As the title says Conexpo 2026 - So who's going? Wife and I have our flights and room reserved at MGM. Flying in on Wed the 4th and leaving Sunday the 8th. Planning Thursday and Friday at the show then a fun day before we head home. In the past we have had various meet and greets at the event going all the way back to the famous 2008 vacuum races. HeavyEquipmentForums I'd like to put together a meet and greet with any HEF members that are going at the show as we've done in the past. Open to suggestions.
Trying to get my boss to send me. My favorite is we send the sales weasels to it, plus new product training 2-3 times per year but when you ask them about anything it’s always “uhIdontknow”
26 might be the year I make it, that’s my current plan at least.
I'll be there
I don't know, it would probably just make me drool that I couldn't afford a brand new state of the art machine and I have to soldier on with my worn out old crap.
wife and I are planning on going. Should we have a HEF meet and greet?
Yes.
My Wife and I will be there the 3rd through the 5th. We stayed at the MGM Nomad in ’23 and I’m told that’s the plan for this year. Then driving to AZ for some R&R as well as the NASCAR Phoenix race weekend March 8th. Meet and greet sounds good to me.
We will be there. I have not made reservations yet, but clearly I need to get on that. I have missed 1 Conexpo since 98 which was the last one. I wont miss this one. I would certainly like to be a part of a meet and greet.
Hey you guys that are going, make sure to take lots of pics. and get brochures if you can. It's still interesting seeing and reading the specs. of machines.
We booked everything yesterday so I’m finally going to make it there. Looking forward to meeting a few more members!
Id go but no one else is interested in it not sure if ill break down and go alone
So is this one of those deals that just not anyone can go?
No anyone who wants can go i just havent got anyone to tag along
Anyone can buy a ticket. It's pricey but worth every penny IMO - https://www.conexpoconagg.com/attend-the-show/registration-and-pricing
When i went in 2020 i dont think they where anywhere near that money
We didn't make 2020 but did in 2023. IIRC it was less than $200?
They got any old trucks to look at?
Wow that is expensive. That price, flight, motel. Plus the exchange rate. Too rich for me.
Don't look at a trip by rail across the country, with bedroom option around $5,500 for two one way.
We are using Sky Miles and getting a comp'd room at MGM so that's a big chunk of the expense.
Yeah something I always wanted to do, I was going to go years ago with a friend, but he passed away. I suppose I'll never get to see it. I think that is where the D575 was shown the first time.
Me and the wife will be there. First time for us. If you look on Google they have a promo for 30% off admission tickets.
Been several years since I was there. That price has gone through the roof. Kinda like the rest of Vegas from what others have told me. I loved the show, walked it hard for 3 days and still missed a few things. Wear comfortable walking shoes.
Comp'd by who??
Casinos do it all the time. More than half our rooms are comp’d. Gotta be a gambler for that. For the record I ain’t the gambler of the group! Haha
Surprising that they comped a room during this event. Hotel costs are ridiculous always have been for Conexpo, they charge 3X normal costs or more and fill it. It is convenient to get rooms that have access to the monorail. Easily the best way in my opinion to get back and forth from the show to the hotel. This time I got rooms within walking distance to the convention center. We need to pick a time and place to have a HEF meet and greet.
MGM. Reserved the room months ago. We go to the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, MS several times a year and accrue points. The Beau is part of MGM resorts. No doubt the monorail is the easiest to get to and from the show unless staying within walking distance like KSS. Monorail tip - When the show is closing the line the ride south is crammed however the north train line is much shorter. Take the train north, swap trains and ride south. Haven’t been to Vegas since the last show so I don’t know what has changed or hasn’t as far as a place to meet up goes.
Checked yesterday and hotel prices had went down some. I rented airbnb could get one with 2 bedrooms for price of hotel.
I live in Vegas, and I'll be going to the show. I'd attend a meet & greet.
Invited...can't pull it off. Maybe next year. Meet up would be cool
The Expo only happens every 3 years. Next one will be 2029. Once you get there and see how massive an event it is you will understand the 3 year gap between shows!
Would love to see pics!
Masterwelder I can only imagine but wouldn’t be surprised. Use to attend the oil tool show in Houston. Complete rigs in display. Every associated industry was there. Reliant stadium and parking lot. Guess I’ll shoot for ‘29 if I’m still kicking.
