Cat D7 popularity

[SE-Ia Cowman]

I started this tread to get some input on why the D7 H’s and R’s are not as popular as high track 6’s and 8’s if you look at cat used website there are around 45 high track 7’s over 300 6’s and 180 8’s I had never ran a newer 7 until a month ago when the Boss bought a 7R2. 10000lbs and 40 hp there is a noticeable difference from a 6T. Weighing around 62000 without the ripper we can still haul it with a 3 axle trailer and not have to have a cheater axle on the truck. I know new prices are around $80000 more than a 6T and $100000 less than a 8T of course they had to quit making the 7R now and the 7E looks to be a $500000? Machine. I will try to post some pics of the His new 7 until then I am curious to see your comments on this topic

 

[surfer-joe]

D7's are too big for many projects, too small for others. No good at all for rock work, too heavy for soft ground. Still a nice machine, just not that useful in most situations.

 

[SE-Ia Cowman]

I have to agree with you about the soft ground I always wondered why they didnt have a XW option with 28 or 30 inch shoes. Were we work 24's are sometimes not wide enugh but a full blown lgp would be over kill not to mention the extra uc wear and thoes dredful straight blades. As for being to large for small jobs and to small for large jobs the same could be said for any number of dozers a D4 might be to big for leveling a garage floor and a D11 may not take the place of a komatsu 575. Here in Iowa we dont have any rock so I wouldnt know, are they not heavy enugh?

 

[cummins05]

I really liked the D7H I ran a couple years back they push good.

I have found Alberta has more then a few 7s but then again we like brining iron thats to big for the job compared to some places

 

[John C.]

Lately all I've seen sevens used for is landfill work. They have always been too big for pioneering logging roads and too small for production land clearing. I've also heard many an operator state that they were unbalanced in how they push dirt. Unless you have a big multi-shank ripper on the back they tended to dive when they picked up a blade full.

I do remember some loggers that liked to take the D7 motors and install them in the D6 tractors. I've run into a couple and they would turn the tracks through the brakes in first gear.

 

[Aussie Leroy]

Here in my part of Aussie we use 7s in logging, agg work,some genral contracting, but 6s are still most popular don't see many 8s, 9s and 10s less it's on a major highway, or big civil job and your right 7s still legal on a triaxal float. so don't need that dolly. cheers Leroy

 

[alco]

They have always been too big for pioneering logging roads

Seriously? Back at home you won't find many machines smaller than an 8 doing logging road pioneering work.

 

[cummins05]

Seriously? Back at home you won't find many machines smaller than an 8 doing logging road pioneering work.

This time I was thinking the exact same thing :beatsme

 

[norite]

Around here it seems to be all D6's and 8's, D7's are more rare and D9's are really rare. Only D7 I ever ran was for a demo contractor.

 

[John C.]

Where's back home?

 

[alco]

Southern British Columbia, the Kootenays to be exact.

 

[Greg]

:notworthyFind D7G to be a terriffic machine here. Pull No. 70 Cat pan with it, blade off, blade on push D8K pulling Cat No. 80 pan. Also use it for lots of dozer work also. Easy to move on a tandum or tri-axle lowboy. Has made me a pile of money over the years.:drinkup

 

[cat d9]

I too have a D7G, I find it to be the right size machine for most all the jobs I do, a D6 would be too small and an 8 is just to big to move around. My 7G is a 1976 and it has just worn out the original tracks, it has about 900 hours on the new ones, it has a skin cab over the rops and I installed a 46,000btu chiller unit in it with the condensor unit on the top of the cab. I for one think the 7 is a very versatile machine. I have two older 7s, two HD15a Allis Chalmers and a D9 but the D7G is the machine of choice for most of my work.

 

[John C.]

Alco,
I believe you can run a wider road in Canada than down here in Washington State. Those big off highway haulers you fellas like to run generally take a little wider path.

There isn't a lot of private roads that go directly to the drop or the mill so we still have to run legal highway loads.

What say you?

 

[alco]

John, it's all highway legal loads on highway trucks where I'm from. We don't have any off highway stuff at all, nor do we have private roads to the mills. The area I'm from is directly north of Spokane, about half an hour north of the border.

I spent ten years building logging roads there, so I can tell you they build with a thirteen foot road surface as a rule, and use pull outs to get trucks past each other.

 

[Hjolli]

I've also heard many an operator state that they were unbalanced in how they push dirt. Unless you have a big multi-shank ripper on the back they tended to dive when they picked up a blade full.

I have operated many D7´s of different generations, those that had a ripper on the back had very good balance in dirt dozing work, especially the high horse D7E. (not the new electric...)
I found the D7F with the lighter motor to be somewhat inferior in that respect.

In fact I have found any dozer without a ripper at the back to be short of balance and traction.

 

[John C.]

Sounds like we have about the same specs for roads then except that the D8 blade is usually 14 foot wide. We also have a spoil issue and that nothing can go over the bank. That's why excavators seem to have taken over the pioneering work. Usually the D6 just pushes dump truck loads out. You don't need the weight, width and power of a D8 for pushing pit run.

I was thinking maybe it might be steep ground but I believe you have plenty of that where you are too.

 

[D6 Merv]

D7

Down the bottom of the world D7s were always popular for logging and roading. 17A s D7E F G and HD16s TD20s D85s.
D7H and R seem to be the tool of choice at present. Some people do use D8s but alot of it depends on transport issues and soil conditions.
Also in steep country 30 ton plus diggers and a D6 size dozer is a popular choice; most of the work I do.
John C had a mate from NZ visit oregon and canada, and he was told that sidecasting dirt over there was now a big nono and has to all be carted away ?
This must make forestry roading up there horendously expensive, there must be some areas it would be plain unprofitable to log and would have to be left. Would certainly be the case here if it ended up with rules like that here.
As alot of the land were I am is first crop and is getting roaded as they get to it.
Cheers Merv:drinkup

 

[D6 Merv]

D7

Just to add abit more.
Twenty plus years ago D7 size machines were the main choice for logging, but now as tractors like the D6H/R and D65-12 have all grown to the old D7F size of 180 hp and 20+ ton they are more the choice for logging and you never see a D7H skidding logs.
Merv

 

[Timdozers]

D7h

We use D7H 's all the time in forestry roading here in New Zealand. And you cant get the new D7E here yet, only the D7R II.