Dressta/Dresser/International....Thoughts?

[JCBgm]

Our dealership has been growing rapidly over the past 3 years. We went from 1 branch in a small market to 6 (soon to be 7) in 3 states. Problem is, we don't have a dozer line.

Need your thoughts on Dressta. They say they're working on Hydrostatic Transmissions, but for now it still torque converters (and direct drive). I'm really not feeling it, but our salespeople are begging for it. Basically, the machines are unchanged from the late 70s/early 80s with the exception of emissions compliant Cummins power.

There is a SIGNIFICANT price advantage over the competition, but that's not enough. It has to be a good product.

Share your thoughts please.

 

[EZ TRBO]

I honestly cannot tell you about the NEW manchines they produce but in the past 60 years we have own a total of 9 International/Dresser dozers. The newest being the 15C model(if you look in TRBO's gallery of stuff you will see). Both our 15's have well over 20K hours on them and one has about 20k on the engine alone(Cummins 8.3L). We have used this machine for a number of different reasons, size being one as well as cost. But the way the machine works and has treated us(in terms of reliability) has been wonderful. We have done alot of work to them in terms of wear items and misc break downs but every things with ____, tracks or tires is going to cause you troubles sometime. I know you don't see many on the sale's, due to the fact that owners keep them for a long time due to being a great machine. I would rather run my old 15 over our D6H any day of the week. The dealer we deal with has been our dealer for almost since my grandpa started the business.

Trbo

Any ?'s you have on it give me a PM.

 

[alco]

I worked for a contractor who used to be a International Dresser mechanic and then salesman. Needless to say, he was kind of partial to them....go figure.

Now, to be honest, they weren't the fanciest machines we had, but they didn't give us half the problems that the other machines did. We had a fair number of them as well, in terms of dozers alone, we had a TD12C, TD15C, TD15E, TD25C, 3 TD25E, and 2 TD25G machines.

There were a few things that weren't as nice to work on as some other machines, but they were easy to keep running and very reliable. If I was looking for a dozer and found a Dresser in good condition, I wouldn't hesitate.

Now, as for Dressta, the dealer we had also handled Komatsu and they weren't interested in bringing in any Dresstas for us. So I can't say how the new versions are to deal with.

Brian

 

[John C.]

I worked for the dealer when they were Internationals and then another dealer years later when they were Dressers and then Komatsu. They are a well engineered machine that most anyone can work on and keep running. I really liked working on them.

The small machines, TD7 & 8, were the class of the industry for years. They suffered a bit when the manufacturing plant was moved to Poland in the late eighties and early nineties. The Komatsu dealer had troubles with roller and idler seals for a long time in the early to mid nineties and I also saw some problems with clutch and brake linings in the steering before I left that dealership.

We didn't see many TD15 or TD20 dozers in the nineties and never sold a new one. Cat and Komatsu had taken over that market completely in our area. The 15 was as good as any tractor of that size at that time but was never a big seller. The TD20 was also very good but sold even less. The TD25 had gained a reputation for being a power house but also of being problematic at times. Pulling track frames and final drives on those things is just a bear of a job.

The big issue I've always had with the line is support on factory issues such as the undercarriage seals. They claimed we were the only place in the world seeing that issue and there was a bitter fight trying to get them to pay up.

Parts supply is another big issue. International was well known for not carrying any spare parts and taking weeks at times to get them. Even the Komatsu dealer had problems at times. I'm sure it's better now but before taking on the line I would recommend some kind of guarantees and penalties for non compliance.

The new designs from Cat, Komatsu and Deere are very good in terms of operator comfort and efficient production. The factories spend millions of dollars in marketing and have parts depots well located. The small Dressta machines might sell OK in some markets but I think the bigger machines will be a tough sell.

Just my experiences and opinion.

Good Luck!

 

[Northart]

Dressta ?

Dresser made in Poland . Dunno about that.

But a basic idea is product support , if you don't stock parts , and it takes weeks to get parts , then you are defeating your own self. Just creating a unhappy customer. Just hanging up a sign and placing a demo model does not make a good dealer. And then what about product service, are you ready and committed. Takes $$.

Also the Euro is stronger than the US $ right now.

That right there wipes out any "Significant " price advantage.

 

[EZ TRBO]

Dresser made in Poland . Dunno about that.

But a basic idea is product support , if you don't stock parts , and it takes weeks to get parts , then you are defeating your own self. Just creating a unhappy customer. Just hanging up a sign and placing a demo model does not make a good dealer. And then what about product service, are you ready and committed. Takes $$.

Also the Euro is stronger than the US $ right now.

That right there wipes out any "Significant " price advantage.

Northart, Dressta Co.'s manin office is in Poland. When we bought our two 15C's in the early 90's everything was made in the USA. Shortly after alot of things were built in Poland. Thus making for parts with both SAE and Metric. Main office is in Poland, with Dressta North America located in Ill. Not sure what is made where or where parts come from etc.

