JCB’s single machine pothole special

A pothole specific machine has been launched by JCB – a special edition of its 3CX backhoe loader.

The launch comes on the heels of a UK Government promise of an additional £200 million (€242 million) for councils for pothole repair work.

JCB said it had combined a powerful, high specification 3CX with a dipper-mounted patch planer and a sweeper shovel located on the front loader arms, to create the 3CX Potholemaster.

It said that this single machine offered local councils and road contractors a rapid, mobile solution to meet their permanent road maintenance equipment needs.

The Potholemaster uses JCB’s most powerful 81kW Ecomax engine and a six-speed Torque Lock powershift transmission to allow travel speeds of up to 40km/h, and to provide the power to operate the planer attachment effectively.

It said this allowed local authorities and contractors to move the machine rapidly between sites, without the need for additional transport.

The 3CX Potholemaster is equipped with a 400mm wide patch planer from JCB Attachments that has been engineered to work efficiently with the machine’s high output auxiliary hydraulic service.

Advanced Easy Control variflow hydraulics, with servo control levers, are said to provide the power to deliver total control over all functions of the backhoe when planing. The company also claimed that pressure-compensated variable flow hydraulics ensured maximum power delivery to the planer attachment, while maintaining complete control of all boom and dipper functions during operation.

The 400mm wide planer is suitable for applications from single pass small pothole repairs to complete highway sections. JCB’s powered sideshift capability means that the operator can plane the full width of the machine, without having to relocate the backhoe loader – said to be essential when working in a single coned-off carriageway.

At the front, the 3CX is equipped with a 2.3m wide hydraulic sweeper collector shovel. The overall width, including the hydraulic motor, is within the width of the machine.

JCB said that traditionally, councils and contractors have had to use a wide array of cutting, breaking and planning machinery, with separate road sweepers and rollers to carry out even the smallest of pothole repairs. It claimed the single backhoe loader-based solution greatly reduced the number of machines required to carry out this type of work.

It added that when not being used for road repair duties, it was possible to remove the attachments and operate the 3CX as a high powered backhoe loader.