on sensitive vegetation and won’t crush roots around the drip line of trees clients may wish to preserve.

Dimension-wise, the Fat Truck 2.8P lives up to its name at 103-inches tall, 146.5-inches long, and 100-inches wide with a 20.7-inch ground clearance. It weighs 4,900 pounds.

An automatic tire inflation system ensures you have the optimum inflation for the terrain and load.

The truck runs on a four-cylinder Caterpillar C2.2 turbo diesel that puts out 67 horsepower and 153 pounds of torque. The fuel tank holds 18.5 gallons. Braking is through a hydrostatic transmission with positive deceleration. For safety, the brakes automatically engage anytime you’re not moving.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.3555pacific.com/?p=247

Split-level homes are popular in many areas of the United States. These homes have unique arrangements that minimize the need for large staircases. The multiple levels of a split-level home are staggered, with shorter staircases toward the centers of these homes. This style of home construction makes for attractive floorplans and a surprising amount of floorspace inside a home that appears relatively small from the outside. If you own a split-level home, you may wonder what type of new roof would suit the split-level architecture best.

Mr. Roof has experience installing new roofs over all types of homes. Modern split-level homes often have more than one elevation, and it’s possible to use this advantageously when it comes to creating your ideal split-level home exterior.

Roofing for split-level homes

Split-level homes can have many different styles of roofs. Some are built with a single roof elevation, while others have a more interesting architecture with multiple roof surfaces. Gabled roofs, hip roofs, dormer roofs, and even flat roofs are all possible for modern split-level homes. If you want the best new roof for your split-level home, it’s important to consider both the construction of your roof surfaces and the materials for your new roof.

Asphalt shingle roofs are the standard for residential property owners throughout the US. Asphalt shingles can provide around 20 to 25 years of protection for your home when properly installed using the best available materials. Mr. Roof can help you choose the best shingles for your split-level home that meet both your performance and aesthetic standards.

Mr. Roof provides comprehensive guidance through all phases of roof replacement for our customers. We understand that you have lots of options for replacing the roof on a home with split-level architecture. Depending on the type of new roof you choose, you can create a cozier appearance or make your home seem much larger from the curb. Mr. Roof only works with the best available roofing materials from the most respected manufacturers in the industry, such as Owens Corning. Rest assured that no matter what type of new roof you select for your split-level home, Mr. Roof can ensure the result suits your needs and preferences.

Choosing a cohesive split-level roof

When you replace the roof on your home, you need to take the home’s whole exterior into account if you want a truly beautiful, finished product. However, Mr. Roof provides much more than just roof replacement. We can also help you choose the best windows for split-level homes, help you upgrade your split-level home exterior, and handle various other repairs that will increase your property value and allow you to enjoy your home for years to come with peace of mind. If your split-level home needs a new roof, Mr. Roof is here to help. We can provide a free estimate and walk you through all your new roofing design options so you can find the new split-level roof that works best for your needs, preferences, and budget. Contact Mr. Roof today to schedule your free estimate and find out more about the roof replacement options we have available for your home’s split-level architecture.

The post Best Roof for Your Split-Level Home appeared first on Mr Roof.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.3555pacific.com/?p=238

The industry’s inventory woes may have gotten even more pronounced as Deere & Company’s 10,000 UAW workers declared a strike at midnight Oct. 14th.

It is the first major strike at the company since 1986, says The Courier, based in Waterloo, Iowa, where Deere has several plants including its agricultural tractor and engine works. About 90% of UAW members rejected Deere’s latest offer on Oct. 10th. (UAW provided its members with outlined contract changes on Oct. 7th, shown here.) The 1986 strike lasted more than 5 months. 

“Our members at John Deere strike for the ability to earn a decent living, retire with dignity and establish fair work rules,” says Chuck Browning, vice president and director of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America’s (UAW) Agricultural Implement Department. “We stay committed to bargaining until our members’ goals are achieved.”

“John Deere is committed to a favorable outcome for our employees, our communities and everyone involved,” says Brad Morris, Deere’s vice president for labor relations. “We are determined to reach an agreement with the UAW that would put every employee in a better economic position and continue to make them the highest paid employees in the agriculture and construction industries.”

