So keeping with my posts of "showing" off my gear from work (USMC), I guess now would be the time to show off our new dozer. The Marines went from the time tested D7G to the new Deere 850J ointhead . God only knows why they did it. :eek2 From far away cabin view Regards and Enjoy, YID
New to forum, but looks great. Looking at purchasing a cat mid 90's D5H in 5-7000 hr range. LGP isn't important to me. First time dozer purchaser. Any testimonials out there on performance, what to avoid, what to look for, etc. Good, bad or otherwise please.
So the Gumment can spend more of our money. New special tools, training, spares :Banghead
sounds to me like a giant step backwards. What do they do when the electronics quite at the worst possible time. None of that on a D7G to go to hell.
Wow...a JD? The USMC is a tough outfit and deserve a tough tractor, Caterpillar...period.
I have to say thats a awesome looking machine in those colors. Whats that colored called btw?
The color? Depends on who you ask. Its obviously Green, but the NoBama Regime defines it as Olive Drab CARC (Chemical Agent Resistive Coating). Yes a J.D. See the government has a service life for any type or piece of gear which is 20 years. At the 20 year mark, the government accepts bids from national companies. Cheapest bidder gets it and then that gear is sent to Aberdeen to be tested and outfitted for service. CAT obviously is the way to go, but unfortunately, the people who do this bidding deal have never planted their 5th point of contact in a seat and tried out all of them. But CAT has had a short stint (the last 20 years). Before that, our dozers had names like Euclid, EIMCO, and Terex to name a few. Most of my Marines, yours truly included, dont like the machine at all. The tracks seem more narrow, the "finger tip" controls work GREAT, when there ISNT a load being pushed. And all these pilot sticks (vice a stick for your blade, a tranny stick, track clutches/brakes)....ALL GARBAGE. But I will continue to adapt and overcome. And when all the electronics go to hell, my plan anyways, is to grab my rifle, grab a satchel of C4 and blow that sucker in place. Saves me and my mechanic some time Regards, YID
Yellow, while I do appreciate what you do. A lot of what you said throughout and mainly in the second paragraph is your personal opinion. There is a pretty good size and hp difference between the D7 and a 850J/k not to mention the speed of the machine. Along with how easy things have been made to maintain and work on if necessary. Cat is not obviously the way to go anymore. And its not just who can build the cheapest machine. If cat really wanted to pull their weight around on this they could have dropped their price to compete.. But they chose not to.Along with other manufactures. I just wonder if you would like to get back to terex cable machines or one of the others. Then you might be glad at what you have. And if you go as far to blow up a machine that some of us pay for you deserve a shovel. Even if i had to run a cat for the usmc or army or whoever I would take the best of my ability to take care of it. Its kind of hard to say they are garbage when there are environments out there equal to or worse then what you put one through and they survive. i.e. U S and state forest service has hundreds if not thousands in service that go in and out or fires. Also, its not like you are getting a dozer for a contractor. Its made for the military. If the USMC ordered the machine with standard or narrow tracks and most of your guys prefer wide or wider tracks you should have asked for them. If you don't have a say in it, then blame the USMC for ordering the wrong setup. I will say that if you have a guy/gal that does the maintenance and they know what they are doing, take pride in doing their work ( like I know the USMC does)So if the machine does have a problem. It will be fixed right and fast. Vs down for weeks and not a clue how to fix it. That will make a big difference between you saying this machine is alright(or better then expected) and you hating it. I don't care who makes it today. It will eventually give you a little or alot of problems in those kind of environments. Cat might have had the best dozer back then but times have changed. U can't buy a D7G or the good ol 544e's and G's wheeled loader you had before you had the 624J/k's. I'm not here to bash you but like you said you have to adapt and overcome. Who's to say in the next 20 years you won't want to let go or your 850's!!?? Regards,
