Got to play with my d7r yesterday

[Pete1468]

Repaired some terraces, filled a washout and straightened a waterway yesterday. It's got more power then my old d7e military cat. Old one everything was first gear rolling dirt and second to feather it out. This monster boils dirt in second and likes it. I did like the cab with AC and heat, used both in the same day. It does like it's fuel, 10 g/hr compared to the old one but it's hard to compare what they would both get done in the same time.

 

[d9gdon]

That is a nice tractor with a good looking undercarriage.

 

[oldirt]

good tractor.. takes a good lowboy to haul it too!! wonder what it weighs?

 

[CM1995]

Good looking tractor! I miss running the bigger dozers - keep the pics coming.

 

[Pete1468]

Book says 53500 lbs, I haven't been over the scale yet. I've got a xl specialized triple axle to haul it. My old d7e with winch and rops weighed 52500. I really didn't notice a big difference when I hauled it. I came without the sweeps when I got it, luckily I found a set before I used it. it came from Morris MN if anyone is from around there.

 

[GregsHD]

Nice unit!

I have to ask, why the sweeps? Maybe it's because I'm from BC Canada, but I don't see much for forest from the pics, I'd like to see those sweeps in action though!!

 

[Pete1468]

I get to take groves out and trees that have grown up in bottoms. If you zoom in over the d7 emblem in the back you can see some of the fence line trees I get into. Those trees are almost a mile away. Neighbor talked to me the other day about taking out some large cotton wood trees that are huge. My grandfather told me they were large when he was little so that puts them over 100 years old. For what the sweeps cost it doesn't take much of an accident to recover the cost of them.

 

[oldirt]

if you even think you might see a tree sweeps are a must. I thought that tractor might weigh more than 53K. interesting how much better it runs than your old E which I used to think was a hot rod tractor back in my early days.

 

[wrwtexan]

Very nice!! You may have more to do than you can keep up with now. Add a good size hoe alongside it as I have and those trees may jump out of the ground at the sight of you unloading...

 

[farmerlund]

Nice Looking dozer. I Have a D8H, and wonder how it would compare to a 7R like that. A cab would be nice sometimes. I have done a lot of trees over the years, be careful with the cottonwoods, large limbs can snap off just from wiggling while trying to push them over. Hope the machine treats you well.

 

[Pete1468]

I've got a 315L excavator, it's not overly big when it comes to trees but gets the job done.

 

[Welder Dave]

Is that a couple of tractor dyno's behind the machine?

 

[Pete1468]

Yep, I rebuild and sell them also to keep busy. Good thing you can't see the rest of them, they're all over.

 

[oldirt]

.

 

[farmerlund]

Looks like you left Oldirt speechless. LOL

 

[oldirt]

no, I couldn't figure out how to delete my post so I did that. sorry..

 

[Pete1468]

No need to apologize, normally I'm the one that does that kind of thing.

Farmerlund, a d8 might push a little more dirt at the end of the day but you'll feel like running a newer one longer to make up the difference. I've never run a d8h so I can't tell from experience. I've never seen an 8 size machine in this area 6's are the most popular.

 

[ETMF 58 White]

Great looking dozer with the sweeps and the semi-U blade and the like-new grouser pads! Now you need a shed on top of that hill to keep it in all winter-- or just let me bring it down here in the South for the winter and I'll keep it limbered up for you. That would save me from having to turn the fan blades around on my old D7E, and I can't even do that with the open station D6R. Sometimes we get to work a lot in January and February, sometimes not. Enjoy your new Cat; I know you can't help but grin when you realize how much work you can get done with nearly 250 horsepower and differential steering-- and a cab!

 

[Pete1468]

So far I haven't seen anything I don't like about it. I've got a shed to put stuff in but it's full of farm equipment. Yesterday I was pushing out a waterway and I used first gear in a hard push, there's no way my military 7e could move that much in one push. Each time I run it in more impressed with it. Now if I could quit my full time job and do this full time it would be great.

 

[oldirt]

from what I have seen, if you tried it out against a new 7E.. you would be pretty unhappy going back to the R.