Despite the topshot, I have never driven construction equipment – my apologies if you were hoping for a riveting tale of backhoe operating experience. I have, however, driven a few not-cars in my life, excluding two-wheeled motorcycles – which certainly count, but aren’t really in the spirit of the question, though I am for sure interested to hear what bikes you’ve driven.
… or trikes, which is why I made the rather odd clarification of “two-wheeled motorcycles” above. While a traditional motorcycle is likely the most common not-car for a person to have “driven,” three-wheeled motorcycles are much less common. Same for four-wheeled ATVs, but especially three-wheeled off-roaders, having been banned and all.
Pre-ban, I got a lot of seat time on the neighbor kid’s ATC 200 just like the one below. On my first ride, I instinctively stuck out my leg to lean into a turn, only to discover solid-axle ATVs do not lean. I also ran over my own leg. I quickly learned to keep my foot on the pegs, and if I wanted the thing to turn with any kind of speed, I had to hang myself way off the side of the saddle lest the contraption go up on two wheels. Fun once you got the hang of it, but I definitely preferred two-wheelers.
Another weird-ish Honda off-roader I’ve piloted is the original Odyssey (aka FL250), which kid-me thought was going to me some kind of Pismo Beach thrill fest, but when I finally got to ride one on a sketchy go-kart track’s timid off-road course, my whelm was under. Even after I defeated the throttle limiter (a spacer taped under the throttle lever? Come on man), the thing just bogged around with little power and lots of slip from the torque converter, and the rigid rear end threatened to launch me out of the seat. Blech.
Your turn:
What Have You Driven That Isn’t A Car?
Top graphic image: DepositPhotos.com
I grew up on a farm. I’ve got penty of seat time on various John Deere equipment, including front-loaders and backhoes. Running a farm tractor with a 6-foot sickle mower hanging off the side is an interesting day. All of our equipment was built in the 50’s, so making the transition to a manual transmission in a car wasn’t too tough when I got to be old enough to get my driver’s license.
similar here, though the old TO35 Massey Ferguson was honestly the most useful for anything other than field work.
Wow, let’s see Boats, Motorcycles, Mini Bikes, Side by sides (living my rally dreams right there) Pallet jacks, Jet Skis, and a Farm Tactor on my grandfather’s farm.
You had me at pallet jacks. A totally underappreciated form of transportation, especially when you just shift your weight left and right and scoot around.
I regularly drive forklifts at work, including a couple with actual clutched manual transmissions. Have also operated a 4-wheeler a couple times, restored a vintage riding mower, and have ridden a moped.
…Do RC cars count as cars or toys? I’ve operated those too. Model trains in HO, HOf, N, Z, and O gauge, too.
I worked at a Levitz in the warehouse, driving the “pallet lifters”
My family has Seadoos I ride every summer, I’ve torn it up on a quad before, and I’ve dicked around on a dirtbike or two but never in a serious manner. I don’t fucks with motorcycles, I know too many people that have died on them. I don’t know that they’re as huge of a safety risk in other places but in the DC area our drivers are so psychotic that you’re just leaving entirely too much to chance
Eh, I started on Motorcycles on the dirt at 8, had my first street Motorcycle at 15 in time for my Motorcycle license at 16. I had the ubiquitous Honda 50 Express from 14 to 16 (moped) so I may be biased, but I feel like I have gotten out of scrapes because of a motorcycle as much as anything. though I will say the Riders safety course and plenty of practice on lighter bikes is a must. Knowing how far ahead to look, how to judge people to be driving there worst and what to do in an emergency is far more life saving than any safety equipment, though using that is not a bad thing either.
I think maybe a Quad or even a Jet Ski without a lot of understanding and no helmet on the quad is where I saw a lot of injuries to the head.
Forklift, back in my college days. Getting used to having the wheels that do the turning behind me took a lot of getting used to. But at least I didn’t drive the forklift into a roof support post, like a coworker did.