The Marines that run these machines have no say of any kind in how the machine is speced out. That is done at the Pentagon by people who have no idea about what they write and spec. As far as when the electronics go to hell and if it is in a combat situation than what Yellowirondude says is true. He will grab his rifle, as every Marine is a rifleman first and something else second, load it up with C4 and blow it up because that is what the military does to keep the enemy from capturing and equipment that could be turned around and used against them. Always been that way, always will. A lot of military equipment has gotten to damned complicated for its own good just like the civilian versions which have way to much electronics and computers on them with way too much software in them that was written by people that have never even seen a machine let alone run one. Case in point, the finger tip controls with software that the operator can adjust for his own taste as opposed to the operator before before him. Our military deserves the best damn equipment money can buy regardless of price Deereman. It has to be rough, tough and dependable. In my experience this kind of electronics and computer stuff is not. You don't need a grenade launcher, morter or small rocket launcher to knock one of these out. Throw enough electrical interference, laser, or do anything you can to make the computer loose its mind and this thing is out of action. I know the shield the electronics to the end of the earth on military equipment but it is far from fool proof. SEMPER FI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I get ya greg. Like I said i wasn't meaning no ruffling of the feathers. Glad you brought me to what he was saying. Yes I believe you are right. You do deserve the best. I can be pretty confident in saying that Deere has a hard machine to beat in that size class right now.. But whosever dozer you buy now has some if not alot of the same thing this one does on electronics. In either point, We can thank our government for both the problems that surround the this topic. EPA is part or the problem and the reason it has went electronic. The other part not ordering the right one for the right application.. Man I sure would hate to blow this or any machine up in the field. But I guess you have to do what you have to..
Well said Greg
If the federal government had any brains the military could easily be made exempt from the stupid damn EPA emissions standards on machines like this, and yes, you did ruffle my feathers as you probably gathered. No problem, I am already over that. As I also mentioned the programs put into these machines be it Cat, Deere or whoever are done by software engineers hired by the manufacturer. These software engineers are a bunch of computer "whiz kids" who know nothing about the machine they write software for. Take them out, put them on a machine, make them get dirty, make them learn how to run it first, if that is even possible. Than let them go to work. Same for the guys that design the machines. Make them work on them first so they can see what it is like to stand on their head on the radiator trying to get at something they are attempting to work on. This has gotten so bad it is almost impossible to check and add fluids on many macines. I gather by your name "deereman" and comments that you probably wear Deere underwear and have aDeere tatoo on the right check of you butt just like mine are Caterpillar. I am sure thay you and I could argue the virtues of Caterpillar and Deere until dooms day plus ten years. That is a product of our FREE capitalist society which enabled men like Mr. Deere, Best and Holt to go into business and prosper. That free capital society has prospered right along with our freedom, which is the envy of the entire world. It is the likes of "yellowirondude" and all the other fine young people who are or were part of the MS military for the past 200 plus years to insure that guys like you and me can argue about Deere verses Cat and prosper at the same time. Ain't life grand and thanks to every Mrine, Sailor, Airman and Soldier in the Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force and Army. GOD LOVE UM ALL AND THANKS TO EACH AND EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!! 11111111111111111
Gents, Thanks for the feedback. Starting off I guess, in some of the situations I have been in since the dozer got fielded, I WOULD prefer a old cable machine...lol. Not to mention the electronics portions. I have had some of my fondest and most productive memories forged on older iron. I would accept the challenge to hop back on a 8v71 EIMCO or a brain rattlin Euclid and see if my production rates still apply. True, the Forest Dept and State Dept's might drive these into forest fires. How about driving (or operating) through soil profiles that have river like qualities...lets say the sewage laiden soil of Haiti where 70% of their soil is pure soup. Or perhaps Jordan, where the sand on the ground is so fine, its dust, but still has its abrasive qualities of regular beach sand? That being said, I have pushed soil over the better part of the globe, east to west, north to south, not just where there is a war. We do take care of our gear, but are reserved to make such comments from time to time based off of our gear. Marines especially, as the other Branches dont have this issue. Take for example the Army. They have many different makes, models and spec'd packages for "certain" contingencies. Then those spec'd machines sit there and wait for "What If's" to happen. Twenty years later it happens again. Then of course is the Air Force. Their H.E. is whatever they need. They get into theatre, RED HORSE deems the machines needed, and within 2 business weeks, new Yellow gear is brought forward on a lease type agreement. The fundamentals for