# Canycom BFP602 -Walk Behind Material Carrier?



## arctic slalom1 (May 15, 2019)

My local riding club is considering a walk behind material hauler.

As usual, the piece of machinery is expensive and some members of the club think it would be really useful while others have their doubts about it's practicality. 

We currently have a Toro Dingo (walk behind skidder) and access to a privately owned mini ex. We also have a double axle trailer and I'm guessing we can haul the Canycom and our Dingo with the same trailer. 

We live and work in fairly steep and rocky terrain (southern Appalachians). We keep running into projects where it would be great to haul stone and smaller crushed rock into remote locations. 

A few questions for ya'll....? 

-What is the maintenance cost for this unit? 
-Does the Carrier get very top heavy when loaded?
-How easy is this to operate? Similar to a walk behind skidder? 
-Do the tracks need much maintenance?
-How is the company regarding warranty and service? 
-Is there another model or company which builds a better unit?
-Can you transport this in the bed of a 1/2 ton pickup? 
-For those of you who have bought one, would you buy one again? 

Other thoughts and considerations for this unit? thanks for you help in advance.


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## Cotharyus (Jun 21, 2012)

I've used a couple of these on different job sites. I'll address some of your questions and then drop an opinion on you.

-What is the maintenance cost for this unit?
Not sure, didn't own them.

-Does the Carrier get very top heavy when loaded?
Not stupid top heavy, but I've seen them turned over repeatedly. Fortunately, turning them over isn't the end of the world, you just have to be mindful of the bars bending.

-How easy is this to operate? Similar to a walk behind skidder?
Harder. It can take considerable strength to work some of them because they just have a forward and reverse drive and you have to turn it by wrestling the bars, at least on some of these units. There's a stand on model that's hydro drive, but I'll address that in a second.

-Do the tracks need much maintenance?
Not as much as your walk behind skid steer, because you aren't putting the pushing stress on these you do with the skid steer while grading or moving dirt and digging.

-How is the company regarding warranty and service?
This is going to depend a great deal on your local dealer. Check reviews on them.

-Is there another model or company which builds a better unit?
Remember that hydro drive stand on model I talked about? If I was going to buy one of these, I'd spring the extra money for that larger unit in a heartbeat. It's easier to turn, and since you're standing on it, you have a better sense of how much you're pushing your luck if you get on a side slope. If it does go over, it's easier to step off of and get out of the way of, not having the handle bars sticking off the back.

-Can you transport this in the bed of a 1/2 ton pickup?
That small one? Yes. The bigger one? Maybe, if it's a full size (8 foot) bed.

-For those of you who have bought one, would you buy one again?
My local SORBA chapter had one. As happens with things like that sometimes, it was "stored" at the house of someone convenient to the last place it was used, and left there somewhat neglected for a time, after which it never worked again, and was eventually scrapped. They have determined that it is better to rent equipment when they need it than try to buy it, especially after their SK and custom trailer was stolen and never recovered. Also, they often just hire me if they need equipment on something.

So for what it's worth, I've been in about 5 situations where I thought a tracked dumper like this would really be useful. I had one available in 3 of those situations. In one situation we made due moving dirt (a lot of dirt) with mini-ex's in a kind of bucket brigade setup, and in the other several volunteers with wheelbarrows moved a dump truck load of clay that I loaded using a mini-ex in a solid morning of work. I would say in two of the three cases I had one available it was what I would call "indispensable" due to either time constraints or the sheer distance and amount of material that had to be moved. Still, for the amount that I need one as a trail builder, I think I can live with renting one when I need it.


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## tbmaddux (May 22, 2012)

Our Canycoms are great. Easily wrangled into a truck bed with some 2x6 lumber ramps. Driving take some practice to get a feel for it. Just go slow at the start. You can roll it if you’re not careful.


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## TrailYoda (Feb 23, 2009)

Another option you might consider is renting a unit the next time you have a section of trail work where you think it would be very helpful. If you find it as helpful as you anticipate, then buy it. The rental place that we do business is always willing to work with us if there is a piece of rental equipment we like, he applies the rental dollars towards buying the unit. Which is not that uncommon of a practice. If you are a 501(c)3 most places will work to give you a decent discount.


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## tbmaddux (May 22, 2012)

Hm I didn’t know there were ones you have to turn by hand. We turn ours by braking on the side you want to head towards while the other side still drives forward. Pretty easy.


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## arctic slalom1 (May 15, 2019)

very much appreciate the comments, everyone. Several board members are reading the thread and interjecting their own thoughts (which is great to have folks engaged). thanks again.


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## Cotharyus (Jun 21, 2012)

tbmaddux said:


> Hm I didn't know there were ones you have to turn by hand. We turn ours by braking on the side you want to head towards while the other side still drives forward. Pretty easy.


I think it's just the smallest one. It seems to have forward and reverse in place of the left and right brakes. But even the one that has a forward and reverse shifter and a (3?) speed selector and the left and right brake seems to require a fair amount of "guidance" under certain conditions when you try to turn it.


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## bankerboy (Oct 17, 2006)

SDMBA (San Diego Mountain Biking Association) bought our first one last year. We used to to move multiple tons of large rock for a trail on the side of an old jeep scar. 

