Heavy Load in the Cold

One of the great aspects of hydroexcavation is that it can be performed year-round, in nearly any climate. However, in order to work effectively in sub-freezing temperatures, a few precautions need to be taken. For those applications, Supervac offers the Boreas a hydrovac trailer that excels in cold weather, while maximizing payload potential.

The Boreas offers all the features of our Atlas hydroexcavator, but is outfitted to work effectively in the cold climates of Canada and the northern United States. Fully insulated and heated front enclosure and isolated water pump cabinet protect the equipment from the freezing temperatures.

At 33 feet, the trailer offers the compact versatility of a regular vacuum truck, with a high payload capacity of 42,000 pounds. The tri-axle trailer unit has other advantages as well. Trailer units can be more easily moved onto rights-of-way and over curbs to stay out of traffic on congested job sites.

“That makes it a great fit for urban areas, as it is very easy to maneuver with its tight turning radius, and solves road weight limit issues,” says Steeve Sheehy, Supervac’s National Sales Manager. “It is also much quieter than a traditional hydroexcavation unit, which allows crews to work in heavily populated areas without a lot of disruption.”

It comes equipped with a flashing arrow and LED working light, full-opening rear door, protection arm and LED light, a hydraulic door lock, a single carbon steel debris tank offering 4,000-gallon, 20 CY of debris and a catwalk access ladder and handrail.

Operational anywhere, anytime

“All the water is inside the enclosure, and all is heated to prevent freeze-ups,” says Sheehy. “We’ve tested the unit down to -35 celsius degrees, which means it should be operational anywhere, anytime.”

One of the biggest improvements the unit brings is its lack of a pony engine. Instead, Supervac has designed the unit to run off the chassis engine of the tractor being used to haul the trailer. This feature helps shrink the unit’s overall environmental footprint.

“When you looked at the market two or three years ago, all trailer hydroexcavators had a pony engine,” says Sheehy. “Without it, you are cutting down on pollution, not to mention fuel costs and your overall weight and space saving. Why not use the power of the truck you already have at the worksite?”

The equipment you need

The unit’s top-loading boom offers 280-degree rotation, with up and down motion and ground to level, extension of 23 feet, an 8-inch flex hose, top access door, and protection elbow. The debris tank has a 20-inch manhole for access and cleaning, a primary shutoff valve, 14-inch stainless steel floatball, a 6-inch vacuum relief valve, carbon steel cyclone and dropbox. The unit’s water pump offers 9.5 gpm capacity at 5,800 psi. The unit comes equipped with hose reel with a capacity of 100 feet of ½ inch hose, with a gun/lance. Its Dynablast boiler offers 680,000 Btu, while its heavy-duty blower offers 3,800 cfm at 27 inches Hg with hydrostatic drive. An upgraded 6,400 cfm option will so be available as well. Operation is easy via a full Multiplex control with 8-inch color display. In addition, the unit is available with an air excavation option that makes it even more efficient.

That option means you can keep your water for those really tough jobs. It is simple to switch back and forth, and using air when you don’t need your water keeps you from having to stop work to fill your water tanks back up.

The air excavation option is ideal for work in environmentally sensitive areas as well. Not only isn’t water being introduced to the worksite to begin with, there is no contaminated water to dump once the debris bin is filled.

Obviously using water is going to be more efficient and stronger, but the air just gives you more options and makes your crew more versatile. We want anyone using the Boreas to be a total solution for alternative excavation.”