Let me know if their is a meet up somewhere would love to meet some members in person we’re supposed to leave tomorrow and be there til Saturday. But we had a little change of plans we won’t head over til Thursday sometime and be there til Saturday
I am flying in Thursday morning. I'll be at the show Friday and Saturday. Keep me posted on a meetup.
I’m here now through Thursday.
We fly out Thursday morning. Should be there some Thursday, Friday and Saturday if all goes as planned.
I phoned up Auburn gear and the nice lady said the fello I need to talk to is at the show if you run across there booth tell him to call!
Having lunch with a cocktail in the airport about to board our flight out.
Guess I didn't mis anything there. I'd want to see a larger than a 575 Komatsu dozer to make it worth the trip.
I doubt the world will ever see it
They could but I'd need to become a billionaire before that happens.
That makes 2 of us
Is CAT really going to make a truck? Tell us what you learned about it.
Looks like a modified Ford.
Just a concept truck "built" on Ford chassis. Looks like a 450. Caterpillar Reveals Concept Smart Ford F-450 Foreman Truck Cat debuts a concept smart foreman truck at ConExpo 2026, built on a Ford F-450 and packed with AI, VisionLink and drone tech. Not headed for production. www.equipmentworld.com Couple pics from today of the drone dock and interior - Drone dock on top - Interior. Looks like a Platinum level trim. You could tell it was a "concept" truck. I accidentally popped the the grating on top of the rear bumper out..right above the yellow tow hook.
When cat built heavy trucks a handful or more years ago, that went really well… I feel bad for anybody that bought one of those…
Are people wanting to meet up today at the expo
Ford was going to put a 3306 in the F350 in the early 2000s . They would have dominated the truck market with that !!!!! Hope y'all having a good time in Vegas
Ive always though to try to swap on in to a superduty its about 867 on the list
I got back from Conexpo late last night. Logged over 26K steps on Wend. Lots to see and people to talk to. Well worth the time and money.
Great now I’m going to have to deal with idiots going “dId yOu kNoW cAT iS gOInG tO mAkE pICkUpS” with this as proof. I strongly doubt that was ever more than a rumor given the weight of a 3306, the incoming emissions requirements that had already driven the F250s+ to 6.0 Powerstrokes, and the coming of tighter restrictions after that. The F650/750 of that era offered the C7 however.
how come no pics of big big big machines, back hoes don't do notin for me.
There wasn't as many huge machines as there have been at past shows.
Is that big enough for you chidog
Toured the Festival Grounds yesterday after spending Thursday inside hitting the various booths on our list The Cat demo was impressive as always. VA Cat 325 with tiltarotator. Never given much thought to a VA boom before however I'd like to demo one. Some trackloader love as well - 963 Next Gen with Fusion coupler and dozer blade. Personally I'd drop the blade and pick the bucket up they had back there. Big Volvo quad axle -
Looks like a gimmick fest; drone on the roof, really cool big chains in the back window, giant tow hooks. Basically it looks like a group of 12 year old boys put their heads together . . .
@CM1995 the reason they showed the 963 w/ coupler and blade is one of Cat’s customers out in Colorado is a big user of them and has been featured on Cat’s social media a few times. I think that customer may even use Grade Control too. We’ve put a coupler on one 963 for a customer but most of ours stick with a normal bucket. New trackloaders aren’t big sellers for us but we have lots of customers with older ones especially the C model ones. As far as the 325 with VAB and tilt rotator those are two very common Euro features Cat is heavily promoting for adoption in the states. Currently the wheeled excavators (another Euro thing they love) are the ones you see commonly with the VAB but the options have existed for the tracked excavators for a while- you see them in SIS I’m going to a class on the tilt rotators in April to learn about servicing them.
Track loaders and backhoes both seem to be a way of the past. Here it seems why should we have a cdl and real truck when a mini an ctl will do it. Till the rock shows its self. Then the wanta bes are in a pickle
They have their markets and customers. Not huge ones but they are in their niches. Cat runs two production lines for the trackloaders- Thailand and Germany. I don’t know if they are more popular in Europe right now but it’s a possibility.
Any idea what models are made where
Did anyone get photos of the electric drive D8?
Tear down started pretty much at 3pm.
