Hey guys I was wanting some opinions from people who own or run Cat D400E & Cat 740 Off Road Trucks I have only been around the 30 ton off road trucks and im bidding a job that im anticipating buying 5 off road trucks, likely Cat D400E's if i get the job. From the research ive done; - The D400E's have 405 gross horse power on a 3406 engine (which is at the max for this engine), weigh 65,000lbs empty, have a struck capacity of 22 CY - The 740's have 464 gross horse on a C15 engine, weigh 73,000lbs empty, have a struck capacity of 23 or 24 CY so from what i gather, the newer 740's are a good amount heavier, and supposedly have a slightly larger capacity. But proportionately that does not sound like the reason for the huge horsepower increase between these two model 40 ton off road trucks. my question is are the D400E's underpowered that badly?? were they just slightly underpowered? or did the weight and other items such as larger hyd pump or something account for the need for such a horsepower increase, i have heard they dump allot quicker? my only concern is with 3406 engine that goes in a D400E. Problem being that much above 410 horse and you have maxed out the capacity of this engine, it is used in many applications but cannot go much above that horsepower rating without running into major short term problems (we have older equipment and tend to play monster garage when it comes to rebuilding and tuning Cat engines). so if i buy the D400E's I cant just turn up the horse if I think they are a little weak, im stuck with what i got. Im hoping you guys will say yes they are a little weaker than the 740s but the D400E's definitely hold their own even on jobs with bad/terrible underfooting. because if thats the case, i will still buy them and they will likely be fine for what i will use them for, plus they are wayy cheaper and im more than fine with the occasional major overhaul, its still cheaper than paying the extra 100k a piece for a used 740. also, just curious, what CY capacity do you guys use when bidding jobs with 40 ton off road trucks, 22 CY, 24CY, 25CY, 26CY?? i know cat says they can hold heaped 28 to 30 CY.... but Cat says allot of things they shouldnt... Thanks guys!
Are they series II or just the plain D400E's?
Likely i would get just the straight D400E's, theres not many of the Series II trucks regularly for sale. I have some D300E's, one of them is a series II truck and it doesnt seem to be much different than the others, it lifts the tailgate higher when dumping which is much better and I copied that on the other 2 I have. also the Series II D400E's seem to have the same power rating but weigh 5,000 lbs more.... not sure why if there is a big difference i would like to know though. theres not many series II for sale but i could likely come up with 5 if I look hard enough. just may not get the biggest bang for the buck since they are a little rare.....get what ever you find...
We ran the series II's and we had good luck with them. Don't turn one over....every time we turned the bed over it cost us $4,000 in repairs. We are now buying John Deere trucks and I have not kept up with the 740. We have fat clay here and we calculate or loads at 11.35 CY per load without the tailgate. Your situation may be different due to the type of material you are loading. As I recall the D400E's burned about 6 gallons of fuel per hour of operation.
The 11.35 is bank cubic yards...
We did a project in which the cut was cross sectioned before and after, and with 730's it came to 14.65 cubic yards per load. I have no experience with D400's, and no project data to support the bank cubic yard capacity of 740's. I have no doubt that with a tailgate the 740's carry 28 cubic yards heaped, but with all the variables in material the heaped capacity doesn't mean much in regard to figuring bank cubic yards hauled.
We run both D400 and 740 trucks. They both haul about the same per load but the 740 will make quicker cycles and burn about 20-30 gallons a shift less fuel. On short hauls the 400s will hang with the 740s all day but on a long haul situation the 400s will get killed. We figure on average between 14 and 16 bank yards per load and that's the only number that matters in our business. Anyone that tells you anything over 20 is crazy. Tail gates will add about 2 to 3 yards. Capacity varies by material.
In the U.K. the tailgates(Cantelever Style) on near every make of Dumptruck add about 17.5 % to the load total, the 3406 engine can be kicked up a good bit on the H.P. rating without causing massive trouble only blowing more fuel that is now a big cost?? its not worth messing realy with the power set on the engines in the D400's as they do have the " Beans " to hump a load, if a 740 tips over in the U.K. it often costs around £12'000 to repair the damage, Volvo Dumpers can run CAT dumpers Dizzy, the cost of D400's to 740's is a massive step so buy more D400's and keep the haul road smooth, also run em' right, load them facing the the correct way and tip them without turning them loaded.
Anything is going to cost less to run then a D400 even a newer cat as mentioned You can get a good newer cat for around 1000k
SPMiller, I take it you mean $100'000, the cost of D400 Dumpers would be a lot lower than this, in the U.K. there is 40 ton Volvo units for sale at around the £120'000 £160'000 price for kit with a bit of Gallop left in them (worth having) the D400 units are cheap enough to keep running and are tough items (DJB) good new kit cost's are so high that in the U.K. Volvo A25C dumpers are hard to beat, they are only little trucks but they can work in our wet weather like no other dumper, the S/H price reflect the ability of the dumper to earn money, its all down to the right Horse for the job.
Yes, I meant, 100,000. I still stand by what I said. Unless you already have them, there is no job where the D400 is going to be the right horse. I spent my teenage years in 25C's. Family has a few fleets. Good solid workhorse.
I agree wit tctractors the volvos are far superior. Were running a40d volvos and 740 cats on the project im on at the minute and the volvos seem far more reliable
I worked for Cat dealers for many years and our standard (Service Dept, not Sales) reply when any customer asked our advice about Cat articulated trucks was - "Don't bother, buy Volvo instead". I see little has changed ................
No love for Komatsu?