Tour the facilities

[Dozer575]

All this talk about this one is better etc.

Just go tour your local dealer. Here near my home, the Cat shop is full of hitracks getting fixed. And the Komatsu dealer has a few excavators in the shop. Its a rare thing to see a Komatsu dozer in the shop. The last place I worked our Komatsu dozers where the machines that were always up and running and the cat stuff was always broke. So how come the problems some have mentioned with Komatsu products, don't happen in this area? But the opposite is true its the cats that won't keep running. Can someone please explain why?

 

[Tigerotor77W]

Chances are you'll find more Toyota Camrys in a Toyta repair shop than Hyundai Sonatas at a Hyundai shop, too. If all brands have 25% of a machine down, then the brand that has 200 machines out will have 50 machines down; the brand with 100 machines will have 25 down.

But I'm loath to believe that this discussion isn't another shouting match. I think we're adult enough to each determine what's best for our operation and live with our decision.

 

[Dozer575]

Ah yeah you are correct to a certain point.
That is why you have to keep an eye on the happenings at those facilities.
And write it down on paper. That is make a study of it. If I was a betting man, I would bet you will see more Cats in the shops than the komatsu's.
You ought to go give it a go.

 

[Steve Frazier]

And you ought to find another song to sing.....this one is past played out!

 

[JDOFMEMI]

I have been to the local Cat dealer, and the dozers in the shop are mostly high hour machines being stripped down to rebuild for the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time. I sent 3 of them in this year for that reason.
In my operation, we rebuild a Cat D-9 and it runs steady with over 95% availability for 4 to 5 years. Then, when it is showing its age, it goes in for another rebuild. It is about 30% of the new cost that way.

I went to look for the Komatsu shop, but he only has 2 bays, and if a customer wants a machine rebuilt, it sits outside while being worked on. This is not a problem here though, as most people who have owned a Komatsu dozer auction it at about 8,000 hrs when its availability is down to 50% or less. Then they usually do not buy another Komatsu. Here in my market in machines D-6 size and up, Cat has 90% of the market. The contractors who tried Komatsu or Dresser machines have all gone broke.

 

[d4c24a]

Come On Then

All this talk about this one is better etc.

Just go tour your local dealer. Here near my home, the Cat shop is full of hitracks getting fixed. And the Komatsu dealer has a few excavators in the shop. Its a rare thing to see a Komatsu dozer in the shop. The last place I worked our Komatsu dozers where the machines that were always up and running and the cat stuff was always broke. So how come the problems some have mentioned with Komatsu products, don't happen in this area? But the opposite is true its the cats that won't keep running. Can someone please explain why?

WILL YOU ADMIT TO BEING D8BOB:beatsme

 

[digger242j]

You'll see more Chevies being repaired than Yugos too...

If nothing else, D8Bo..., er, Dozer575 continues to provide the Cat loyalists with something to respond to, and for the most part, those responses seem to be based on first hand experiences, as opposed to simple hearsay, and for the most part, they're resoundingly positive. Certainly, lacking any facts and figures from a disinterested third party, it's all just one man's word against the word of several dozen others. The weight of public opinion seems to favor Cat.

 

[d4c24a]

oops

i forgot to answer you question .......its simple cats are worth taking to the shop to repair everone knows that dont they


Yeah I'm the same guy. I have just been too busy, and also realize no one wants to hear my "hicrap" stuff. Hmmm this maybe censored. LOL
Anyway, I have been away from the dozing deal for awhile now. And miss it.

13/5/2006 acme

 

[Dozer575]

I do have many hours of seat time, in all different makes of dozers.
I have even done many stints on the hidrives. I do have the operating experience, thousands of hours since the late 70's. Not just on dozers. There are many construction company owners that know me well in the area. I could get a job at anyone of them operating tomorrow if I wished, well if the rain would ever stop.
Its funny, compairing this topic and how people react. I heard a deal on the radio this morning about the gore global warming deal, and it compairs to this as well.
The host of the radio show, told how these people went to an eviromental ralley and set up a fake petition to ban a chemical and see how many people would jump on the band waggon and sign it.
The speel was how bad this chemical was, it could cause a myrid of things like sweating, vomiting, etc. and how many companys used it, and it was found in the food etc.
It was called Dihydrogen oxide, they said hundreds of people signed the petition.
They played the recording for us the radio audiance, and one smart fella said isn't that "water" you want to ban water? It was so funny. You wonder how does that relate? They said, it shows people want to join something, that they think is the right thing, and don't even think about it. Its all emotions that guide them. It made me think of this.
I'm not loyal to any particular brand of dozer anymore. It was Cat just like all you people.
I removed my cat blinders years ago. Anyway sorry I shook things up. I'll just disapear, and may come and look occasionally, don't want to be banned from the board. Take care all.