Stutsman Gerbaz seems to order every excavator they can with a VA boom recently. It makes a ton of sense on reduced radius machines where being able to tuck in the bucket more is the difference between being able to swing around or not. The ability to work effectively up tight to the machine is just a bonus. They also use a lot of Nox tiltrotators because there are no tilt cylinders to worry about while trenching. (screencap shamelessly borrowed from buildwitt's youtube. Stutsman uses an Oilquick coupler on their fancy 963. I think every one of their 963s, including at least one 963C has GPS.
i've been there 3 times, how would you like to have the mobe/demobe money put out to get that equipment there and back. forget the labor to set the cranes up, etc.
they just take a Ford and put in cat drivetrain?
Cmark I didn't see an electric drive D8 but they had an electric drive D6 in the demo.
No it's just a Ford 450 that has been customized. I linked an Equipment World article about it up thread.
Yeah I've seen the 963 video a few times. IRRC it was one of the first trackloaders to run auto GPS? Speaking of 315's - Cat introduced it's replacement the 319. Cat also had a concept grapple bucket. Interesting enough I got a quote from Rockland at the show the day before for a similar bucket then saw this one at the Cat demo. This one is on a 320.
12 years Olds are better than 6 year olds. There is a Cyb 12 year olds are better than memory from 6 years old. Probably be just as a big a seller as the well thought out contraption (cough cough) known as a Cybertruck!
I don't know what the price difference is currently, but I was very impressed with the AMI Graptor bucket I got to play with a couple years ago. The newer ones don't use a helical actuator, but some fancy geometry to keep the cylinders completely protected. https://www.amiattachments.com/product/graptor-demolition-grapple-ramcam/?carrier-id=264 I swear I'm not an AMI salesman.
Cmark I didn't see an electric drive D8 but they had an electric drive D6 in the demo. I saw this teaser on IG and was hoping for some more...
but old you can fix
Cmark we were there on Friday for the last show and I didn’t see a D8.
I was quoted around $31k including pins and guards from Rockland at the show.
Stopped by the Hitachi booth which was impressive. All the excavators had LANDCROSS on them and I asked one of the booth attendants what that means. Apparently Hitachi has divested itself from the construction equipment market in some way and this will be the new name. Inside the Cat exhibit in the Festival Grounds they had a live demo of a remote controlled excavator attendees could operate. A lot of potential with this technology. Not sure if the Cat guy is upset with me taking a pic or giving the evil eye to someone else.
Stopped by the Wacker booth as we're in the market for a new trench roller. The new RTD-SC4. Wacker moved the mechanical/hydros to the front of the machine. The rear is the fuel tank, battery, remote storage and remote batter charger. The machine comes with an extra battery that rests in the charging cradle right in front of the remote holder on top of the fuel tank. Serviceability has improved somewhat. It's still a compact machine however I think Wacker did a good job. Access plates and it looks like I caught Mrs CM on the phone as well. The machine had the bolt on wheel segments and new addition of cover plates over the hubs. The drums have solid covers over the drives which requires the entire drum removal to inspect the insides. Very nice feature Wacker added to easily access the drives and determine any issue.
Cover plates on the drives -
This one was at the show, but I only got a pic, no further info.
hitachi showed deere how to build an excavator.
never owned one of those, always used vibe plate or packwheel.
Well I guess I didn't walk all the way around the exhibit! Totally missed it. Was it around by the Link Belt exhibit?
Very handy machines to have. Great for trenches obviously but also handy for smaller compaction jobs where it doesn't warrant a 48-72" roller. We also have a plate tamp for our 305 that's handy as a shirt pocket as well.
Hitachi showed just about everybody how to build an excavator. The UH series had the market share. 1 in 4 excavators sold in the world was a Hitachi!
Interesting cutting edge configuration.
Yes, just past Link Belt excavator booth if you were heading towards the Link Belt cranes booth. It was parked with its ass facing the competition ring on the right side of said ring- If I recall correctly!
Gotcha. After the last show on Friday we walked out on the dirt to check out the VA boom 325. Got to looking at the new excavators and didn't walk around to the backside of the venue. 325 VA boom with blade Clean up bucket. They had a landplane on a tilta-rotor but didn't use it during the demo we watched. Kinda disappointed we didn't get to see it. Cat oil-quick coupler. We field trialed one a couple of years ago on our 325FL. Apparently they went with a completely different style.
Nope. I would have been disappointed going to that expo. I'm thinking they just don't want to pay for the oversize trucking for a week long event. So did any of ya see any of the Gold rush TV personalities there?