Hoss Equipment Whips Cat 944 Loader Into Shape

Sat July 01, 2000
Aggregate Equipment Guide

Hoss Equipment Company has repainted and re-decaled a 1992 Caterpillar 994 wheel loader in its Irving, TX, on-site sandblasting and paint facility.

Cleaning the 994 – the largest current production wheel loader manufactured by Caterpillar – was a piece of cake for Hoss and its sandblasting and paint shop. The shop, according to Hoss, is one of the largest and most modern facilities of its kind.

The 260-foot-long building easily held the 385,297-pound (173,384 kg.) machine. Once inside the 944 proceeded into a 60 foot-long sandblasting bay, that also measures 25 feet in both height and width. Between the sandblasting chamber and the painting booth is a 60-foot long preparation area where Hoss team members detailed the 944.

Not only did the Caterpillar 994 drive into the blast chamber and through to the paint room, but the facility can accommodate other large pieces of equipment of various types and manufacturers. There is enough interior room and doorway latitude to roll in two Cat 789, 195-ton (216 m ton) mining trucks, without the beds, for blasting, prep or painting at the same time. Other machines that have been accommodated include Komatsu’s PC1000 excavator, Ingersoll-Rand’s DM45E rotary drill and Euclid’s CH 120 coal haulers.

For a finer finish Hoss uses Garnet abrasive in its sandblasting area. This finish, according to Hoss, does no damage to rubber components, produces less dust and allows for a better paint bond with the finished surface.

For more information about the Hoss sandblasting and painting facility or the Cat 994 wheel loader, call 972/257-1244.

This story also appears on Construction Equipment Guide.