Took me 10 years to admit that old crane I hated was actually solid

Back in 2014 I got stuck running this beat up P&H 670 at a yard outside Cleveland. Always joked it was held together with duct tape and prayers. Every time I had to pick a load over 30 tons I'd hold my breath. But last month the new Liebherr they bought to replace it threw a hydraulic hose on the third day on site. Meanwhile that old P&H is still running four years after they retired it to backup duty. It's uglier than sin but it just works. Anyone else have that one piece of equipment they used to trash talk that turned out to be way tougher than you gave it credit for?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameron_chen1mo ago

Man, that hits hard. The older stuff might be ugly but it's usually simple enough to keep patched up forever. New machines got all that tech but break way easier when something goes wrong.

taylorc501mo ago

Wait, you're telling me the old stuff actually runs forever even when it looks like garbage? @cameron_chen I get what you're saying about simplicity, but half the time those old machines had exposed wires and parts that'd fry you if you sneezed wrong. My neighbor's still running a washing machine from 1988 that sounds like a jet engine but has never needed more than a belt swap. Meanwhile my 2020 model died because a $5 sensor chip got wet. You can't even find the part online anymore, gotta buy a whole new board.

elliotjenkins1mo ago

Exactly my point @cameron_chen, ugly but bulletproof beats pretty and fragile every time.