heymccall
Senior Member
Falling under the assumption that Caterpillar Machine division and Caterpillar Work Tool division actually coordinate their products to work seamlessly together, we have purchased a Caterpillar 328DLCR with a Caterpillar Center-Lock Pin Grabber bucket coupler and a Caterpillar Heavy Duty 42" wide bucket.
The bucket, without a coupler, will NOT reach the cab. However, since we are in the year 2013, where most excavators are now equipped with a bucket coupler, our bucket coupler equipped machine will allow the operator to penetrate the cab structure by approximately 5 inches. This, to me, is unacceptable. This is not a "unique" configuration, like running a tilting bucket or other specialty attachments. This is a stupid excavating bucket.
So..........consulting with my Caterpillar online resources and my Caterpillar dealer, it was revealed that Caterpillar also catalogs "Power" buckets (with shorter pin to tip measurements), and "Pin Grabber Performance" buckets, both of which should have held promise in providing a shorter bucket structure, preventing cab interference, when used with a Caterpillar bucket. Bahhhh. My 42" HD bucket has a 64.5" pin to tip measurement (the bucket that interferes), and the power bucket still has a measurement of 61.2 inches, and the pin grabber performance bucket measures 62". WTF???? Why even offer these buckets if the do not allow interference-free use when attached to a bucket coupler???
Can anyone point me to a bucket manufacturer who has already taken the time and effort to solve this age old problem? The 325CLCR that we own (the 328DLCR predecessor) can shave the wiper and work light off the cab, but, will not damage the EXPENSIVE and certified cab structure itself. Cat promised one stop shopping and full machine/ attachment integration, and, I'd like to point out that they have yet to fulfill that promise, to me.
My favorite, I wanna reach through the PC, quote from Caterpillar is
Resisting the temptation to say offensive words, I find this to be arrogant on their part, as this is NOT one of the unique or specialty tools that we already own, for my fleet of excavators. It's a stupid bucket, and not a very large one, at that.
The general premise behind purchasing a 328DLCR over a comparable 329DL was that we could put the machine to work in narrow confines, and limit the interference and collision issues presented by buildings, utility poles, overhead wires, and other immoveable objects. Instead my operator is left with a machine that, when working in tights spaces, not only requires attention to it's surroundings, but also to it's own "built-in" interference.
Working thru other suppliers (and Cat), I feel as if I'm the only person to ever have this issue, and that crushing the corner of a $17k certified and rated cab, is acceptable, and, should it occur, that the blame should solely be placed on the operator.
And, don't kid yourself, bucket interference issues are not new to me either:
My PC128UU-2 has an expensive cab protection system built in, and Komatsu gave us the ability to program it when an aftermarket coupler was fitted. 9000 hours later, we have dropped the machine off a trailer, buried it under a mudslide, laid it on it's side in a fill site, electrocuted it 17 times, bent 4 bucket cylinder rods, bent the bucket links, set fire to it, run it on HOT asphalt, blown the tops off 3 sets off batteries (by improperly jumpstarting it), and never, EVER, has the bucket contacted the cab.
And, Takeuchi, god bless them, insists on putting the boom jack under the boom (on TB53FRs and TB180FRs), and, when an aftermarket coupler is installed, I had to shorten the arm cylinder by cutting the barrel and removing 1.5", so as to prevent bucket to boom cylinder contact, BUT, they were not engineered for a bucket coupler setup, hence the custom cylinder modifications. Takeuchi machine, Geith or WerkBrau coupler, and C&P buckets.
And, Kobelco, with the 235SRLC, also made no provisions to allow for the added length of a bucket coupler, and that machine only took 1250 hours before the bucket penetrated the cab by 4 inches, and, also again, at 4k and 6200 hours. A very expensive problem, to say the least, but, that was an aftermarket coupler that held no promise of "guaranteed fit" or an integrated solution. Kobelco machine, Geith coupler, and Esco buckets.
Again, Cat sold me a deficient package. And, they have no ability, or willingness, to solve my "integrated solutions" problem.