Lots of stuff:
My pre-teen ticket to freedom was a 1983 Honda Big Red 3-wheeler (like the one above). I took that thing everywhere and loved it.
I have driven several quads and SXS (Honda 250EX, Polaris Sportsman 500, Yamaha Grizzly 660, Yamaha Rhino 660, Polaris RZR, Kawasaki Mule, and the mighty John Deer Gator.
I have piloted several forklifts, much to the danger to those around me (I was still forklift certified). Even more sketchy was a scissor lift.
Now the fun stuff: airport equipment! I worked on a ramp that gave me access to several different aircraft tugs (I preferred the Eagle TT6), Lektros, Fuel trucks, the belt loader, and the stair truck. Almost put our biggest tug through the lunch room like the Kool-aid man, due to the brakes being out and temporarily forgetting that it was, like, 20 turns to fully crank it side to side.
Now the funnest stuff: airplanes! Same job above gave me the reigns to a Cirrus SR22T and a King Air 200 (I was being supervised by actual pilots). Best day of work ever!
Not much, really. I’ve never been into motorcycles and have only ridden one a couple of times. I’ve driven a few UTVs and ATVs and ride-on mowers.
Sadly I have not driven any heavy equipment, but when I was a Ford tech in the ’90s I did get to drive a few medium duty trucks and shuttle buses.
I know it doesn’t quite fit the question, but one of the weirdest experiences I’ve had behind the wheel was road racing a stretch limo in a 24 Hours of Lemons race. Yeah it’s a car, but when it’s so long that it blocks the entire chicane at Buttonwillow Raceway, it might as well be heavy equipment. That was surprisingly fun, at least until the digital Distance To Empty readout on the dash lied to me and I ran out of fuel on track and had to be towed in.
I’m told I sometimes drive (people) nuts. So um, nuts. Yeah.
Otherwise, one summer working construction I drove things such as a 4000 gallon water truck around, mini excavator, roller (terrible, possible to lose control at 2 mph and the whole thing vibrates an obscene amount), front loader, bobcat. Never got to drive the bulldozer, but the little John Deere 6 wheeler was fun in the mud.
I’ve also been on atvs and snowmobiles a couple of times each, and somehow managed to not end up in the hospital.
My dad used to work for a shop that built auto ramps. They kinda look like car carriers, but are what car makers used to load and unload vehicles onto trains. A small diesel engine powers all the hydraulics, including the hydrostatic drive to move the entire thing. You sit off to the side of it and it maybe goes 5mph. Takes a minute to adjust to the fact you’re sitting sideways when you try to turn the thing.
Working in manufacturing I’ve operated all of the usual suspects for powered industrial equipment and being in the safety department the interesting decisions operators make are always fun to wrap your head around.
Me: what happened?
Operator: I thought there was a trailer.
Me: did you see the trees fence and concrete through the open dock door.
Operator: yes, but I thought there was a trailer.
Me: so you drove off the dock.
Operator: yes. Am I going to get in trouble?
He was okay, his drug screening was not.
I grew up with family members in construction, so I got to actually use a backhoe and do some digging once. We had a tractor, so I used that often. I was forklift certified at one job later in life and used them a bit. Other than 3 different motorcycles, (2 BMW’s and a Honda), I currently have a small motor home, and driven other peoples 4 wheelers and dirt bikes.
Forklifts, small farm tractors, backhoe, ski-doo, ATV, skyjacks and a school bus.
Bonus: all on the same property.
Ive driven those ATC200s (which are amphibious if youre brave enough), lawn tractors, some medium size diesel new holland, various ATVs and snowmobiles.
