Page 38 • March 18, 2020 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT GUIDE

Swamp Thing: IH TD24 Crawler Dug Up After 45 YearsBy Bryan McTaggartBANGSHIFT NEWS

The following article is reprintedwith permission.There’s a line attributed to EOD

bomb technicians. Reportedly, whenasked about whether or not they werestressed out when it came time todefusing a bomb, the answer wassomething to the effect of “I’m not.Either I’m right, or suddenly it isn’tmy problem anymore.” Ah, gallows humor, you have to

love it. And it’s not wrong, either.What a little bit of explosive materialcan do is eye-opening. What a lot ofexplosive material can do will re-write the human brain in all sorts ofways, and I don’t just mean on thebattlefield, either.Apparently, there’s been a bit of a

legend in western Minnesota. Thestory goes that in 1975, a snowmobileclub wanted to cut some new trailsand managed to borrow an Army sur-plus International Harvester TD24 bulldozerto make this task happen. At some point nearIsland Lake in Becker County, they encoun-

tered a swamp. For whatever reason, evenwith permission to go around the swamp, thecrew decided to press on and sure enough,

the tracked dozer got stuck. Now … bearwith me for a moment, but at what point dobad decisions start to pile up?

This cartoon actually ran. Theteam decided that hey, if we “incen-tivize” the local National Guard unit,then maybe they can come out andget the stuck dozer out of the swamp.Now, I’m not going to call the car-toon wrong … if anything, that’sactually a pretty solid offer. But theNational Guard was not impressed. Infact, they were pissed, seeing the car-toon as offensive, and told the crew topound sand … or something alongthose lines.Bad idea #2: Fertilizer, diesel fuel

and dynamite. I wish I was joking …at some point, someone thought thatwas a perfectly logical solution tofreeing a twenty-ton bulldozer from aswamp. Here’s how this next partplayed out: someone lit a match; thelarge-scale bomb goes off; the entire-ty of the swamp in the nearby arealiquifies; and the TD24 sinks like theTitanic approximately 20 feet downinto the swamp before finding terrafirma. And that’s where it lay up until

a couple of days ago, when after years ofslumber, the dozer was finally extricatedfrom the sludge of the swamp.

Crews recover an Army surplus International Harvester TD24 bulldozer, buried for 45 yearsnear Island Lake in Becker County, Minn.

Kanga Loaders Launches Compact Utility Loader RangeKanga Loaders, the company

that invented the stand-on compactutility loader back in 1981 releasedits range of loaders in NorthAmerica at the ARA show inFebruary 2020. Originally designed in Australia

as a motorized wheelbarrow in1978, the concept developed intoan earthmoving machine that haschanged the face of the workplacefor many industries. Designed and manufactured to

be the toughest machine on themarket, the Kanga is made entirelyof steel and features no plasticcomponents, ensuring its longevi-ty. The machine has been tried andtested on one of the world’s harsh-est continents for almost 40 years. While 100’s of Kanga machines

have been exported into the UnitedStates over the past 30 years,Kanga Loaders has set up a facilityin Iowa from which to grow itsexpansion into the North Americanmarket. Unlike other companieswho produce a multitude of differ-ent products, Kanga Loaders’ onlyfocus lies in the compact utility

loader market and therefore hasbeen able to develop a machine,which provides superior return oninvestment due to its reliability,durability and low-maintenancecosts, according to the manufactur-er. The Kanga Utility Loader is ide-

ally-suited to the rental marketwith safer operation, handling andoperator protection at the core of its

design. The soft touch control sys-tem ensures the operator is holdingonto the machine at all times,maneuvering or operating attach-

ments. The track-over-wheel system

offers a gentle ride over rough ter-rain and won’t throw the operator

around like a dedicated track sys-tem. Furthermore, the operator isencapsulated by the machinesbody, offering protection fromcrush injuries and vegetation.Coupled with an auxiliary cut-outsystem, which stops the operationof the attachment the moment theoperator leaves the platform,ensures they cannot get entangledin any moving parts. Other features that make Kanga

stand out from its competitors arethe exceptional ground clearancewith a bucket and the self-levellingbucket which makes the operationof a Kanga easy — even for themost inexperienced operator,according to the manufacturer. All Kanga Loaders units are

compatible with a multitude ofmore than 60 different attachments— making them well suited to dig,carry, plant or build almost any-thing. Kanga Loaders is in the process

of developing its North Americandealer network. For more information, visit www.kanga-loaderusa.com/vendors.

The Kanga utility loader is ideally-suited to the rental market withsafer operation, handling and operator protection at the core ofits design.

Kanga loaders have enhancedground clearance with a bucketand the self-levelling bucket,which makes the operation of aKanga easy — even for themost inexperienced operator,according to the manufacturer.