CHAPTER 9
FRONT-END LOADERS, EXCAVATORS, AND
DITCHERS
Front-end loaders, excavators, and ditchers are used
to support construction operations anytime there is a
need to lift, load, unload, clear, grub, excavate, or trench.
A variety of makes and models of this equipment are
used in the Navy and the Naval Construction Force
(NCF). Each operator is responsible for reading the
operator’s manual to obtain detailed information about
each make and model. his chapter covers the general
characteristics and basic principles of operations of
front-end loaders, excavators, and ditchers.
FRONT-END LOADERS
The front-end loader is a self-contained unit
mounted on rubber tires or tracks and is one of the most
versatile and capable pieces of equipment used in the
NCF. The front-end loader can be equipped to operate
as a loader, a dozer, a scraper, a clamshell, a forklift, a
backhoe, a crane, an auger, or a sweeper.
RUBBER-TIRED FRONT-END LOADER
Mounted on large rubber tires, the front-end loader
has a relatively low ground bearing pressure
(approximately 45 pounds) that enables it to perform a
large variety of jobs. The rubber-tired front-end loader
(fig. 9-1) has three manually selected forward gear
ranges that permits good mobility when traveling from
one jobsite to another. The full power soft shift
transmission allows the gear range and direction of
travel changed at anytime without stopping the machine
from maintaining a high rate of production. The large
rubber tires provide good traction on unstable surfaces
and allow the front-end loader to perform on side slopes
of 15 percent and on front slopes up to 30 percent. The
hydraulic system gives the operator positive control of
the front-end loader attachments and steering system.
CRAWLER-MOUNTED FRONT-END
LOADER
Mounted on crawler tracks, the crawler-mounted
front-end loader has a low ground bearing pressure that
Figure 9-1.—Rubber-tired front-end loader.
9-1