I’ve driven a JCB, learnt to drive on a John Deere tractor and also have my Large Goods Vehicle licence in UK. Also I learnt to fly a motor glider in the Air Training Corps (RAF cadets) when I was 16. Currently onboard a ship MV Logos Hope (the book ship) in Bermuda (come and visit us if you’re here), and I have had a go on the helm. Very indirect steering, and actually quite hard to keep on a heading… https://www.om.org/eng/ships/the-ships
Big Farm Tractor, Semi (but only in a parking lot), plenty of RV’s, personal boats and PWC’s (although no original Jetski, still on the list), snowmobiles.
Edit: Forgot about my time working at a golf course, so plenty of golf maintenance equipment. Mowers of all types, fairway pluggers etc and every golf cart variant a golf course uses in both consumer and maintence.
(Once watched a bunch of drunk golfers try to go up a hill in the rain, bail and then watch the cart with their clubs run back down into a pond)
Nothing that interesting compared to some options out there.
I wasnt even aware that three wheeled where banned in the US. The amount of people that got killed when I lived back in Mexico was insane, I still see them around.
I own a golf cart but its stored at the campground where my father in law has his RV, it was a “gift” for the family to use.
A Bedford Viceroy bus (that I also lived in), and an Austin K9. Bunch of other Bedford trucks as well here and there (they were popular with the free festival/travelling crowd back in the day cos they were cheap and robust). So nothing particularly exotic, just bigger.
Zamboni.
Italian Ice Machine.
You have lived every hockey fans dream.
Was it as easy as going down to your local arena and asking to see the manager man?
Other than my VW Beetle pedal car, various bicycles and a few golf carts?
There was the time I was aboard a Holland America cruise and had been invited to the Bridge with my family. The Captain was kind enough to explain what was going on and the various screens and levers and buttons.
I had my photo taken at the starboard bridge wing controls – tho I wasn’t really driving since control remained at the main central station.
No, there’s no giant ship’s wheel.
It’s a directional joystick with large rheostats for power from the azipods and bow thrusters – and the controls are redundant, with three complete stations:
One central and one on each bridge wing.
Im in ag, so its a big list. Instead, i’ll regale you with my first time running a front end loader. My boss sent me to pick it up with a stepdeck trailer with ramps, told me flip the lever on the column to go forward and good luck. It was very interesting learning how a center pivot machine drives while going up ramps with only inches to spare with no spotter. Took me an hour. Took my coworker 30 seconds to offload it.
Various Implements of Husbandry, compacter (steam roller), just about every wheeled configuration of off road vehicle, forklifts, MEWPs, airport tugs, boats up to 38ft, snowmobiles….
Then for my career wrenching on diesels, ones that stick out in particular are:
-Snow plows
-Fire trucks
-Police prisoner transports
-Armoured cars
-Military transports
-Transit buses
-Semi trucks/dump trucks/box trucks/flat beds/wreckers/roll-offs…..etc
I was given the opportunity to drive all three types of MBTA Green Line trains in the yard up in Boston as part of training/familiarization exercises at work, which I’d say is a pretty rare thing to drive outside of being… well… a train operator.
It was interesting – the Type 8 and Type 9 both run off a master controller – think one “throttle-style” lever that snaps back as a dead-man safety when you let go, but the Type 7 still has both a brake and accelerator pedal as the propulsion and brake controls, which as I understand it is pretty unusual and definitely a product of earlier times.
I was thoroughly amazed doing it, ’cause it’s like driving a house around. You know and understand, as a passenger, how big the trains are, but to be the one making them move from the operators cab? Entirely different feeling.
Having been the chef at a few country clubs over numerous years, I can
pointlesslyproudly say I’ve driven every golf cart variant that existsI have to drive semi’s around a test track for work no where near as fun as a previous job where I was operating a particle accelerator. And I have a Kubota compact tractor at home.
Driving semis on a test track? The purpose of the job sound like it could be interesting. The job itself sounds repetitive
It has it ups and downs the products we are making are pretty bad (really bad quality control) but the testing is fun. We normally have a break out box in the truck and have to induce faults to make sure we get expected responses some which make the truck accelerate uncontrollably.