the ** (theory of operation) is based off of Marine and Army gear, but the gear itself is rented or leased. Navy basically has a couple more types per gear, but its all the new stuff (Tri-Tracked dozer [bogey suspension] and whatnot). I too take pride in my mechanics work, and in the past decade and a half have started a passion for diesel. Heck, probably the reason why I drive and do my own work on my cummins pickup. Now the downside, my mechanics are MECHANICS....not technicians. They can troubleshoot (the old mechanical way [its what they are taught in school]) and hang parts. But when a computer goes down, we now require FSR's (Field Service Representatives) to do that. Talk about more money used.....which by the way....the average Marine who goes to theatre for 7 months leaves with 10-15k money. A FSR after 12 months? 190K+. Hmmm. I digress. As far as fast? Parts are taking longer to get and are in short supply...as everything is new. So a machine will take longer to become "UP" rather then "Down". No Beuno. You also mentioned a G series loader? Sorry Sir, never seen one. Air Force maybe...possibly Army. Not a Marine owned Machine. It was said later in the forum about being rough and tough. When my Marines got the new dozer, THEY WERE ESTATIC there was a freezing cold AC. Little did they know, it wasnt for them. It was for the computer(s). So long story short, autumn rolls around and they wanna push some material. Hang the doors open for some good ol NC weather, and what do ya know. The computer starts acting up when nothing was wrong with the physical machine. FSR deemed it as a dirty motherboard. Enough of the Rant....carry on Semper Fi, YID
Well said "Leatherneck." A few months ago I would have wrapped up the tech manual for a Cat 621B scraper and sent it to a soldier in Afganistan if I had known where to send it. He was on here asking questions they were having with a 621B over there that no one could fix and had no reference material to trouble shoot it. As for a Deere 544 G wheel loader, good machine but nothing spectacular. The Marines in my experience are expected to deliver the most with the least. Looks like some things never change. Your statement about Marine mechanics vs. FSR's is another example of what is wrong with the whole damn system. Love your statement about the electronics and the cab doors open. In other words the crap can't take the dust. The fricking Pentagon filled with political hacks and academy pukes will never get it.
I think its sexy and I would love one lol massive upgrade from my D61px
Cool looking machine.
No Deere undies or tat here!! haha And yes we could argue but I'd rather debate on it. You could used to say that the guys that design the machine never listen to or talked to a tech about working on these machines but thats old news. Flip out coolers, cabs that raise hydraulically, oil changing intervals extended and etc.. all these ideas come from owners and techs..Now yellow should be able to check all the vitals of the 850J from one side or from ground height. I'm just trying to tell you that ANY machine you buy today will be like this.(some better then others)I have the feeling you and Yellow are old school being put on new school machines. (and not liking it)Having to take that learning curve vs what you are used to. What you pretty much come up with is old,somewhat slow,reliable and not easy to work on, no computers vs new,easy to work on,fast,computers greater hp While meeting EPA. ANY company that can build a machine today in this market and beat all the emission bs while gaining hp and better fuel economy is doing a dang good job.. And as with some on here I do prefer/like SOME of the older machines better. I . E 650G's 690ELC and so on. Greg on that 544g, yea that might not have been the best in your eyes but that goes back to what ya'll love the most which was simple and reliable. As far as the system and the military goes I have no idea how it really works. Thats why I need you and yellow to fill me in. Even if I wanted to argue on this i couldn't :drinkup Yellow, I understand about having MECHANICS....not technicians or sometimes parts exchangers. Thats just were things are gonna have to change. It speaks volumes for a tech that can go right in there and fix just about anything. And I don't know that its so much that the parts are new and taking longer to get there as to just gettting stock for the new machine in your inventory. Even thoe it is a military machine those parts have been made for a while. While yes 850's do sometimes give problems due to computers, surely everyone that you have is not giving problems. Or atleast the same problem. There thousands of these machines out there that if everyone acted like that deere would have major problems along with no/loosing customers. I'll have to find that article on those g-series loader. But your right it might have been the army or navy.. When to comes to the older green beans and cable machines I'lll let you have them.Nothing wrong but just not my cup of coffee. No biggie. Anywho, is this the only 850 you have now? I do see in one of your picts that you have to looks like a 624J TC in the back ground??
