Crafco Reveals Details For New EZ Patcher

When walking the show floor at the first PAVE/X in San Antonio, the Crafco booth was pretty close to right smack in the middle. On the edge of their space was this big red rectangle. I immediately thought it was a product I hadn't seen before, and when I asked the company about it -- everything was hush-hush. Well, it wasn't all that clandestine, but, at the time, they weren't ready to share everything with the world. The coat of Crafco red paint had barely dried on the thing by the time they set it up on the carpet. Now, the EZ Patcher is ready for the spotlight.

PAVE/X 2024, showroom floor.Brandon Noel

Making Mastic Magic

The best news about the EZ Patcher, is that it brings drag box mastic application to all the skid steer specialists out there on the jobsite. The new attachment is designed to be fully controlled from the safety and relative comfort of the cab, it mounts via a quick attach system and dispenses mastic repair material with a custom "floating" drag box.

It's primary function would be to conduct quick repairs of linear cracks along longitudinal joints, micro-trenches and other damaged parts of the pavement surface; all while reducing the dangers of road work areas for repair crews. Some of the benefits include:

• Effectively Repairs Longitudinal and Transverse Joint Failures, Potholes, Micro-Trenches and More
• Increased Production
• Reduces Crew Exposure to Traffic
• Easy To Use In-Cab Controls for material flow and mixing
• Compact Design Minimizes Traffic Lane Disruptions
• Chute guard for Crafco Patcher
• Fork lift tubes for safe and easy movement of unit when not on the skid steer
• Waterproof on-board storage case for in-cab control system
• Quick release material gate for rapid emergency closing
• Dual electronic thermostat burner control system 
• Bi-directional application/dispensing- work from either side of the skid steer
• Fill from Patcher II or Patcher 4 for high-volume applications
• Melts and mixes mastic blocks for low volume applications
• 76,000 btu propane burner (30lb propane tank on-board) with electronic ignition. 

The EZ Patcher features a 65-gallon tank, integrated propane burner and agitation system, a remote controlled material gate, and a camera system for operators to have better visibility of the work area. 

A worker with good skid steer experience and skill could put down, potentially, a significant amount more material in a single work day that could be done with simple hand application alone. It includes two drag box sizes, at 6 and 10 inches, for various needs of application.

It's definitely worth a stop at the Crafco booth to see if you're going to be at World of Asphalt in Nashville, TN, and it's something I am anxious to see myself demonstrated in the field.