Difference in Cat 12G and 120G?

CountryBoy685
The 140G would be my choice especially if the machine is equipped 17.5 widebase tires. I’ve run a lot of different 140G’s through the years and they all have had good power. The 12G’s did fine in finishing applications and some road maintenance, but when it came to ditching, placing and heavy snow plowing they just didn’t have the same power. In the winter time when the machines were running on Number 1 fuel and were all loaded up with the snow plow attachments (nearly 8,000lbs.) you could really feel the difference. Remember the graders were all available with optional moldboards, optional tires and rims. The standard moldboard on both the 12 & 140 was 12 foot and the optional moldboard was 14 foot. I do remember that the majority of the 140H’s were being sold with the 14 foot moldboard. They even offered the 14 foot 160H moldboard as an option on the 140H, which was 3 inches taller and 1/8 inch thicker. It was recommended that it only be used in snowplowing and light road maintenance applications. I remember seeing some county 140G’s and 140H’s in Kansas which were equipped with a 14 foot moldboard and 2 foot extensions; the graders were primarily used for gravel road maintenance.

Mitch504
I don't think I could take the heat down there, I would need an oxygen tank and beer cooler in the cab at all times!
Regards, Randy

Most of the Counties and alot of the townships around here run 14+2 boards around here for their road maintenance machines. Most are cat 140 or 160's or deere 770 or 870's They are about the right size for 2 pass blading on 22-24 foot road widths. If the roads are a little narrower, say 18-20' they still work. We will take off the extension during the winter for snow removal. I have a deere that has a 12' board w/ 2-2' extensions. I personally think the 12' board works great in the winter with a wing, :my2c

Shortboard

Does a 12 footer cut ice better than a 14? Thanks again to Randy for all his information.

I'll add a couple of more items. When the graders moved to the M-series for Tier 3, a few additional changes happened. The 12M went onto the same platform as the 120M. They both use the same chassis and C6.6 engine. The 140M and 160M use the same chassis. As Randy mentioned, the 14M has a longer frame and weighs quite a bit more than a 14H. The 130G/135H was removed from the line with the M-series.

Today its very common to see the 14' by 27" tall moldboard on 140M's and it's standard on the 160M.

DB, ( I may be preaching to the choir, if so forgive me )You will find that the shorter the moldboard the more downpressure/sq in is applied to road surface. Also the thinner the cutting edge the easier it is to penetrate the ice( or during the summer the road base) When cutting ice one has to way the pros/cons of the thinner edge. The thinner edge will wear out much quicker but will cut the ice better. It all depends on how often you want to change edges. As far as the 12' over 14' in the winter, most all of my roads are narrower ( generally 20-22' road surface with a 2-3' shoulder) so the 12' board along with the wing works well for my application.

We have 12Gs and 2 140h machines all have 14ft. moldboards. The140s are heavier and don't slide the frontends around near as bad and do not spin as much

G'day Fellas,
First post here, although I have been reading the forum for some time now.
I don't mean to hijack the thread,but Iam unable to start a new one and you were talking about 12Gs and the like so I figured it would be OK.
I have one of the later 12Gs that has developed an annoying habit of not releasing the park brake, particulrly in the morning.
The compressor could be a little tired, but still seems to have plenty of capacity.
I have tried hooking up shop air to the supply side of the quick release valve and the actuator works fine every time, along with the qr valve.
I have replaced the control valve near the control lever but this made no difference at all.
I believe the later graders have a solenoid valve there as well, but Iam not sure of its purpose.
The system doesn't appear to have any major air leaks, and usually works fine after it warms up.
I would really appreciate any advice as I don't know what to try next.
Cheers, Greg

Awesome thread! I often have had this question before and everytime I ask a blade hand they shrug thier shoulders and say they dont know. Now I know! Thanks

Queenslander said:

