Cat 955H Questions

1--listen to Miller, he knows what he's talking about

2--On a 4-in-1, check that the clam part isn't tweaked too bad. My 955K has a perfectly square and tight clamp, which is quite rare on these machines (as far as I've been told and have seen). If the clamp (clam) part doesn't fit tight to the blade/bucket part, it is almost impossible to get to fit right. And if it fits badly, that just messes everything up (it won't dig flat, won't carry fines...). There's probably a good reason it's only $350! But--it sounds like you are a metal worker, so you know the drill.

One other failed to mention, MP buckets tend to be Heavy, there should be a counterweight added to the rear of the machine or it will nose dive severely when loaded. Your winch may Not be enough but yours is equipped with a side dump, just as heavy.

Gents, thanks for the advice...went down to do some Hurricane Florence prep just in case and the cat fired up like a charm. Now that it is cooling off I am going to be re-wiring the chewed up ignition. Also what color cat yellow would this be? I have heard there is an "old" and "new" cat yellow. I am planning on cleaning up, improving and repainting the ROPS set up.

Dmiller, thanks for the note about the counter weight, It seems to work pretty well with the side-dump on it without any nose heavy issues even with the bucket loaded with wet soil but with our hilly work area I appreciate the warning!

More work to come next month, most likely more digging so I will definitely take some photos!

- Nick

With the vintage of your machine the colour would be what's known as "Hi-way (or Highway) Yellow". The newer colour is more of a tan than a yellow.
I saw that there is a PPG Code for it as "tractor yellow" 80453. Someone else may be able to confirm that.

All442muscle said:

More work to come next month, most likely more digging so I will definitely take some photos!

- Nick

Click to expand...

I'm no structural engineer but is that roof going to handle the snow load in winter? As flat as it looks even with steel roofing I don't see the snow sliding off. Or maybe the snow fall in Ohio is not like what we get in Central NY!

@Nige - thanks I got some on order for our next trip!

@kshansen - you are correct sir, this 100 would crumble in Ohio but thankfully in Tennessee we barely get to freezing so it's acceptable to use a fairly flat roof. Plus this is only a temp structure to cover my equipment until we dig the foundation for my permanent 30x48 pole barn. Appreciate the concern tho!

Gents,
it's been a few months since I have been able to get on here. Between temporary duty for the military and life in general I have been crazy busy. My dad and I were able to get down to the property twice in that time and finish up the barn as well as clean up the cabin a little bit to prep it for our winter projects (finished bathroom and Kitchen. finally). Barn went up well, I am happy with how it came out, it's not pretty but everything is square and it should last as long as I need before I dig out the hill side. As you can see by the pictures it turned into a muddy mess the final trip as we sheathed the roof and put down the roof cover (nearly 3/16" thick military vinyl cover which was 28'x24'). Everything is covered minus about 2 feet of the crane truck which is fine with me.

We tried to pull start the big truck again but we underestimated the Tennessee mud...even the 36K truck slid all over in that mud. we moved the batteries from the Cat and it fired right up so no worries just surprising how slick that red mud is.

On another subject...what are everyone's thoughts when comparing a D4 7U vs. D6 9U for general dozer work, building/maintain roads and cleaning up trees? That 955 is a great jack of all trades but I will need something to help level my house building plot which will be approximately 125'x125' plus driveways. I thought maybe the extra weight of the D6 would be helpful.

Not in the market just yet but trying to identify what I should be looking for so I can start putting away the $ for it.

Thanks!

Mud is no fun, never has been. As to a 7 or 6, regardless the S/n is dependent of what use you intend. As a D7 is a LARGE hard to maneuver in tight places excavating/grading machine, are hard/Expensive to get transported due to weight and dimensions, are EXPENSIVE for maintenance components more so than a D6. 6 is more nimble but less apt to drive thru a grove of trees, if you only need a short term grade cleaning machine use the 955 to rough grade and your own small hoe to finish to working grade as is a less expensive alternative. If have extended uses buy the 6 as is a faster turnaround resale machine due to the notations above. Having more expensive machinery to sit and grow stuff around is not a great choice.

@DMiller - Thanks for the advice, but I meant a D4 7u not a D7 haha that's waaaaaaaaay to big for my britches.
it would probably be more of a long term use as I have almost 50 acres to maintain and we are looking to buy more.

and the mud is terrible, maybe it's because I grew up in the north but its still a steep learning curve.

D4 is a Nice finish grade size, as with the smaller Allis dozers still working they have a place but unless have finish grade projects lined up are not much worth that to own. Can clear brush, if work long enough hard enough can remove trees, as stated would likely sit a lot while use the 955 and TLB. Sorry about the Dyslexia cut in missed D4 for D7!! D6 still a better overall choice.

With the red mud/clay down here, its always best, if its wet leave it until it dries out some. Have tried my self several times over the years to move things and it never worked out well

Dmiller and Alldodge - Thanks for the advice...as you can see by my recent picture we had quite a bit of red clay/mud and it is slippery as an oil spil. The 955 made quick work of the hill side I am beginning to open up to access the back of the cabin. We will be putting in the drain pipes to our septic (previous owner had no idea what they were doing) and burying our power line finally. I used some of the extra dirt to backfill my barn which was in about 2" of standing water. Hopefully will fix that in April or May with the addition of a few inches of either #7 or rip rap. Still looking for a good deal on a D4 or D6 preferably a D6 but an upcoming duty station change for the Air Force may put a pause on that until we are in Florida. Thanks again for all the advice gentlemen!
- Nick out

Set yourself up some side drainage toward the rear, then fill the shed floor with 2" clean and use the equipment to pack it in, top it off later with inch minus where can crust over will be almost as a concrete floor.

Your coming along, looks better already. DMiller has a good thought on drainage, and dense grade will pack in hard.

I need to work on my D3, but wouldn't mind a D4, if I get anything any larger I cannot transport it. Already pay someone to move the 955 when needed