Dozer, Tractor, or Grader??? ~ Was this one even WORTH rescuing?

The plan for today is to rescue this old forgotten Huber Maintainer from the 1970's or 1980's.... I think! There is not a lot of info on these old pigs, and I'm not even sure I should have saved it, but here we are!
It wasn't a great day to do this, but it's the day I had, and i got it DONE!
Hopefully you enjoy the rescue, and I'd LOVE to know your thoughts on this machine... I just don't know WHAT to do with it!
~
Thanks as always for watching and following along with all my crazy adventures here on Salvage Workshop, I TRULY appreciate it!
Please enjoy! I know I did!
~
0:00 - Video introduction
1:38 - Prepping the Inoperable machine to load onto the trailer
5:40 - Dragging the Machine onto the trailer with the Service Truck Winch
10:00 - Unloading the Huber at the Cave
17:45 - Let's walk around and take a look at the Huber Maintainer
26:11 - Checking to see if the ENGINE is Stuck!?!
27:41 - Opening the Oil pan to check for Water
29:27 - Putting in USED oil and a NEW Oil Filter
34:58 - What do YOU think I should do with this Machine??
37:24 - Coming up on the Channel!
~
If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments, please leave them below! Thanks for stopping by, I truly appreciate your support!
#MovingDay #MotorGrader #SalvageWorkshop

[@josephcizek7030]

My Father-in-law ran one of those Huber Maintainer when he worked for Penn-Dot back in the 70's and 80's. He use to swear at and swear by them when he had to run them. The Huber Maintainer was used to clean out the cinder and gravel buildup under the guardrails every spring. Instead of the grader blade in the middle of the tractor the mechanics in the Penn-Dot garage in Coudersport, Pa built a side push out blade when retracted was even with the outside of the rear tire and when extended was approximately three foot out. The blade dimension was 4ft by 2ft, i know these dimensions because the welding shop that i worked part time at built and rebuilt these units for these Huber Maintainers, and made other fixtures. The Huber is like the Swiss Army Knife of Utility tractors. If it would be me I would restore the old Huber because there are very few left running!

[@user-nt3xp3nm4g]

i have a m600 gas huber that runs and drives , great machine built like a tank

[@Hoaxer51]

If you ever work around something like this again, it has torque hubs on the back tires, that’s how they are driven. Usually there’s a small cap in the center of the torque hub with two small (3/8-7/16) inch bolts that you take the bolts out and flip the cap over and reinstall it. It pushes on a pin in the hub and lets it freewheel. Just flip it around when you want it back in drive mode, if they’ve been sitting around for awhile you might need to spray some WD-40 on the pins and get that to work in a bit. Nice machine, really handy, they get into tight areas and are easy to haul around. The front blade will get into areas the belly blade can’t get to. Edit: What miserable day to do that, makes a hot shower feel really good when you’re done! Lol

[@gearsnstuff7330]

Hubers are the king of road maintenance, all the farmers around me swear by them for both plowing snow in the winter, and just keeping roads up to snuff, they're smaller and more agile than a regular grader, and can be pressed into duty as a tractor if need be as well.

[@dmstreet51]

I admire your perseverance considering the weather and the mud slog where that thing was parked.

[@dont-want-no-wrench]

my man is a bulldog

[@larrydavidson3402]

I really admire how you didn't quit when it was raining, to me that show real dedication and not afraid to get wet and muddy to get the job done. I would use it for parts to get the crane running. I feel you will use that crane a lot once its running.

[@ronalddavis439]

Back in 1976, I worked for a paving company. We had two of these machines. One was a stand on the other was a ride on. We called them Huber maintainers. Worked like a motor grader. Nice watching you keeping old stuff going.

[@johnmcdermott8523]

50 years ago, all the asphalt paving companies in my region had a Huber. Those had longer wheelbase than your later model seems to have, but were otherwise similar.

[@rcaddict69]

Our local asphalting company where I live in NZ has one they still use. it has a longer wheelbase and it has a rotating brush on the front instead of the blade.