Morris adds: “We will keep working day and night to understand our employees’ priorities and resolve this strike, while also keeping our operations running for the benefit of all those we serve.”

good time to strike?

Unions know they are in a good position to press for favorable changes in today’s tight labor market and in the face of increasing demand.

In its Q3 earnings report, John Stone, president of Deere’s Construction & Forestry Division said, “Demand for earthmoving and compact construction equipment will exceed our production for the year, resulting in low inventory levels as we exit the fiscal year,”

UAW President Ray Curry notes that “UAW John Deere members have worked through the pandemic after the company deemed them essential, to produce the equipment that feeds America, builds America and powers the American economy. These essential UAW workers are showing us all that through the power of a strong united union voice on the picket line they can make a difference for working families here and throughout the country.”

Picket lines have been set up outside Deere plants in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas. Deere says it has activated its “Customer Service Continuation Plan,” in which “employees and others will be entering our factories daily to keep our operations running. Our immediate concern is meeting the needs of our customers, who work in time-sensitive and critical industries such as agriculture and construction.”

The Courier says Deere’s six-year offer would have raised wages by 20% over the life of the contract and also increased some benefits. The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, where the company’s massive Dubuque Works is located, reported that Deere’s offer would have raised a typical production employees salary from $33 an hour to nearly $40 an hour over the six-year contract.

Other OEMs likely are paying close attention to strike outcome. CNH Industrial and UAW negotiated their current six-year agreement in 2016. The current Caterpillar/UAW contract runs through 2023.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.3555pacific.com/?p=229

Underground utilities were damaged in an estimated 468,000 excavation-related incidents in 2020, according to the DIRT Report released last month by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA). Despite those numbers being down 12% from 2019, the industry shouldn’t pat itself on the back quite yet.

CGA says the decline in damages coincides with a 4.2% dip in construction activity during the pandemic. The overall emphasis on safety because of the global pandemic may have led to less crowded and potentially less distracting jobsites.

No locate request and poor locating practices were tied at 32%, respectively, causing 64% of the reported damages that have known root causes. Those include failure to notify 811 and facilities not marked or marked inaccurately due to locator error or the presence of an abandoned facility.

Rounding out the “big three,” poor excavation practices was the next highest cause, at 30%. Digging before verifying marks by a test hole combined with a failure to maintain clearance were the most consistent causes of damages in the field.

The pandemic triggered a steep rise in homeowner locate requests and digging activities associated with home improvement projects, whether by homeowners or professional contractors. Despite the increase in homeowner activity, damages involving occupants did not increase.

While estimated damages in the U.S. decreased in 2020, the report shows a five-year trend in damage rates that has plateaued. The 2020 DIRT Report predicts the next few years will bring an increase in construction activity and the potential of a national infrastructure program that will require the damage-prevention industry to focus on addressing the consistent rate of damages and estimated $30 billion in societal costs incurred as a result of damages to buried infrastructure each year.

The most commonly damaged utility lines were telecommunications at 50%, natural gas at 23% and cable TV at 11%.

The report also found:

June was the month with the most total damages in 2020. Wednesday was the most common day of the week that damages occurred.Backhoes topped the list of known equipment-caused damages at 15%.

“The DIRT Report is a crucial tool for understanding the most pressing challenges in damage prevention – and to truly make progress on addressing the handful of damage root causes that are driving the vast majority of damages,” said Sarah K. Magruder Lyle, president and CEO of CGA.

“With the potential of significant infrastructure legislation becoming law coupled with an expected increase in construction activity in the coming years, we must focus on the challenges outlined in the DIRT Report and work together as an industry to improve each step of the damage-prevention process.”

CGA is a nonprofit association of the underground utility industry that seeks to prevent damage to North American underground infrastructure by promoting damage-prevention practices.

Did you miss our previous article…
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A new report estimates that one-fourth of all critical infrastructure in the U.S. is at risk of flooding, and that percentage will increase as storms become more severe due to climate change.