Tbmaddux is correct about learning to drive it. While the basics of going, stopping, and turning are easy enough, learning how the tread handles on rocky surfaces, what its clearance level is, how to manage down a grade (always back it down) and how to use the drive bar with the throttle to not stall it or jerk start like a 16 year old learning a manual transmitting takes a few tries. We have 3 forward speeds and 2 reverse but they are not shifted between like a car, rather you predetermine what speed is best, set it, and go. The suspension is pretty much nonexistent and ridged. The rollers for the tread are fixed so it can be a bouncy, jarring ride. Drive is engaged through the clutch bar on the handles and the steering is through track brake handles on the bar as well. If you have ever wanted to drive a tank, this is excellent practice. 

We have the 602 and I can easily pack it in the bed of my Frontier. We splurged a bit and got a portable ATV ramp to get it in and out of the trucks. The bed in mine is too short for the gate to close but, a couple safety straps and we are good to go. Once the drive bar is not engaged it is pretty much locked in place and does not roll. The straps are for the truck bounce to keep the unit from moving around.

Somebody on your team should be knowledgeable with a wrench. The biggest problem we have had was the tension drive belt slipped off. Only had to remove 2 bolts from the cover to access and realign the belt. You need to be sure to clean the air filter frequently as it can get really dirty quickly causing performance issues, but you would be hating life too if you could only get half the air you need when you really need it. If you need to, find a reputable small engine repair shop for a once a year service (build it into the budget) and you will have years of dependable use. It is pretty miserly on fuel. We can run a unit over 4 hours non stop without needing a refuel. 

We have realized that we could easily use a second one as we continue our projects. 

If you have to move anything of weight, this saves a lot of energy and makes for a great addition. Our board had some doubts up to the point we used it. There are no naysayers on the board now. 

Totally worth it to SDMBA.


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## karthur (Apr 20, 2018)

I"m done with any piece of equipment I have to walk behind. Currently looking for a used Terex dumper or a yanmar C12r. 

Have you check out of the pictures of people what use a dump trailer in conjunction with their excavator? They put a ball on the blade of the excavator then you can load the trailer, move it around with the ex then unload it either with the dump or the excavator. Going to do this my ex until I find a great deal the Terex or yanmar.


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## KnifeKnut (Mar 16, 2011)

I am not really familiar with the dingo, so this idea may not be at all possible. If it can pull something, have you considered the possibility of building a stone boat for hauling?


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## bankerboy (Oct 17, 2006)

I meant to post this when I first posted but couldn't find the pick. The unit handled multiple tons of rock on uneven terrain quite will. All of this was moved several hundred yards. You can do a lot with these units.


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## Bluegrassbiker (May 4, 2013)

*Going way back in the ANF*


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## hankthespacecowboy (Jun 10, 2004)

I've used Canycoms on various jobs, and they are certainly handy little units. Their lack of availability, and expense makes it difficult to justify the initial purchase price / sourcing difficulties, but once you have one, you'll find all sorts of hauling tasks that they are handy for.

Air filter cleaning / replacement is critical on these little machines, particularly if you are doing lots of hauling laps in dry conditions. The tracks will churn the haul route into powder, and as the air filter is barely two feet above the ground, they end up breathing a lot dust. Visually inspecting the filters can be deceiving, as the filter can look only slightly discolored while actually being plugged with a very significant amount of dirt. If you are doing a lot of hauling in dry conditions, I would suggest having multiple filters that can be rotated out daily for cleaning.

Make sure you get a stockpile of spares for the control cables and drive belts. I know the drive belts in particular are proprietary to Canycom; I've spent several days of searching for replacements through various parts stores, and there is nothing readily available that is even remotely close to fitting (it is much thicker / wider drive belt of a shorter diameter than anything else out there).

I'm in the market for purchasing a tracked hauler of my own this year, and will probably go with the Yard Max https://yardmax.com/product/power-trackbarrow-w-hydraulic-assist/
It's about a third the cost of the Canycom, has similar hauling capacity, and parts availability can't be any more difficult than Canycom. My friends at McGill Trail Fabrications bought one last year, have been putting it to steady use on various projects, and say it has performed admirably.


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## blackaptur-photo (May 1, 2018)

Hello Guys, just stumbled across this thread - I am a Canycom dealer down in New Zealand and an avid mountain biker also - what did you end up going with?
We have sold a large number of these machines over the years we have been doing Canycom (15+) with a high number going to MTB associations, track builders, local councils and our state-run nationwide tracks and facilities maintenance group - the Department of Conservation, these are an excellent tool, nice and simple to maintain and fairly intuitive to operate. 

The other brand we do is Cormidi which are a more advanced, higher capacity and hydro driver unit. These are worth considering and are becoming the machine of choice for the full-time specialist trail builders and Dept. of Conservation. Other machines to consider are the Honda power carrier.


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## arctic slalom1 (May 15, 2019)

We ended up getting the BP419 by Canycom ($5400). We are really happy with the machine and it's incredible what it can climb and haul. Seems to be really low maintenance and is really well built. Im guessing we have about 20-30 hours on the machine in the past month or so. 

A few general comments:
-Little Honda is fuel efficient 
-Slow and steady wins the race
-Had to tighten the tracks up a bit already (stretch when new) 
-We lined bed with 1/4" HPDE 
-Works great in rocks and rooty trail tread (the photo below is about the smoothest stuff we have) 
-We have a toolbox with the following; Fire Extinguisher, track wrenches, ratchet straps, fuel bottle, rock net/tools, etc. 
-Would be nice to have an hour meter for maintenance intervals 
-Overall, really nice machine


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## Josh_W (Aug 30, 2010)

I have the Canycom's little cousin, the Makita 18v wheelbarrow. Works great if you only need to move a couple hundred pounds at a time, especially on narrow singletrack. Costs about 1/10th as much, so you could get one for every member of your crew.


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