My husband and I bought our dozer about 6 months ago. I had no idea that heavy equipment was such a man magnet. We live on a fairly remote farm, but every male visitor we have HAS to go and see the dozer! They love to look at it, and stand around reminiscing about dozers they have known. It is actually quite neat. When I was a young I hardly even knew the names of the different big yellow machines I saw. I am sure the male mind is wired differently when it comes to these things. I celebrate the difference. I really like the fact that a big old machine, even just sitting there doing nothing, can give so many guys such pleasure. And when it is operating- well, LOOK OUT!
LoL, sounds like perfectly normal men to me. Welcome to the forum Animal. :usa
Thank you very much, willie59 It is nice to join you guys here. I'm sure I will learn a lot about dozers from everyone in this community. I hope I can give a little bit back in return, too.
I think you already have. Welcome to the Forums!
Now you are a generous man! Thank you. My brain is busting trying to work out where CR is...don't tell me yet. But, isn't it interesting how there is this attraction between man and machine? I can't think of anything else quite like it. Motorcycles only interest other bikers, tractors other farmers, but the dozer attracts all the guys!
My lady thinks that my vocation as an operator is very masculine but that is as far as it goes,she must think about it a lot but she hides it very well from me .Ron G
If you are like my wife, I'm sure u have spent countless hours trying to figure out the "other species". There's nothing like the smell of diesel fuel burning, the vibrations of the machine and the thrill of moving the earth that can sooth a man's heart. Welcome to the Forum.:cool2
I have had the "yellow fever" my whole life. Like biggader said, theirs nothing like the smell of diesel and freshly turned dirt. Once it gets into your blood, it's a maddening disease.
"Yellow fever", I like that. It must be contagious, because I will admit that I am just a teensy bit interested in seeing some other dozers now. I don't think I would have been before getting our own. I guess just to see if they are bigger or smaller, and what sort of jobs they do. I'm not sure I want to hear too many "Bulldozer adventure" stories, however. Some of the things they get up to are pretty scary and I might not be able to relax what with worrying what is going on up the hill at the back of the ranch! biggrader, I wouldn't even attempt the "other species"- my one man is mystery enough CM1995, my guess is Costa Rica?
It all depends on the culture. Most places I have lived people take a general interest is heavy equipment at work and women will check out construction workers. Now in Socal you where a lower life form if you had a blue collar job unless you where in the military.
Hey, dozerboy, it is good to hear that the women as well as the guys in Texas like the heavy machinery. There are probably gals here in NZ that do as well, but so far the men are well ahead. It is never a good attitude to look down on other people who are working for a living, is it? We are all in this together, doing the best we can. Special respect to servicemen and women this weekend in honour of Memorial Day. Hope the sun is shining on you, wherever you are
That's correct..for the time being. It's kind of ironic, my next door neighbor down here is a New Zealander and a big rugby fan. I didn't know much about NZ rugby but now I am a fan of the All Blacks .
Gidday Mrs Animal . Yes it is abit of a disease amongst mankind; especially those from kiwiland and Orstrayla and some others further afield. One thing you will find about us all tho. Is we are all usually down to earth; honest, caring people that treat others the same way we like to be treated ourselves, and try to look after a 'mate' or matesse. Although in my experience the female of the species that likes machinary is a very rare thing to be found. Anyhow how about a pic of the beast in question [Dozer] and abit about it; we,re nosey specimens us machinery males. Cheers Merv
I'll see what I can do about some pictures of the dozer over the next few days. They may be "boring" stationary ones, however, rather than action shots.
yes men do like looking at machines, There was alittle girl looking at her Granpa sitting in his chair, He was smilling , She said to Granma, Why is Granpa smilling, Well says Granma he is smiling at his memories, Oh the liitle girl replied What are memories, Granma relpied They are nwhat young men make and what old men live On So thats why men are interested in machines something to think about when they get old
Yep when i was a kid i got smacked for playing in the dirt now i get paid to and still love it Leroy
Brilliant lpnt, I like the bit about what young men make and old men live on, Just lovely. We had an "old guy" turn up yesterday with some memories. He had no reason to arrive, but ended up standing around the dozer and never came in for a coffee or anything. It was the Man Magnet in action again!
