140M Pics

[ovrszd]

A local governmental road maintenance agency called me and said they had a Demo 140M if I wanted to see it. I've got some video that I shot of it in action but I can't get it to download. It's MPG file type and around 20mb in size. Anyone know how to do that?

As for the still pics attached, they aren't much but they do make a couple points. First impression was that you can't see the front tires. Visibility straight forward is not good. Blade visibility is comparable to C model or earlier JD blades. It's better than our current D model JD though.

Second thing I noticed as soon as I entered the cab was how dirty it was inside with only 200 hours on it. Unless they ran with the doors open, it's got issues with the filtering system. Again, I'm comparing to a JD which keeps the cab very clean.

Third thing I noticed as I ran it around the circle drive, steering the front wheels, rear steering and raising/lowering the left blade at the same time is a challenge that would take a little practice. I only played with it for about five minutes. I found myself causing machine action that I didn't intend. For example when twisting the left joy stick to rear steer I had trouble maintaining a constant front steer angle and once found myself adjusting the blade height unintentionally.

As shown in one pic, the hydraulic hoses for the AWD system at the front wheels is dangerously exposed. Not sure why they did it that way. Looks like an afterthought so they just hung them on there. They are actually held up by a cheesy looking rubber strap.

The operators here said it has no engine guts compared to their 140H. They liked the tightness of the table and said it was an improvement. They said after a couple hours they adjusted to the joysticks until they would get in a tight spot or haul butt down the road, then they were still nervous. One operator said he had to look at the rear steer gauge to tell when the machine was straight because you aren't looking down the backbone at the front tires like the H model. They hadn't used the AWD at all so had no opinion about that.

As for me comparing it to our JD770D, I didn't like the limited visibility straight forward. If you want to know what's going on under the front axle or just in front of the center of the blade it's an effort and requires you to move around in the seat, which then changes your hand position on the joysticks which are very sensitive.

I struggled as I said above with the complexity of the two steering functions and blade lift all on one stick.

The fuel tank appears very exposed.

The cab has shrunk quite a bit with little to no space for extra clothing, cooler, etc. The cab doesn't appear to seal very well.

The hydraulics appear to be about the same speed on the blade as our JD. JD turntable might be a little quicker but lift/lower, sideshift, blade tilt seems to be comparable.

An operator that lives near me is getting a new 140M in a couple weeks. When it shows up we'll park it beside our JD770D and get some really detailed pics for comparison.

If someone can tell me how to load these videos I'll post them up.

[hoeman600]

long live the H model:my2c

[plowking740]

whats that screen for below the key, between your legs, is that for a blade control? it wasnt in the one that I tested.

[hoeman600]

mabye G.P.S. ?:beatsme

[ovrszd]

long live the H model:my2c

The operator and I were talking about that and I said I had never heard anything bad about the H model and considered it the best one ever. He said he liked their G model better than the H but when I tried to get details about it he was vague and ended up talking about sliding windows or something. :beatsme

[ovrszd]

whats that screen for below the key, between your legs, is that for a blade control? it wasnt in the one that I tested.

Yep, blade control. This machine was wired for all that but of course didn't have the high priced hardware attached. One of the operators said he had heard that you can also get a rear camera that uses that monitor?? I'm not sure about that.

[CAT D9H]

long live the H model:my2c

Couldnt agree more !!!!

[9420pullpan]

That screen is AccuGrade, either GPS or Laser

[Tigerotor77W]

Guys, to be fair, picking up (and loving) the joysticks isn't going to come in a day... there are operators who take years to adapt to joysticks in skid-steers (from pedals), let alone the banks of levers in a motor grader! Yes there will be bumps and jolts at first... but given time, your opinion may change.

Don't give up on the M just because a few hours says that it's awkward and difficult to control.

[hoeman600]

long live the H model:my2c
quoting myself id still like to run one. only used the simulater

[euclid]

that thing is a fly by wire machine! Most modern stuff in jet aircraft. I think it is amazing since I operated a 1969 12 series PTO drive arms.

