I am planning to cut the shoes on my D3G 2005 LGP. They are 25 inch shoes. I want to remove 5 inches. Would that be done best by removing 2 1/2 inches from each side of the shoe? I use the dozer on hilly terrain. The ground is solid, mostly clay. I am frequently in tight quarters so would be able to manuver better and would get more life out of the undercarriage. Anyone who has suggestions, please provide them.
If you are gonna cut them definitely cut both sides. You don't want more pad on one side than the other as it will wear the rails out quickly. I'm curious tho. Why would you not want the wide pads? Narrow pads do more damage while turning in tight areas.
yes I have seen that done to a d5h lgp just cut what you want off both sides...will be better for you if you are running in rocky conditions and already have a lgp tractor and cant justify or afford buying a standard track tractor.
I have been told by the Cat dealers that the undercarriage will wear much faster in my kind of terrain with the wider track. One guy with Ohio Cat told me the rule is always use the most narrow track possible as the machine will respond better and will not place as much stress on the rail, sprocket, etc. If anyone has contradicting information I would be very interested. Thanks for responding. And you do plant a seed of doubt, I have to admit. I would like to hear more if anyone has an opinion on narrow tracks vs wide tracks where ground pressure is not an issue.
In my part of the country we experience a lot of wet conditions. In my opinion a non LGP dozer is useless in what i have to deal with. Not only are they good in wet areas but are great for slope work. Use what you have. The advantages will at least negate the extra wear you are expecting
I would agree with the cat dealer inyati13 about the narrow pads putting less stress on the rails.It dosent sound like you need the 25 inch pads for the terrain your working in.I dont know what the standard size pad is for the D-3 but it may be less than 20 inch,I would guess 16inch.Another advantage of a narrow pad is you can do a better job packing on dirt work.Another thing you can do while cutting the pads down is cut a 45 degree angle on both sides of the grouser bar.This will allow the dozer to turn abit easier,wont hang on a hill side quite as well but turns better and dont tear the ground up as bad.In some conditions the narrow pad will also have more traction "hard pan clay & rocky conditions". Good luck with it.
I have seen 16" and 18" pads on D3s so you should be OK on thinning down your foot print. Good Luck!
those lgp pads are worth more than the narrow ones, why not trade them off, you may gain a few $ in the process too and save a lot of hassel.
i been thinking that for a while now. But i have no idea exactly how the $$ would work out.
After the much appreciated feed-back, I am thinking about waiting till I am sure what my needs are. Kind of like the old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Thanks to all.
That is a good saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".....don't sound like the bonus your gonna get will outway the cost of oxygen/acetelyne its gonna take to cut both sides of the pads on both sides of the machine.
Just a thought. In my thousands of hours of operating a dozer I can not remember a single time I wished for narrower pads. I can remember many times I wished for wider ones.
Galute, that is a very persusive statement. Maybe all would not agree but I have to say, you made a succinct and definitive point based on experience.
I was thinking of taking 4" off my excavator, not so much for wear issues but to get it to legal width for moving. An overwidth permit is 360 bucks a year Plus lights, flags, signs etc. I'm not sure how long it would take to cut them down but I think it would be cheaper than the permit in the long run.
re; wide pads.............yes, one may often wish for a wider pad but I think in a tricky situation a narrow pad easier to deal with. (ROCKS, FOREST WORK, HILL SIDE) and if you fix your own equip. a narrower pad leads to less wear. the fact you sink easier.........well,...... a wide pad also sinks, just in a diff spot!
I like the idea of perhaps trading the tracks for a skinnier pair of shoes. Cutting the tracks on both sides with the oxy is going to be a heck of a lot of work and you still end up with a set of really nasty shoddy looking tracks. Cutting the growsers on a 45 degree angle is called clipping and could be a good compromise as it will reduce the traction and thus the binding during turning while still giving the same flotation. Clipped shoes are very popular on tracked feller-bunchers that operate in harsh conditions on very steep slopes. I found this link on another thread, its pretty informative. http://www.deere.com/en_US/cfd/construction/deere_const/media/pdf/DKB765.pdf
My philosophy here is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" too. However I know someone who is always tinkering with everything he has and says "But everything can be improved." I will stick with "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I think you are wise to do the same. I have also seen this guy "But everything can be improved" it right into the point that "It just plain won't work or run." Then you start putting it "Back to the way it was built."