Thanks for the soap box :Banghead
The bucket, without a coupler, will NOT reach the cab. However, since we are in the year 2013, where most excavators are now equipped with a bucket coupler, our bucket coupler equipped machine will allow the operator to penetrate the cab structure by approximately 5 inches. This, to me, is unacceptable. This is not a "unique" configuration, like running a tilting bucket or other specialty attachments. This is a stupid excavating bucket.
So..........consulting with my Caterpillar online resources and my Caterpillar dealer, it was revealed that Caterpillar also catalogs "Power" buckets (with shorter pin to tip measurements), and "Pin Grabber Performance" buckets, both of which should have held promise in providing a shorter bucket structure, preventing cab interference, when used with a Caterpillar bucket. Bahhhh. My 42" HD bucket has a 64.5" pin to tip measurement (the bucket that interferes), and the power bucket still has a measurement of 61.2 inches, and the pin grabber performance bucket measures 62". WTF???? Why even offer these buckets if the do not allow interference-free use when attached to a bucket coupler???
Can anyone point me to a bucket manufacturer who has already taken the time and effort to solve this age old problem? The 325CLCR that we own (the 328DLCR predecessor) can shave the wiper and work light off the cab, but, will not damage the EXPENSIVE and certified cab structure itself. Cat promised one stop shopping and full machine/ attachment integration, and, I'd like to point out that they have yet to fulfill that promise, to me.
My favorite, I wanna reach through the PC, quote from Caterpillar is
This is why in cab r/s window there is a decal and in this machines O&MM,
Safety Section, there is a warning that states:
Crushing Hazard! Certain machine front linkage
combinations (boom, stick, quick coupler, work
tool) may require keeping the work tool away from
the cab during operation. Personal injury or
death may result if the work tool contacts the
cab during operation.
And O&MM, Operation Section; Operating Technique Information states:
With certain boom-stick-bucket combinations, the
bucket or worktool can hit the cab and/or the
front structure of the machine. Always check for
interference when first operating a new bucket or
a new work tool. Keep the bucket or work tool
away from the cab and away from the front
structure during operation.
Resisting the temptation to say offensive words, I find this to be arrogant on their part, as this is NOT one of the unique or specialty tools that we already own, for my fleet of excavators. It's a stupid bucket, and not a very large one, at that.
The general premise behind purchasing a 328DLCR over a comparable 329DL was that we could put the machine to work in narrow confines, and limit the interference and collision issues presented by buildings, utility poles, overhead wires, and other immoveable objects. Instead my operator is left with a machine that, when working in tights spaces, not only requires attention to it's surroundings, but also to it's own "built-in" interference.
Working thru other suppliers (and Cat), I feel as if I'm the only person to ever have this issue, and that crushing the corner of a $17k certified and rated cab, is acceptable, and, should it occur, that the blame should solely be placed on the operator.
And, don't kid yourself, bucket interference issues are not new to me either:
My PC128UU-2 has an expensive cab protection system built in, and Komatsu gave us the ability to program it when an aftermarket coupler was fitted. 9000 hours later, we have dropped the machine off a trailer, buried it under a mudslide, laid it on it's side in a fill site, electrocuted it 17 times, bent 4 bucket cylinder rods, bent the bucket links, set fire to it, run it on HOT asphalt, blown the tops off 3 sets off batteries (by improperly jumpstarting it), and never, EVER, has the bucket contacted the cab.
And, Takeuchi, god bless them, insists on putting the boom jack under the boom (on TB53FRs and TB180FRs), and, when an aftermarket coupler is installed, I had to shorten the arm cylinder by cutting the barrel and removing 1.5", so as to prevent bucket to boom cylinder contact, BUT, they were not engineered for a bucket coupler setup, hence the custom cylinder modifications. Takeuchi machine, Geith or WerkBrau coupler, and C&P buckets.
And, Kobelco, with the 235SRLC, also made no provisions to allow for the added length of a bucket coupler, and that machine only took 1250 hours before the bucket penetrated the cab by 4 inches, and, also again, at 4k and 6200 hours. A very expensive problem, to say the least, but, that was an aftermarket coupler that held no promise of "guaranteed fit" or an integrated solution. Kobelco machine, Geith coupler, and Esco buckets.
Again, Cat sold me a deficient package. And, they have no ability, or willingness, to solve my "integrated solutions" problem.
Thanks for the soap box :Banghead
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