The Ultimate Large Dozer??

[Steve Frazier]

What features would you design in to a D8 or larger sized dozer to make it better than anything available today?

 

[qball]

I love a D8h, I would run one happily, open cabbed, any time, but in my humble opinion, a Cat D8r is pretty close to perfect. Good grunt, good visibility, comfy, quick and pretty damn reliable.

 

[d9gdon]

A hydrostatic transmission like the D5G in a large dozer would seem to add a lot of productivity.

How about taking a cue from the King Ranch versions of the F150 pickup as far as real leather and air conditioned seats?

Get rid of the plastic, EVERYWHERE. Build them to last, you're charging for it anyway...

Better headlights.

Wider variety of diesel electric offerings. Possibly CNG power plant options.

Air ride or hydraulic cushioned cab.

More and better insulation in the cab.

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . d9gdon Could you (or anyone) elaborate on how hydrostatic transmissions will out work a power-shift?

I have never run one other than on wheel tractors and I'm just curious.

Cheers.

 

[John C.]

I loved running any big dozer and the comfort items in the cab are nice. As a mechanic though I would like some kind of pocket on top of the blade that would let me install a lifting jib for installing corner bits and cutting edges. There were always times when there wasn't a forklift around or extra people to help install those things and I just can't see how there was never any easy way to handle those male oriented birth control devices. Even a winch or come along eye would have been a big help.

Thinking more along those lines there should be an easier way to do the cutting edge bolts. I used to just hate kneeling or sitting underneath 25,000 to 35,000 pounds of blade with sparks flying everywhere from the torch. If I wasn't thinking about catching fire, the thought would run through my mind about what kind of mess I'd make trying to hold that steel off the ground. When I cleared that thought a half burned off nut would drop into my coveralls and I'd be dancing an Irish jig coming out from under the blade.

Mechanics don't retire, they survive!

 

[d9gdon]

Yair . . . d9gdon Could you (or anyone) elaborate on how hydrostatic transmissions will out work a power-shift?

I have never run one other than on wheel tractors and I'm just curious.

Cheers.

Yeah, they're like a power shift with an infinite number of gears. You have the ability to go from zero to 3rd gear speed. It's not like the more-you-push-forward-on-the-stick-the-faster-you-go kind of system which I hated.

It's a three position shifter, F-N-R. On this model, when you start the machine it defaults to second gear. When you take off by moving the stick into the forward mode(where it stays by detent), you can speed up or slow down the machine by a slow-fast button built into the handle. Push on the left button and it slows down, push on the right button and it speeds up(and stays there, like cruise control). If you wanna speed up or slow down just press and hold the button. It eliminates the herky jerky part of it. It has a gauge on the dash so you know what *gear* you're in, from 1 to 3. You can actually be below 1st gear, down to no forward motion.

Very productive in my opinion.

 

[Check Break]

In 2005 the company I worked for was stripping overburden, pushing with an 8T. The JD salesman was a young guy and told us his Liebherr 1050 would out push the Cat and offered to let us try it out. We worked the 1050 hard for a week. I'm no fan of the T but the 1050 couldn't keep up and was anemic. Maybe the heavy hydrostats have improved since then but I would have to see it to believe it. They're cheaper to build, hence Cat's decision to convert their smaller machines to hydrostats. Just a guess but if Cat could get similar performance out of the heavies, I would think they'd be building a hydrostat.