[ovrszd]

that thing is a fly by wire machine! Most modern stuff in jet aircraft. I think it is amazing since I operated a 1969 12 series PTO drive arms.

Yes, totaly drive by wire. Not a lever to be found in the cab.

[euclid]

Yes, totaly drive by wire. Not a lever to be found in the cab.

I'm sure it could be a trouble shooting nighmare, but I suspect besides industry pressure from other manufactures it is a great thing. I'd give it a go once i learned all the little knobs on the stick.

[CAT DEMONSTR8R]

The 140M has 8 E.C.Ms so it does take a little while for everything to sink up. the 140ms being delivered now have been flashed to slow down the steering and reduce the degee of rotation of the wheels with every upshift. theres basically 8 different steering maps. I always tell customers to hold the steering control tight front to back for positive blade control and loose side to side so the weight of yer hand doesnt give input to the steering. Ive had the pleasure of roading M series blades hundreds of miles. being that its easier and cheaper to road it than to have haul trucks move the demo machines from county barn to county barn. the machine wants to travel straight but i notice when im on rural highways at full speed and a semi is aproaching in the opposite direction i have a tendency to oversteer, wich usually makes the truck driver nervous and he gives me plenty of room lol.

[Northart]

Here's one NC Machinery just had in the yard. Set up with a snow wing.

[euclid]

interesting set up for snow removal?

[satmike]

I'm about 250 hours into a 140m and it's starting to get really comfortable. I have had 6 software upgrades so far and so far the most I notice are I think 3 or 4 in the tranny and clutch witch have helped greatly. I bet I get a lot more updates as the summer goes on. I am starting to get used to the hydrolics and the feel or lack of and it's getting easyer to grade with every day. I even had to hurry the other night to finish as they were paving it in the morning and it went great. I still don't think the steering needs to be near as sensitive as it is. In graders with steering wheels you don't steer that much when grading anyways. i got in 1 of our H's the other day and the cab felt very old. I think I'm past the point of no return.

[Vantage_TeS]

Most guys only use the articulation to steer while grading and hardly ever touch the steering wheel. Or at least the good ones ;)

As for having to look at the gauge to see if you are centered, why bother? Right hand button on the left stick is auto center for the articulation!

The back up cameras are mounted above the front window, or at least the 24Ms are set up that way.

I primarily run hoe so hopping onto an M is a laugh for me. The older style is still fun to operate as you are always dancing your fingers around pulling 3-4 levers at once.

[ovrszd]

Most guys only use the articulation to steer while grading and hardly ever touch the steering wheel. Or at least the good ones ;)


Wow,,, I must be a horrible operator since I am constantly adjusting direction with the steering wheel. :o

I use one hand controls lifting/lowering blade with palm of right hand and running rear steer with right hand thumb plus steering with the left hand.

[Grader4me]

Wow,,, I must be a horrible operator since I am constantly adjusting direction with the steering wheel. :o


:o yup, I'm with you on this one. Darn steering wheel..why must I always keep using it? Chalk it up to lack of experience? :beatsme

[Grader4me]

interesting set up for snow removal?

Same wing setup that we have. They are going to find that the wing will be quite aggressive at that angle. Been there, done that, and found the cure...;)

[roadrunner]

G4Me,
Did you roll your Craig wing ahead to solve the aggression or what worked for you?

[Grader4me]

G4Me,
Did you roll your Craig wing ahead to solve the aggression or what worked for you?

Glad you asked as it gives me a chance to tell a story. I solved this problem years ago. I was always shearing off the main pin that connects the padlock(butterfly some call it) to the wing because of the angle. The only way the problem could be solved is the top of the wing had to be tilted ahead. I had the welder come out and got him to cut off the existing top ear on the front wing slide. He then built a new ear that was longer with the hole about 2 inches further out than the bottom one. When we connected the padlock back into the wing slide this made the wing tilt ahead. Kind of looked funny with that top ear longer than the bottom one and the guys actually laughed when they seen it. But... from that day I never broke another pin. A few years after that our new graders had this exact set up on the front wing slide. Should have got it patented I guess :Banghead

Now you can get them with a hydraulic tilt. Wow!

