Dale White, president of Leighton A. White, said he only gives the best to his customers. In the case of his current workload, the best comes in the form of a Rototilt attachment, of which he has five.
A hydraulic attachment/tool, which can be used on most excavators and backhoes between 3 and 30 tons (2.7 and 27 t), Rototilt combines side tilt, rotation and a hydraulic quick coupler in one package, allowing a bucket or other attachment to be rotated and tilted at the same time. This makes it easier to operate around or under obstacles, and for any type of ground contouring.
“The Rototilt has the capabilities of doing from a $1,000 job to a million dollar job,” White said.
Dale White bought his first Rototilt in 2004 from Chappell Tractor Sales and has been keeping it busy ever since. Typical applications include excavating and backfilling, as well as pipe installations (water, sewer and drainage).
“Because the bucket rotates 360 degrees for backfilling purposes it allows you to use a lot less material because you can be extra precise with your bucket.
“Also, when you install catch-basins or man-hole structures your footprint is a lot smaller with the Rototilt because you can literally tightly dig and rotate right around the basin itself, which allows for less backfilling and a less-disturbed area.”
White said using the Rototilt also extends the life expectancy of his heavy equipment “because you aren’t moving and operating the machine so much — you’re using the bucket which has a 360 degree rotation and a 40 degree side tilt.”
On the Job
Leighton A. White is using a model RT60 Rototilt on an LBX 225 MSR excavator at its materials yard in Milford, N.H.
Currently, the Rototilt is processing approximately 100 cu. yds. (76.5 cu m) per hour with the Rototilt/LBX 225 MSR combination, depending upon the material.
“The RT60 makes screening loam a lot easier as well because you can weed out all of the rocks without it going through the machine,” said White. “It even saves from wear and tear on the excavator bucket because the Rototilt is much gentler.
“The machine doesn’t have to be square with the bucket because [operator Joe Ellis] can turn it from inside the cab, which also saves prep time because you can turn it any angle you want,” said White.
“The agility of digging around pipes is terrific,” White added. “It cuts down labor time immensely.”
“The Rototilt is very easy to use,” said Ellis. “Once you get the hang of it, it’s like second nature. You don’t even think about it.
“Sometimes when you’re digging normally you might miss two feet, but with this attachment you can just swivel the bucket around from every angle. It has a high power quick hydraulic disconnect, so you can switch from one bucket to another in less than two minutes. The attachment is also great for installing walls or loading stumps because you can load and twist the Rototilt to do whatever you want it to,” Ellis said.
At a residential site in Milford, N.H., Leighton A. White is using the model RT40 Rototilt on a Takeuchi 1140 excavator to replace a failed septic system
“Your conventional excavator only digs one way. However, here we’re digging perpendicular to the truck because the bucket can rotate a full 360 degrees. This eliminates the use of one machine,” White said.
“Working on a side slope like this could potentially cause tremendous erosions, especially with rain; however, we have been able to keep everything intact. The excavator is able to sit in just one position and work since the bucket can move in whichever direction and whatever angle you need it to. The machine [excavator] doesn’t cause any damage to the ground or lose the integrity of the slope,” said White.
“When you have a Rototilt you don’t have to deal with handwork,” said Kenny Goodine, Leighton A. White foreman. “It’s like you have another person right next to you with a shovel. The Rototilt can dig right around any object in a circle like a catch basin, etc.
“The damage to the existing utilities is greatly lessened because with this you can maneuver around existing pipes and/or utilities and do a lot of dig work that is already in the ground,” said Goodine.
On a job site in Merrimack, N.H., Leighton A. White is building a retention wall using the model RT40 Rototilt on a Hyundai 140-9 wheeled excavator.
Operator Jon Vinje needed a little convincing to start using the Rototilt.
“I didn’t want to run it at first, but once you get use to it, it really is very easy to do. It took me about one week to learn how to run the Rototilt and I would not operate an excavator again without one. It is great for working around and under obstacles,” he said.
Added Chris Mackie, job site foreman, “There are days when the Rototilt can make things a third more efficient per day. You gain almost three hours a day, 30 percent more time, labor wise just using this attachment [depending on function]. It frees up laboring, which saves costs. There is just a huge efficiency factor involved.”
Working With Chappell Tractor Sales
Leighton A. White has been working with Chappell Tractor Sales since 1978, according to Dale White. In the beginning, White’s father, Leighton, worked with George, Roger and Kent Chappell, founders of Chappell Tractor Sales.
“Chappell Tractor is the old-fashioned dealer. They are straightforward,” said Dale White. “They always sell you what you need and not what they want. They have a great product line and put a lot of time and effort into making sure its quality products and their manufacturers and distributors stand behind the products.”
“Over the years, we have purchased a lot of great equipment from Chappell,” he added.
Chappell Tractor Sales has been a Rototilt dealer for a number of years and has been actively promoting the product line, which is a completely new concept to most customers. It stocks parts at its headquarters in Milford, as well as its store in Brentwood, N.H.
Indexator
Flip Henry, sales manager of Chappell Tractor Sales, and Dale White both have open communications with Indexator Inc., the North American operations for Rototilt, located in Ontario, Canada.
“Rick Gordon, operations manager and Gerry Mallory, general manager from Indexator Inc. have done an excellent job with getting us the equipment and they’ve done a great job with getting us parts overnight if Chappell Tractor Sales didn’t have them in-stock at the time,” said White.
About Leighton
A. White
Leighton A. White Inc. offers complete sitework services, primarily commercial work with some residential and civil work (maintaining roadways). It specializes in commercial, industrial and municipal sitework, construction and maintenance of communications sites (maintain cellular towers) as well as specialty services including athletic field construction and maintenance.
Leighton A. White established his company, Leighton A. White Inc., in Milford, N.H., in 1978. Dale White started working for his father Leighton full time in 1981.
The company consists of approximately 22 employees, including office staff.
Leighton A. White Inc. predominantly does jobs in southern New Hampshire, but it has done work in the other five New England States as well.
For more information on Leighton A. White Inc., call 603/673-2294 or visit www.leightonawhite.com.
For more information about Chappell Tractor Sales, call 800/698-2640 or visit www.chappelltractor.com.
For more information about Indexator, call 519-754-2195 or visit www.indexator.us. CEG
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