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’ve driven a trolley. There’s a train-themed hotel in Chattanooga, they’ve even got converted rail cars set up as hotel rooms. When I was nine my family went there and took a ride on the trolley. Half the usual route was closed and my family were the only passengers. The driver let me ride up front and drive the thing! Definitely the coolest non-car thing I’ve ever driven. Last I checked, that same trolley is still up and running.
My wife. She says I’ve driven her crazy.
LOL! 😀
Spent far too long on an antique one-ton vibratory roller, the kind used for clay tennis courts. It was slow, had the turning radius of a steamship and and zero insulation from the vibration function. Looked something like this:
https://www.proxibid.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.proxibid.com%2FAuctionImages%2F3816%2F248388%2F125701(1).jpg&w=1200&q=75
Does a six-person pedal-powered 20 wingspan metallic eagle count, the Shamancycle? I built about 80% of it also. Some info on this Reader’s Rides:
https://www.theautopian.com/crew-cabs-campers-a-far-traveling-phev-and-one-shamancycle-members-rides/
Also a gravity-powered adult soap-box derby vehicle which I piloted to about 30 MPH.
Oh boy
Skytraks
Dre-icing trucks
Plenty of motorcycles
A bus
Flightline bobtail tugs
One of my favorite off the wall were flightline tractors aka Coleman’s. Big 4 wheel steer, no suspension, heavy boogers used to drag jets around.
Off the top of my head:
Many boats
PWC’s of a variety of styles
LMC 1500 cat
Many 4 wheelers
Polaris 6×6
Many snowmobiles
Snow fox
variety of go karts
several dirt bikes
yahama/honda three wheelers
box trucks (those count?)
Im sure many more, but thats top of mind.
Scooters, riding mowers, go-karts, 3 wheel ATV, box trucks, forklift, Bobcat, golf carts, various power and sail boats, hang-glider (lesson).
Have they standardized riding mower controls yet? Of the dozen or so I’ve driven, the old-school Snappers all worked the same way, but the only consistent thing about the others was that if there was an accelerator pedal, it was under my right foot. Brakes could be on either side and shifter could be anywhere.
I’ve driven box trucks up to about 20′ or so in length (the box). I have a M1 (motorcycle) license and I’ve ridden them, but not all that far/long since I didn’t own one till I was almost 60 years old and even a small bike is a lot to pick up for my bad back. Years ago, I flew a small plane (some kind of old Cesna) for a few minutes (not take off or landing, just during regular flight). I had an early electric bike that weighed about 90 lbs due to its lead acid battery, and later, an electric scooter (a Chinese knock-off of something Vespaish) also with lead acid batteries.
Currently, I volunteer at a local church’s food bank, and am on their list to get forklift training there. Forklifts look like fun, and it can’t hurt to know how to operate them properly. I’ve always wanted to learn how to run a small bulldozer… something like a Bobcat, but my attempts thus far never worked out.
Ground: Antique tractors (1919 is the oldest), fully remote controlled 900cc Polaris RZR, amphibious 6×6, Oshkosh M-ATV, forklifts of all sizes, quads/dirt bikes/go-karts, scissor lifts, semi truck hauling round bales from one farm to another (no CDL and had never driven the truck before – that was an adventure), teleoperated R/C stadium truck from a 6 degree of freedom motion base simulator with full vehicle dynamic feeback
Air: 1940’s Piper J-3 Cub
Water: Lotsa regular boats, sailboats (both under sail and under motor – once across Lake Superior), PWC
M2 Bradley, Legends Car, Prevost Motorhome, Lunar Terrain Vehicle Demonstrator, John Deere Tractor, forklift. Super King Air and Cessna 172. Sea Ray 410 Sundancer.
My dad is a retired forester. When I was a kid we would go to the dryland sort once a year. The yard operator would grab a tree, and my uncles and my dad would spend a day turning it into firewood (we had wood stoves).
As a kid I got to drive (with in-cab supervision of course) a log stacker/loader, and a skidder.
Land: Ford wheel tractor, IH TD-9 crawler tractor, Kenworth W900, BobCat skid steer, some snowmobiles. Bikes: Suzuki GS550E, GS850G VStrom 1000; Moto Guzzi Stelvio 1200; Honda Gl1800 Gold Wing, ADV 160
Water: 35-foot and 42-foot salmon trawlers; a couple of PWC (jet skis)
Air: Cessna 150, 172; Bell 206; Robinson R-22
When I 14 I had an older brother who was a Marine recruiter. He brought me out on a weekend with a bunch of Marine reservists, and the guy in charge let me drive an M107 175mm self propelled gun. Basically a giant gun on a tank body. It was easy to drive. There was a gas peddle, a shifter with an automatic clutch, handlebars like on a bicycle for steering, and rope you pulled to shut off the fuel to shut it down. I hadn’t even driven a car at that point in my life, but I got to drive and later help load and shoot this thing.
Other things I’ve driven, Quads, fork lifts, gradeall, airplanes (Cessna 150, Cessna 172, Piper Cherokee, Piper Archer, and a Porterfield Collegiate) Izuzu NPR with a crane mounted on the flatbed, Box trucks, cherry picker, and scissor lifts.
Like others, I’ve driven a variety of tractors, forklifts, motorcycles, etc. What would be different is the vehicles used for communication. I’ve driven microwave vans that have a pneumatic mast with a transmitter on top, and a wide variety of satellite trucks, from van size all the way to semis.
Trained one guy how to run a microwave truck who then immediately sheared off the stowed mast by driving under a low bridge. Poor guy was fired immediately. They were all a pain because you had to take care of beating the electronics to death. The larger satellite trucks were the worst even with mild roads, as you never knew what had broken loose inside when you opened up. Hey, anyone got a spare klystron tube I can use?
