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Big snow job not too big for wheel loaders

Winter 2011

As soon as Chris Scheiber learns snow is in the forecast, he heads for the location of his major client. "Most of the time they don't even have to call me," he says. "I'm already there." He moves into his on-site travel trailer, his four-man crew arrives, they watch movies, eat pizza and wait to get started.

The client is a 70-acre facility that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with constant traffic. "They want reliability and service," says the owner of Scheiber, Inc., Nowthen, Minn., "and that's what I deliver."

Helping him meet — and exceed — customer expectations are a pair of hard-working Doosan wheel loaders — a DL200 and DL250.

Prior to taking on this major contract, Scheiber built up an excellent reputation handling a number of smaller snow removal jobs with skid-steer loaders and pickup trucks. When the terminal was looking for a new supplier, Scheiber was recommended.

"Once I got hired, I had about two months to put together my equipment inventory," he recalls. "For me it was like walking through a door when you don't know what is on the other side. There were so many variables on the other side that I was nervous at first."

New contract, new machines
He signed up to take the job and headed over to his local equipment dealer, Lano Equipment in Ramsey, Minn., where he had previously purchased his skid-steer loaders and rented various machines.

"I had seen the Doosan products in their lot, but I did not have a need for machines that size until I secured this new snow removal contract," he says. "After trying one of the smaller wheel loaders, which was a good machine but could not push the snow far enough, I settled on the DL200 and DL250 as the perfect sizes for the job I was about to take on."

His crew was mighty pleased, too, especially after he presented them with this alternative:

"I can buy sub-standard equipment, where you sit on a crate, keep the door shut with a bungee cord and have the fan pointed at the windshield to keep it clear, and pay you more. Or you can work in the comfort of a top-of-the-line wheel loader with heated cab and a radio and a windshield wiper and take home a smaller paycheck. What do you want?"

All four took the more comfort and less pay option, and have been very pleased to work in the Doosan wheel loaders ever since.

Christmas blizzard of 2009
That was especially true last Christmas when a major blizzard swept across Minnesota, dropping between 10 and 25 inches of snow. The situation was complicated when the temperature rose above freezing and the snow turned to rain, creating a slushy mess.

"Our wheel loaders worked for six days straight," Scheiber says. "We never shut down. We each slept for six hours in the trailer; then operated the loaders for six hours. Outside it was nasty; inside the cab it was very comfortable."

The DL200 is equipped with a 14-foot plow and the DL250 pushes a 16-foot plow. Both have a rubber cutting edge because steel cannot be used at this site. The loaders have to push the snow up to a half-mile where it is piled up on the side of the property.

"The Doosan machines have plenty of power," Scheiber says. "They grab all the snow and go the distance. Other snow removal contractors bring snow to this site and I use the loaders to stack it off to the side as well. When it snows, they get a real workout."

In addition to making sure all their vehicles can continue to come and go, worksite safety is a major concern of his client. Since Scheiber took on the snow removal contract, slip-and-fall accidents at the facility are down 70 percent.

His loaders are parked at the terminal location from October to May. In the summer he uses them for a variety of commercial jobs, including moving dirt, sand, rock and boulders. "They are tough, durable machines that are easy to operate, with convenient controls, and are simple to maintain," he says. "I'm sold on what they can do, especially in snow removal."

Professional snow movers

DL200

• Engine: 143 hp (107 kW) Tier 3 compliant
• Operating weight: 24912 lb. (11300 kg)
• Hinge pin height: 12 ft. 7 in. (3,8 m)
• Dump height: 9 ft. (2,7 m)
• Dump reach: 3 ft. 7 in. (1 m)
• Bucket breakout force: 23149 lb. (10500 kg)
• Static tipping load at full turn: 16667 lb. (7560 kg)
• Turning radius at bucket edge: 18 ft. 5 in. (5,6 m)

DL250

• Engine: 162 hp (121 kW) Tier 3 compliant
• Operating weight: 30865 lb. (14000 kg)
• Hinge pin height: 12 ft. 9 in. (3,8 m)
• Dump height: 8 ft. 11 in. (2,7 m)
• Dump reach: 3 ft. 11 in. (1,2 m)
• Bucket breakout force: 29101 lb. (13200 kg)
• Static tipping load at full turn: 22487 lb. (10200 kg)
• Turning radius at bucket edge: 19 ft. 9 in. (6 m)