Product Description
The 14 Ton Class Amphibious Excavator is an excavator upper structure mounted on a sealed twin-pontoon undercarriage. The pontoons displace enough water for the machine to float and drive itself through standing water, and on soft ground they spread its weight over a far larger contact area than a conventional track frame — which is the whole point. The most commonly specified size for general canal and pond work — enough reach and cycle capacity to be productive, still straightforward to move between sites.
Where this size makes sense
Typical duty for the 14 tonne class includes canal desilting, pond maintenance, plantation drainage and general marsh work. Machine size in amphibious work is decided less by how much material you need to move per hour and more by two constraints: how deep the water is, and how you are going to get the machine onto the site in the first place.
What to check before specifying this class
- Water depth and bed consistency. A pontoon undercarriage propels itself by track action against the bed. In deep water with a very soft bed it can lose traction, and a machine that floats but cannot move is of no use. Where depth is marginal, spud poles or pontoon extensions are the usual answer.
- Reach from a stable position. If the machine can sit on a firm bank, a long-reach front on a standard carrier may be cheaper than going amphibious at all. Amphibious equipment earns its cost when there is no stable position to work from.
- Transport and access. Pontoon width usually exceeds legal road width, so larger classes travel dismantled. Factor in crane time at both ends.
- Undercarriage wear. Running submerged in abrasive silt wears rollers, bushes and links considerably faster than dry-land work. Budget for parts accordingly and see our undercarriage parts section.
- Attachment weight. Every kilogram at the end of the arm reduces stability more on a floating machine than on a tracked one. Confirm attachment weight against the configuration before ordering.
Configuration options
Machines in this class are normally offered with a choice of standard or extended front, several bucket types, optional spud poles for holding position while digging, and pontoon variants for different water depths. Tell us the site conditions and we will come back with the configurations that suit them rather than a full option list.