Found this 160M at the Cat dealer passing by last week. A 160M awd. Have heard that some of the contractors have ordered that modell, cause its the smalest modell that can be delivered in a decent time. Looks like they are waiting for the front blade. Rumors says that the producer got problems with production. Too many orders? A 14M is on its way, planned for delivery in february.....If u can relly on PON's promisses.. I am sorry for the bad quality, it was 0730 in the morning and raining. Next time i'll try to get a test ride..... Surprisingly many machines on the property, 966, ITxx and a lot of excavators
Sweet find, what was it running for tires?
I didn't check the tires, but they look like Good-year. We got that pattern on one of our's. We sent them up north with one of the graders. For many, u don't need chains in the winter time. They are standard pattern for most users in scandinavia. My avatar shows the pattern.. I'll look at some of the pics.
Good find, hopefuly you'll get a crack at them!
Good year AS-3A http://www.goodyearotr.com/cfmx/web/otr/tire-selector/detailresults.cfm?tireid=733
Test drive?? Wha...?? MKTEF wants to test drive a Cat? With no steering wheel? What will Volvo think?? You're getting soft in your old age my friend...
Just thought I'd throw this out there. Our local Cat dealer is supposed to be bringing a 14M down to our shop for a demo. From the sounds of it, I'll get the machine to myself for about a week. The part that baffles me is, Why in the winter time?:beatsme Bring one down in the spring or summer and let us put it through the paces. Sorry, I'm just pitching a fit!!
Grader4me. I try not to say/mean a lot about things i've never tried... I know i won't get one, but it would be interresting to test it. I've already seen some Cat solutions that i am trying to get on the Volvo... And u also know that new toys is always fun... I use to say that: "The difference betwen boys and men, is the size of their toys." And if u look at it that way, life is always like playing??:drinkup
I hear ya buddy!
I wish that our local Cat dealer would bring me one to try. I wouldn't care what time of year it was. I'd be grinning from ear to ear like a donkey eating thistles
140M at Rena Today i have to admit that the 160 is not the first. Found this 140M right at my doorstep today. Looks nice with all the extras in Cat yellow.
He had no door or no window on the right side, only a big plastic sheet. Belongs to a road maintenance contractor. He had problems doing ice removal up the road.
Great pictures MKTEF. Looks like to me in the second picture he was having a little trouble with his moldboard control. What kind of problems was he having with the ice removal up the road?
Going up hill, ice removall, no chains, without 6wd and a 140 isn't going to give u the biggest cut... Today i can see he was here, but he needs to go a couple of rounds more. Nearly no difference at the road. Problem is, they wait to long before grading, so the tracks go down to the asphalt and the ice is 1/2 foot in beetween. He was struggling, getting pushed sideways all the time, trying to get the biggest cut possible. And thight between the "rail" and the divider in the middle.
What was the deal on the no door and window on the right side:beatsme:usa
Regarding the door on the 140M, i realy don't know. I hear the glass is realy weak, and that some of it is in stones way when roading/grading. Found this 160M yesterday on a construction site along E18, one of the main roads. They are extending from 1 lane to 2 lanes separated highway. I hear rumors they have sold 31 M's till now. Normal yearly sale is 15-20 total by all the producers. Last year was 17 in total by all.(statistics came in last A&T) This 160M belongs to Skanska. no gravelspreader. constantpressuresystem. greasing system, note the bladeholder at the back. Sorry if its not so good quality, its taken with my cell phone.
Note the rubber to extend the main blade in height. And the nice trailercoupling at the back.
I see Cat still has not put more curl to their moldboard or really changed the circle that much.Must be why the "aftermarket rubber" is bolted to the top of the molboard! I've found that when road building with the Cat graders we have to keep them up on top of the road doing "roadtop" and the Volvos are in the ditch doing all the dirt moving.It seemed that the Cats moldboard position located on the machine you could not roll the same amount of dirt as an equivalent sized Volvo/Champion.So by looking at your great pics MKTEF I understand why that operator can not cut the snow pack with out the front end sliding around! Do you know what the trailer ball hitch is for?(maybe to pull a 14 ft aluminum boat perhaps??):falldownlaugh Hope no feelings got hurt here!
