The Ultimate Medium Dozer?

[OCR]

Belly pan winch:

I think there needs to be some kind of winching mechanism that works from inside the cab for the belly pans. I don't know how many hundreds of hours I've put in pulling a pan to change a hose and then jacking or stringing come alongs and chains underneath to get the thing back up

Man... you got that right... I've been trying to get something figured out just
like you suggested. We've got a JD 750c, and I doubled the thickness on the
bottom... welded 5/8 plate on both pans... afraid of putting a big ding in one
from a rock. They're heavier now... but they were too heavy to mess with
originally. I usually remove them both every year to clean them... pine needles, sticks, grass, or anything burnable; do a lot of fire work and I don't
want anything in the pans to catch on fire.

The front one isn't too bad... but the back one is horrible to get back on by
your self... and it's usually "by your self"... Just mention "belly pan", and it seems you become the only living person on earth...

I can put a bar across the c-frame and use the blade to lift the front one up
(6-way)... but the back one needs to go in at a slight angle and then up.

I think I've got a winch system figured out, and I'll explore the concept the
next time I tilt the cab.

OCR

 

[Eric]

The only thing I can think of is purley convienience stuff. I don't run small stuff, I spend most of my time on a D10T. I would like to see some sort of a deep tray that runs the length of the rear window, for storing stuff. I work a 10- 16 hour shift depending on the day. I take a jacket, lunchbox, and a gallon water jug. My biggest complaint especially with Komatsu, is that they don't have adaquit storage. I would also like to see tool boxes mounted outside somewhere.
The T model has handy little storage straps, but they wear out and are kinda akward to use. As far as the other stuff the T is tops as far as I'm concerned. Would also like to see a from the factory mounted slope meter on the RIGHT side as the seat faces this direction anyway. Love the padded knee area and the air ride seat, just wish the seat bottom it's self would tilt forward to relieve pressure on the back of your legs.
I also agree with who ever posted something about heavier as opposed to larger. That T is a horse, if it were heavier I think you could get longer more productive pushes, with out spinning out. Oh yeah, I'd like a 6pack and a burger too!

 

[morgsD6r]

hey guys i think maybe a tilt seat for batter work insteard of sitting on the arm rest.thats about it morgan

 

[nextdoor]

gday all, someone mentioned earlier about having the armrest with seat (all as one) like what is used in ag tractors, it is good but Cat would have to beef it up a lot to take the rough treatment that the larger dozers would give it. I have a Cat tractor and I see they have now used the dash out of it in a lot of earthmoving gear and it seems durable but if they used the armrest without major work on the chassis, it would be a disaster.I totally agree on the belly plate, they are a pain in the a#$% and something should have been done decades ago. For a start the hinge on them should be on the inside so they cannot get damaged(in saying that I only have a 9L so maybe they have changed). I better leave it there cos Im a farmer and I might winge all day!! Cheers.

 

[Burnout]

I have a strange idea for cat... what the hell is with not having cupholders in some machines? Our 312B has a sweet cupholder... but my new 973C has nothing? Also if cat would rework the inside of their clutch brake setup dozers like an older Komatsu it would be perfect. Put the throttle on the left hand side of the seat. Our old D85's I can put my feet up on the dash and do my dozing with just my hands. Transmission, steering and throttle all on the left hand and blade with the right. The perfect setup for me.

And on a side note.... if they could work it in that my machine had more power but used about 100 gallons less fuel a day that would be great too......

 

[Ross]

Offer a Sealed version for Swamp Buggy applications.

Ross

 

[Dozer575]

I sat on a new D155 today. My advice to all the manufactures of large dozers is. Move that seat over to the left like it was on the older cats. I wish I could show the engineers why. The other option is moving the blade forward.

 

[t3chw00di]

My Perfect Dozer.

Hey guys,
Here's a few things I would like added or changed to make our life at work more comfortable and convenient. Design engineers should have to spend a few full 12+ hour days in machines and realize that we spend more time in them than we do at home. I've been running dozers for 29 years, and am a finishing operator.
Anyways, my list...