[roadrunner]

I had the same situation also and had to put in a longer extention to roll the wing ahead.Had a few trying to tell us that it would be less aggressive rolled all the back.( as shown in the previous picture.)
So we lengthened the bar and proved it to them!:Banghead
Now we have tilt on the newr wing as well!!!!!
Go Figure!!!:eek:

[Vantage_TeS]

Wow,,, I must be a horrible operator since I am constantly adjusting direction with the steering wheel. :o

I use one hand controls lifting/lowering blade with palm of right hand and running rear steer with right hand thumb plus steering with the left hand.

Depending on what you are doing sometimes you have to adjust your front wheels alot (especially when its wet and you are sliding around). Next time you are out just try setting your front wheels straight and then only using the articulation to steer. Once you get in the habit of using it, you will find it alot easier as you aren't constantly jumping off your left controls.

[Grader4me]

Depending on what you are doing sometimes you have to adjust your front wheels alot (especially when its wet and you are sliding around). Next time you are out just try setting your front wheels straight and then only using the articulation to steer. Once you get in the habit of using it, you will find it alot easier as you aren't constantly jumping off your left controls.

Welcome to the forum! To each his own I guess. Once you get your grader set whether it be grading or what ever, you are not continually fighting with the steering wheel. That is where experience will kick in. The last thing that I want to do when getting that straight line is to start playing around with the articulating steering. So it's really not a fair statement saying only the good ones do this. Probably most of the grader operators on this forum are excellent operators, and probably most use the steering wheel if equipped when grading. Just my 02 cents for what it's worth..

[roadrunner]

Is it just me or do you not still have to counter react with the steering wheel after you make an adjustment with articulation? I know that i do but don't get me wrong I use articulation all the time just not for primary steering,because you always would have to re-adjust your blade you just set.

[Vantage_TeS]

Welcome to the forum! To each his own I guess. Once you get your grader set whether it be grading or what ever, you are not continually fighting with the steering wheel. That is where experience will kick in. The last thing that I want to do when getting that straight line is to start playing around with the articulating steering. So it's really not a fair statement saying only the good ones do this. Probably most of the grader operators on this forum are excellent operators, and probably most use the steering wheel if equipped when grading. Just my 02 cents for what it's worth..


You are right, I forget most of you do other things then track up and down a haul road all day :D

[Grader4me]

You are right, I forget most of you do other things then track up and down a haul road all day :D

:cool: :thumbsup Look forward to your posts :)

[ovrszd]

Depending on what you are doing sometimes you have to adjust your front wheels alot (especially when its wet and you are sliding around). Next time you are out just try setting your front wheels straight and then only using the articulation to steer. Once you get in the habit of using it, you will find it alot easier as you aren't constantly jumping off your left controls.

I do gravel road maintenance. I can't steer only with the rear steer.

I am always amused by operators talking about jumping off their left controls. :)

That's why I always have my JD machines converted to one hand lift controls. I get a big kick out of watching road maintenance operators using two hand controls trying to juggle around a curve, steering and blade lifting, with their left hand jumping back and forth such as you mentioned. I never have that issue and rarely remove my left hand from the steering wheel. :)

[RonG]

I also prefer the one hand setup over the more common left and right configuration.
I try to get the two handed ones converted if I can.The way it ends up usually is that you lose the float capability on the left side because they don't change the spool valves,they only change the hoses but JD sells a kit to do it right.Ron G

[Grader4me]

I've tried the deere one hand set up but I just didn't like it. I dunno, but I just couldn't get it to feel right. :beatsme :crazy

[ovrszd]

Variety is the spice of life Grader4me. For the work I do 90% of my time is spent looking at the right end of the blade. With both controls in my right hand, it just feels natural. If I adjust the circle or blade tilt I have to let go of the steering wheel to use my left hand. Otherwise I'm just cruising along, driving with one hand, running the blade with the other.

