I started looking at used dozers last week and the movie, "Used Cars" with Kirk Russell came to mind. In it he played an unscrupulous salesman rolling back odometers on older cars from 120,000 to 35,000. As I got further into it I noticed the hours reported on some dozers didn't make sense. For example, I looked at two Komatsus being sold by a used Komatsu dealer that ran and looked like 10,000 hour machines. The engines sounded bad, there was a tremendous amount of blow-by, gears grinded with the clutch all the way in, one wouldn't turn left while backing up a slight incline, and overall they just looked rough and not well maintained. The Hobbs Meter said 2600 & 2700 hours. 11K each. I asked a dealer about this and he said Hobbs Meters can be rolled back. And a friend at a rental company said sometimes they'll swap out meters if one goes bad, but will log it into their maintenance records. I like Komatsu because of the size, but don't know much about them. I admit to being cynical. I don't want to buy something I think has 2700 hours when it actually has 10,000 and needs a new engine or transmission in 6 months. Has anyone else come across this?
newer machines store the hours in their computers.. some machines may have two hour meters. most put a label on or above the meter stating old hours + Got to remember a rental machine could have 365 different operators in a year..
I have seen lots of cases of hour meter abuse. Unless the owner has a way of of proving to you beyond a doubt the meter is correct, don't believe anything you see. Large national companies are usually pretty honest about their used iron, since they have more to loose if it is proven to be misrepresented. I have seen some machines with a complete service history by the dealer to prove low hours for a given age, but that is not the norm. Be very aware of conndition and component age more than hour meter readings. I know rental companies that have 2 meters, 1 in view, and 1 hidden, in case the customer unplugs one to get some free time. Remember, if it looks like it has lots of hours, and sounds like it has lots of hours, then it probably does have lots of hours, or really hard hours. Some machines are worn out at 5,000 hours, and some are still strong (after a couple rebuilt powertrains) at 50,000 hours. Depends on what it was doing, and how it was cared for.
Hour meters are to mark time between maintenance intervals. They never have been, legally or otherwise, been used to mark total machine operation. The fact that the public seems to think they are the same thing as an odometer on a car means the equipment sales forces have done a good job of snowing the public. To put this another way, why would anyone spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a piece of machinery and in ten or twenty years its only got 2,500 hours on the meter. Let the buyer be ware!
If you're buying a machine you should be looking at maintenance records anyways, like John C. said hour meters are just a way to track when the machine is due for the next service. Any fleet machine is going to be a Frankenstein of parts anyways. I know we have a D6H that says 560 hours (since the new hour meter anyways) but is a huge piece of junk. On the same side we have a D10R with 28,000 hours but it runs like a top (new U/C and a rebuilt motor). Hour meters mean nothing other than tell you when to change the oil.
if your serious about this dozer u should get a komatsu or a independent mechanic to measure your uc and take fluid analisis then that will help to paint a better picture of this machines life
Most units do 2000 hours per year on average
Hour meters are often only 4 digits, plus the tenths. 2,700 hours could also be 12,700 hours if it has rolled once, or 22,700 hours if the meter kept working that long.... Five-digit meters are becoming more common. Use the meter reading as a guide only, combined with sights, sounds and smells of the rest of the machine.
We have 2 identical dozers that we have had since early 90's and both have over 20K on them and the "service" meters have been replaced on both of them a few times. No cab machines and lots of rough days. We have a few of our 988F's that have over 18K on them and still the original service meters. I know a handful of trucking outfits that will replace the speedo/odometer when they do a complete overhaul as well. Still the best way is to do a full look over and fluid samples, etc. A company with well taken service records is a great thing as well. Trbo
Hours on a machine ? Hi ,Alaska Dan.As far as trying to tell if a dozer is a high or low hour machine I always look at the wear on the foot pedals & hand levers.Most high hour dozers will also have wear plates welded on the molbord of the blade.I never pay much attention to the hour meter as they quit working & get replaced.Nothing wrong with a high hour dozer if it has been well taken care of.
If the dealer had them in their rental fleet, they will have detailed maint. records and you can track the hours and maintenance from new. I buy alot of equipment from large rental companies (RSC,United) due to the extremely detailed service records. It is worth it for that type of investment.