Hey All,
I am possibly looking to buy D5. I don't use dozers much in my operation so I'm looking at the used market. I would be looking for an enclosed cab, an XL undercarriage, and also rippers out back. I do work in the mountains a lot (slopes and rocks) so LGP is out of the question. I wouldn't be afraid of higher hours (say 5k or less) as long as it has been well maintained (especially the undercarriage). In the past I have rented C series, G series and K series when I needed a small dozer. I like the small Cat D5 dozers. For me it's easy to feel grade with them (good balance) I think that they have good visibility, they have plenty of pushing power and it's not hard to keep it pushing without spinning the tracks. In fact, I was particularly impressed on a job that required me to push spoils up to the top of a stock pile. That little 5G could push a full blade, up that hill (seemed about as steep as one could push a full blade up) and turn without having to lift, or angle the blade to help initiate the turn. Now I'm not very familiar with many other brands so I don't have much to compare it too (and I don't really want to open the thread to a "which brand is best" opinion fest) but I do have over 35 years or professional experience operating heavy equipment. Based on that experience, and my exposure to the D5, I feel it will fit the bill well.
What I am asking of the HEF community is information in helping me select which series I would best consider for my possible purchase. My understanding is that the machine has employed basically the same components since the D5C. Powered by the Mitsubishi made 3046 and Cat's Hy-stat drive system. I would like to know what the evolutionary path has been (or what the differences are) between the different series of D5s (C, G, K, and K2).
I have also noticed (during my casual browsing thus far) that some of them come with standard, SystemOne, and salt undercarriages. From what I have heard I think that the standard U/C would be best form me but I could also use information on the differences between the different U/Cs as well.
I am possibly looking to buy D5. I don't use dozers much in my operation so I'm looking at the used market. I would be looking for an enclosed cab, an XL undercarriage, and also rippers out back. I do work in the mountains a lot (slopes and rocks) so LGP is out of the question. I wouldn't be afraid of higher hours (say 5k or less) as long as it has been well maintained (especially the undercarriage). In the past I have rented C series, G series and K series when I needed a small dozer. I like the small Cat D5 dozers. For me it's easy to feel grade with them (good balance) I think that they have good visibility, they have plenty of pushing power and it's not hard to keep it pushing without spinning the tracks. In fact, I was particularly impressed on a job that required me to push spoils up to the top of a stock pile. That little 5G could push a full blade, up that hill (seemed about as steep as one could push a full blade up) and turn without having to lift, or angle the blade to help initiate the turn. Now I'm not very familiar with many other brands so I don't have much to compare it too (and I don't really want to open the thread to a "which brand is best" opinion fest) but I do have over 35 years or professional experience operating heavy equipment. Based on that experience, and my exposure to the D5, I feel it will fit the bill well.
What I am asking of the HEF community is information in helping me select which series I would best consider for my possible purchase. My understanding is that the machine has employed basically the same components since the D5C. Powered by the Mitsubishi made 3046 and Cat's Hy-stat drive system. I would like to know what the evolutionary path has been (or what the differences are) between the different series of D5s (C, G, K, and K2).
I have also noticed (during my casual browsing thus far) that some of them come with standard, SystemOne, and salt undercarriages. From what I have heard I think that the standard U/C would be best form me but I could also use information on the differences between the different U/Cs as well.