Gallion 850 question

[ponch458]

I am looking into buying a bigger grader to do some Government contract work. I would like to buy a Cat 140G or H but just don't want to pay the price for those 3 letters. I have a John Deere 570A that has been a very good machine for many years and plan to continue using it for some of our hippie trails (some folks here won't cut trees). I would appreciate any input regarding a mid 90's Gallion 850 with the Komatsu engine. They seem to be very reasonably priced. Thanks so much! Ponch

 

[farmer45]

Our township has one and we had a A550 before that. It isn't to bad a machine. We have a few miner issues with it right now but everything breaks down and wares out at times. My biggest complaint now is that I feel that our dealer support isn't what it was. They don't keep many parts any more and the last guy that came out to work on it was slow and seemed to be on the phone as much as he was working and I thought his work left a little to be desired. I haven't had experience with other brands so I don't know how they compare. As I said it isn't a bad machine. I would look at what kind of dealer you have in your area no matter what you get.

 

[bigrus]

I am looking into buying a bigger grader to do some Government contract work. I would like to buy a Cat 140G or H but just don't want to pay the price for those 3 letters. I have a John Deere 570A that has been a very good machine for many years and plan to continue using it for some of our hippie trails (some folks here won't cut trees). I would appreciate any input regarding a mid 90's Gallion 850 with the Komatsu engine. They seem to be very reasonably priced. Thanks so much! Ponch

Mate.... I've owned a 1988 model Dresser A450 for 15 years, been a great machine. Think the Galion 850 was a newer version but maybe of chinese origin. Parts for the dressers, I source through some good guys in Kansas who, 98% of the time find OEM parts or have a heap of graders stripped out in their yard. Weller Tractor Spares was the company name, accessable over the internet. Great people to deal with too.
One thing to look for is make sure whatever model you buy has external drum brakes not the internal (in the tandems) discs, because the brake pad material goes into your tandem oil, then into your wheel bearings ointhead

 

[Bluetop Man]

You'll never forgive yourself if you don't buy a 140G or H model CAT for contracting work. Off brand crap is for guys like me who just need to do a road once and a while and have lots and lots of spare time in which to work on crap.

 

[bigrus]

Another point of view

You'll never forgive yourself if you don't buy a 140G or H model CAT for contracting work. Off brand crap is for guys like me who just need to do a road once and a while and have lots and lots of spare time in which to work on crap.

Those BIG brand name machines are overated and overpriced. OK if you have consistant work and like having your nuts in a sling to the finance companies, go ahead. For a single machine (grader) operation (owner operator), it's a very fine line between making it or not. Secured contract work looks fine and is great but be aware, it's only the stroke of a pen or some other maggot contractor, to sneak in and white ant you out of you contract, then the manure really hits the fan!
My dresser was costing a ute (F150) payment per month, against what another contractor paid per month, who went bigtime with 5 times the financial committment. In the hard times he had to pack up and leave the district to find enough work to cover all his financial committments.
Just my 2 bobs worth (thats an Aussie term)

 

[Bluetop Man]

No doubt you have it figured close to the bone, bigrus. Deere is completely despised in my neck of the woods. Yet I know a guy who's had two successive 670's without any major problems over a thirty year period. No doubt back in the day Deere was lots cheaper than CAT (a situation that may be reversed now), and the fuel savings with Deere graders are significant according to what he says. And I've known a couple of dozer operators so bloody good with small angle blade machines that you didn't need a motor grader on the job. One was a CASE fanatic, the other a CAT man. Whatever, they just had the right stuff.

Nonetheless, I am compelled to quote just to stir the pot an old TL James highway superintendent who said, "There are two kinds of contractors running off brand machinery instead of CAT. Those going in business, and those going out of business."

My experience over the years confirms that analysis. But, the outcome may be somewhat dependent on whether operators are hired help, or an owner running his own stuff, such as you. My experience also confirms the latter premise.

 

[bigrus]

I think I missed making my point clearly with the comparison of the 850 Galion and my Dresser. The 850, being of Chinese origin, as I stated, would not be the quality of the Dresser. Years ago I was chasing a rear wheel hub & spoke to a reliable parts interpretor from Komatsu,(who took over Dresser industries and took the design of the dresser graders and produced them as 550 & 650's etc but their slant on the machine by engine, hydraulics, brakes and transmissions) He advised me to steer clear of parts for the 850 manufactured by "Four Seasons Engineering" from the PRC as the quality was a "bit suspect".

Galion graders were produced under licence from Dresser industries, who to my knowledge, took over & or produced Hough & IH equipment at one stage before Komatsu came along & gobbled up the whole show. So the last of the good Galions/Dressers were built in about 88-89-90 & were produced in Brazil.

If I were to replace my current grader, I'd go for a mid 2000's JD. Spent some time back in 2010-11 on one in a mine site.

 

[robmccleary]

I totally agrees with the point that has been discussed over here and should be taken into consideration...
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