Powertrain
I would like it to be fully hydrostatic like the small john deere dozers. I love being able to turn on a dime in tight areas. I don't do it very often and in fact I'm more known for making 6 or 8 point turns just to avoid making ruts, but in some spots you don't have that option.

Trackframes
Get rid of the clutter!!! I'm thinking about shoveling tracks with this one. Nothing worse than constantly hitting bolt heads, lift eyes, lips, etc when you are shoveling tracks. Please keep the surface smooth. Give us enough room under carrier rollers and sprockets to get a track shovel in sideways. Move the track tightener access so it's not right in the way of cleaning around rollers.

Cab
First of all Sound Suppression. I'd like to be able to hear myself think and be able to understand what's being said on the radio/2way/phone without stopping the machine to listen. I don't think it would be too difficult to add a little more padding to the walls and floors to accomplish this.
More storage space!!! Seems to me that cabs have gotten smaller over time. With me in the cab I need room for the following. My lunch kit, 2 liter thermos, bottles of water, windex, paper towel, can of WD40, and a can of contact cleaner. (which I need to clean gps receiver cable ends sometimes) As someone above mentioned, a tool box mounted outside of the cab would be fine for storing some of these things. And there's always little extra's you carry with you that there is no proper place to store.
I would like to see things like cup holders, ashtrays, little storage pockets (think cigarettes) put into 5"x5" modules that can be switched around and located (plugged in) on either side, wherever the particular operator wants them. I happen to be left handed so an ashtray on the right side and cup holder on the left just sux for me. If I had the ability to locate that ashtray to the left (just above the steering lever), I would be able to keep my floor a lot cleaner.

Blade
This is more wishfull thinking than anything because I don't know how realistic it would be. I would like to see the blade angle more. In wet material like the silty clay I am working in right now, I can't get it to roll off the blade. If I could angle the blade a little more it would sure help.
I would also like to see a hydrolic wing that lowers from either side of the blade for trimming up ditch toes, etc.

Tracks
I would like to be able to hydrolicly move the entire track frames forward and back a few inches. This way you could set them depending on what you were doing. If you were bulking dirt, you would move the tracks back giving you more weight on the front end for digging. If you are trimming, then move the tracks forward to be more stable on the front end. I just got a D6T a few days ago with a taller heavier blade and it seems a little front heavy compared to the D6R I've been running for the past year. Moving the tracks forward slightly would fix that. This could only work on high drive machines but it would be a nice option.

Computer
Some machines already have this, but some (like the D6's) don't. I would like the ability to set certain things like responsivness, hydrolic speed, aggressiveness, and the ability to disable cat's quick drop [feature?]
But I don't want it permanently disabled. Sometimes I need that feature (a quick jerk) to get this wet material off the blade.

Anyways, I don't want you to think that this is just a bitchfest. All the equipment has come a long way since I started running it so long ago, and overall I'm quite happy. I just happen to be a critic so usually only point out the bad things
Overall I love all the new technology.
Please excuse my spelling/grammar mistakes.

And if you are with CAT, feel free to invite me down to the cat proving grounds sometime ;P (somewhere warm when it's slow here in the winter would be great)

Cheers
Dennis

 

[Deas Plant]

Move seat to the left side?????????????????????????

Hi, Dozer 575.

I sat on a new D155 today. My advice to all the manufactures of large dozers is. Move that seat over to the left like it was on the older cats. I wish I could show the engineers why. The other option is moving the blade forward.

Yeah, I wish you could too. Why don't you explain your reasons? For mine it is still a little left of center and slanted to the right to make it easier to look round at your ripper or anything else you might be working with behind you.

To be perfectly honest, I manage to adapt my operating to wherever I happen be sitting. I have operated centre-sit graders and loaders, left sit 'dozers and scrapers and a right-sit excavator all in the same day. No problem.

Might that be 'cos I don't really KNOW where I'm at so it doesn't bother me being all switched around? LOL.

