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Finally got to run the 16M

BDFT

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
265
Location
Northwest BC
I've been working at a small open pit mine in northern BC for about 8 months now as a truck driver, Cat operator and grader operator. Up until this last shift I have been running one of two old 16G's. The 200 year old man that usually runs the 16M finally went on holidays and I found myself in the drivers seat. I was surprised at how easy it was to transition to the joystick machine. After about two hours I had it figured out and by the end of the shift I was grading like an old pro. Maybe the 10+ years of experience on John Deeres, Champions and Cats helped but it still was remarkably easy to make the switch. I never realized how tiring it was grabbing all those levers and cranking the steering wheel (9 turns lock to lock) for 12 hours until I didn't have to do it anymore. I'm definitely convinced. Its going to be difficult to switch back to the old machine when I go back in.
 

Bluetop Man

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Messages
266
Location
Louisiana
Occupation
farmer
Well, I see you are grading haul roads. Now, when it comes to the fine grade stuff, these M Series machines don't stack up. They may come into their own with GPS grading, but that won't materialize until CAT introduces GPS-controlled steering. I believe that is going to be harder than they thought.
 

BDFT

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
265
Location
Northwest BC
Yeah, grading mine haul roads isn't exactly rocket science. I was wondering how they would work for finish grading. Is the problem the controls or just the way the machine is built in general? One thing that I didn't mention earlier is that the M series don't seem to stand up to much abuse compared to the old G's. Our 16M has spent half its life in the shop already. It just came back from its second transmission repair and some new wiring harness. Sure is nice to run though.
 

oregon96pd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2009
Messages
173
Location
Milton Freewater, OR
Well, I see you are grading haul roads. Now, when it comes to the fine grade stuff, these M Series machines don't stack up. They may come into their own with GPS grading, but that won't materialize until CAT introduces GPS-controlled steering. I believe that is going to be harder than they thought.

Funny, our operators LOVE them for fine grading work. Guess it just depends on the guy sittin in the seat.
 
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