As for the float issue, I've been lucky that my machines always have a scarifier on the front. If the machine is setup with two hand controls, the scarifier is the second lever in on the right side. So a hose swap moves the scarifier to the far left lever and the left blade lift to the second from right lever and I retain float. There's a restrictor washer under the hose fitting on the controller of each blade lift. If you swap the scarifier and blade lift you must remove the fitting on each and move the restrictor washer to the controller that becomes blade lift. If you don't the speed will be too fast and you can't control the blade. Also the scarifier will be so slow you can't use it with a plow attachment.

John Deere no longer builds their machine with one hand controls at the assembly plant. That has become a dealer modification. JD offers a kit that adds a controller on the right end.

[Grader4me]

Variety is the spice of life Grader4me. For the work I do 90% of my time is spent looking at the right end of the blade. With both controls in my right hand, it just feels natural. If I adjust the circle or blade tilt I have to let go of the steering wheel to use my left hand. Otherwise I'm just cruising along, driving with one hand, running the blade with the other.



Yeah I know. I wasn't on one very long, so probably I would have got use to it. To me it didn't feel "natural" (word I was looking for..thanks) but that's just me. Variety is the spice of life huh? Might hold true to controls and equipment but when it comes to women...back up the boat...toooo expensive :Banghead :drinkup

[roadrunner]

I do gravel road maintenance. I can't steer only with the rear steer.

I am always amused by operators talking about jumping off their left controls. :)

That's why I always have my JD machines converted to one hand lift controls. I get a big kick out of watching road maintenance operators using two hand controls trying to juggle around a curve, steering and blade lifting, with their left hand jumping back and forth such as you mentioned. I never have that issue and rarely remove my left hand from the steering wheel. :)


Ovrszd;

I like the way you have your controls set up on the right.
I also try to get everything like front plow lift and all wing controls on my right but I still have my left blade lift cylinder on the left side.Are you meaning that you have both blade lift cylinder levers on your right side spool?:beatsme

[Grader4me]

Ovrszd;

I like the way you have your controls set up on the right.
I also try to get everything like front plow lift and all wing controls on my right but I still have my left blade lift cylinder on the left side.Are you meaning that you have both blade lift cylinder levers on your right side spool?:beatsme


Sorry to cut in here. The deere grader that I run for a short period of time was set up like mentioned. On the right side were the left & right moldboard lift levers. They was close together so that you could work them with one hand. Articulating steering control was set up on the steering wheel column just underneath the steering wheel. Some of the controls were push switches.

[ovrszd]

Starting at the right side, first lever is right blade control, second lever is left blade control, third lever is rear steer. They are all three to the rear, meaning they are in a row, not one forward, one rearward. The knobs on the two lift levers almost touch each other they are so close. That allows me to have both in my hand at once.

I run with those two in the curl of my fingers at the first joint out of my palm. Pull straight back to lift both, straight forward to lower both. Flex the wrist and I can lower one end while lifting the other end or can run one at a time. All without moving my hand off the controls. All the while my right thumb is resting on the rear steer knob and I can run it at any time.

If I am turning around, I am steering with the left hand, lifting both ends of the blade with right hand fingers and rear steering with right thumb, all simultaneously.

I understand the concept of industry standard for operators that might switch machines periodically. But there's no way "Cat" controls are as efficient as the setup I use.

I also believe the new 140M joystick controls are a step further toward efficiency. John Deere caught a lot of flak with the one hand control setup and was condemmed by the old timers for going outside industry standard. Now what are those old timers gonna say about the 140M??? Try jumping back and forth between a 140M and 140H. :eek:

[roadrunner]

Ovrszd;
What snow equipment do you use?(front plow and wing)
You say you usually watch the right side of the blade 90 percent of the time,do you just snowplow or also blade gravel?I am in road maintence as well.I wouldn't mind trying your lever pattern.