I laughed once when an older guy told me to watch out, buying and running big iron is a disease and really addictive and then he turned and told my wife its already too late, he doesn't even know he's addicted let alone what he's about to do and go out and buy, he shook my wife's hand and said to her I'm so sorry that you've lost your husband to yellow iron disease and there is no cure, now after all those years maybe it wasn't so funny. I talked to the same gentleman this winter while looking for a larger dozer and he told me to give it up, there's no such thing as a large enough dozer, only the one that you currently own will never be big enough, even after you buy the bigger one, the cycle just continues to repeat itself. He also told me once I get a little older I'll go from buying them and running them to just looking and dreaming of the machines I'm no longer able to operate, which is currently where he's at in life.
It's not just heay equipment...anything like trucks, tractors, jeeps, etc are a natural attraction. A few years ago I finished restoring a WWII Jeep and decided to run it in the local 4th of July parade. While waiting in the parade line a Mom & 4 year old boy walked by. The boy exclaimed... "Look Mom! JEEP!" ..... It's genetic...were all born with it.
Ha, womens minds work all the same lol, just messing with you Animal welcome to a great forum
Ha ha, indeed monkey. I guess that was too good to resist But seriously, what else could a gal notice besides colour, and of course they are all YELLOW. Randy88, right now we would be happy with an operational dozer!!! The way things are going now, I don't think we would look at another dozer too soon. At least not a "fixer-upper" like this one has turned out to be I guess you are right, though. I respect the voice of experience. We are still novices in this game. D6etc (sorry forgot the name) I agree with it being genetic. I have seen young boys like you describe happy to watch yellow things digging up streets, etc for hours.
Thanks for your kind words. If there is any useful info here, it is DEFINITELY coming from other people, not me! MOD Edit - Animal that was a spammer that got through the gate. I edited his spam links out and his post was removed.
If you appreciate the whole "women & shoes" thing,you'll be close to knowing about men & dozers. I would imagine NZ operators are a good breed,having worked in steep areas where a mountain goat wouldn't walk. Jim
Its been 20 years ago but my ex wife said it best .."The only thing he'd ever run around on me is equipment , There could be a bikini model and a chromed out truck and i'll bet he'll go to the truck " ...she knows me well
Women and shoes!!! Lets take this thread well off-topic and boldly go where nobody here on Heavy Equipment Forums has gone before! Women and shoes. I'll probably be banned from the site for this. Not counting work boots for here on the farm, or by motorcycle boots which I see as safety equipment, I have...16 pairs of shoes in my closet. Moreover, I can think of 3 pairs it would be great to have if I won the lottery. Feeling excited and happy just thinking about them Seriously, Jim, what a very apt analogy. I had tried to think of one myself and failed. Guess it takes a bit of perspective to spot it like you did. Well done. Mods, if you kick me off you'll have to kick Jim off, too
Photos of Animal the 14C Hi guys, sorry about that last post- got a bit carried away- it seemed such a funny topic for HEF Here is the photo for you to drool over
LOL I don't think there is a man brave enough on the Forum to take that topic on. For my wife, shoes are like...yellow iron for me! Just can't have enough and I have my eye on a few hunks of yellow scrap iron I would like to have, if I ever won the lotto.:yup
Animal, I too remember telling my wife that same thing, just the first one and thats all I'll ever need, yea that lasted about six months, I now have four looking at number 5 along with all the rest of the stuff I've bought besides dozers over the years that are considered heavy equipment. One guy told me last summer that he's thankful his wife didn't buy much more than clothes otherwise he'd need four or five houses to store it all just like he needed four machine sheds to hold all his toys, I'd never really looked at it like that before but actually he's right, he went on to say could you imagine if instead of having 30 pairs of shoes, she'd want 30 vehicles or 30 kitchen table and chair sets or 30 sets of dishes and hutches to put them in. He admitted he'd never told her that and maybe I shouldn't either but it did give me a lot to think about, thats also the last time I ever complained about my wife buying things for the house too. Just an odd thought there I wanted to share even if its way off topic, sorry about that.
