The thread on survey truck sizes put me in mind of this:
Here in the PNW almost nobody uses quad runners in their daily survey work. The parcel sizes just aren't large enough to justify the cost and the trouble. The forest is too dense. Anywhere you could use one you can use a truck for all but maybe the last 200 feet.
When I was in Oklahoma the crews used them, but I couldn't help but think that they caused more trouble than they were worth. The crews would lay the rod, with receiver and data collector attached, across the cargo rack and roar across country. We went through $1500 data collector screens like they were chewing gum.
So I wonder what the experience of others is. Are they really worth the cost and trouble? There was a time or two in OK when I wished I'd had one, but those times were rare.
Depends on the kind of work you do. The company I work for now owns 4 or 5 side by sides and the things are absolute lifesavers on certain projects. But yeah, lots of trees and small job sites will kill the usefulness of that kind of equipment.
Out of the last dozen jobs I've done there were two I didn't use the 4-wheeler. Last one was an easement for a driveway yesterday.
But, I'm usually on larger projects.
In 1992 the person who ended up being our biggest client called and said we needed to get up to his property about 3 hours away. He said he was tired of watching surveyors walking and if we didn't bring our 4-wheelers don't bother showing up.
We're still working on his stuff even though it's his children now, and still using 4-wheelers at each site.
I recently drove up a rough road near the mountain. Unloaded the truck and started surveying with my base GPS back on the county road a few miles away from the turn off for the rough road. The base was getting walked on by another one with the same frequency and the same station index. So I decided to go back and change frequencies. The drive up the rough road was about 20 minutes one way with the truck, then down the county road to the base point, an hour lost. It was cold and I didn't want to do it but I took the 4-wheeler instead, maybe 20 minutes total, I could drive up to 40 mph on the same road with the 4-wheeler when I was in 4 low with the truck, just such a time saver. I will say that part of that job was going into and out of a steep canyon with dense trees on one side of the creek. The 4 wheeler got me to the top of the canyon on both sides but into the canyon it was all on foot. I can see how it's pointless in the NW and the eastern jungles.
There are padded carriers for the rod, a mount for the GPS and a mount for the DC that protects them, if you think it's going to get really rough place them in the padded camera bags we have on the front. I don't know why you would be messing up screens, that's never been an issue for us.
About 90% of my jobs are too small, too dense, too many fence lines for it to be more trouble than the help it provides. But sometimes, a 4 wheeler is indispensable, cutting days off a total project time.
I use my atv about 50% of jobs, cuz I'm fat and lazy.
@mightymoe You a better man than me, driving an ATV @ 40.....
I have a little Honda Pioneer 500 UTV. It is about the size of an ATV and will fit anywhere they will. The only difference is that I'm partially protected from the elements. I don't use it much, but when I do it is a life saver. Size matters when choosing whether tow it or leave it at the office. I have it with me on my current job in central Washington.
Last month I had to haul several bags of concrete, plus gear, up to some slide monitoring points about 600ft higher than the road in about a quarter mile. Fortunately, one of the pipeline operators clued me in on a doable route for the UTV. It was rough but beat the hell out of making the four our five trips up the canyon wall on foot. Well worth towing it 700 miles RT over the cascades.
P.s. The computer limits the Pioneer to 40 mph. My old Tyrex would get up to 55. Takes me back to my old Baja days.
