Controlling roadside vegetation is an ongoing challenge faced by many regional councils across Australia. One council has found its solution to the problem — the Takeuchi TB295W wheeled excavator.
Excessive vegetation can be a hazard to motorists as it can obscure views of road signage, intersections and other infrastructure. Controlling it is a difficult task, requiring machinery that can work across many different types of terrain. The wrong machinery can cause delays and inefficiency, stretching the already tightly-controlled resources of local governments.
The Takeuchi TB295W excavator is a 10-tonne compact excavator with a wheeled base that has been built for use on roads and streets as well as off-road and on uneven terrain. It can even be registered and driven on the roads as a street-legal vehicle.
The council, which prefers to be unnamed, opted for a TB295W paired with an FAE DML/HY mulcher attachment to keep the vegetation at bay.
With the addition of external attachments, the TB295W can be used to perform a wide range of tasks such as clearing pipes or digging trenches.
Takeuchi says it is an extremely versatile machine built to perform multiple applications, and it’s for this reason that the council has seen a great increase in productivity.
For example, once the mulching has been completed, the same machine can be used to clear out pipes. Previously this would have been done by a separate contractor using a different machine.
The TB295W excavator has an operating area of 2335mm x 3745mm, making it compact enough for use in constricted urban sites where space is at a premium. It features a 4-cylinder, 70.6kW Tier 4-compliant engine and a cushioned main boom and arm. Both the boom and arm have a hose-burst check valve to maintain load control in the event of a hose failure.
Operator comfort and visibility have been improved in the large ROPS/FOPS cab.
The cab is reinforced and isolated from the rest of the machine to minimise vibration, is fully air-conditioned and features a 10-way adjustable heated seat.
Working visibility is improved by the two-piece boom’s design, which allows work to be done closer to the machine where the operator has a better view.
The council says that the improved visibility has made clearing vegetation a much easier job as all the work is now done in front of the machine.
Previously it had used a traditional agricultural tractor with a boom mower and all the work was done to the side of the machine, obscuring the operator’s view.
Maintenance has been streamlined with ground-level access to the battery and daily maintenance points, including a swing-out radiator. An electronic engine monitoring system provides the operator with real-time performance updates, while an automated refuel pump and fuel drain system makes fuelling and fuel cleaning as straightforward as possible.
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