[@hoseman317]

They are still used here in Canada. As a matter of fact, they were preparing a driveway for paving an apartment complex a few hundred feet from my house and were using one all day to level the gravel

[@williamroellejr1303]

Your work is cut out for you on this one. Best wishes to you.

[@Huskiedrive361]

Huber Maintainers bring a good price here in NY. They are a favorite of paving contractors for driveway work as they are very nimble. The front blade has a lot of down pressure and is made for cutting. The belly blade is for fine grade work. If you bought it right, a running tractor may allow you to flip for profit. Fix the bare minimum to prove it functions and flip it.

[@johndebrular979]

In the late 50's & 60's my dad was the field service rep for Huber-Warco he said that they were light duty but reliable pieces of equip.

[@johnnyroberts6291]

I think you are one of the top hard working guys on You Tube. I really enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work. It’s obvious you love what you are doing.

[@donabele1243]

I've been searching for one of these to grade my road (1/2 mile long, 12+ % grade) - would love to see a series on this. But man, you've got a lot of irons in the fire! Keep the great content coming - we all appreciate it!

[@user-nt3xp3nm4g]

i have one running and driving

[@shawnzalewski1917]

In all honesty, I have never seen a machine quite like this. It does catch the eye. Neat find Matt!!

[@geraldharkness8830]

110% for sheer effort as usual brilliant!

[@joerenault9265]

I have the M600 version on that machine. They are very popular where I live and do a great job. They hold their value as well, even in fair condition. Huber is back in business by the way, which lends itself to the demand for them. I enjoy your videos and best of luck.

[@horstszibulski19]

Use it as a donor for the crane, this jack of some trades is not good in any trade, better to part it out to get the crane going! Seeing you loading it to the trailer makes me say once more that the crane/winch truck is worth it's weight in gold! Thx for showing! 👍👍👍

[@rogerstlaurent8704]

I was saying the same thing sacrificing one machine to save another machine The poor Huber was rode hard put away wet if it was my machine i would just pull the motor out

[@ralphfell2119]

May I suggest that you use the engine to repair the crane as you will find that machine very useful. You have a grader already and bear in mind that by using the motor you are not destroying this hybrid grader and you have saved it fron scrap and maybe you can return to its resurection at a future date? Keep up the great work that you do.

[@dont-want-no-wrench]

a crane would be really useful.

[@Dave-1277]

One hundred percent my all time favorite KZbin channel, I love these vids! Great job Matt!

[@orgcoast5990]

Go for it Matt! I suspect it would be very useful for someone who has property with unimproved roads. Or, let you son rebuild it as a learning project.

[@user-cx5sl2et1b]

Good Morning Sir, I hope you are having a fantastic day today 😊 !

[@billyhaddock5540]

Congrats Matt, on getting the Huber Road Grader on-to ur trailer with-out getting hurt.. I say get the motor-out and use the parts for other items.

[@williamwhipple9617]

I like the idea of saving it and get it running. Somewhere down the road you will find a use for it.

[@mennoboon8037]

Your winch did a good job there for sure

[@dandunlap8638]

I have seen a lot of tractor rims with patches welded and new valve holes drilled.

[@thefreedomwarrior]

That was actually very cool music. Straight up Jazz. My favorite kind of music. A little class never hurts anyone.

[@landrelarose9963]

What excellent music choice for this episode, Matt. It's my second favorite ever.

[@gtnaylor5870]

Good to see you uploaded another video. The only suggestion I can give you is, pull the injectors, fill the cylinders with oil, get the hood off and pull the valve cover and check for stuck valves. Just keep trying to move the crank little by little. Even if it takes a month or two, it might be worth it. As far as saving the machine? Not much chance of that. Wheels, tires, hydraulic hoses, steering cylinder? Then if the trans is bad, you've spent a lot of money on it you could be spending on the crane. I think we had one of those at the gravel pit/asphalt plant that we kept the haul roads smoothed out. Replaced by a 833 cat crawler loader. The Huber quit running and they pushed it in the field.