And just how is moving the blade forward going to improve things? The further ahead of the machine the blade is, the more it moves up or down as you go over a bump or through a dip, thus making it harder to follow and control. Sure you might be able to see the ground behind the blade a bit more but I have done some of my best dozing with D9G's and H's where the closest point to the ground that you could see on the back of the blade was about 10" above the ground. On most 4wd compactors, it's way more than that and some people can do a great job with them.

Just my 0.02.

 

[stumpjumper83]

I agree with deas, moving the blade ahead would make the machine touchier. I'm not sure but it probably would mess with the weight balance of the machine. I can see it messing with the tracking of the machine when you have the blade angled. What your doing is increasing the length of the lever that is shoving you sideways without increasing the ability of the dozer to resist that force.

If you really need to have a visual marker for your blade to ground contact, park the dozer on a level patch of gound / concrete, and paint a mark that lines up to where you can just see over the track. Or better yet, get a feel for your kitty.

 

[Deas Plant]

Bullseye.

Hi, Stumpjumper.
BULLSEYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[trackfanatic]

I don't think there will ever be an ultimate dozer but from a mechanics perspective I can think of some things I'd like to see in the current production units.

I think there needs to be some kind of winching mechanism that works from inside the cab for the belly pans. I don't know how many hundreds of hours I've put in pulling a pan to change a hose and then jacking or stringing come alongs and chains underneath to get the thing back up. And on that vein why isn't there some kind of adapter that I can use on the machine for dragging tracks on with. Something on the blade maybe or can be mounted on the hard nose so I don't have to use another machine and a 150 feet of chain or cable.

Easy fix mate. All our dozers get a couple of pieces of hollow bar welded to each section of the belly plate, with matching pieces on the frame. When you need to access inside you just slip in a pin to work as a hinge, put a hydraulic jack under the other side and undo the bolts. Then lower the jack, do the job and jack it up again. The plate just swings down to the bottom of the jack stroke on one side which gives room to get in. Hinging allows for easy alignment going back up, and means it cant slip off the jacks and squash you when you're dropping the bolts. I can lower any section of belly plate on one of ours, hose the dirt out, and have it up again in 30 minutes.


WARNING: Remove the pins when not in use. Otherwise if you do hang up and warp the plate you'll have to cut them out. And that's a nasty job. And leave enough room between each section of hollow bar for some movement.

 

[Bellboy]

Those are probably next Steve said we would beat this one to death then start on something else.

:deadhorse

I think rotating seats are good, so your whole console moves with you. Cat had this thing with right ways angled seats, for better blade and ripper visibility, so if it rotates, you can watch both sides of the blade and the ripper, hopefully at the touch of a button... Kinda like in a TLB... lets not go there...:deadhorse:angel

I think that making the cab quieter means that you can't hear what your machine is trying to tell you. I have never actually run a dozer, but that is what I would love to operate. Sound suppresion is good, but not too much, you still got to hear your machine.

 

[zhkent]

Does anyone else have mice problems if the equipment sits for days or months?
The buggers are awful on my older equipment, I can only imagine what they would do to newer electronic stuff.
To the end of durability and longevity I am not an electronics fan, I really don't see these newer machines lasting like the 70's model dozers.
To be fair to the new dozer I ran at a field day, it probably doesn't drop to a low rpm with the deaccelerator due to emissions, and maybe you could develop a touch for the brake. But man a new dozer ought to be able to be stopped and started moving smoothly. I guess it would start smooth enough if you could get stopped smooth, but seemed kinda designed to just change directions without feathering to a stop.
Things I would add to the list: Mouse proof, All electronics and harnesses need to be easy to trouble shoot and not require a company field tech. Brakes that can be feathered. Long Lasting!