 

[Wulf]

Well Mr 575 looks like you've caused quite a stir here, personally I'm not sure if you've particularly overstepped the mark. Many posters have referenced equipment as 'JUNK', a 'POS' or 'PEICE OF CRAP' without specific detail and those posts just slide away to oblivion. Something about Caterpillar dozers seems to raise everyones temperature though LOL...

 

[Steve Frazier]

Wulf, everyone is entitled to their opinions and we don't discourage anyone from posting theirs here, but we do require it be based on fact and personal experience, not baseless rhetoric. You are correct, if you look around the Board you will find an occasional post where a member has made a rash claim about a piece of equipment without backing it up. In administering the Board, we walk a fine line between keeping it a pleasant place to be and becoming censor Nazis. We'll let an occasional slip up slide by in order to maintain a friendly atmosphere here.

When the same member makes a number of this type of post however, we have to question the intent of the claims. We won't allow any manufacturer, regardless of paint color, to be slammed for no reason on a regular basis. If you look at all of Dozer575's posts as we have, you will find a good portion of them devoted to criticizing Cat's high track design without any substantiation. By investigating further, you will discover that Dozer575 is also D8Bob who frequents other Boards with the same mantra. Whatever the reason for his posts regarding the high tracks, until he backs them up with some kind of real evidence they are not welcome here.

We work very hard to treat everyone fairly here, and encourage the exchange of information and opinions but there are times where we must step in redirect things before they get out of hand. I hope that explains why we do what we do.

 

[deeredude]

do most of you guys take your equipment in to have it fixed??

 

[CM1995]

do most of you guys take your equipment in to have it fixed??

We handle everything that we can in the field ourselves. Services- 250, 500 and some 1000 hour services, cutting edges, teeth, minor plug and play components like batteries, alternators, welding, etc. Any major rebuilds, major electrical problems, turning bushings, hydraulic pumps, etc either go into the dealer shop or call the dealers mechanic.

 

[Countryboy]

You'll see more Chevies being repaired than Yugos too...

How you gonna knock it when you can't spell it......

 

[digger242j]

How would you spell it, wiseguy?

 

[Countryboy]

How would you spell it, wiseguy?

Chevy's......

And by the way, this thread is just begging to be hi-jacked. :cool2

 

[surfer-joe]

Just a few thoughts. Anything over about a D7 size tractor is just to big and expensive to transport into a shop for minor repair. Even most major repairs would be done in the field or at a mining projects maintenance facility. So likely any Komatsu's noted at a dealer shop would be either rentals or maybe trade-ins or new machines being prepped.

As a former Cat and International field serviceman, I did just about everything in the field including engine and transmission work. I'd have rather done some of this in our shop, and sometimes did, but a dusty or muddy patch of project ground was my usual home for several years. Maybe part of the reason I'm so derned crippled up with Arthritis now, eh?

I posted in another place here that some of the problem with a certain brand of equipment has nothing to do with manufacturer quality or machine performance, it's simply that a great many American operators do not like and will not operate foreign built units if they have a choice. If forced to do so, I've witnessed operators deliberately break a machine so they do not have to run it. Komatsu 475 dozers specifically come to mind in West Virginia. They just didn't stand a chance against the new Cat D9's we brought in. The operators were all members of the United Mine Workers and when their machine went down, they either used another one or sat or slept in the shop lunch room waiting for something to get fixed.

So, touring the dealer facilities isn't going to tell a guy much about machine popularity.

 

[CM1995]

So, touring the dealer facilities isn't going to tell a guy much about machine popularity.

The popularity of a machine usually is a good indicator of how it operates and its reliability but that is not always the case. Equipment owners/managers need to look at far more than popularity and that includes the dealership and manufacturer support. You may have the most popular machine as far as operators go but if you can't get parts and service to keep it producing - all you have is yellow scrap iron.:Banghead

Most operators that I know and employ do not judge a machine by its manufacturer or where it is built. They will evaluate the machine and give you a very honest answer about its comfort and performance. The machines today may be built virtually anywhere around the globe.

 

[surfer-joe]

CM1995, you must be working the 2nd shift tonight. You're right of course about most operators honestly evaluating equipment, but there are some others.......

My last comment, was that driving by a dealer facility to see how many machines were on his lot is a total waste of time if you are trying to compare machine populations. If you are interested in a machine, by all means actually tour the dealer facility and take a hard look and ask a lot of questions.

And, new manufacturers and new ideas have to play out somewhere.

Remember though, that the guy that buys your product may have just been let go from his job because you (and others) didn't buy enough of his companies product and they went out of business or off-shored manufacturing. How is that chap going to buy your product then? More to global business these days than just what's on the surface.

 

[digger242j]

Chevy's......

And by the way, this thread is just begging to be hi-jacked. :cool2

Well then we'll have to see if Squizzy's grammar school edumacation was any better than yours. I ain't got the time to hijack no thread's this morning...