Deereman- You are absolutely right about the 624....kinda. What you see in the pic is a 624KR....a militarized version of the J model. Difference in that there are some great options that aren't avail to the public customers, such as but not limited to: up-armored cabs and (yes this is true) remote controlling. By remote controlling I mean, putting a reciever on the cab, hooking up some wires inside, and running a control station from a toughbook. Designed for mined areas or other such instinces. Never saw that mod used or installed yet, probably only a couple actual avail in the USMC. The unit I was with had only 1 (shown in the picture). Some units have 1 or 2, others 20-30. Back to the 624, if you would like to see more, I have posted pretty much the same way on Wheel Loaders as I did here. Here is the link: Regards and Enjoy, YID
so where can I go to pick up one of the "old" and "obsolete" G's?
I've seen a few go through the ring at RBA. Don't worry they bring crazy prices.
probably a dumb question but what about the old cats that they are pulling out of service and replacing. I have had the chance to buy a few of these. does any one have any input on what the pros and cons are of buying an ex military machine? does it speak a foreign language are enjoy playing in the sand and hate black dirt? not to joke too much here. has anyone ever had one?
My national Guard unit has 2 D7's, one with a ripper and one with a winch, they are both good dozers. I would be proud to own either one of them
google government liquidations . gov it should a site that the DOD sells all their old gear. Its a auction, but prices are well below bearable. Regards, YID
The DOD sold some early 80's low hour D7G's at a RBA auction and got over 160k for them. Would you guys pay that for a low hour new/old dozer?
Ex-military machines seem to come one of two ways. They have either been sitting for years and have been robbed of parts, won't run, and have been left to sit and waste away. Others, if you get them straight off of duty in many cases are very low hour on a complete rebuild done by a Cat dealer. Saw a Cat 12G grader at Cat dealer a few months ago as well as D6H all in pieces being gone through. There were only 1,200 hours on the grader at that time. Fellows working on it couldn't imagine why it was being gone through. Answer was it was X years old and was due for rebuild. If I were in the market for a D7 right now and one of these came along with almost new undercarriage low hours and rebuilt a few hundred hours ago I would jump on it in a heartbeat. It goes back to what I said in here earlier when arguing with deerman, or as he prefers to call it debating. A D7G like that would make me a pile of money and I could work on it myself. derreman can call me and Yellowirondude "old school" if he wants to. He can call it old, slow and reliable if he wants. Had my D7 along a new one and mine pushed with it all day long, pass for pass. End of day both had accomplished the same thing. Mine was paid for, the new one was owned more by the bank than the guy on it. Had he had trouble with the electronics on it? Yes he had. Obviously Deereman does not understand how the federal government and military work either. Like Yellowirondude said in here. Nobody there to work on them, no parts for the Deere850's. It is pretty much that way with ALL of the equipment the military has, new or old. Nobody to work on it, no parts. AS far as the learning curve goes deereman, I know what it takes to make money in this business and that is priority no.1 around here. If I don't turn a profit I am not around any more. I know what makes money for me. Would a new D7E (electric) be nice to have with all the extra push and fuel economy they are reported to have? Probably would, but the half million dollar range price tag puts it out of reach around here. I am simply not big enough to spend that kind of money on one machine. I have my speciality business and the equipment I have does it just fine. With the economy the way it is and work going for the prices it is bringing around here there are excavating contractors falling like flies because of to much debt load and not being able to turn enough margin. I have done a considerable amount of NRCS work here too. Don't get rich on it but it helps pay the bills but sure would not support type of equipment that deereman is crowing about in here.
Cats Talk all you want about the Deere-that's why we're putting Cat pins and bushings in a 200 Deere hoe to extend the life of it. 4000 hrs and the pins on the boom, stick, and bucket are shot. Have to counter bore and size for Cat. On a project and could not shut down until done. Parts aren't even close to availability compared to Cat. And the Deere's are just as expensive to work on as Cat-just check your shop rates out and parts! We learned our lesson. Just talking from experience that we had.
