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
Forklifts, Cushmans, boats
My long list still isn’t very interesting. So how about a list of what I WANT to drive.
Lamborghini -any
Zamboni (or some other brand)
Deuce and half
Unimog in crawl gear through something crazy
Abrahms tank
Something/anything jet powered
Big Boy
A truck, which apparently is NOT a car:
https://engineerfix.com/what-is-the-difference-between-a-car-and-a-truck/
So by that I’ll add van, minivan, microvan and SUV. Also a lawnmower which may or may not count.
Tractors, excavators, mini ex, backhoes, dump trucks, skid steers, straight axle trucks with boxes, bins, or flat beds, cab overs, semi trucks, fire engines, ladders trucks , rescue trucks, ambulances, buses, rvs, m60? tank, bulldozers both hydraulic and cable, fork lifts, tele handlers, scissors lifts, sprayers, combines, sxs, atvs, motorcycles, golf carts, motor boats up to 54′, jet boats, jet skis, mono hull sailboat, catamaran, little bit of seat time on a 172 and some other small aircraft.
M2 half-track, Sherman tank, motorcycles, snowmobile, golf carts, 3 4 and 6 wheeled ATVs, boats, an actual Air Force C-130 flight simulator, motorized cooler completely filled with beer at 30mph, dump trucks, ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks.
Ski-doo, motorcycle, jetski, ATV, quad, scooter, small truck
I have been a technician for a large construction equipment dealership for over 15 years so I can operate all kinds of earthmoving, asphalt and mining equipment. Many types of vocational trucks like vac trucks, sweepers and paint stripers require what we call a pony motor, a separate engine to run the service body, because the engine that moves the truck can’t do it all. I have a decent amount of seat time in those.
I have a CDL from my time as a field technician, so I also have lots of time in Class 6 through 8 commercial trucks with unsynchronized manual transmissions. Now all of our service trucks are automatics, which takes a lot of the fun out of it unless you’re creeping along in rush hour traffic.
We have a ranch that’s been in the family since the 1800s, so between myself, my siblings and relatives, we have a range of pickup trucks from shit heaps held together with booger welds and baling twine to six-figure status symbols, and a similar range in ATVs and side by sides.
Earlier this year I accidentally got a side gig running a Zamboni at an outdoor skating rink close to home, which has been surprisingly challenging to learn.
Of all the internal combustion conveyances I’ve owned or operated, the most fun have been my 2003 Toyota Tacoma regular cab 4X4 (manual gearbox, natch!), my foot-shift manual Honda Fourtrax ATV, and the Zamboni.
A 40-ton rough terrain crane like this:
https://cdn.ironpla.net/i/20058/729/1a905479-8603-4731-a7d6-10b0fb395f41.jpg
Small & fairly limited utility by some standards, but the biggest 4WD/4WS* rig I’ll likely ever pilot. Skidsteers, fork trucks, excavators, and front-end loaders aren’t nearly as much fun.
*it can crab or cramp, so tight turns ain’t no big thang. Overhead clearances can be a real bitch, though.
Well my claim to fame would be that I might be one of the most experienced drivers of antique British double decker buses in the country. I went to college so many years ago in Davis CA, and at the time they were still running a fleet that included old British buses with the original transmission.
I liked driving more that taking courses, so I spent two quarters mostly driving the old Daimler and RT double deckers. Certainly I’m one of only a handful of people to ever get one of those going fast enough to put it into 4th gear, and also amongst a few to run a loaded bus around a sharp corner fast enough I lifted a rear wheel.
Man I miss college.
Awesome!
Lots of boats… Zodiacs, cabin cruisers, little houseboats, big pontoon boats, big sailboats, little sailboats, jet boats (the *best* kind of boat), jet skis of most shapes. Grew up on the water so had all kinds of opportunities to play with water toys as a kid. I miss it, but the idea of boat ownership as an adult is kind of nauseating… Otherwise it’s pretty tame, a couple of side-by-sides, a mini excavator, a forklift, a lawn tractor, a few golf carts, a tow truck or few, and a few box trucks, several go-karts… Mostly normal-ish stuff. I spent a fair bit of time around sailplanes as a kid as well, so if that counds counts then one or two Blaniks, a 2-33, I think it was a duo discuss, and a super cub. All from the passenger seat under very close supervision, the bug never really bit so I never pursued becoming a pilot.