Animal, don't apologize. I freely admit I don't have the guts to tackle the subject, but this is a very entertaining thread.
Here's to that, very entertaining thread that's going all over the place! Good pic of the dozer Animal, and not a pair of shoes or boots in sight! Is that an air hose disappearing into the belly amidships? There should be a pair of steelcaps poking up from the floor boards if so! It looks very original from what I can remember, no paint since it left the factory but the canopy and sweeps look better than some that were fitted out here. Have you started a "visitors book" for it yet, never know who might turn up for a look.
Randy88, I really liked your post! Wouldn't it be a boring old world if we all liked the same thing and had exactly the same interests? I think Mr Animal & I (me? always forget this grammar rule) have worked out a similar accomodation without actually discussing it. And as for you mitch! Try and say you don't have the guts to comment, when you have such a bold signature. I crack up every time I see it. Glad you are entertained, that is all I can contribute; hubby is the technical brain man. For detailed stuff you'll have to check our other thread. LK, I'll send you a PM now. It would be great to have a visitor's book! There have been so many callers. I would hate to inhibit them, however, so I probably won't suggest it. Useless information: Animal the dozer got it's name from a comment here on HEF. When we were looking at purchasing the 14C, we google searched and saw a member called pushcat said he used to have one and it was an animal (compared to other dozers) Thus was our dozer christened
Just curious as to what part of the long white cloud are u doing it in, I lived in Tauranga for 40 or more yrs operating machinery before crossing the ditch to warmer climates 17yrs ago. Cheers RDG.
AHHHH, warmer climes. I don't think it got above 5 degrees C here yesterday, and there was a fresh skiff of snow. Global warming- bring it on! So where is here? We are in the very southernmost part of South Canterbury. We have felt all the big quakes, and some aftershocks, but haven't had any damage. Animal the dozer has come here to fix/maintain farm tracks, help develop new hill country, and possibly save thousands of (sheep) lives by ploughing through heavy snow to allow us to feed them or move them. Just in case we get a dreadful winter like our midwestern/northeastern American friends have just survived.
Hi Animal. Animal in the photo looks tidy too; some more pics maybe neccesary to confirm this tho ! Typical kiwi forestry roading spec. Be interesting to know if it was a NZ forest service machine. Ones that were often had a tag on the dash with NZFS and then a fleet no. Don,t know how many 14C or B models made it here but I wouldn,t think there were many. Unlike the US built Allis Chalmers and later Fiat Allis. HD6; 11s and 16s were very popular here, but once the Fiat designed dozers started taking over most owners stuck with what they had or jumped ship to Komatsu. Well my observations anyway. Mrs Animal you say you like shoes ? Youre not related to that shelia in the philipenes who liked shoes ? Imelda Marcos ? she had a fetish for shoes, something like 2000 pairs ! ! ! Well enough stirring for one morning. Wet dismal day in my part of NZ. Have a happy day. Cheers Merv
Hi Merv, our beast came from Taupo area- possible ex forestry? I'll check the dash. Maybe every lady has a bit of Imelda in them I will try and load one more photo for you; I'm a bit slow at this stuff... here goes
I thought the 14's had two top rollers?
Yes, you are correct, dawoodwa. That is another item on our to do/repair list. Good spotting!
