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I am considering buying a Mauldin 1550-C paver. I have heard that the Mauldins do not lay the best quality of mat. I have also heard that they leap-frog and have a tendency to leave empty spots in the mat. Can anybody confirm or refute what I have heard.

bigpappy,

Hello, and thank you for your interest in a MAULDIN 1550-C.  My name is Cameron Calder and I am one of the four brothers who own Calder Brothers Corporation the company that manufacturers the MAULDIN brand of paving equipment.

The 1550-C features our patented Freedom IV screed which automatically matches the extension to the main screed.  As I am sure you would expect, we feel that this screed in fact lays an outstanding mat!  And on that note we would be more than happy to furnish you with contractor references.

Different situations can cause any screed to perform below peak performance.  Such as general screed settings as described in the operators manual.

I can honestly say that when I go to a job site to address an underperforming screed what I normally find is a screed that is out of adjustment; anything from negative crown invert to negative extension angle of attack.  I assure you, once properly adjusted our screeds will lay the most beautiful mat in the industry.

A public forum is not the right place, but I would be happy to email you privately some photos showing the mat laid by our pavers head to head against competitive machines.

Outside of standard adjustments there are two areas that can cause Freedom IV mat defects.  First, this screed once properly adjusted requires ZERO operator adjustment to attain a seamless and texture matching mat between the extension and the main screed.  By properly adjusted I am referring to the rotational shim system that is explained in our manual, and if required, is set during the new paver start-up service by the dealers technician.  Second,  is damage, it is easy to back screeds into objects, in certain cases this can knock items out of adjustment that may not be apparent, other than in mat results.

The two areas you discussed in your post [leap-frog] and [empty spots in the mat].  I think what you are referring to is what I would call a pulled mat.  In other words the mat looks like the screed has pulled or stretched the asphalt.  Both of these situations can occur on any screed and is normally the result of either over compaction, (angle of attack is too steep) OR “bullnozing”, (angle of attack is negative).  Both conditions are easy to correct.  Either your dealer or our free telephone technical support can help you with this.

Please feel free to contact me or our free technical support anytime.  The number at the factory is (864) 244-4800 and my email is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).  The technical support email is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), same phone number.

Thanks again for your inquiry.

Cameron