Elliott Equipment’s powerful new D105 digger derrick can bore 48-in.-diameter holes; pick, flip, and set long poles; raise a personnel work platform to 107 ft., and mount on a 58,000-lb. GVWR chassis.
Elliott President Jim Glazer says the new rig is a self-contained solution that can help utilities and transmission-line contractors do all of their work with just one machine. “The D105 is a true ANSI A10.31 digger derrick, not a crane with a bit of digging capability,” says Glazer. “It can drive a 48-in.-diameter auger with 20,000 lb.-ft. of torque at a 41-ft. digging radius, lift 50,000 lbs. at a 5-ft. radius or 30,000 lbs. at a 10-ft. radius, and put a 600-lb.-capacity work platform 107 ft. in the air.”
Elliott has packed that performance into a machine that can mount on a fully road legal 58,000-lb. GVWR chassis.
David Phillips, Elliott’s manager of global business development and marketing says, “Mounting a digger derrick of the D105’s capabilities on a three-axle, 6x6 chassis that is federal bridge legal offers users a big advantage.”
The entire vehicle measures just 36’10” long and 12’9” high (on a 43-in.-high frame). The D105 specs require a truck with a 258-in. wheelbase, 192-in. cab-to-tandem distance, frame-section modulus of 30 cu.in. and 110,000 psi, 18,000-lb. front axle rating, and 40,000-lb. rear-axle rating. Glazer says that the relatively compact size of the chassis and its six-wheel drive make the machine maneuverable even on the kind of unimproved trails and rights-of-way where much of the transmission-line work takes place.
Phillips adds that the D105’s two sets of out-and-down outriggers set up quickly and form a solid, stable lifting base. The full-span spread is 20 ft.; the mid-span spread is 13’11”. Elliott’s optional EZ-Crib two-stage vertical outrigger cylinders provide extra vertical extension that enables easier setup on uneven ground while reducing the amount of cribbing needed.
An Elliott dealer who recently conducted hands-on demonstrations of the D105 with prospective customers says that those customers listed fast setup as one of their favorite features.
To meet the requirements of tight or oddly shaped work areas, the outrigger beams on one side of the chassis can be extended to a different length than those on the opposite side. For example, the outriggers on right side could be fully extended, while those on the left could be set at mid-span length or even fully retracted. The digger derrick’s control system would sense the outriggers’ positions and allow full capacity on the right side, where the outriggers were fully extended, and prevent the turret from swinging over the left side, where the outriggers were retracted.
Elliott put a lot of thought into the machine’s entire control system. Terry Radenslaben, product development engineering manager, said that the controls are easy to use, responsive, and smooth. “The proportional, piloted hydraulic controls let the operator run the machine quickly for productivity or slowly and precisely when setting a load requires fraction-of-an-inch accuracy,” he says. “Also, there are no pedal controls, a direct result of operators telling us they didn’t like them.”
The operator can either sit in a very comfortable seat on the ride-around control station and operate the machine using five single-axis control levers for major functions, or use a portable radio-remote control to operate from any convenient location. The ride-around operator’s station and the remote-control transmitter both have an LMI screen that delivers vital information for lifting and digging.
The dealer who gave the recent hands-on demos says that all of the prospective customers who ran the machine mentioned its smooth operation, precision control, ample power, and stability when digging at maximum radius with a large auger.
The digger derrick is powered by a PTO on the truck engine that drives a variable-displacement piston hydraulic pump. The pump drives all of the digger derrick’s functions.
One of those functions is augering, where a two-speed hydraulic piston motor delivers 20,000 lb.-ft. of torque. The 3-in.-diameter Kelly bar can be equipped with auger flights in diameters of 24 in., 36 in., or 48 in. The low-speed range turns the auger at up to 35 rpm, and the high-speed range goes up to 80 rpm, particularly useful for quickly unloading dirt from the auger. Augers of up to 36-in. diameter can be stored alongside the boom during road travel.
The four-section, telescopic, full-power boom extends proportionally from it 28’6” retracted length to a maximum length of 95 ft. for a maximum tip height of 107 ft. The tip is equipped with one upper sheave and two lower sheaves for reeving up to five parts of load line. The tip is also equipped with a detachable hydraulic pole claw that opens to 65 in., closes to as little as 36 in., and can grip and tilt larger poles. Boom elevation goes from 8° below horizontal to 80° above.
The hydraulically powered swing system rotates the turret on a large-diameter ball bearing through a double-reduction planetary drive. The system delivers unlimited continuous swing.
The hydraulically powered hoisting winch mounts to the base of the boom for a long fleet angle and smoother spooling. The drum holds up to 335 ft. of 7/8” diameter rope, and synthetic load line comes standard. The winch delivers up to 12,000 lbs. of single-line pull on any layer.
Some sample capacities with the outriggers at full span: On 69 ft. of boom: 17,000 lbs. at a 14-ft. radius, or 1,500 lbs. at a 65-ft. radius. With the boom extended to its full 95-ft. length: 10,200 lbs. at a 20-ft. radius, or 600 lbs. at an 85-ft. radius.
With the outriggers set at mid span, sample capacities include: On 69 ft. of boom, 17,000 lbs. at a 14-ft. radius, or 700 lbs. at a 55-ft. radius. With the boom extended to its full 95-ft. length, 10,300 lbs. at a 20-ft. radius, or 500 lbs. at a 65-ft. radius.
Elliott will showcase the D105 at the Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference (EUFMC) in Williamsburg, Va., June 4-7, 2017.
Lift & Access is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
