how long of a push is too long? i am pushing w/ our new to us d5b lgp. i was wondering how long of a push you guys usualy go until you get a scraper. i am pushing about 200' more or less, and it sure seems to take a while. thanks!
Boss says it doesn't pay to push over 200ft, I think its to far...
There are a lot of varibles in that question. Is it up hill or down hill? are you slot dozeing? Are the site conditions scraper friendly ie. slope,soil compaction turn around room, amount you have to strip to have room to fill it. Some people around here are useing scrapers to build terraces not by choice but thats all they have or they want to try to speed up the process and they wonder why they cant grow anything for 5 years after due to soil compaction. If you have a Cat handbook it can give you production rates on length of push. I would think 200' would be at the upper end for push dirt even if you were slot dozing down hill with a D5. but you cant go buy a scraper just for a small job and if it is only a 1000 yards or so you cant realy aford to move one in if the D5 is already there.
I found a table showing loose cubic yardage production. Hours are based on loose cubic yard per 50 minute hour and based on slot dozing. D5- 200'- 0.0294. Or figure only 75% production if not slot dozing.
Depending on the quantity of material to be moved I would have the pan hooked up for 200 ft distance. With D8K and No. 80 pan hooked up I can get almost 20 yards a pass. No way to do thay with the blade on.
I have heard that we will push 300' but that would be with a D10. If you just have a few 1000 yards to move it wouldn't pay to move in or rent a scraper.
A lot of variables. I have brought this up before in other threads. How much is there to move? if it is going to take just a day or two, maybe just push it anyway. Do you have a scraper? if so, if you have to ask, you should be using it. Do you have a scraper nearby you can rent? then you weigh the cost. How long to push it with your dozer vs the cost of renting the scraper, hauling it in and out, etc. I am a fan of doing it with what I own, unless it just doesn't make sense.
To me it is worth bringing in the pan for a few thousand yards. I don't have to rent cause I own all of my stuff. One more trip with the lowboy is worth it when I look at the time saved.
well, we dont own a scraper. it did come to mind tho when i was pushing bladefull after bladefull. i hade some time to think. if i had a guy to run it, it sure seems that you could move a lot more dirt a couple hundred feet w/ a scraper and then have the dozer level. it wouldn't have worked this time... the hill was too steep, but it was one of my infinate ponderings of the week. next on my list of questions is: what is the best way to get dirt up hill (maybe 100' or 200')? sure seems slow to push up hill... you cant take as big of a bladefull. i was trying to take black dirt from the bottom of the hill and scatter it on the hill i just pushed flat. what i ended up doing is slinging it uphill with the excavator (twice) then spreading it w/ the dozer. the excavator was mainly to dig up the black dirt out of the waterway at the bottom of the hill and save it in a pile, which was placed uphill from where it was dug. then i spread all the clay to the grade i wanted. next i climbed the ex on top of the piles of black dirt and spread it out uphill. finally i took the dozer to spread and finish grade it. is there any quicker way to do this?? thanks!!
Eianewb, I'm no expert, but sounds like a short term scraper rental might be in order...you may be able to load it with the excavator and avoid some of the steep part of the hill, and since you're cleaning out a confined area in the waterways the ex might work better....my 2¢