Why no roll up doors

[Dozerboy]

I can bend a cat door enough to get out the front door if I have to. I’m not heavy set though.

 

[digger242j]

And if I needed another reason to dislike them...

Saturday a job superintendent asked me to stop by his site and move half a dozen pallets of material with their Cat. I dropped the bucket off and mounted the forks, only to find that the forks were set just a little too wide to get into the pallets. So, of course, the solution to that is to get out and move them in a little bit. But when you can't get out the door unless the arms are all the way down, it makes it kinda hard to adjust the forks because they're sitting hard on the ground. And of course since it was Saturday, I was the only one on the site...

(I dropped them back off, and picked one side up by hand, while kicking a concrete block underneath to support them. Got it done, but it shouldn't have to be that difficult.)

 

[gearhead82]

Before buying the CAT 289D we tried a Kubota, I wasn't a fan of the roll up door because it was difficult to open/close and really effected head room for me (6'3")

I agree 100% on this. Would never buy one because I feel like I am doing the limbo every time I get in and out of the machine. Also forget any chance of ever wearing a hard hat while operating. Yes, I can take it off but then it must be stored which is also impossible to do without throwing it in the floor (not a good idea either).

 

[05rammer]

I'm 6'2" and have plenty of room in a Tak to wear my hard hat while operating. Some heavy wire works great for a hard hat hook.

 

[jacobd]

Why don't manufacturers build escape hatches into the roofs? That way when flames are rolling up the back window and you can't swing the front door open because the arms are stuck you can just knock out the ceiling and climb up and out. Would also be good if the machine flips nose down, nose up or on it's side. Of course a roof hatch wouldn't help with day to day inconveniences but for emergencies it seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[suladas]

I think the swing door would be a lot better if they made it so you could have the arms up a few inches before the door would hit it would make it a bit harder to get in but not too bad, having to have to arms down to the last hair is really annoying. The height would only be an issue if you wanted to operate with it open. I could only dream of operating with a hard hat, I am lucky if I have enough head room to begin with with most cabs with nothing on my head. It is annoying, but overall I find I don't run into it much.

In all my years of swing doors never had a situation of having to get out. But if I did, the glass isn't very strong. Don't ask me how I know (broken glass doors a few times). One kick and there will be nothing left of the glass. As far as getting out the back, i've never tried but even at 6'5" 290lbs I know if the machine caught fire I could get out that back window pretty dahm quick.

 

[gearhead82]

Why don't manufacturers build escape hatches into the roofs? That way when flames are rolling up the back window and you can't swing the front door open because the arms are stuck you can just knock out the ceiling and climb up and out. Would also be good if the machine flips nose down, nose up or on it's side. Of course a roof hatch wouldn't help with day to day inconveniences but for emergencies it seems like a no brainer to me.

All manufacturers are required to put a glass breaking hammer in the cab for that very reason. You knock out the front glass.

 

[digger242j]

But if I did, the glass isn't very strong. Don't ask me how I know (broken glass doors a few times). One kick and there will be nothing left of the glass.

That doesn't match my experience.

The one CAT that I sometimes operate had the front window broken (job superintendent/part owner of the company, put a branch through it), and it left about a third of the glass in the frame. (It's not one smooth sheet, but three different pieces that meet at just a bit of an angle.) It's laminated glass, not tempered glass. Having that partial windshield was worse than having none at all, so I took my feet to it, and had to really work at it to get it out of there.