I was in TV News for 19 years as a photog and an ops manager. Towards the end of my photog time, we had to drive our own “mobile bureaus,” aka live trucks. So many stories around that. But that was 25+ years ago. Now they shoot on memory cards, edit on a laptop and just wear a backpack with bonded cellular for > 90% of transmission needs.
Same here for about 5 years, being a chief photog. My back is still messed up from carrying all the equipment. Running down someone or something while carrying 50 lbs of equipment will compress your spine but good. Once I learned to operate satellite equipment for network TV I never went back. Did that for about 10 years. You’d get to go to interesting places and events, but hours and hours of doing cross-country drives would just grind you down.
I lateralled into TV news photography from still newspaper photography in 1980. My first TV gear was an RCA TK-76, a Sony 100 industrial deck (heavier than a BVU-110), one or two Cine 60 battery belts, a Colortran 250 watt light head and a Peter Lisand wooden-legged tripod with a big O’Connor fluid head on top. And a bag with extra tapes, audio stuff, gaffer tape etc. It was a lot more to schlep around than a couple of 35 mm bodies, a few lenses and a couple of strobes.
So, yeah. My lower spine is a mess. In 1999, I went to work as a field engineer for a broadcast-centric software company. I’m happy to be retired now.
Can’t help but laugh, I know your pain. We had Ikegami ITC-730a cameras for the rest of the crew, but most of the time I used a JVC KY-310 left over from our PM Magazine days. To be honest I was surprised it produced really nice video. Light weight compared to the Ikegami and not nearly as bulky. Had a nice little foldout shoulder rest that fit me perfectly. We started out with wooden tripods (so heavy), but later bought graphite pods that for the life of me I can’t remember who made them. They were a godsend. The Cine belt was at least around your waist, but the 3/4″ video recorders would destroy my shoulder, regardless of who made them.
I loved the work but it just ground me down. Learning satcom was my salvation, as I would work for satcom providers only, no camera work. It was a long time ago, but propelled me into undersea fiber optic cables as a manager being mostly desk bound.
I took am happily retired.
We had a budget surplus one (election) year and the News Director said let’s replace the hodge-podge of tripods we had new ones. I got two loaner tripods for the staff to try out. Vinten and Sachtler were the two brands. I had my own personal preference, but I wasn’t shooting anymore, so my opinion (Vinten) didn’t count.
The idea was they were all going to vote, and we’d go with the winner. Well, of course it was darn near 50/50. So, I suggested to the ND we let each photog make their own choice and there would be no grumbling.
My first station got one of those plastic JVCs and it certainly made better video than the old RCAs and their tired tubes.
When I went to the station where I eventually replaced the tripods, I got an HL-79 and while it wasn’t any lighter than the TK, it had a padded shoulder cutout and was much better balanced.
The first station was still shooting about 1/2 their stuff on 16mm film when I started, so I learned how to hot splice that stuff too. I had a really fun career.
Love it! I’ve got two old 16mm cams we started with in storage.
Construction forklift, warehouse forklift, airport tugs, baggage carts, boats, go karts, a Razr. There must be others but they’re not coming to me.
Coolest thing: ‘The African Queen’ boat from the Bogart/Hepburn movie of the same name, which lives in Key Largo, FL. At 105 years old when I got to pilot her, it was also the oldest thing I’ve driven.
Other than that, I learned to drive on tractors and have run tons of them.
Do teams of horses count?
I would think so
All manner of farm equipment: combine harvester, swather, cherry picker, sweeper, tractors of all sizes, quads, side-by-sides, etc
I drove a narrow-gauge steam locomotive at our local zoo once, that was pretty fun.
Not too much interesting stuff, but there was this one 3-wheeled dump vehicle you operated standing up. Holy mother of GOD did that thing do donuts!
Didn’t quite get flung off—and never tried again, but it was definitely exciting
Lots of boats. Both power and sail, between 8 and 60 feet. The usual box trucks, side-by-sides, quads, three wheelers, and snowmobiles. A skid steer, scissor lift, boom lift. The most complicated thing that I drove was a PistenBully 400 winch cat. I went out with the kid for an evening. That is his normal winter ride.
Small dozer, scissor lift, large lift, some tractors, some off-road buggies, motorcycles, a snowmobile, boats, jet skis, probably some other things, but nothing that really stands out. Barely moved my dad’s log truck once or twice, but I wouldn’t really say I’ve driven it.
The ususal stuff…boats, carts, box trucks, mowers, snowmobiles, PWC
The less usual stuff…forklifts, scissor lifts, tow trucks
When my grandpa was still alive and building houses, he would let all of us grandkids drive the backhoe and other equipment. Other than that, I’ve driven mini bikes and ATVs mostly
Aside from my wife crazy? Lets see:
Mini-excavator
Trench compactor
Skid Steer (tracked and wheeled)
Excavator of various sizes (FUN)
Dozers from D-6 to D-10 (SO FUN)
Morooka tracked dump truck (also fun)
Forklift, Picker lift, etc
boats, so many boats
Ugh I’m envious. I begged to at least get my forklift and reach truck certs a couple jobs ago, but the manager literally forgot to press “ok” on approving my training and I left before it came through.
I can’t think of anything particularly unique.
Lawnmowers, tractors, a 24′ couple box trucks, fork lifts, speed boats, motorcycles, go karts, a snow mobile…..
I’m interested to see what things pop up in other lists though.
A lot of unique wheeled ones, including a Volvo C303, and this!
Yessss… love those C303s. Boxiest but best Volvo?