How to drive a mini digger?

[John Rumm]

I had one for a few days. After about six hours of driving it becomes second nature and you no longer even need to think about what you are doing with the controls I found.

The only thing to look out for it trying not to move through spaces occupied by other things! (also don't spin it through 360 when you have your wheelbarrow placed right beside it! - (I managed to unskew its frame mostly!)). I hit a fence panel (minor damage) and also clonked the patio doors glass once! lucky for me it bounced off).

[Bobby Bewl]

Being over confident is fatela for me.

Now, that sounds like the sort of thing I would be doing.

Catch you later.

Bobby

[Nobody]

Sorry - I thought you already had it on order.

"pair" of them :-))))

[Owain]

Isn't Fatela the girl down the kebab shop?

Owain

[Ian Stirling]

I looked it up, it's a small parish in portugal.

[Bobby Bewl]

lol

Bobby

[Bobby Bewl]

lol

and her dad is fatel

Bobby

[Bobby Bewl]

I thought it was in Jordan - but who cares!

Bobby

[Owain]

I thought it was the kebabs that were fatel

Owain

[The Natural Philosopher]

carefully is the operative word. Ther are two levers - one for each track - to make it move, another for the blade - which you set it up on when digging, or use as a crude bulldozer.

Then there are two joysticks that control tbe bucket: Its easier to just practice than to explian - after an hour its almost intuitive: left joystick controls cab rotation as well, so beware. there is often a floor pedal to control the arm-to-cab angle: using this allows you to sometiumes trench closer in to walls etc.

There is a hand throttle: Go easy on that when digging, but rev it up to move around.

Biggest danger is bashing into things, falling into a pit you have dug or off a mound (hint: Use the bucket to push yourself out or dig yourself out) and losing a track due to mud getting in whilst turning - then te tracks get levered off.

Oh and tipping it over when lifting chunks of concrete out sideways at full strecth...

Always try and turn on a sheet of ply as the turning REALLY messes up the ground

[Bob Minchin]

Thanks NP

I do have to travel across the lawn to get to the 'digging site' so I'll aim to do that bit in a straight line to avoid the wrath of SWMBO.

Bob

[Rick]

Put it in the middle of the garden, and drive with care till you have mastered the controlls. The hire comapny should give you some lessons, so ask.

Taks some time to think which order you will dig, so you have a good flat place to put the machine when digging. You can always make a digging platform.

scraping a level surface is MUCH harder than it looks, it took me a week to get any good, my 9 year old daughter learnt in 10 minuites, so maybe its me. Having said that, after 1 day I put a three tonne machine in my front room :-)

Rick

[Huge]

Blimey, not the only time I hired one. I asked the bloke who delivered it what all the controls did and he said "I dunno, mate, I only deliver them."

I think the answer to the original question is; "Carefully".

[tony sayer]

In article , Rick writes

Did you have to, or did you, take the door off its hinges?....

[shaun]

If he didn't know how to drive it how did he get it off the truck?

[Huge]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^