A small Japanese van (think HiAce or Sambar) that was converted into a farm truck; body sawzalled off and sheet metal flatbed; permanently in 4-low. I think it was a Mitsubishi but I’m not sure. On a farm in New Zealand.
Several boats, wind and dino powered. Forklifts, a lot of straight trucks, quite a few semis, including a B model quadraplex and a Brockway triplex.Yeah, had to let go of the wheel and shift with both hands. Good times. Fun fact, Mack bought Brockway to get the then-advanced cab that became the R model, and innumerable permutations thereof.
Motorcycles, airplanes, boats, aircraft tugs, fuel trucks, semi, dumptruck/plow, go carts, quads, side by side, pretty much everything imaginable short of actual construction equipment.
Sure, I operated an ultra light airplane and forklift, but the coolest thing ever was a spider excavator when I was a wee lad. Still remember this 25 years later.
Many motorcycles, a military Hummer, a tank (I forget what sort, because I’m an idiot), a huge articulated lorry, a Unimog, a Boeing Stearman, a carbonfibre chassised soapbox, many, many vans, an Austin Metro (nothing that shit can really be a car), a little fork lift, shopping trolleys, a cherry picker and an office chair.
The office chair was definitely “driven” as from a push start I had to jump over obstacles and make it turn corners. I used to work nights, you get bored.
Spent 20 years piloting a 19′ Wellcraft on a Maryland lake. I haven’t driven much that has given me the same feeling of happiness and comfort. It also made me appreciate fuel injection.
Motorcycles, hay swathers, walnut shakers, a Jarraff Tree Trimmer – you drive it standing up, one pedal goes frontwards or backwards, the other pedal spins you clockwise or counterclockwise, and a lever for up and down, everything is hydraulic, including the various saws that leaves your hands free to wave around on long poles. It’s more fun than it sounds.
Various big twin John Deeres, Caterpillers, a corn harvester, a roadgrader, a couple CCKW dice and a half’s, one a GMC the other was a Studebaker, but they both had Oldsmobile Highway patrol car engines in them. Oh, the neighbor had a twin engine kart, that was fun.
Then I went away to college, since then FDRs iceboat (the world’s largest), and my brother-in-law’s Cessna 172
Hmm, seems like I haven’t been getting much done in the last fifty years.
I thought I was done, then read this and realised I’ve left out a Jone Deere, several karts and all of the boats.
I was going to have today’s AA be “Have You Ever Driven A Hat Swather?” but then I was like, “Pfffft, who *hasn’t* driven a hay swather?”
We had a Heston, and a New Holland. One of them had the belts where you could see them while you were driving, and it was essentially two CVTs, one for each side with the pulley flanges controlled by peddlers or levers. We had welded big extension levers to the pedals so we could drive standing up. There was no cab and the engine fan would blow angry insects in your face so it was more comfortable to drive standing.
Anyway, watching how the CVTs worked to steer the machine was fascinating to watch.
Great memories, except for the wrath of the angry insects.
Oh, I forgot the Irish mail someone made for me as a child. It was fun but eventually returned to the scrap pile and turned into a welding cart and a sump pump wagon.
Sort of looked like this https://users.math.msu.edu/users/drachman/cycle/irishmail.html
I should make one again.
Spent far too many hours in a drivable scissor lift to count.
Let’s see…
Of course, motorcycles, and little Honda motor scooters from the 80s.
Tried one of those little Honda “Kick ‘n Go” contraptions on display at a Honda dealer when they came out — amusing little human-powered thing. (I’m pretty sure if it has wheels, Honda has made an interesting version at one time or another just for fun.)
Forklift, specifically electric 3-wheel types. They’re ridiculously fast and maneuverable even with a heavy load. A skidload of coins — bags or boxes — weighs as much as a small car, and you can still whip it around in tight places like it’s nothing. Entirely too much fun.