Greg, I'm not personally bashing you or yellow on this. I don't really see the reason for the saying yours was paid for vs other owned by the bank or comparing your business to the government?? No real relevance here. You are your business and the gov is the gov. For what your saying that even if they bought a new cat D6 there would be no parts or people to work on it as well?? It would still be the same situation. Sounds like the military and the gov is screwed either way with new machines.. or old.How many 850's did you see broke down when you was pushing against one? Just because you hear or see from one guy that hates deere and is mad because the government bout them instead of cat, calling them junk when clearly as you have pointed out that it has more to do with how to government runs and does things. Talking about the economy is your personal opinion. There are places in the North america that are booming, turning out profit, buying new machines doing the work that they could not with old machines. There are reason contractors are falling out. They didn't manage what they had. The reason for the saying "the strong will survive".
Catken, a lot of what you said has to do with your deere dealer and that relationship. Don't sound like they are hungry enough. The first part on how the machine was run.
When you are in off shore position you need equipment that can be worked on. Very few techs will jump on a plane and make a service call on a computer control dozer, blade, or a loader. I was before computers but we had problems with new equipment because of no parts in the system yet. Being a retired member of the sea services I will bet that the Marines have little or no spares.
Just another tid bit from a old devil dog.....I never said I hate Deere. Give me my old 544EZ (which is the Military version of a G) and I am content Marine. Heck, I would even like, in some scenarios, to trade in our Case 1150E for say a 650LGP. Me calling it junk, again, is MY personal opinion and not that of all 1345's (Marine Corps heavy equipment operators) in the Fleet Marine Force. And I believe I am entitled to speak that. Some of my junior Marines who just started as operators absolutely LOVE the 850 vice a D7G. Regards, YID
I understand what Greg is talking about, comparing his machine that is paid for to the other guy that has a bank note on his tractor. That comes from 15 years in the business. The reason contractors are falling out is the fact they have too much money going out and not enough coming in. I find your statements quite contradictory in understanding the difference between a guy that has a paid for machine working next to a new machine with a monthly "love note". The strong ones survive by managing their outflows vs income, one way to do that is have paid for machines, regardless if an area is doing well economically. Carry on.
Here we go again deereman. When you go to the banker it sure as hell is relevant if your machine is paid for. What I am getting at here is that my D7G produces as much revenue and is just as productive as the newer machine while being paid for. That means that the funds not required to pay the note go right back into my pocket for a cash cushion or to use for expansion or new equipment if I think it is warranted. Around here expansion and new equipment is not warranted. What you say about other parts of the country booming does not make a damn bit of difference to me because I am not in those parts of the country. I look at the local market that I operate in. I make my decisions on the local market, not what is happening 2,000 miles away. The stupidist damn thing I could do is go and start buying equipment because things are booming 1,000 miles away. Only a damn fool with a complete empty head would do that. By having my fleet paid for and carring almost no debt load I can pick and choose the work I want to go after and go after it the the rates I want. I don't know where you get the idea I am comparing myself to the US government you your previous statement. If I was that screwed up I would have been out of business 19 years ago. As far as the strong will survive go ask your banker who is the strongest. The guy in debt up to his ears or the guy with little or no debt load. I know what mine told me. That is why any time I want something from him I can get it with out a problem. Around here it is not about a pretty new fleet which seems to be very important to you no matter what the cost, but what the profit margin is and how much cash is in the bank. If you ever get to the point that you are the guy paying the bills and managing the cash someday you may realize that. Like I have said before. The kind of work we do here can be quite profitable. Profitability is tied to debt load. When you sit with a big note on a bunch of machines the payment each month consists of interest and principal. The interest is deductable, the principal is not. Principal is paid out of profit before taxes. The bigger the debt load, the more revenue required to meet expenses as well as interest and principal. When I first started out I had a big debt load. Had to, cause I had to buy a bunch of equipment. Now that it is paid for life is one heck of a lot easier. That puts me in the position that if I want to do something business and I need money my banker says go do it. I just happen to be making my money with Cat equipment. There are other contractors out there with the same phlisophy running Deere or Komatsu, or Dresser and all of the other kinds. Those guys are all doing well too. The make of equipment does not make the contractor deereman. It is the brains in the head of the guy. Always has been, always will be. If you ever get to the point where you are the one paying the bills and managing the money you may change your attitude about what is more important, low debt load and a cash reserve a full yard of brand new pretty equipment that is setting with nothing to do. Overhead does not go away just because there is no backlog of work to do.
just my $.02 worth
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Mitch504. Well said. Grow up and go to school there deereboy.
