Up Close with Trackzilla!: Xtreme’s Monster Rough-Terrain Telehandler

The 675-horsepower beast of a tracked telehandler from Xtreme – nicknamed “Trackzilla” – has been wowing the crowds at trade shows since its debut at ConExpo 2023. On this episode of The Dirt, we talk with one of the engineers who developed Xtreme’s rough-terrain XR50100-G, which has a 100-foot maximum lift height, 75 feet of forward reach and a maximum lift capacity of 50,000 pounds. “There’s nothing like it,” says Worth Bistline, engineering manager at Innovatech, a subsidiary of BZI. A partnership of engineers from Xtreme, BZI and Innovatech developed the monster telehandler to make jobsites more efficient after hearing concerns from contractors. “We needed something that was more nimble,” Bistline says, “that could handle bigger loads, that could reach higher … and try to remove cranes from the jobsite.” So to get a closer look at Trackzilla and learn more about how it could revolutionize jobsites, check out the latest episode of The Dirt. Equipment World serves up weekly videos on the latest in construction equipment, work trucks and pickup trucks – everything contractors need to get their work done. Subscribe and visit us at equipmentworld.com! Newsletter Signup: https://randallreilly.dragonforms.com... In This Episode: 00:00 – The Trackzilla: A Behemoth Telehandler 00:42 – The Inspiration Behind Trackzilla 03:20 – Public Interest in Trackzilla 04:12 – Trackzilla Features 05:07 – Trackzilla vs. Cranes 07:50 – How Does Trackzilla Perform on Jobsites? 10:58 – Can I Buy a Trackzilla? 11:29 – Certifications to Operate Trackzilla 12:09 – Will There Be a Bigger Trackzilla? 13:22 – Final Thoughts Video Transcript: Bryan Furnace Heavy duty engine oils. Proven engine protection at prices you can rely on. Giving you even more reasons to choose Delo. What's going on, everybody? Welcome back to Equipment World. I'm your host, Brian. And today we're here to talk about the monstrosity that you've seen at most of your recent trade shows. We're talking about Trackzilla. This thing is a beast. Bryan Furnace It's a 600-horsepower telehandler that can reach up. I don't even know how far, because it's just that massive. And here to talk with us about it is one of the guys involved with creating this behemoth. So without further ado, let's check out the interview. Bryan Furnace You can't bring a giant Telehandler like that to to Con Expo, and then not expect people to want to ask questions, so I appreciate you being willing to answer them. And my first question is, what in the world inspired the creation of this behemoth Telehandler? Worth Bistline So the inspiration for Trackzilla came from a bigger relationship between BZI and especially Innovatech and Xtreme. So another tech is the innovation branch in the BZI family of companies. And our job here is to create new ways of doing things, especially focusing on efficiency and safety. And so we'll come up with attachments and systems that change the way construction is done. Worth Bistline And Trackzilla was a part of that. We needed something that was more nimble, that could handle bigger loads, that could reach higher kind of complement. Some of the systems that we were coming up with and try to remove cranes from the jobsite. So I quote, I like that kind of encapsulates and all the tech is it's not about ideas, it's about making ideas happen. Worth Bistline That's from Scott Belsky. And there's a ton of great ideas out on the jobsite, especially if you've been there. You know, these dirt guys and construction guys have a lot of really good ideas on better ways of doing things. So the inspiration for Trackzilla came from people out on the job site and the funding and the company and the structure of Innovatech and BZI funneling that into something that could actually be built. Bryan Furnace I do love that aspect of the construction industry where when you really start talking to a lot of OEMs, a lot of the ideas that have come out over the last 50 years have really started at the boots on the ground level and then work their way up to an OEM or an outright company that is started by those guys putting that idea into process and into action. Bryan Furnace So that's very cool. Worth Bistline And another piece of this story is where the nickname for Trackzilla came from. when it was first kind of floated around, it was circulating in Xtreme’s engineers, and we had a in person meeting and one of their engineers pulled out this guy right here. He had 3D printed little unit and brought that to a meeting. And the name stuck.