There's a empty lot across the road from the hotel I'm staying at and yesterday they brought in a water truck and a portable tank, and today they brought in a D-8 and now they're hauling in fill and spreading it with this machine. But the blade is a bit different from anything I've seen before.
That's a slope board used for trimming slopes. Not uncommon, just not on every dozer. DP
Maybe not uncommon where you are but that is the first one I've ever seen. I guess I've been deprived.:beatsme
First one ive ever seen too How is the blade fixed the the tractor? Side Frames? Ripper hardware? Ross
Hooked at the dozer arm to brackets and a hyd ram raises and lowers it. It's for slopeing deep and steep cuts. You keep the tractor flat on the bottom of the cut and reach up with the slope board to trim. Say you have a 20ft cut with a 1:1 slope which is to steep to run the tractor on you cut the toe to grade with the dozer then reach up with the slope board at a 45 degree angle to trim the cut, tractor stays flat on the bottom. This is done on the way down as the cut is made before the ungraded slope gets out of reach of the slope board. Much as you would do with a grader by shifting the moldboard out to the side only the slope board is heavy duty. Hope that helps. The brackets and board are an extra attachment as is the valving to operate it. DP
Thanks for explaining it looking at I kinda thought maybe it worked something like that. But that totaly clears it up for me.
here are a few pics took of a D9T with a slope board on our way to L.A.
You're welcome, you don't see that many because if you don't need it they are totally in the way and usually taken off, Good for what they're made for though. DP
here are a few other pics of some slope boards on some smaller dozers, but i would like to know more about the grading box on the ripper and if anyone has ever used on of these before......
Two in one day! Well that's two in one day :beatsme I ain't never seen a box scrape on a dozer before either. But it looks like it would aid in finishing a grade sorta like a pulverizer on a landscape tractor. I can see where the pan can be raised and lowered seperate from the rippers. Maybe it's from Troybuilt lol.
It never occurred to me that it could be used on slopes they're using this one on perfectly flat ground.
Is there something going on in that first pic...its doing my head in....maybe its just been a long day but ...I haven't touched a drop either
Slope boards are not only used for cutting/shaping slopes but also to spread loose material. They essentially multiply the effectiveness of the dozer since it can now push a wider amount of material. Used effectively where the blade pushes the bulk of the material and the slope board moves the windrows cuts the number of passes in half. I marvel at some of the perfect looking slopes shaped with a slope board. There is an art to it and it is really pretty when done right. There are a lot of dozers with them here in California.
Is it the fact that the truck being loaded is to the right of the 365 while the traffic is moving on the left? Seems a little odd to me, but what do I know:beatsme
One way to tell a true slope board hand is that he uses the board ONLY for cutting slopes. I can't count the number of times I've seen some Super Operator running along using the board for what it's not intended for and ends up bending or breaking the board off. In the rental business, people often think that if you use the board, now you have a bigger dozer. Morons like that irritate me. Its hard on the dozer, on the steering and makes for a sloppy board when you need to finish 1:1 slopes. Most of the time, a board is in the way. If I'm not finishing or cutting slopes, I'll pull the pins or unbolt the dumb thing every time. Otherwise, the board is an extra on the rental ticket weather I use it or not. The customer seldom complains as long as he feels he's saving money. :cool2
Yeah, slope boards are common as dirt in California, rare everywhere else. When I went into the Fresno job, the dirt super was clammoring for a slope board. The company didn't own one, as they always either brought the slope down with a regular dozer, or a blade. I finally had to buy one and custom install it on a Cat D8N. Then, like Pete says, some idiot nearly tore it off the first shift out. Down two more days cutting, banging, and welding. A few days after that, the board tangled with one of our 627B's, ruining a tire and fender, and tearing the board off again. I didn't put it back on, which was just as well. Turned out the dirt boys had undercut the slopes on every cut by over 200,000 yards and had to go back and build them back up and compact them as well. The dirt was just about worn out on that job when they finished up. Slope boards do positively NOT like rock. As Pete says, as soon as you are done with it, get it off and hide it behind the shed.
X3 but we do all our finish with dozers and use the boards to clean up wind rows faster, but all to often I see guys bulk pushing with it to make for a sloppy dozer really fast.
That same lot I'm back in the hotel next to the site where I took pictures of the d8 with the slope board on it. This is what that same lot looks like now.
old thread i know, but. Is The hoe look's WAYYYYY to big compared to that D9T, maybe photoshop? Pj
No photo shopping... that's really how big a 365 is... below is a 385 with a D9r pushing up to it for reference.
wow,....well needless to say i dont own a 365 or a D9 lol, that was the only thing in the first pic that was strange to me...... i kinda like treasure hunts Pj