If it takes Cat parts to make your Deere go do it. A guys gotta do what a guys gotta do. Here in Alberta the Deere/Hitachi hoes are outselling Cat hoes by at least 4 to 1. The reasons are price, parts availability, approachable dealerships and machines that don't lie down and die after 10k hours. I believe I can follow both schools of thought. For a guy like Greg who is an owner operator or least runs a smaller operation than say, Kiewitt & Sons, it makes sense to run used equipment especially if its the venerable D7G. Any smaller operator in order to become successful has to learn how to repair his machines to keep costs down. On the other hand, huge operators that face penalty imposed deadlines need machines that WILL work day in and day out. Their biggest costs associated with the breakdown are not the cost of the repair but the loss of production. These guys will tell you that on some of the older equipment the amount they put toward repairs more than makes their payments. Greg, your argument about your D7G makes a very interesting point as you chose one of the most reliable machines out there. I have heard of numerous large companies who are rebuilding and rebuilding there D7G's and D7R's until they reach about 40-80000 frame hours and then letting them go.
you make a good point ab, but sometimes the brand new stuff gets expensive problems with parts the old ones didn't have, too Course, if you're Kiewitt & son you just get another one
Its sinfull to see those d7g go to auction, why in gods name did they just not get cat to bid on new rebuild for all of them and keep all of the used parts off of them in a ready to ship out inventory for our armed forces overseas everywhere, nevermind, they would have saved money, had a proven simple dozer with tons of spares and no computers, some lobyist would not have gotten a kickback and on and on, i think the same thing when i see all of thoe d8 ks come out of service, got to be the best dozer ever made, they are still using the old 342 versions in every jungle country, becuase they work, are cheap, tons of parts, omg lets get a johnny popper so we can toss all of the cat parts in the dump!!! I am sorry for anybody who gets a johne deere unproven quality vs a good old d7 or d8 cat dozer!!
Had a buddy buy a couple of these G's about a year ago paid 60 grand each, little over 1000 hrs. w/pressurized cab, wide blade w/tilt,no a/c. But wasnt hard to install. Looked new. Buy a new one with the same horses and see what you pay. Not to mention the used parts avalibility. Cat dealers have made plenty of money replacing parts doing schedule maintainence on these machines.
Cheap! Deereman the reason the 200 was bought was price. The daily service was always done. I would really like to know of a Deere Company that has better parts and service than Cat. Unheard of. The real reason is how cheap they're selling them. I'm around four different Cat dealers so I do have a knowledge of whats what. I can really continue but I think the point is made!
Not only 7G Ab, but 7E, 8H and 8K here also. As far as parts goes, we don't need to go for used. Have several sources. Can get a lot of new old stock, Cat Classic and lots of parts for these machines are still available through Caterpillar as well as a tremendous selection of very good quality after market. Maintaining them is not a problem at all.
Come to Alberta. On one hand is Finning (Cat) big and arrogant or Brandt (Deere) smaller and more down to earth. When I've bought parts at either place I've always been amazed how little Finning stocked and how much Brandt did. And speaking about service, I spent part of a day in a Finning shop and I'll never take anything there for repairs. Were never more than 3/4 of the guys working at one time. The rest were standing around or staring into space. As far your comment about Deere/Hitachi hoes come to Alberta and tell it to some our pipeline crews. I don't know of one fleet of Cats but I do know of lots of Deere/Hitachi fleets. Whether its just price that sold them I don't know but these guys run their machines harder than anyone else and they're very obviously making money.