I usually set my blade and then run the Blade Tilt for up and down lift, when I turn corners.I don't have any problems with this way as my whole blade raises or lowers the same on both sides.

I am just trying to think if I can set my grader up your way for the winter because I have so many snow plow functions on my right side.( which I also moved most to my right hand)

Still like your setup though,maybe let us here know your exact lever function from left side to right side!(for the winter and summer!)

[RonG]

Starting at the right side, first lever is right blade control, second lever is left blade control, third lever is rear steer. They are all three to the rear, meaning they are in a row, not one forward, one rearward. The knobs on the two lift levers almost touch each other they are so close. That allows me to have both in my hand at once.

I run with those two in the curl of my fingers at the first joint out of my palm. Pull straight back to lift both, straight forward to lower both. Flex the wrist and I can lower one end while lifting the other end or can run one at a time. All without moving my hand off the controls. All the while my right thumb is resting on the rear steer knob and I can run it at any time.

If I am turning around, I am steering with the left hand, lifting both ends of the blade with right hand fingers and rear steering with right thumb, all simultaneously.

I understand the concept of industry standard for operators that might switch machines periodically. But there's no way "Cat" controls are as efficient as the setup I use.

I also believe the new 140M joystick controls are a step further toward efficiency. John Deere caught a lot of flak with the one hand control setup and was condemmed by the old timers for going outside industry standard. Now what are those old timers gonna say about the 140M??? Try jumping back and forth between a 140M and 140H. :eek:

I used to run a Huber Maintainer that was set up with the right hand controls.
The machine came from a large material provider/quarry/paving company with several graders and paving crews and could have been modified there but I prepared a lot of roadbase with it and liked it enough that I prefer that configuration now.
I am all for multitasking,even running a dozer I often pull a steering clutch and hold it with the inside of my leg while I do other things with my hands and the right hand controls on the grader just seem natural to me,it frees up my other hand for whatever.Ron G

[ovrszd]

Ovrszd;
What snow equipment do you use?(front plow and wing)
You say you usually watch the right side of the blade 90 percent of the time,do you just snowplow or also blade gravel?I am in road maintence as well.I wouldn't mind trying your lever pattern.

I usually set my blade and then run the Blade Tilt for up and down lift, when I turn corners.I don't have any problems with this way as my whole blade raises or lowers the same on both sides.

I am just trying to think if I can set my grader up your way for the winter because I have so many snow plow functions on my right side.( which I also moved most to my right hand)

Still like your setup though,maybe let us here know your exact lever function from left side to right side!(for the winter and summer!)

I maintain 48 miles of gravel roads, summer and winter. I've never tried using blade tilt for lift but guess it would work. I sometimes adjust blade tilt depending on type of material. My lift controls being together makes it easy for me to get equal blade lift on each end with one hand.

As for snow equipment we have a V plow that goes on the front scarifier tool bar and is lifted using that controller. We also have a hydraulic angle snow blade that attaches the same way. Lifts with the scarifier control and angles with the ripper control (we don't use a ripper). We also have a small wing that hinges at the right end of the moldboard and pushes off an adjustable bar that bolts to the center of the moldboard. It's controlled by the two blade lifts and the blade tilt controls. It's very handy for winging back drifts since it can be sideshifted so far out past the grader.

As for my controls, 1st picture is of the left side. Counting from the left toward center. 1st lever is Scarifier. 2nd lever is Ripper. 3rd lever is blade side shift. 4th lever is blade tilt. 5th lever is circle turn.

Second picture is of the right side. Counting from the right toward center. 1st lever is right blade lift. 2nd lever is left blade lift. 3rd lever is rear steer. 4th lever is wheel lean. 5th lever is circle side shift.

Third picture is of my right hand on the controls. Blade lifts under my fingers. Rear steer under my thumb. Arm resting on seat arm rest.