I've got a guy coming Monday AM to trim the shoes on the 110. I will let you all know how it turns out. It will pay for itself in the long run not having to deal with the overwidth permit and all the fun that goes along with it.
Let me know how this goes. How long it takes and what kind of appearance you end up with. Thanks
I sure will, I try to get some pics. the thing that worrys me the most is the finished appearance, thats why I hired a weldor to come out. He does all of the big welding for us that we dont want to tackle, so he is darn good with a torch. I am figuring on having to do some grinding to clean it up. He thought he could do it in a day.
I don't see where it is worth it for $360.00 a year savings in permit to cut down pads. Like it was said before on here "I have never wished for narrower tracks but have wished for wider ones." If I had the wide ones I would keep them.
Nedly, The torch you refer to is a plasma torch and not a oxy/acetylene torch right? The plasma will give you the best appearance "as cut", easiest kerf (slag) removal and least heat affected zone. Absolutely the best and fastest cut for the money. Set up a guide for the torch and let'er rip! Also are you taking equal amounts off of each side of the pad or just what you need to make it be legal?
I can understand where nedly05 is coming from Greg. If he's in an area that is firm soil, the extra width of his pads aren't any benefit to him. On the contrary, if the pads make him over width for transport, you have the permit that was mentioned, as well as you have to load the machine right, no unequal overhang, wide load placard, and don't forget to take that wide load placard off when empty, get a ticket for that as well, can't haul on holidays and weekends, have to shut 'er down at dusk. Any time a load is hanging off the sides of the trailer, it's sure to get the eye of Barney Fife.
That's exactly it ATCO too much BS that goes along with it. More often than not we are in firm conditions or in the woods with rock and stumps etc. So I'm confident I made the right choice. As far as I know he is bringing oxy/acet.
Like masterwelder said, if the welder fella sets up a torch guide bar, and has his flame set right, you can make a clean cut with an oxy/acet torch that requires very little cleanup.
i don't have anythig to say on this one. the only tractors that i could move out there are my dozer, well the blade would hanf off. and my compact stuff. my trailer is 8'6" and i am used to the overhang thing
Well, I thought I'd add this in defence of nedly, anytime you get into the Northeastern states, DOT is an absolute PITA concerning wide loads and overweight. To be legal is a big load off your shoulders, and wallet.
Boy, you aint kiddin' We live and work in a small town, we are very fortunate in that respect that we never have to travel, but they have a hotspot here for DOT inspections, and we go by it frequently. By now they know we take good care of our trucks, but I have only been through once with the trailer, and I really dont want to go through with a permitted load. they know I have an overweight permit on the tandem so they keep a real close eye on my weights. If I cut it down and get it to 8'6" its one less thing on my mind. Say nothin' bout' the fact I can work on a Saturday or the 4th of July, or early or late if I want. I have been DOT'd on the 4th BTW!
I am taking 2" off both sides of both sides (does that make sense LOL)
I cut down our 150 for permit reasons also. We were buying a quarterly state permit which was fine but then the three local municipalities that share a border got together and set up a permit system. No long term permits, 24 hours only, Apply by fax the day before, wait for return fax, pay with credit card, no moving on weekends or in the dark, separate fee for each town. I paid as much as $145.00 for one move across town with a legal weight machine that was 8' 11'' wide. It was driving me nuts. We're mostly residential so averaged a move a day and sometimes have moved three times in one day. My welding supply company was willing to bring in a new plasma machine for me to rent but didn't have one anywhere that would handle the thickness so I did it with a torch. I made a guide so it turned out pretty well but took a long week end. Still hated the idea of it and it DOES make a difference in the way the machine handles weight in the bucket when over the side. Oh, and if we moved twice in the 24 hour period we had to buy a separate permit as we had to file a route with each move.
now that sucks. typical politics, run up the cost to work or make it next to impossible to do it legal. Runs the little guy out of business because he can't afford to comply. You should see the erosion controll demands set here in PA ointhead:Banghead
Got it!
