I have a Cat D6K coming tomorrow on lease for one week. I will be backfilling a small farm pond, clearing some wooded hillsides and grade work. Would appreciate some observations and information on the operation and use of this machine? I have a Cat D3G LGP which from reading Cat's brochure on the Cat D6K seems very similiar. They are both hydrostatic with joystick controls. There is a combined decel/brake pedal, I would especially like to know more about that as my D3G has a separate brake and decel pedal. Thanks.
Im pretty sure it has a hand throttle to so you can decel, comes in handy when finishing in tight areas.
Its a hydrostatic, like a deere, same style controls as a deere except the blade angle is with your thumb, and so is the speed control. You can adjust all the hyd. Speeds. It has good power I guess. Cab is really nice. Meynot have a radio if its a rental. Its got good visability, its pretty easy to finish with.
Spent the first day of my seven day lease period on a D6K XL. This is a very nice machine. I find it surprising that the ergonomics and comfort have improved so much since the previous G model. I worked it for 7 hours in some difficult conditions (steep, mud) removing trees along an old fence row that is a property line. Some of the trees were large and difficult. I found the machine controls to be very easy to pick up on after running a Cat G model. As Deerefan mentioned above, the blade angle and speed controls are thumb wheels. The govenor is a dial with clicks and the engine speed shows up on the LED when you make an adjustment. I really liked the way you set the ratio of the forward to reverse speeds and it is very easy to do. I had no instruction on the machine as the guy who delivered it was only knowledgeable about getting it moved on and off his truck. I read the brochure on the Cat web page which was a help. It has very good pushing power. It does have a combined decel/brake pedal which I used in the same effect as my decel pedal. Must go as I have to get my value out of the machine!
Deerefan, it has a radio and plays very well. I agree with you on the cab. I have used it for about 50 hours. It has exceeded my needs. I could have used a bigger dozer on the pond backfill. Here are some pictures.
To be honest I really liked the machine, the reson we didn't end up buyin one wasn't because of the machine, it was because of the the cat salesmen. Guy wouldn't give ya the time of day
That is a fine machine. Nice they rent ones with a cab. I know what you mean about Cat salesman. I have been in business over 35 years and have encountered that problem frequently. Guess we are just not big enough. Nevertheless I have stayed with Cat and had good luck.