Some of those retired military dozers are in pretty good shape. We've looked into buying one for our volunteer fire department, because we can get them through the Texas Facilities Commission at a reasonable price. They are all older machines, but they don't have a couple thousand hours at most on them. Makes me wonder if the taxpayers really got their money's worth out of that machine or not? I get the feeling the decision makers focus more on the age of the equipment than the actual functionality. The 850J is really a pretty nice dozer as far as new dozers go. I know Caterpillar has a lot of fanboys, but keep in mind the new Caterpillar isn't a D7G, either. Caterpillar's newest D7 incarnation, the D7E, has probably more electronics and computer controls on it than any dozer ever made. It is also far less "proven" than even the 850J. The D7G has been Caterpillar's best effort in the D7 class machines, and will probably remain there as technology, electronics, and emissions standards will keep them from ever having a machine like the G again.
x2 North Texas.....I fully agree and am sad to see the old iron fade back into the sunset. But I guess new times are here....adapt and overcome. Regards, YID
Or i you get to be my age Yellowirondude you start to think about saying "screw it," it ain't worth dealing with any more, hang it up and go play.
Oh believe me Greg, though only a year from my dirty 30 bday, there have been ALOT of days I thought of moving back to the cabin in Crooked Lake or even the Peshtigo region, grabbin a sixer of some Blatz and just leveling the snowmobile trails/logging roads. Guess someday.... Regards, YID
Peshtigo? You a Wisconsin boy there Yellowirondude? There are also a couple of things that stop me from hangin it up too. Makin money and havin fun at the same time.
After moving in my early early years from eastern TN, my family moved to Sturgeon Bay (north of GB). Regards, YID
*Throws some gasoline on the fire* Didn't the Army adopt the Cat D9 recently to replace their D7s? What's the opinion on them compared to the 850J?
JD- the DOD has used D8's and 9's since the beginning of the Iraq War. Originally, they were from the factory, with aftermarket up-armor kits installed. As the war progressed on, they were waned from field use. All services still house them in their inventory, one way or another, to be used from time to time. The Army still uses their D7F's and G's, as well as the JD Hi-Speed dozer and they have the 8's and 9's as well. The Navy uses the bogey suspension 7's and 8's as in a beach landing team role, either to push off their LCU's or to improve the beach. The SEABEES also use it for production dozing (moreso the 9's then the 8's). The Marines have all their 8's and 9's store for contingency use in Albany GA for the next big "thing" to happen. Now as the opinions are considered, well, its all about the job!!! I cant speak for any one soldier sailor or Airman, but here in the MC, we use the 8's and 9's for production work only. Such as berm making, vehicle survivability positions and mass demo of a area. Everything else, it's the 850. As stated earlier, I am not a big fan of the 850. With that being said, I would take the 850 over a 9 if I was to say, level a area of ground. A whole firm base berm? That would be a 8 or a 9. Just another devils opinion. Regards, YID
Cat lover greg, i didn't say anything about you doing what someone 2K miles is doing. I was stating that everyone is not in the same boat as you. I didn't tell you to go out and start buying equipment. Yea, go ask your banker. Thats if their are still there. Good for you to be able to go get something. No questions ask. Pat yourself on the back. I never said about having an all new fleet . I was comparing a new machine to an old as far as the machine itself goes. I'm not 13, yes I pay the bills and can more then manage what I have. I do know what P/e ratios are and all that pertains to financing.. Where did i say anything about the make of equipment makes the contractor??? You jump to a lot of conclusions with me and coming off as a *****. Take it easy.
I can say the same for cat. I've seen cats as well as other makes in the deere dealership getting new P & b, rebuilding the motor and so on. Yes I can list a whole bunch of dealers that give you better service then cat. As well as the guys that have always been with deere and the guys that switched because they felt like they got a better overall product then cat or whoever for that matter. I can't speak for all the other areas but, thats the reason here in the southeast that deere has become so big over the past decade. When cat was to busy worrying about there big customers a lot of the little guys switched. And more so today some of the bigger outfits have changed either to deere, komatsu, volvo or whoever.
