what do you guys think of the "T" model? Personally I love it, I wish it had a U blade though.
Eric, we had the first 2 D10T (RJG138 & 139) in Australia back in early 2005 on a site i was looking after and as a big twin stack fan of the original D10 i feel this is the closest yet to the original, when you load them up and here the turbo whistle it was like an old 84W twin stack i thought, the T has a sweet note. On the other side of the coin they did have there problems, mainly related to the C-27 and not so much the rest of the tractor, but i see the latest ones have serial numbers over 1000 now so if they have sold that many well it can not be to much of a lemon. In fact just heard that a big order for 50 each D11T & D10T have been placed to go to Dubai so this will make getting a big tractor even harder. Always nice pics from your site and looks like Cat is the only thing around there, which mine are you at and who is the Cat dealer.
I'm at Tyrone mine, Freeport company. Cat dealer is Wagner. We have 3 Komatsu dozers also. A 475 and 2 375's however one of those is headed for the scrap pile. Hopefully the other 375 will be right behind it!!!
Is there a big Cat dealer presence on site, i would imagine a lot of warranty with all the new stuff plus general load of repair work, how many 5230 do you have.Can you get some shots of the maintenance facilities.
Cat has a crew of mechanics on site. I'll get some pics of the shop when i can. We have one 5230, it's kinda old and is primarily run as a back up.
what id give to have that for a day or two, they just got one in the coal mine my old mans in and does he brag about it. he is a bit concerned about the coal dust and the electrics. anyone else ran them in coal? had any problems?
d 10t looks sweet but that fingertip steering sucks
I hear you on that! Our 375 keeps limping it's way back and forth to the shop, just won't out and out die, but won't stay running either. Our 475 got hauled away the other day....common feelings are that we all seem to hope it isn't coming back. Brian
Finger Tip Steer Hello Gball, Finally found someone that agrees with me. Finger tip steer is actually a clutch and brake system, like the levers in the front console or side console . Made for women and kids unable to handle the work requirements ! Just like the retrograde of the 45cal to 9 mm, ala Military ! A political correctedness gone too far. Caterpillar screwed up BIG time on that one ! A BIG D10 that a kid or women of the weaker sex can control ???? Huh ! Let's get real ! Carpal Tunnel Syndrone ?? If secretarys, computer people, etc, acquire it . Repetitive motion, ala OSHA , how stupid can industry appear . Like they are inviting lawsuits down the road ! :beatsme Next thing you know, it's video games by kids building America via remote control ! LOL :usa:beatsme How far are they ( Industry ) going to reduce physical activity to Operate Heavy Equipment ??? Given the electronic age : The prime Operating Engineer Heavy Equipment age will become much like Military Pilots. A given factor. SSOOOOoooooo! ???????????? Operating will be more so mental in the future, than physical in our time. The clutch and brake system was fine for me, give the other muscles a chance to work . Console levers and floor brakes. What Caterpillar needs to do is study us Old Timers , for the musculoskeloton problems associated with a lifetime of equipment Operating. The linkage between the throttle and the seat ! This is opening ???? way beyond , normalcy ???
Rant, anyone?? I am a youngster, and at 230 lbs, I have plenty of weight in the ass to pull the original mechanical diff levers. But who would want to?? Ive run machines with the finger steer and while it does take a few hours to get used to it, it is a far superior design, much more comfortable to use.
The less fatigue a operator has the more production your going to have. I'm lazy that is why I'm an operator, but if you want physical activity go back to being a laborer. As for the old timers yes I would love to be deaf with rheumatoid arthritis by the time I'm in my mid 50s.
What the heck was that all about. If you want a work out go run a cable dozer! I love finger tip steering for MOST applications. Dosn't do to well when you are going down a 1:1 or extremely steep applications. But it is still acceptable even then, you just have to be careful. I run this dozer 12 to 16 hours a day and feel great when I'm done. The N models are abou an 8 hour machine at BEST before I'm ready to park it and go home. On the bright side, if more folks held your opinion it would free up new machines for the rest of us who arn't afraid of technology and the 21st century.:drinkup
SPEAK UP, SONNY. I'M HAVIN A HARD TIME HEARING YOU. (And BTW, it's "Osteoarthritis" that you get from too much wear and tear on your joints, like from working for a living. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disaease of the body's own immune system attcking the joints.) I'm betting some of the younger fellows will see the day they lose thier seats altogether, in favor of total automation. The "mental" part will be done by computer geeks.
another +1 for the fingertip steering here, i like it alot.so all the people who dont like the easier steering, did you protest when you couldnt go to the front of your car to handcrank the starter for your morning workout?
Lol...I dunno man...I've seen some good women operators...Careful...