Trbo

 

[Deas Plant]

Factory back-up

Hi, JCBgm.
I can't see where taking on a product line as a dealer is all that much different from buying a new machine. If you don't get parts and service back-up, you've bought a lemon, no matter how good the actual product is. The best dozer in the world rapidly takes on all the value of its weight in scrap steel if it breaks down and you can't parts and service for it. Ditto with being the dealer for a line of 'good' equipment if you can't any assisstance from the manufacturer.

From way back as far as I can remember, the International line of dozers had a pretty good bottom end but the top end of the line was always questionable with weak transmissions and back ends. The TD6 and TD9 were the strength of the old International line. The TD18's and 24's and to a lesser extent the TD14's, all gave drive train problems when used in heavy dozer work.

Then IH brought out the TD15's, 20's and 25's and these seemed to be a lot better in the old problems areas of transmissions and final drives. H**l, they even started selling a few. That was quite a breakthrough in those days of Cat market domination.

Then they went and introduced the TD30 as a 'Cat D9G killer'. What a joke that was. Most people had a problem just keeping them running long enough to make it on to a float to move. Wel, that may be a SLIGHT exaggeration, but not by much. The TD30 was one of the worst piles of junk that God ever let anybody pump diesel fuel into.

I have not run anything IH/Dresser/Dressta since a couple of IH TD25C's and the last of them was in 1985. It handled and worked O.K.. It had more grunt than a D8H but was nowhere near a match for a D9G. However, I think I have probably heard more good reports than bad about these products in recent years. To me, it would still boil down to what sort of parts and service back-up you can get from the manufacturuer or main distributor.

Is there a local JD dealer in your area? That may be a another option.

Hope this helps.

 

[td8]

Hi everybody i'm new to the forum just wanted to say its a great forum.I just wanted to say i own a dresser td8e its been a great machine.I don't know much about the new dressta's
but they look like pretty much the same dozers as the e an g series.I've been running equipment for about 15 years i've ran cat,and deere dozers.The dresser dozers are as good or better than any dozer i've been on. I do all my own service on my equipment they are a simple and easy to work on.I get all my parts from a local komatsu dealer and i've never had any problems with getting parts. They always have what i need or they can get them by the next day.

 

[JCBgm]

TD8....

Send me an email. I want to further discuss with you. I assume you are getting parts from Brandeis.

cbrocious@mhequipment.com

 

[td8]

JCBgm....
I do get most of my parts from brandeis.They have been good about getting parts for me.

 

[bear]

How far south in KY you have any Dealerships? Just curious, might drop in and look at some iron.

 

[Countryboy]

Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums td8! :drinkup

 

[steelman]

Since most all of the parts, with the exception of the consumable items come from Poland, I would be concerned. They do have one parts depot in the US and I don't know what the the inventory levels are, but a backorder from the factory could take weeks. I'd check with them to see what the inventory they do have for each of the models they are supporting.

 

[td8]

All the parts that i have bought for my t8e have been komatsu.

 

[steelman]

If I remember right, Komatsu came out with three dozer models, D32, D38 and D39 when they were in a joint venture with Dresser. These were basically Dresser TD7, TD8 and TD9 with Komatsu decals on them. All were made in Poland. Komatsu still does carry some parts inventory for these older machines and with so many sold in the past years, used parts for them are easy to come by.

 

[td8]

Steelman the d32,d38and the d39 are basically a dresser . komatsu and dresser became partners in 88 dresser built those dozers for komatsu.My td8 has the international dt239 engine in it.i rebuilt that engine a couple of years ago and all my part where komatsu.

 

[dirthog]

Dressta

We just got the dealership here in central Pa. the couple new one we have in the yard seem like a well built machine we have a TD40 comeing soon with a weight of 140,000lb as we have a customer that would like several of them

 

[JimInOz]

Dressta

A guy on the Redpower site recently stated that he was a contractor running a new 9H Dressta,& said he was very happy with the machine & back-up.
I think he said he was also happy with the track frames/trimming ability of the machine.I haven't heard any bad stories about them so far.It may pay you to look deeper into these machines.
Jim

 

[WabcoMan]

I've run TD25B's & TD25C's and found them to be fairly reliable tractors.

Our TD25B's towed Cat 463 scrapers and the TD25C's were used for pushloading & ripping (along with the Terex's, a D8 and a couple of Allis-Chalmers tractors).
The TD25B handled a scraper real well and was fast but we did have quite a few problems with the idler seals leaking.
Other than that they just kept on going.

I've not had the pleasure of operating any of the products from Dressta so I can't comment there other than on appearance - they look firmly rooted in the 1970's !
:my2c

 

[iceberg210]

We've got a TD-6-62 track loader that is just plain wonderful. Besides the fact that the left clutch is stuck, and that the over and back clutch handles have been weak, its a great machine that has never let us down. Its far more powerful than it looks, and in fact I think has more shear power and pushing force than our D3 which is a bit bigger I think. Anyway I don't know much about Dressers except that my dad and grandfather would rent TD-8's and 9's when they needed a larger dozer and loved them to death. So I'd certainly suggest Dressta if they still make machines near as good as the old Dressers and Internationals. Also I'd be especially excited now that they have reintroduced the TD-7 which is just the perfect size of dozer for so many jobs.