You’ve got to really be a freak like I am to get cranked up over a video like this but to me, vintage footage that shows off equipment like RG LeTourneau built wheel dozers is well worth watching. Today’s world of heavy equipment and earthmoving would never look the way it does without the massive influence of LeTourneau. This was a guy who innovated, expanded, and invented at every possible turn, often executing concepts and ideas that were years off everyone’s but his own personal radar. Wheeled bulldozers were something that he championed and ultimately refined into pieces that were highly successful in military and civilian life.
In this film we get a look at a kind of history of these machines and more importantly we see them working when they were new, shiny, and yellow. I have a real thing for open cab equipment. Long before operator comfort, safety, and longevity were considered, the guys drove these huge machines just sitting out in the breeze. They look completely different than the machines with dedicated cabs and were likely not the most fun thing to have to deal with in extreme cold and heat. Ouch.
When you watch these tractors work, take into consideration the size of the people on them in comparison to the size of the whole thing. These were heavy iron and the biggest hunks of functional equipment of their day. I’d love to someday have the time, space, and inclination to get my hands on virtually anything shown in this video.
If you love old heavy equipment, this video is your jam. I loved every second of this thing and I have a feeling there are a couple of BangShifters who will enjoy it as much as I did…or more!