Yellow I know this is not you and the USMC, but I thought it was a little funny that this was written as we were discussing this: http://www.deere.com/en_US/docs/construction/zmag/dmag_nov4.html And I couldn't find that article I was searching for. But does the T.R.A.M unites rig a bell with you?? If it doesn't its probably one of the other branches.
OOH RAH! Awsome machine! Wish we had one of those when I was in the Marines!
That looks like North Carolina?
Tcb? Why won't Deere bid a TCB? Total Cost Bid sorta tells you how good of a machine you have. Deere or and other mfg. will not bid on blades with this concept except Cat, anyway in our region.
Yessir it does!!! I havent used military acronyms on this post as I didnt want to throw off any subscribers or readers....BUT....now that you mention it, TRAM is what we call a front end loader...daily. Tractor-Rubber tired-Articulated steering-Multipurpose vehicle. Also, in that dmag link you shared, page three, I know of ALOT of Marines that drool to have a hy-ex. Seems the Army, Navy and ** all have hy-ex's (namely deeres) but the MC doesnt. Just a TLB (CAT 420IT) that sometimes isnt suited for the mission. Solution says I? "Acquire" one in country from the army...LMAO. Anyways....carry on Regards, YID P.S. I have a thread under wheel loaders for the 624KR TRAM....link is
tdkreg- what year were you in? MOS? PCS duty station? And those photos are from a training op in IN a couple years back. Forget the fort we were at. Regards, YID
catken - I wouldnt know from my perspective. I'm paid to wear the BLACK chevrons, not the shiny silver or gold ones; and to pull levers and sweat all day :cool2 all in the name of :usa Regards, YID
YID We will have a fight if you try to "Acquire" my HYEX. Ram
Challenge accepted: 1500 at the motor pool, bring the MRE's. ROFLMAO YID
TCB's I was refering to county and state level bidding. I hear how great all this Deere stuff is but they will not bid a TCB. I'm not saying Deere is all junk but what I hear on this site from a few is just a bit narrow. I know you wear the Chevrons and take what you get-anything new is great for awhile I to what enjoy running one of them. There is a reason Caterpillar is # one is all!
WE APPRECIATE the fact you wear the Black Chevrons!:usa:usa
Ok 1500 it is but no MRE'S, i will bring steaks and adult beverages and swap stories about the equipment we have.
You sure didn't sound like the one payin the bills and signing the checks there deereman. If you can't take the heat around here you better get out of the cab, air conditioned or not. LOL
Oh, one other thing deereman. The local Deere dealer really sucks. They charge 30% more for parts than neighboring dealer across the state line, can't deal with them when buying and from what I hear their service really sucks. too. They only seem to sell to the large contractors around here. The smaller guys don't want a thing to do with them.
imho.. the deere tractor is nice and runs very well till the inevitable hydro problems show up. I suspect it also priced out cheaper than whatever tractor cat ran against it which may have been a 6T. personally I do not want a hydro in any dozer but our govt is pretty blind when it comes to bids.
Had a John Deere 750 and a 450C when I first started out. Didn't like the hydrostatic on the 750 and it didn't seem to have much push. 450C always a little bi--- to work on beyond belief. Bought them cause Cat was out of reach at the time price wise. The 750 went down the road after two years replaced with a D7. The 450C still here in the yard because the bucket can be used to lift things when needed.
greg, not around here. Cat on most cases is around 10% higher here. And I can stand the heat just not the cold. I can tell you something better in person then on here. I hate to say it but I originally started out a big cat man till I got a chance to run them. The cats were alright but nothing to brag about. Around here for every one cat there is at least 3 deere's per type of machine besides motor graders and track loaders. I might get sculled for being a deereman but there is not one machine in deere's line right now that I wouldn't take against cat or whoever and do as good or better job against it. That just goes back to whatever that person likes or doesn't..
Ain't nothin deere has built that I would have in the stable around here. Like I said before, **** Poor deere dealer here. Bad attitude, bad prices, no stock of parts, bad service, the whole works wrapped into one ball. Oh ya, independent and arrogant too. I will take my Cat dozers over a deere any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Deere does not have anything to put up against my D7's and 8's for kind of work I do.