[@michaelchamberlain4618]

Yes you ought to get that thing going.

[@arthurbiringer5676]

I have faith in you! You’re going to get it running!

[@Highlordratick]

What a unbelievable level of tenacity, most people would have given up.

[@Piterworkshop]

Are you asking me if I want a three-part series repairing the tractor? Yes of course!!!! Please

[@benclark5225]

Watching you digging rigging slogging bogging winching and cinching in the rain was truly inspirational. It inspired me to go change the oil in my car. I had to do something. I felt so guilty just sitting here watching you suffer.

[@karenkartz3163]

I like seeing old equipment restored and working properly. Not half ways running with so called patina finish sitting outdoors in some new hoard.

[@timmcnett8452]

I think that with the motor being able to be used for the crane, it would be worthwhile to at least try and get it running and see what else is wrong with the grader. If the cost of restoration of the grader is more than you want to spend you still have the opportunity to put the motor into the crane

[@johndemeen5575]

Expected the new gas powered air compressor. O well maybe next time. From St.Paul,Minnesota.

[@wycks-5095]

ABSOLUTELY GET IT GOING THEY ARE HANDY FIR SNALL JOBS AND ARE WORTH A LOT IN MY AREA $5-$8k easy fir good running machine

[@tinytruck1200]

I love seeing the notification from Salvage Workshop. Love the videos. The machines you find are the most random things ever and it's awesome. I do miss "Old Red". Updates possibly?? Thanks for the amazing content.

[@1982jeepcj8]

in another video, it was mentioned that Old Red needs under carriage parts, I thought that loader had a second parts machine though. Anyway, I am sure if some one came across a T6 under carriage that would speed things along

[@SalvageWorkshop]

@@1982jeepcj8 Yes it WOULD!

[@1982jeepcj8]

@@SalvageWorkshop Why don't you revisit Old Red, specifically what is worn out, and what do you have from the parts machine, reach out to someone like Squatch253, and Diesel Creek, as they have contacts, we can crowd source that parts sources but no one knows that you need.

[@timbrake3404]

Huber is a very old company. They started out making steam engines. They made a tractor based graders for many years. Older models had a standing work station at the rear like the old steam tractors. The one you have is most likely one of their last models.

[@asherdie]

They are still produced

[@timbrake3404]

That is good to know. I thought they folded a long time ago. 😀@@asherdie

[@WowCreativeUsername]

@@timbrake3404 They did in 1984, dunno what the other person is on about

[@joehovanec1985]

The Huber Maintainer Graders are still being produced up to a couple years ago. I don't know if they are still being produced. They were produced in Marion, Ohio from the 1920's to 1977. Then Maintainer production went to South Carolina till about 1990. Then back to Ohio from around 1995 to 2008. New production around 2016 to 2021 in South Dakota. These are approximate dates. Some people really like the Huber Maintainers. Yours is a M750 model made in the seventies until 1977. When they moved to South Carolina, they came out with the 850 series. They went back to standing or sitting on the back of the machine. Most people didn't like it when they built them sitting in the middle like your machine. That machine is worth saving if it is something you really want. It would take a lot of money and parts to fix it right.

[@byrnejr]

Always nice to see you Matt!

[@brianw4068]

I've seen them on small driveway projects. They worked well for what they designed to do.

[@terryrogers1025]

Another great find, would be interesting to see it operating. The rain was not the best thing for loading, but as always, you got thru it. The machine seems simplistic in nature, but i would bet it would run well if it could be brought back to life, however, you could use it for parts to make a purpose built machine, lots of things you could do. Thanks for tag along video young man, always interesting to watch you handle equipment.

[@donaldviles4406]

Looks like some interesting repair to be done.

[@stuartpulvermacher6861]

Those were excellent machines for detail grading small driveways a lot of paving contractors used them

[@Greekman72]

Another great movie will just start!!!❤

[@flanagan1501]

I would love to watch a series of you restoring the Huber!