The science and technology nonprofit First Street Foundation, in what it calls “the first ever nationwide community level flood resilience report,” says state and local governments are not equipped to handle the present and future flood risks to critical infrastructure.

“As we saw following the devastation of Hurricane Ida, our nation’s infrastructure is not built to a standard that protects against the level of flood risk we face today, let alone how those risks will grow over the next 30 years as the climate changes,” says Matthew Eby, founder and executive director of First Street Foundation.

The “Infrastructure on the Brink” report says that 25% of current “critical infrastructure,” such as utilities, airports, ports, and emergency services like police, fire and hospitals, is at risk of becoming inoperable due to flooding.

It estimates these other current infrastructure flood risks:

23% of all road segments in the country (nearly 2 million miles of road). 20% of all commercial properties (919,000).17% of all “social infrastructure” facilities (72,000). This includes such properties as schools and government buildings.14% of all residential properties (12.4 million).

The risks are expected to increase through 2051.

“Over the next 30 years, due to the impacts of climate change, an additional 1.2 million residential properties, 66,000 commercial properties, 63,000 miles of roads, 6,100 pieces of social infrastructure and 2,000 pieces of critical infrastructure will also have flood risk that would render them inoperable, inaccessible or impassable,” the report says.

This chart shows the expected increase in flood risks by infrastructure category over the next 30 years.First Street Foundation’s “Infrastructure on the Brink” report

The report shows these four states facing the highest concentration of current risk: Louisiana, Florida, Kentucky and West Virginia. Of the top-20 at-risk counties in the U.S., 17 are in these four states.

The report also provides data on all at-risk cities and counties, and you can search on First Street’s website to find the flood risk for your property with the nonprofit’s free FloodFactor tool.

This chart shows the top-20 counties most at-risk to physical infrastructure flooding and the percentages of their infrastructure categories that are at risk. (Note: The “Infrastructure” column represents “critical infrastructure,” such as airports, fire stations, hospitals, police stations, ports, power stations.)First Street Foundation’s “Infrastructure on the Brink” report

For cities facing the most flood risk today, Moliere and New Orleans, Louisiana, top the rankings, with most, if not all, of their infrastructure vulnerable. Cities in California, South Carolina, Florida and Alabama also made the list.

This chart shows the top-20 cities most at-risk to physical infrastructure flooding and the percentages of their infrastructure categories that are at risk. (Note: The “Infrastructure” column represents “critical infrastructure,” such as airports, fire stations, hospitals, police stations, ports, power stations.)First Street Foundation’s “Infrastructure on the Brink” report

The report also looks into the future, showing which counties will see the largest percentage increase in infrastructure risk by 2051. Virginia has several metro areas facing a significantly increased threat. The list also includes counties in North Carolina, Massachusetts, Maryland and Texas.

This chart shows the top-20 counties with the highest estimated percentage increase of risk to physical infrastructure flooding by 2051 and the percentages of their infrastructure categories that are at risk. (Note: The “Infrastructure” column represents “critical infrastructure,” such as airports, fire stations, hospitals, police stations, ports, power stations.)First Street Foundation’s “Infrastructure on the Brink” report

The report says the impact of the increased risks could devastate local communities. It notes that in Harris County, Texas, home to Houston, 770 hospitals, public utilities and water-treatment plants currently risk becoming inoperable due to flooding this year.

Miami-Dade, Florida, has 1,640 schools, churches and museums at risk. The Chicago metro area has 225,000 residential properties at risk. And in the New Orleans area, 99% of the roads are at risk of becoming undrivable because of flooding, the report says.

First Street Foundation hopes the data will help prioritize funding toward protecting infrastructure from flood risks.

“Our work aims to determine the amount of flooding that would render infrastructure either inoperable or inaccessible,” says Dr. Jeremy Porter of First Street Foundation. “By applying research on depth thresholds and comparing them to flood data and probability metrics, we can determine roughly the extent of flooding that would cause a road to be impassable to cars, or a hospital to be shut down.”

This map shows where the greatest flood risks are to infrastructure.First Street Foundation’s “Infrastructure on the Brink” report