G'day Fellas,
First post here, although I have been reading the forum for some time now.
I don't mean to hijack the thread,but Iam unable to start a new one and you were talking about 12Gs and the like so I figured it would be OK.
I have one of the later 12Gs that has developed an annoying habit of not releasing the park brake, particulrly in the morning.
The compressor could be a little tired, but still seems to have plenty of capacity.
I have tried hooking up shop air to the supply side of the quick release valve and the actuator works fine every time, along with the qr valve.
I have replaced the control valve near the control lever but this made no difference at all.
I believe the later graders have a solenoid valve there as well, but Iam not sure of its purpose.
The system doesn't appear to have any major air leaks, and usually works fine after it warms up.
I would really appreciate any advice as I don't know what to try next.
Cheers, Greg

Click to expand...

is the air not building up? replace the air govenor on the compressor, they can get abit sticky when they get old or the air system isnt drained (also drain the air tanks) but you can give it abit of a tap while its idling which might help.. its the aliminum cylinder with a plastic cap on one end with one hose going from it to the compressor, usally mounted on or near the compressor
scrapers had a habit of these doing the same thing

if you got pleanty of air pressure it may be the spring brake chamber leaking which is on the RHS under the engine, pull that line off and check the air flow out of the hose, if that is good, put shop air into the booster and see if its leaking

Thanks for the reply rare ss,
I tried the whole shop air thing and everything worked perfectly, no leaks with the brake released.
In the end I replaced the chamber anyway and it's solved the problem.
Always the last thing you try eh?
Cheers, Greg

Queenslander said:

Thanks for the reply rare ss,
I tried the whole shop air thing and everything worked perfectly, no leaks with the brake released.
In the end I replaced the chamber anyway and it's solved the problem.
Always the last thing you try eh?
Cheers, Greg

Click to expand...

the booster may have worn abit on the shaft or got abit rusty causing it to bind up, at least its sorted

Traning Course ??? yeah right jesus we have lost the plot havent we?

120=12 less horses and lighter construction weight oh and turbo 4 cylinder ( dont ask me why fuel Eco i suspect) 12=12g 6 cylinder heavier constructed to 14 will run 16 and a 10 or a 7 if yah want ( but not many do it ) more horses ) eg 12g was self aspirated ( no turdo ) <-- yes i meant to say that ( a lot of 120 140 models were sold to satisfy clowns like government organizations as in fuel eco ) but basically if you want to move EARTH you GOTTA have POWER theirs no EASY way AROUND it ( contrary to what all the Colored Catalogs tell you hahahaha ) Go FIGURE its quite simple when you know what your doing eh.

12g had more horsies with a self asperated than the **** cat 14g turdos 3306 Contrary to what was told and said ( i know i have driven the lot ) and they came out with a 14 foot blade oh what a crap box they were sort of a bitzza in my opinion.

Uh, Myeffy, I've been reading some of your posts, and, I know you are new here, (in number of posts), so:

about 95% of us on here are here to exchange ideas, have pleasant conversations about shared interests, and learn from each other. There is a LOT of knowledge and experience on here free for the asking. We have a mix of everything from total greenhorns, to world-class experts. I have made my living w/ equip. for 26 yrs, and been around it over 40, and I'm still in the lower 3rd. Just as an example, Randy Kreig does teach classes, and has written at least one book on graders. He works on the ice roads in alaska, and everything he has said here that I have checked has been right.

You sound like you have knowledge and experience, and might fit in well here, IF you tone down the attitude. Otherwise, you'll find yourself being ignored.

Good luck, Mitch

Hi Guys,

Newbie here... Just so it is clear, which of these graders have 4 wheel drive (or All Wheel Drive, apart from the 143H), or at least the option to have it? Even with the huge tires they have, I figure they could still get stuck while working on very muddy roads in the rainy season, and the AWD would come in very handy.

Hi Guys,

Which of these graders is 4-wheel or All-wheel drive, if at all? Apologies if the information has already been posted somewhere within the thread and I missed it.

Rgds, Madozer