TEST DRIVE
jabbed, headbutted, swore, spat and even
bit – that’s when the Alpha male started
walking the talk.
Weighing up the Alphas
I had flashbacks of Tyson going fist to
fist with Berbick in Vegas as I mounted
the stairs of another Alpha recently. Not
exactly under the thunderous applause
of a baying Yankee crowd, but I did have
sweaty palms, which I’m sure Tyson
experienced as well, if he was human at
all. But the sweat quickly dissipated as I
settled into the more than comfortable
seat, switched on the aircon and took a sip
of my can of coke, ice-cold after a stint in
the built-in cooler box, there, in the cab,
for the comfort of the operator.
As I started the powerful Perkins 1104D
engine, I had a few seconds to weigh up
the comfort of the cab versus what the
machine can do, the bells and whistles
versus strength and durability, Tyson versus
Berbick, Ali versus Foreman. Although the
inside of a cab is important for the operator,
what ultimately matters is what the machine
can do. Tyson came with no add-ons, but he
could rough it when it mattered. Not that
I’m saying the Hidromek Alpha HMK 102B
Backhoe Loader doesn’t come without frills,
it certainly does. It has more than its fair
The loading bucket has a dump height of almost 6m and a lifting capacity of
close to 5 000kg.
Although the inside of a cab is important for the
operator, what ultimately matters is what the machine
can do.”
Vaughan Ellis, managing director at Maximum Equipment.
www.equipmentandhire.co.za
NOVEMBER 2019
15