I bet a boat, will be the best thing to bring with u on work!:falldownlaugh Maybee for sign trailers, we got trailers with a big sign and flashlights to put out on the roads.:umno Other than that, i would have taken the boat...:iagree
Well my guess on the trailer ball hitch Often used for a trailer u can put your car on so you don`t have to use the grader so much on the roads. Many times you are on a job that last some days and then you move to the next one. Easy to just hook up the trailer and the car on it. Roll over Pete would use the car and a trailer for the grader
Got my hands on a 120M Had the opportunity to take a spin around in a new 120M down in Charleston, SC. Didn't get to put the blade in the ground but still was able to feel how the thing moved around. Have to be honest and say it was pretty cool moving a piece of iron that big at that speed with only joysticks. It did make me a little nervous when I had to manuver between 2 cars and a trailer to get it out in the open. You find yourself looking for the wheel. I got it in 4th gear and really torqued on the steering stick to see how it reacted. Have to say it was more comfortable below 4th gear. Not sure if I want to hit 25mph and have to make an evasive manuver. It shifted really smooth but I still don't like the air brakes. Have to say that underneath all that crap that it seems they have their act together. Outside though, its got to be the ugliest thing I've ever seen. I know it looks tough from a distance but up close it looks like 8 people designed it without ever talking to each other. Switches all over the freaking cab and brackets, hoses, fittings, wires all over the exterior. Its just not a clean grader and you feel like if you get too close something is gonna snag your clothes and carry you for a ride. We (Champion) or any other manufacturer in the US would never get away with such crap hanging all over our graders. Hope I didn't step on any CAT tails out there but thats just one person's opinion. We decided to back up off of the whole joystick idea for now. Have a feeling CAT is gonna sink a few more million in this before its perfected. Then we will see what they came up with.
Might want to do a little more homework. None of the M's have air brakes. They are all hydraulic brakes now. Also, steering becomes less sensitive starting in 5th gear to make it easier to handle at higher speeds.
You sure? We've had a few 14M's and 140M's through our shop lately and they all came with Michelin XSNOPLUS tires. They sure look like the tires in your picture... http://http://earthmover.webmichelin.com/na_eng/Tires/XSNOPLUS/Index.html
Yeah those are SnoplusX not Goodyear.Anyone run those Goodyear snow tires?What are they like?We run Snoplus now finally and will never go back to Bridgestone if We can help it.Bridgestone were good for the first year with hardly any grader bounce. Then gradually got worse ever year after.Seemed like the sidewalls were getting weak?
Veeplow;I like your avatar, what size of Timberjack is that veeplow on?I sure bet she will push snow!
Roadrunner.. that is actually an extremely old photo of a Clark 880B.
Welcome to the forum VeePlow! Hummmm wasn't I talking to you somewhere before?:drinkup
....small internet! :canada
Got a phone today from one of our grader operators. He is trained and prepared for duty if we need him, but workes by a sivilian firm. We discussed the M for half an hour. He had had his ass in the 160M pictured here. His conclusion where theese: - Sticks move to long, u will get fysical problems with your armwrists. - To feely on the wheelstearing in high speed. - Its to easy to get false movements when u move one function. The other one tend to move also. - Difficult to do fine grading, lift is difficult to controll. - To many buttons and stuff on the joysticks. - Power in the engine is gone. He stated that our Volvo's with the Svab system is a bether one than the M. Both he and the daily operator where disapointed with the M. They had high exseptations and was disapointed. Our guy stated that Cat had a way to go before it was as good as Vammas on the view from the seat...
M Cat REPLY M GRADER
The Learning Curve :thumbsup sdPete; Good analogy. I know people (can't call them operators) who have been on E, F, G & H Series for years and still can’t operate them. Some will catch on and others will be left behind. That’s the way it always has been and that’s the way it always will be. I still learn new tricks every year and this season will be my 35th. It’s an amazing machine limited only by the matter between your ears! :dizzy Regards, Randy
Maybee... This operator spent 6 weeks in our joystick Volvo G976. He complained on some of the problems known with the 900 series, but not any on the joystick system.(Things that changed with the V5.0 software) He started with 2 days of education from me on the complete Volvo grader and had noe problem learning that joystick system in a couple of hours.... And you should keep in mind that theese drivers are familiar with joystick and tinted glass graders from many years back. Vammas has had theese systems for years. And when u get new equipment u always compare to the things u know from before. So Scandinavian grader operators will have a complete different background to comment on the M's. I am only the messanger from the operators, has yet not had the opportunity to test the M.
Randy, what do you do with your M? Do you snowplow,construction,road maintenence? Just wondering because I have heard issues with the M steering at high speeds especially in winter? Glad to hear you like the sticks, I still am waitng for Cat to bring aM out to demo!