A long reach excavator has an extended boom and stick for deep digging, often used on a barge. It requires longer hydraulic cylinders and an oversized counterweight to prevent tipping. Transportation is difficult, leading some companies to lease rather than buy.
A long reach excavator is an excavator with an extremely long boom and stick attached, or what is commonly called a boom. Used to dig very deep holes and trenches, many long reach excavator jobs involve digging a river or lake while the excavator is sitting on a barge or floating platform. Commonly equipped with an oversized counterweight to compensate for the leverage of the long reach boom and stick, the long reach excavator is also used to reach heights with jackhammers and other tools. When equipped with a mechanical thumb attachment, the long-range machine is used to lift poles, pipes and other materials to extreme heights.
An excavator is a tracked machine that has a bucket attached to one arm and attaches to dig holes and trenches. Much like a tracked backhoe loader, the excavator is a common sight on many construction sites. While fully equipped to dig large holes and trenches in the basement, the excavator is limited in how deep it can dig by the size of the boom and pickaxe it is equipped with. The boom is the main part of the machine’s boom, while the pick extends down from the boom and attaches to the bucket. Hydraulic cylinders power the movements of all three components: the boom, pick and bucket.
Creating a long reach excavator is more involved than simply bolting on a longer arm and taking a typical excavator. Longer hydraulic cylinders must also be installed to allow for the additional reach and movement that the longer components allow for the long reach excavator. The long reach excavator must also be fitted with an oversized counterweight to not only compensate for the weight of the much heavier pick and boom assembly, but also to counterbalance the additional leverage the long reach excavator adds when the bucket is full. Failure to add the additional counterweight could cause the excavator to tip over when attempting to lift the loaded bucket.
Transportation to and from the job site is made much more difficult with a long reach excavator. The additional length of the boom and pick commonly requires the entire assembly to be removed from the excavator and transported in a separate truck. Often the counterweight also has to be shipped separately due to its extreme weight. These transportation issues, coupled with the rare instances where a long-haul excavator is needed on a construction site, are often a deciding factor behind a company’s rationale for only leasing the machine when needed rather than buying the excavator outright. .
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