Hi it looks as tho your front Carrier Roller is missing
Yes, as above. The guy we bought Animal from said it was not an issue as long as the tracks were tight. We intend to fix it when we can
good morning,mr & mrs Animal, Re your missing Top Roller, Please do not believe the previous owners claim that it is ok to have Carrier Roller Missing . Extra strain is placed on Sprocket and that in turn creates strain on drive shaft the warning is given thru experience the Final drive gears will strip out and you willbe left with huge bill to fix itand your latter state will be worse than your Present state. I am not trying to a fear monger I have Had personal experience with this issue Similar situation as yours I warned that owner a he didn't listen sorry to have to tel you this but I would make replacing thios roller a priority
Hi lpnt, thanks for your warning, which I am taking seriously- I told Mr Animal Depressing to hear, I have to admit. I don't think these rollers are just lying about the country waiting for us to find them. Oh well. No new shoes for a while!
Sorry that you will have to go barefoot in winter, Perhaps you should tell us your size and some kind person may send you Shoes, My wife sends her sympathy she saYS "I know what that poor girl is going thru"She says With you Fella's{meaning me} it always the same your machimery comes first, and usw girls suffer So at least you Mrs Animal have an ex Kiwi Lady on your side
No news about Animal, how is life on the farm, least there has been no snow to plow yet, not bad for June. Has there been a decision on which shoes to sacrifice for the new top rollers? There are a couple of yards that should be able to help, the rollers are easy, the mounting pedestals may be the hard bits to find. Good luck with the hunt.
Ha ha ha, no need to sacrifice any shoes I currently have! Its the ones that are on the "gee, it would be NICE to have a pair of those" that are on the deferred list I could probably wear a different pair each day I go to town over the course of a year; I only see tarmac every 3-5 weeks! By choice- I like the countryside. Poor Animal needs a reconditioning of the hydraulic pump, I believe. Mr Animal was posting a nice detailed explanation last night but lost the whole post before he hit the "submit reply" button. Not very happy! He may try again :bash, but for now you'll have to accept my brief summary, which may not be as precise
hi RDG did you say warmer climes WEi came here 32 years ago and this year has been wetter / colder than i have ever felt it in qld and Victoria, it hasnt stoped raining for months i came from Rotorua
I,ll have to admit its sure is wetter this summer and a bit cooler but I would sooner spend winter here than there. Cheers RDG.
Yeah Got to agree with you there living in victoria it is cold compared to thew 25 years we lived in Qld But now i go back couplea times a year to warm up . what is more you dont need shoes in Qld so Mrs Animal would bve ok there she could do what everyone else does have 2 pair of thongs/jandals/ flip flops / A white pair for weddings and a blac k pair for Funeral she would be quite expensively dressed then Aye
The reason the Fiat Allis did not folow the Allis Chalmers machines is because once the Fiat people took over AC the fiat organisation were supposed to supply the market, it waS Found that NZ and Italy did not have a trade agreement in place so that put stumbling block in front of Cable Price The orders were there for machines but not much help from Fiat , that is what we were told at the time ,was a great pity because alliss chalmers were a good old unit
Yep jandals an a pair of black footy shorts is about all u need ere. I spent a bit of time on a Allis Chalmers HD 14 in my early yrs, screamin jimmy in it. Cheers RDG.
GAAH! (thud) *regains consciousness* Only 2 pairs of shoes! And those JANDALS!! I am shuddering in horror. As much as the warmer climes of QLD sounded appealing, I now don't believe I could live there. How forgo the pleasure of of going to town when it is freezing, wearing a smart wool skirt and zipping up a pair of lovely leather knee-high boots...what bliss. No, I am not even sure jandals qualify as shoes. I don't own any so it is hard to judge
Well now you have recovered from aussie /nz Footwear rivalry .,how is rhe poor buldozer recovery going has he b een able to get mobile and push some dirt, I have had a fair bit to do with trhe Fiat alliss 14c bothy in NZ and in Queensland and the fiat alliss 8b in victoria they were all good machines ,Just have to like all other,machines keep up with the maintainance look after them and they will give good service. I do believe you could live in sunny Queensland.