On the smaller finish grade dozers, D6's, D8's and the like, I definitely prefer differential steering. On the D10's and D11's for production dozing, it's kind of a moot point. Steering while pushing should be done with your blade, not the clutches, so I don't really have a preference between the two on the D10 and D11's. Like Eric said, it's hard to be comfortable on a dozer on a steep slope with finger tip steer in contrast to differential. Everytime I've seen a D6 or D8 with finger tip steering it seems like a waste to me. Eric: "what do you guys think of the "T" model?" Despite some minor electrical problems with the earlier production models, I'm really impressed with the T's. I love the R series dozers, especially R II 's, but CAT has impressed me with the improvements on the T series. Any machine that rolls off the production line hard wired and ready for GPS is good in my book. :drinkup Eric, or any other operators, do you have any seat time in a D10R or D10R II ? In your opinion how do they compare to the D10T's? I'd like to hear some opinions from operators regarding their preferences of the D10R/D11R and R II 's versus the new D10T/D11T? Anyone have seat time in both? I'd like to hear what other operators think. Gavin84w: "just heard that a big order for 50 each D11T & D10T have been placed to go to Dubai" Do you know who/what contractor placed the order for those machines? Or is it a dealer order going to Saudi Arabia?
Finger tip Hey Eric. Found your dozer and it looks great under a the dust:cool2 I have run a d10r model and i loved the finger tip steering. And thank god that the old way to ride dozer has improved. I for one love the new Cat dozers and cant stop smiling when i get to operate one:roll
the D10's we were using had finger tip steering, it wasn't that bad. i'm i the only one who thinks that track is WAY to loose
I have spent a couple hundred hours in the 10 R. I thought it was a beast too. Once again the finger tip steering and the multi function joystick along with the extra padding along the area of the right knee are great for operator comfort. Oh yeeah you can keep the old seats from the N and L model too, the air ride seat in the T is tops. R model seats are great too. As far as performance, I ran a R model with a derated engine (single exhaust) and it was about like the N. Now the R with the uprated motor was a horse. I love everything about that machine. In my opinion the T just takes evrything to the next level. The cab is way bigger with more visibility, all the operator comforts are tops too. 12 volt plug in, Air ride seat, CD, on and on..... As far as 11 T's and R's I have yet to run one. I did run a D 11 N that may have been a cross over. It had basically an R model cab with steering clutches rather than tip controls. That too was a horse. I am a Caterpillar homer so I have been thrilled with every new piece of their stuff that comes out.
:falldownlaugh :jerry:jerry
Can you explain how this is accomplished? Thanks!
When pushing, instead of cranking hard on the steering (whatever type it is) to try to turn, which is hard on the machine, lower the corner of the blade in the direction you want to turn. For example, if bulk pushing, and you need to adjust your alignment a little to the right, lower the right side of the blade, which will cause that corner bit to dig in a little deeper. That will steer the machine to the right. To turn sharper, if you're cutting out of a big windrow (between two slots, around a boulder) you can lower one side of the blade and raise the other to line out straight in the direction you want to go. This will lower the weight on one side, and increase the resistance on the other to turn the machine sharper.
While I know what you are saying, we have an application where the differential steering is bloody near useless. We need the fingertip controls, but they don't make them anymore for the D7R. With the differential steering on our D7Rs, you can't stab pipe on without major hassles. They don't like to turn and lift or lower the blade at the same time....especially if the hyd cooling fans come on while you are trying to do it. Brian
From what a Cat instructor told me in a class was that the first ones had one big problem, they were catching on fire due to the way some wires were ran under the cab. Other than that, they were holding up good.
I have run 10 rs and ts and think both are great dozers I think that the new 10t could do with a bit more wieght to get the power to the ground when you have a big blade full they tend to sit and spin still a good dozers to do 12 hrs in
I have been running a D6T on a road job we have now. It runs great, but i noticed the controls are different between that 10 and my 6. I have pic of my 6, but I have trouble posting my pics. Nice D10 though!
finger tip steering I have only had a brief run in Cat D6R with finger tip steering, a Fiat Hitachi D180,Komatsu D65PX and a Liebherr 734. The fiat was the worst heap of junk I ever drove-I would shoot myself before driving one of these for the day,the levers were too small and after ten minutes I could feel my arm muscles and tendons tightening up. The Cat is ok, nothing special but both the Liebherr and the Komatsu are spot on with decent levers to hold on to-not too big and not too small the proper way to go! Its a pity the donkeys that run Cat's R&D could've consulted the guys who drive them before they brought out all this fiddly dee stuff! Neil
Finger tip controls are a PITA, of course I have been on snow and ice for the past 3 months. I agree, use your blade to steer.
My 6r has fingertip control and I love it. Probally prefer it over the dif steer. I do wish at times I had power to both set of tracks though, but I also steer with the blade when I can.
I sure hope us young operators dont see the time of automated operation! I will be out of a job and hobby and some old timers will be out of a pension!!!!!