[roadrunner]

Nice to have the pics of levers.Now I understand your setup,Thanks.
I maintain over 300 miles in the summer and over 500 in the winter.
The blade tilt works great for gravel blading. If you need more material coming off your blade, tilt it ahead----if you need less roll it back.I use carbides only after I get my (soft -spring roads in shape) and get all that lovely grass cut from growing out of control!
Do you have a pic of your Deere with your snow equipment on?:drinkup

[Grader4me]

Picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks for sharing

[ovrszd]

I only have pics of the plow on. I should have took some pics last winter with the wing on. Maybe next winter!!! :)

Second picture is of my wing that my wife took while I was moving it. If you study the pic you can understand how it works. you can see the hinge at the small end. You can also see the adjustable brace hanging behind the wing. There's a bracket that bolts to the backside of the moldboard and the adjustable brace fastens to that bracket. It wouldn't be very effective in the Northlands where you are pushing frozen snow piles/drifts, but it works great here for winging back drifts. I hadn't used it for five years until this past winter when we got a lot more snow than normal.

[ovrszd]

Roadrunner, wow!!!! 300 miles of roads to maintain!!!! There's not enough hours in the day here for one grader to maintain that much. Maybe our roads need more attention. They are certainly not well built and few are elevated. We try to improve some each year but it's limited by revenue. It's a part-time job for me where I run 300-400 hours a year depending on winter snow.

[Bellboy]

Phambili 770D, phambili!! (Up 770D up!!)
Our roads dept just up the road has about 4 graders, and they probably work about a week a month. They are: JD/ Bell 770C, Cat 120G, Gallion or dresser T500D, and a Volvo G720. So there you go, Cat, Deere and Volvo! The Volvo must work out in Mafakathini (Ma-fa-Ga-teenee) as it often isn't in the yard, as the equipment mostly comes home at night. That little toggle switch really looks so dicky, a last minute on the epitomization of beauty.:)

[ovrszd]

Phambili 770D, phambili!! (Up 770D up!!)
Our roads dept just up the road has about 4 graders, and they probably work about a week a month. They are: JD/ Bell 770C, Cat 120G, Gallion or dresser T500D, and a Volvo G720. So there you go, Cat, Deere and Volvo! The Volvo must work out in Mafakathini (Ma-fa-Ga-teenee) as it often isn't in the yard, as the equipment mostly comes home at night. That little toggle switch really looks so dicky, a last minute on the epitomization of beauty.:)

I guess you are talking about the toggle switch by the right levers?? That's the differential lock switch. Yeah, I don't know about dicky but it looks cheap!!! Deere has been using a switch like that in that location for several years now. It's like they forgot about it until production time and then said awwww shucks,,,, let's just stick it right there!!! :beatsme

[Bellboy]

Ovrszd, did you do the control switch yourself, or was it a factory option? That funny little switch looks like you can bump it so easy, probably not the best thing to have when grading a road.

[plowking740]

That little swtich is kinda handy right there. I can just use my thumb to flip in the Diff lock, never taking my hands off the controls. If only the 6wd was like that as well.

[ovrszd]

The switch is put there by the factory. That's why I say it looks kinda cheap.

As for location, I think the cruise control throttle switch and the diff lock switch location should be swapped. I hate the location of the throttle control switch. Whoever designed that has never ran a grader. It's on the console to the right of the seat. I'll try to get a picture.

[ovrszd]

When my buddy gets his new 140M we'll park the 770D beside it and I'll take a bunch of pictures for comparison. Should be in the next couple weeks. I'll start a new thread then.

[Bellboy]

Ovrszd, did you do the control switch yourself, or was it a factory option? That funny little switch looks like you can bump it so easy, probably not the best thing to have when grading a road.

What I meant to say was: did you change the grader controls, or was it a factory option?

[Lashlander]

This floated in last week. Could be the one Northart posted pics of in this thread. Going to the Airport.