“Nuns on the Run” with Bobcat Equipment

Here’s a cracking little edited story from our friends at Bobcat, which I wanted to share on the Digger Man Blog.

In Draste in the Czech Republic, the transformation of a former farm into a convent is becoming a dream come true - the nuns of the Barefoot Carmelite Sisters and many supporters have done a tremendous amount of work on the project.

And this year, the consecration ceremony of the new convent church of St Teresa of Avila could even take place.

The campus, which the sisters chose to replace their previous headquarters in a building on Hradčanské náměstí in Prague in 2018, has changed beyond recognition. In addition to the work of individuals, construction machinery has also played a role in this. Out of necessity, the nuns at the convent began to operate machines such as a legendary Bobcat 773 skid-steer loader, which has now been joined by a new state-of-the-art Bobcat L85 compact wheel loader.

We talked to Sister Terezka (Markéta Paterová) at the convent about how the nuns learned to use construction machines and other topics related to the construction of the new convent.

During the renovation works, you learned to drive a number of construction machines.

Which type was easiest for you and what do you appreciate about the machines as a user and what are the important aspects for you?

Easiest, it’s hard to say, each of the machines I’ve used had advantages and disadvantages. It was nice working with the Bobcat L85 compact wheel loader. It is a powerful machine and has a modern design - the L85 worked reliably and was a good choice for the job we wanted it to do - stacking pallets of paving from trucks.

User-wise, I like the reversing camera on the machines when it’s well positioned in the field of view. And then good access to the fuel tank is also important to me. We buy diesel in cans, and not all machines are easy to fill from a can, so then I gratefully use willing and strong helpers.

In the past, you have worked with a Bobcat skid-steer loader and now the larger L85 compact wheel loader. What are your observations and comparisons between the two machines, which one did you find was better?

They are very different machines, each with a different purpose. A skid-steer loader has the big advantage of being small, so it can work in places where there is not much space, it can get into harder to reach places, narrow passages and it can even turn on the spot. It’s also short, so I can, for example, handle pallets in places where there’s not much room behind me. There’s a flip side to this coin: by being skid-steerable, it does a lot of rutting on unpaved surfaces, so even a slight turn leaves ruts. Gradually, once we had some parts of the property (the park and the garden) finished, this proved to be a problem and I couldn’t operate it there anymore.

Asked how she manages with the demanding work and if there is anyone helping her Sister Terezka said, “I would like to add that it is not only about the machines, but also about the people who move around them.

That is also a very important part. Some of the machines we have here or have had on loan from our supporters. Without them, it couldn’t work the way it does here now. With a bought machine, on the other hand, it helps a lot to have good service, a helpful person who understands their job and is able to give basic advice even over the phone. And for me here, as I am changing between different machines and learning how to use them, our technician, a close associate, is also very important, showing me around, guiding me so that the work with the machines is safe and efficient.

If you would like to contribute to this good cause, please visit: https://donio.cz/dlazbaprodrasty 

Lets take a look at the L85 and its sister model the L75 in this promotional video from Bobcat.