 

[Construct'O]

I second the mice proof.That has been my thought on the electric drive D7E the rodents would have a field day on the electric harness

Midwest must be the only place that rodents live in heavy equipment:beatsme:usa

 

[Cat287B]

Size matters

We have a poll for age of members on here how about one for size? 6'4" 300+# makes the cabs awful cramped. Size 16 boot gets stuck too easy. Love to use foot rests on our new D6. Have to wear old football helmet to get in and out so I don't knock myself out. This thing is like sitting in the center seat on an airliner with fat broads on both sides.
Pete

 

[Squizzy246B]

This thing is like sitting in the center seat on an airliner with fat broads on both sides.
Pete

I always get that seat:Banghead:Banghead

 

[Deas Plant]

Ultimate dozer.

Hi, Folks.
The Ultimate Dozer? Getting EVERYBODY to agree on this would be like trying to get a unanimous vote from the U.N. on shooting Robert Mugabe to end his dictatorship --- just not going to happen.

In the D5 - D7 class? D5's, D6 's and smaller tend to do more trimming than bigger machines, the D7's included, so they tend to need a different balance from the bigger dozers which are more commonly used for bulk pushing and ripping. As mentioned in an earlier post, I personally consider the Cat D5B wide guage that I ran for 2 1/2 years to be the best all-round dozer that I have ever run. It could bulk push better, pound for pound, than a D10R. It would fill that 10 foot wide blade right up and boiling over the top and still keep on cutting more and loving it.

The same D5B was also a great little trimming machine. Most of the work that I did with it was levelling house pads to +/- around 1/2" to 3/4" - ignore the grouser marks - with laser monitoring, not laser controlled. It was great for this sort of work 'cos it could also RIP. I can't remember another small dozer that ripped like that little jigger and I've had my ample butt on a few. AND, it didn't have ANY electronics.

It had an uncertified, imitation open ROPS canopy on it that could have made a good cab if it had been closed in. For sure, it would have had more room inside than the low-roofed toilets that pass for cabs on current model Cat dozers. Cat engineers, are you listening? With the current cost of running earthmoving equipment, you don't want the operator having to stop the machine, get off and go somewhere far removed from the machine every time he feels like a drink of water. How about some space AND some stowage for a reasonable sized drink container and a reasonable sized lunch box?

Controllability is another issue that needs some attention, especially steering. Diff steer is great where you have room for it. I have found the diff steer machines that I have run to be a real PITA in tight spaces. Hydrostatic is way better in this regard. As for inter-connected clutches and brakes, they would be nice IF they were as precise as the earlier separated sytems but I have yet to find one that IS. Back to R+D on this one, fellers.

An isolated cab might be nice too, provided that it didn't flop about like a fresh-landed fish. I once drove a truck - for one short trip - that had a shock absorber mounted cab. When the truck went around a corner, the cab leaned outward so much it felt like it was going to fall over the side. Un-nerving, to say the least.

Still on cabs, I once operated a D8K dozer that had a front window in the cab that sloped outward toward the top. It was brilliant in the way that it eliminated reflections, both during the day and at night. The later Australian-built Cat 12E 17K graders also had this feature and they were great to use too, for the same reasons. Why has that 'technology' been shelved.

A/C and radio controls where you can get at them, speakers that you CAN hear clearly.

In short, a good power-to-weight ratio, good balance, good controllability, good all round vision, operator friendliness including good in-cab features and comfort, and GREAT reliability. Can any of you manufacturers fit ALL of that in one machine?

Just my 0.02.

 

[Bellboy]

Hi, Folks.
The Ultimate Dozer? Getting EVERYBODY to agree on this would be like trying to get a unanimous vote from the U.N. on shooting Robert Mugabe to end his dictatorship

:lmao:lmao:falldownlaugh Do you know where i am f-r--o-ho-ho-m? AAHH hahahahahaha. I nearly wet myself, mhmhmhmhmh mm:falldownlaugh:laugh:laugh Do-o you-o kno-haha-w how-ow-ow many times we talk abo-oh-oh ut this here???? hahahaha

 

[Deas Plant]

Getting A Laugh

Hi, Bellboy.
Glad you got a laugh out of it.