:Banghead:Banghead:BangheadWe got the erosion control crap here too. It is a joke in this county. All it is about is the revenue. Every time you go in it is different. We still have annual permits here for over width and weight, but the oversize signs on and off are a pain in the a--. Then there is the DOT looking around for anything and everything they can.
My shoes have been cut! I posted some pics in my pic thread in showtime. I am very glad I did it!
Grats, sounds like the permitting process in your local towns is prohibitive.
For us, this was the best alternative. It's not a huge deal to get the permit, but enough BS that this was a better option.
Congratulations. Glad it went well. How do you get to the pic thread?
in13, I would cut the pads for experience. You would have seat time with wide and narrow pads. When time for new undercarriage you will be able to make an educated decision on the width of pads you prefer.
WOW. You know, I thought SC DOT was a PITA until I got on here. In SC I can haul 12' wide in daylight w/o a permit, and they seldom measure you if you look close. Now, you DO NOT want to get caught 13' 7" tall, w/o a permit, and an overheight permit is such a PITA in the western part of the state, that some disassembly is preferred. In the eastern part of the state where it's flat, it's just list the route and pay $20 up to 15'. All our one-time oversize-overweight permits up to 16' wide and 25,000/axle are $20, and an annual blanket permit is $100, but not available for overheight. There is a law in SC that no municipality can make their own laws that affect trucking, if they have a compelling reason, the state will make one for them. A lot of them still put "no thru trucks" signs all over town, but the tickets don't hold up in court. It had gotten so, in the 70's, that some little towns were stopping in-state, out-of-town trucks and making them buy a town business liscense just to drive thru, and town permits that cost more than the state ones. The SCTA lobbied for and got a law that if the only business an out-of-town company did in your town was trucking, you almost couldn't regulate them. Some SC trucks carried 40 different town business liscenses. Now, I still hate sending my SC trucks to NC,but, at least they don't go north of Va.
Its in the "showtime" section, the thread is titled "some random pics"
Nedly05, I found your pictures. Looks great! Did he use a plasma torch? I am guessing not. One of the above posts suggested a plasma torch as it has less associated heat. The D3G LGP I wanted to cut down would need to be cut on both sides of the shoe on both sides of the machine. There might be some difficulty cutting the inside of the shoe while it is on the machine due to heat near places you would not want heat. By the way, I want one of those Kristmas Trezs! ha ha.
He used oxy/acet, but he was quick as possible about it. I can see where it would be a pain with the dozer as you cant lift it up and easily work on it. Best thing to do is talk to a good/trustworthy weldor and see what he/she thinks. I'm glad you liked the Krismus trea joke!
Inyati, I got the bill from my weldor yesterday,just for your reference he charged me $525 to cut my tracks. I thought that was really reasonable, $325 less that his estimate!
That is very reasonable. You will get it back in saved permit fees in short order. Good move!
the interstate commerce clause i believe is jurisdiction of the fed........... like so many ''departments'' these days ... create their own revenue getting-- thing......... if only these people could be sued for what it costs you to get justice. ((if you crossed a state line and were required these permits........... just a little rant here... carry on!
To put it in perspective, the Federal rules say no more than 80,000 pounds, no wider than 102 inches and there is no height limit. The feds do not issue oversize permits. States can not impose smaller limits on freeways unless there is an engineering reason, and generally don't impose smaller on secondary roads. Although I agree it is stupid the way each state has different Permit rules, it is their prerogative to set them as they see fit, above and beyond the Fed standards. The road systems, common types of loads, needs and philosophy varies widely between states, and so the rules vary. It would be nice if the feds would make some Freeway rule that would take you across the country with one permit process, and then only have to deal with the state you were leaving the freeway in, but the states wouldn't go for that, and it is a Power that is given to the states. Ben~