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Common mistakes

1. Not dumping at the beginning of the fill. Open your apron a couple of feet before the edge of the beginning of the fill, not after you are several feet past it.
2. Don't dump so far from the stakes on the sides of the fill that someone else has to push the material to the edge of the fill. Place the material accurately.
3. Not dumping in corners, especially when entering the fill while turning.
4. Looking at the fill to the right, notice the common mistakes:



5. When the edge of the fill is lower than the rest of the fill, dump on the edge when you are within a scraper width of it. Elevate the edge, then fill next to the loads you just dumped on the edge. This keeps the edge from tilting the wrong way.
6. When traveling, lower the bowl to about ½ ft. above the ground, or just enough to clear obstacles.
7. Keep the apron closed when not loading or dumping. This lowers the scraper's center of gravity & helps keep the haul roads smooth.
8. When loading, open the apron just far enough to keep material from falling back out of the bowl.
9. When traveling back to the cut, keep the apron closed to avoid dust drafting through the can to the rear engine. This will prevent premature filter clogging and power loss. It also reduces wear on the apron hinge pins.

Not a mistake, just a note: turning with a loaded scraper increases wear on the hitch, as does duck-walking.

Pat Cook has 27 years experience since 1966 as an earthmoving equipment operator. Specializing in scrapers & compactors, he now operates a GPS compactor preparing pads for a GPS blade and teaches a GPS class.