[@billybike57]

I’ll give you this, you’re a hard worker, good for you.

[@deanchapman6425]

Huber Maintainers are still made in Fargo ND. They were in Marion OH. Been around since 1908.

[@jerryt1967]

Nice weather for it!! 👍

[@sgf13]

If I found a machine like that for the right price I'd buy it in a minute. It would be perfect for maintaining my dirt roads.

[@bjduhon1528]

Cool old machine hope you restore it

[@edgarw5919]

In Simple terms. This is a KISS principle build machine.

[@douglasmckee754]

Excellent finish grader

[@artstudio9673]

Because doing work like that in the rain is just so much more fun lol!

[@OldSneelock]

Just a thought. Have a portable hydraulic package with several taps mounted so it can be connected to the hydraulic system of dead machines so the bits and pieces can be raised or lowered as needed for recovery. 😁😁😎😎

[@carloskawasaki656]

Awesome, i like everything you do, I learn a lot, thank you for sharing 👍👍👍👍

[@rowlandisbeautiful]

amazing perseverance !

[@scooty6520]

The museum is coming along, nicely!

[@tomf9928]

i remember those, driveway contractors always had one a large grader was too big i remember the guy doing dads driveway in 1968 had one the guys stood upo and operated it , great for tight residential driveways

[@Andrew61968]

There might come a job or many jobs after that first one where this little grader would come in handy and you kicking yourself over getting rid of it. Honestly i would get it running if its not to expensive and see if she feels the way your comfortable running her. I see a good amount of driveway grading from her always a back up for the skid steer grading work. Love the videos keep them coming you are smarter then you think and it will most likely hit you in your sleep on what to do with this little grader Keep it up and God Bless.

[@rudie2902]

Great video. This machine is a parts donor.

[@randychristian7642]

Nice to have Son's that can help out.

[@WowCreativeUsername]

I loved the music choice for the time-lapse parts

[@allenwc]

I can’t suggest whether or not it is worth repairing. But, I think that if you were a driveway company, something like this would be awesome. Probably even for parking lot building and repair and maintenance.

[@terrykyte1845]

you couldnt have chosen a worst day to rescue the machine and now it shows its gratitude by fighting you every step of the way - me - I would have given up a long time ago

[@midgetrace]

The Huber is a great machine. My friend had a Huber Maintainer and it would level a dirt road very quickly compared to a loader or back hoe. We did a job for a gun club that had the tree huggers stop them from asphalting the road, so they bought the Huber from him and kept the road in great shape until the machine went into disrepair.

[@anthonysimonhough9691]

What fun , very interesting thanks for the movie.

[@jeffbronowicz3264]

I give him credit that's a hell of a lot of work he did to drag it home. it's really rough I'd of dragged it to the scrap yard!

[@markamcampbell5795]

it would be excellent for snow plowing.

[@ericthebuilder7781]

man love that smooth jazz

[@JohnBare747]

It looks like a machine some guy built in his backyard out of spare parts. For an added treat pulling it out of a mud hole in a rain storm is just precious. There is no such thing as bringing too many tie-downs and ratchet straps.

[@SalvageWorkshop]

I agree it does look kinda thrown together!

[@joehuff7628]

Comment, really like all that you do, don't listen to the ne'er do's as they ne'er do. Looks like a parts machine. Thank you.

[@davidmc8110]

I like that truck, that's really quite a winch.

[@fernandoscrenci4874]

I enjoy your work in keep up with these pieces of history from the past you give new life !!!

[@MrEgigas]

Machine is not the question. Its more about the views and this mystery does the trick! Keep it up.

[@chrisperron628]

I love to see you bring it back to life I wood personally love to have it at my hunting camp specially if it had a excavating bucket in the back

[@miketaylo7677]

Probably safe to say it's hydrolocked from all the water in the pan. Pull the injectors before you try to turn it over to help avoid bending a push rod

[@SM-98]

For me even if is a cool machine, I would use it as donor machine for the crane. Cool project and thank you for sharing.