Armored trucks — the money-transport kind, of all sizes. Often on short wheelbases but with fairly big engines due to the weight they have to carry if there’s a lot of coin being shipped. Top-heavy as hell. Braking is dicey unless there’s enough of a load for traction. Blind spots big enough to hide a semi. 2-inch thick glass can randomly distort what you see. The ones I usually worked out of were built out of thick aluminum plate to save weight; that was before aluminum armor-plate became a known thing; pretty sure it was experimental in the military at the time (90s) but wasn’t something the public knew much about. Steel trucks were heavier for the dame size, drove like pigs, and the armoring was often thinner and potentially more vulnerable to the increasingly popular larger arms calibers. No, nothing Bad ever happened to test that out.
Straight trucks of all kinds up to Class 6. If somebody is moving, they’re always asking me to help with driving.
“Classic” 80s and early 90s Land Rovers and Range Rovers. They’re a different breed from a Jeep or a civilian Hummer. Incredibly robust frames and chassis, insane suspension travel even bone-stock. Faster than anything like them has a right to be, on or off road. Lots of body roll that scares people. Power through it and drive aggressively, with purpose; they’re surprisingly nimble and stable.
Class-A motorhomes
Various old tractors, mainly Farmalls and the slightly smaller IH Cubs from the 50s and 60s. And big garden tractors — bigger, heavier things than lawn mowers. I still have one; its opposed-twin engine makes more power than some 2CVs!
Do old Ford pickups with the 3-on-the-tree count? Nobody else seemed to know how to drive those.
Thing I want to drive, at least once: Zamboni!
I guess I’ll go chronologically:
Alsport Trisport
Farmall Tractor
Ford Tractor
Go kart
Warehouse cherry picker
Mack dump truck
Bucket loader
Propane Forklift
Electric Pallet cart
Yamaha motorcycle
Harley motorcycle
Golf Cart
…think that’s about it.
Oh boats! Ranger bass boat, 24’ boat.
I also had an fl250 as a kid in the mid 90’s. When you have one running properly and the clutch acting properly it really some of the most fun you can have. They’re not fast by any means but on a dirt road, trails, or snow they’re a blast.
I came to say this, properly setup, the FL250 is a lot of fun. I had a blast with ours in snow and mud.
Yeah, the one I drove was TIRED
Really want a spin in a Pilot (the buggy, I mean)
Definitely would kill for a pilot. The prices have gotten insane for a good one though.
Hovercraft !
But was it full of eels?
(Monty Python fans want to know…)
Sadly no, and nobody fondled my buttocks either
semi trucks
dump trucks
construction equipment
forklifts
firetrucks
All kinds of airport specific trucks
Boeing 747-200 Capt.
Boeing -717 Capt.
DC-9-10/30/50 series Capt.
Md-80’s Capt
DC-3 Capt.
Beech-18 Capt.
Nihon YS-11 F/O only
Martin 404 F/O only
Cessna Citation’s Capt.
MD-80’s Capt.
Embraer-170’s Capt.
Embraer-110 Capt.
Many Beech light twins
Many Piper light twins
Many Cessna light twins
Drag racing cars and boats
747? Top marks. Is it true the 717 is 757 like in hot rod abilities?
Nope ,never flown the 757 but my friends that are still working that have flown both love it.
An empty 747 will outclimb and definitely go faster than most every thing out there short of military stuff ,that coming from the guys that have flown both.Also throw way more fuel out the back .when we would get refueled they just pull a tanker under each wing and empty them then get more tankers.
The model I flew was the older 200 series would hold 50,000 gallons if you were topping it off which was rare unless we were ferrying it empty a long ways.A normal load of fuel to go let’s say to Germany would be around 250,000 lbs or around 37000 gallons .
We would land with around 35000 to 50000 lbs depending on weather,how far the alternates were ,holding fuel,etc.
Retried now .Much happier being home lol.
10/10, no notes.
Forklifts, tractors, Duece and a Half, boats, box trucks, and an ALCO diesel switcher locomotive (via remote control)
Boats, motorhomes, bulldozers, backhoes, excavators, earthmover, tractors, motorcycles, go carts, golf carts and a roller.