Protecting Driver and Dozer While Clearing Brush

[dozerduded6r]

My winter spare time job is to modify a D6R with a 6-way blade to clear brush and trees up to 10in dia. I plan to protect the operator by installing 2inch square quarry screen panels on rear and sides of the ROPS. I also want to bolt on the top front of the ROPS to the front of the dozer a pair of tubes to protect the hood and exhaust and cylinders. I have had the relief valve on the blade allow it to fold the blade back when catching a large root. This blade was made to push dirt we know. Has anybody ever attached tubing to the lower corners of the blade back to the track frame? Any serious advice would be very helpful.

 

[willie59]

You're referring to sweeps dozerdude.

http://www.kencomfg.com/

Not sure what you mean about attaching tubing to dozer frame.

 

[_Rod]

I know this is not exactly what you are looking for but here are a few pictures of my Komatsu D31P-20. The PO added the sweeps and the cage. Unless a limb comes in the front, it would be hard pressed to get you. Now, yellow jackets are a different story...................

 

[dozerduded6r]

brush sweeps

Thanks Atco, will check with company later. Rod, thanks for pictures they say a thousand words. Had concern on brush coming over back of blade and catching hydralic hoses. I see you welded an extension to top of blade. Driver protection on your machine is what I'm looking to build. The brush sweeps are definitely a necessity. Does anyone out there have pictures of a D6 H or R with brush sweeps on? Also Rod, your rake attaches to the top of blade, do you find this type of rake satisfactory? Thanks for your input.

 

[sick&tired]

thats a very nice job someone did on those brush screens.
I am planning on doing the same thing on my D31.
Question- How does the operator enter?
Do the screens have hinges or something?
S&T

 

[_Rod]

sick&tired,

That's the hard part, you have to enter from the front. Step over the front screen onto the hydraulic cylinder and onto the tracks. Since this dozer is for use on our farm, the access is not a problem. If it was a work dozer where I got on and off a dozen times a day, I might have to re-think the access issue. The 1st time I saw the dozer (when we went to look at purchasing it) I thought the screens were factory, but PO showed how he made them and mounted them. He was also a welder and ran a construction company.

 

[D6Dave]

Good info.

 

[Mark Thompson]

I know this is not exactly what you are looking for but here are a few pictures of my Komatsu D31P-20. The PO added the sweeps and the cage. Unless a limb comes in the front, it would be hard pressed to get you. Now, yellow jackets are a different story...................

Sweet cage and root rake on that dozer.

 

[_Rod]

Pics of my rook rake are located in this thread -

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.co...Clearing-Brush&p=269933&highlight=#post269933

 

[oregon96pd]

sick&tired,
That's the hard part, you have to enter from the front. Step over the front screen onto the hydraulic cylinder and onto the tracks. Since this dozer is for use on our farm, the access is not a problem.

Might be a problem when it blows a hyd line and catches on fire....

 

[_Rod]

Well, let's hope that don't happen. If it did, I have a fire extingusher mounted on the inside of the cage with me but I'd grab it and be out the front. I "ain't" hanging around inside to fight the fire. I'd rather fight it from the outside.

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair...these are nice and simply made especialy on a smaller tractor...they had built in tanks for flooding belly pan fires

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/showthread.php?24431-Scrub-pulling-tractors

Cheers.

 

[DIRTROAD]

If you are worried about stuff getting behind the blade, do like I did and run a chain from the bull bar to the top of the hood. If a tree falls into that void behind the blade, I can lower the blade fully and it will lift the tree out. Then you just catch it on a standing tree and it will usually come out. It's a little hard to see in the pic.

 

[firetrack]

Scrub Puller,
That canopy that you have to climb over the front to enter/exit is a death trap waiting to happen. Would not be allowed on my site.
If anyone wants to see real canopy's other than those beauty's of Scrub Pullers then google these two sites: Gessner Industries or Homan Industries.
I would imagine you will get some good ideas from them.
I have pictures of my scrub canopy on my D5N in other threads here so won't put them on again.
What size chain were you pulling with the 9's?
Firetrack

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair...firetrack. No mate they had you beaut doors on the off side, access was very easy. We mostly used two and a half inch Falkiner short link as it packed in better on the float underneath the tractor...obviously we wanted to carry half the chain with each tractor. When we got the new four axle Drake we had a bit more room and tried some two inch Esco dragline chain which was the ducks guts as far as I was concerned.

Cheers.

 

[Randy88]

On my dozers we also put a screen over the front radiator grill guard, added some angle irons along the sides and on the bottom, and took some mesh hog flooring and cut to fit into the slot and slide it in from the top, can easily pull it up and out for radiator cleaning but it keeps sticks out that can jab into the radiator though the holes in the front grill guard, works great and has saved my radiator from small sticks and brush, but I put this on my crawler loader along with my dozer I do brush with, then I only look for larger stuff that can damage cylinders or crush the screen, which isn't much of a problem.

 

[Ardent]

Could do with an automatic or even manual fire suppression system.

 

[ronnie]

i've set many a day in the set of a dozer and done many things with one i'm an operator i don't think i've ever seen a dozer driver except for the man who have been in the military