[@timg8138]

The mud and rain.....I feel for ya. I'd rather a 100 degree day or snow oppose to mud and rain.

[@LaLaLand.Germany]

I think the Huber would be a good addition to Your fleet if it actually runs and I think Huber is a cool Name for a thing. "Get the grader" "Noo, we call THE HUBER"- has a good ring to it. It might just be the thing to keep Your gravelways neat and tidy. Fix it. Fix Huber.

[@joehovanec1985]

I think Edward Huber was from Germany. He started Huber Manufacturing Co. In Marion, Ohio around the time of the Civil war. He also started a half dozen other companies. Very interesting man. The Huber Museum in Marion, Ohio has lots of information about him.

[@anthonykent7983]

First time I've ever said this but that's parts and scrap metal that one.

[@jesseerickson662]

I bet you could plug weld that hole and drill/weld in a valve stem replacement. The front blade is very useful in knocking down the windrow before hitting it with the grader blade for an even spread. Good find.

[@HansWeberHimself]

Loved ‘take 5’ as a music choice when pulling up on the trailer! Don’t know the version but recognized it immediately. Made me smile.

[@phillipdickinson8557]

Sure would like some more of your great video's Matt you had the best in my opinion thanks for the ones you gave us.

[@latisimusd]

Fun stuff - draggin it through the winter stew.💪

[@VikraalTheFluffDragon]

I see these all over the place here where I live, They tend to swap the front blade for a power broom here and are used mainly with smaller construction companies and by the bigger road paving crews. Plus Someone here has one with a snowblower mounted to the rear for snow removal (in in CT if anyone cares) Its a neat piece of equipment and is on my list to get for when I gathering equipment to build my first house.

[@rille47]

omg total hero, what a freaki´n horrible weather you had to go out an salvage this grader in... I mean... phew, hero!

[@davidkimmel4216]

Your videos are so interesting to watch. Thank you

[@timothyturigliatto7853]

i would fix it up and see how well it works

[@gliderider7077]

I loved watching these as a kid, I thought they were the coolest machine ever

[@FuelTilt]

Good working weather right there…. Cool machine

[@Snufl]

I like the crude look. It's made to do a job and that's it, no need for fancy things like aesthetics.

[@joehovanec1985]

Thanks for the video on that Huber Maintainer Grader. Huber made the M700 with gas engine and the M750 with diesel engine. You got the M750, made in early 1970's to 1977. The 700 series were the only Maintainers with seating in the middle of the machine. All other Maintainers, 1920's to present day, sit or stand on the back of the machine. Most of the Maintainers I buy are not running also. I've bought them in worst shape than yours.

[@aaron883]

From what I’ve seen in the PNW, the Huber was used primarily for residential driveway grading before asphalt was laid. It fit well on a lot of short winding driveways.

[@rickhaver5876]

I think it would make a great boat anchor!

[@deanchapman6425]

Seems many people use them on roads as they are great for snow removal and road maintenance.

[@craigsell1396]

Really enjoy all your videos!!! I'm hoping to see Old Red finished someday soon.

[@scottnelson2667]

I say get it working!!! I think that old stuff is cool as heck and they made it for a reason. Cannot wait to see the next video on this unit! Thanks for the good video's !! Hello from Wisconsin!

[@jerryodell1168]

Love how you take the old, reusable equipment and give them new life. Also the shorter 1/2 hour video is a real plus. The long videos were becoming a problem viewing. There are just too many things to do to watch an hour or two video.

[@michaelmoran6861]

Youve got to do some work to see if it will start. There are modern versions that do the same thing in a similar set up.

[@lordmetal3842]

its very unique and rare ..id keep it and getting running at the very least it would make an awesome snowplow.

[@Popeyes66]

I don't envy you Matt. Constant rain water trickling down the back crack during digging that monstrosity out of its muddy grave .