Well..old Grader4me is going to operate a 140m for 3 weeks. Got a job offer in Labrador so..I'm taking some vacation and have some fun..lol I'll let all you young whippersnappers know how long it takes me to get used to it..:cool2
Suppose he'll remember his way back home?
Drat, when I saw this thread I thought G4m was gonna tell us he went to Hooters. :tong Best of luck G4m.
Dont death grip left joystick and you'll do just fine after an half hour.
Don't forget, being new, it'll make HS Grading easier to dooooooo!!!
Good on you G4, should be good for a bit of 'speed grading', while you are beating that sod around, don't forget what grampa told you, might need to take some extra chew, you'll need to be concentrating on those joysticks. RnR.
Thanks..good advice..yeah I figure around that time frame. Guys..I'll just be leveling and finishing..doing the grade stakey thing. Swearing at the truckers etc...for running over the stakes. LOL....sorry.... Lol...did ya ever think about getting into poetry?? Oh..I'll try to..lol. Actually got 3 days in without it...not liking it one bit either...
Grader4me, I ran a 160m for 3 mos, I got used to it but never learned to like it, this was a few years ago when they first came out. Please let me know what you think. There were some issues on design and in the software, I would like to know if they were fixed. Thanks, blademan150
From what they tell me this one has 1500 hrs on it so maybe the bugs have been worked out of it. I'll let you know of any problems that I encounter.
Have fun Grader4me. Let us know how you do with it and if you like it. Kyle
No, but, There once was a man from New Brunswick Who's blade was so long that he stuck it The blade was all new, and he didn't know what to do. So he called a driver to truck it! Will that do?
I will Kyle...Thanks Hummmmm...No..lol. Good try tho
I spent 5 summers up there with the government. one word of advise FLY DOPE muskoil . Who are you gone up there with
I'll keep the doors shut..lol. Contractor from Saint John
Right on, congrats. Don't forget your camera!
Thanks Brian..yup..taking my camera
I gotta keep track of this thread. Anxious to hear your perceptions. I'm not quite as optimistic as most though, I can't see you being proficient in thirty minutes of operation. My issue was that I'd do okay until a quick response was required, especially with steering, then I'd be wanting to let go of the joystick and grab a wheel!!!
I just expect that after a half hour I'll be able to do the job, not saying I'll be a pro on the controls because I won't. I would imagine that I'll be reaching for the steering wheel many times for a few days and the levers too. I'm really excited about the challenge tho.
Hey Grader4me, are you flying or driving up? I drove up this week. Road is rough and the dust is thick. What site will you be working on? We may cross paths.
Hi Dad5, welcome to HEF! The company I'm working for has to send up 2 trucks..I'm going with one of them. Heading out tomorrow afternoon. We are going across the ferry via the Newfoundland route. All I know is that its in the Wabush area. Flying back in 3 weeks
Well, I got my 3 weeks in. My job with the cat m was leveling class "b" material. I would level and bring it as near to grade as I could. The second grader came behind with the trimble getting it spot on grade. After compacting etc. class "a" material would go on. I got a chance to operate a 140 H on class "a" with the gps system...wow! It was flat out work 13.5 hours a day, seven days a week. We averaged 10,000 tons per day. Now my thoughts on the Cat 140 M...When I first got on the grader I asked if I could grade a small piece of road to get use to the controls before I started leveling. Steering was the hardest for me..rest of the controls was a piece of cake. I started leveling in about an hour. I keep remebering one posters comments here not to have a death grip on the steering joystick...completely correct...after I relaxed it was fine...still reached for the steering wheel and levers for awhile tho...lol I really like the grader..only thing that I found is after I parked for a bit I had to recalibrate the steering by moving the joystick slowly back and forth..until you do that nothing else would work...sometimes it took a little while..not a good thing when your going flat out...I'll post a couple of pictures later.
Welcome back!It will be nice to see pics and hear the news.Ron G
Hey Grader4me. Where did you end up working? My 1 week stint has turned in 4 plus with no end in sight.
Wecome back snuffy.... i missed you (like i miss a chapped a**),, but i bet you made enough money to buy your favorite kid that corvette you so often talk about... your a good man, and men like you make the rest of us look bad! bwah hah hahha ef ef
Working on the Trans Labrador Highway for Humber Paving.....about 175 kms approx from Labrador City Missed me ya old buzzard didn't ya..lol. Well guess what?...took a leave till the middle of October...going back!!..lol
I'm really pleased it's going well for you, G4, it doesn't come much better, than when you are getting paid to do something you really enjoy. RnR.
Picture of my grader...will post some more pics later
Well I must say you don't look any better but the grader sure looks alot better than the green one you had your picture taken by and produced on Heo's Thread (Faces of Hef)....bwah ahh aha
Lol!...you're a very funny man...still a handsome devil ain't I?...lol
The "recalibration" is every time you shut the machine down, until the steering warning light on the dash goes out after startup, you're not calibrated and as you pointed out nothing will work. To make recalibration easier we recommend to our operators that they park the grader with the steering about half-way between straight-ahead and full turn. It makes picking up the cylinders with the steering joystick a breeze, you're not playing around moving the joystick this way & that with the wheels in the straioght-ahead position trying to figure out which way you need to move it until it finally calibrates and the steering picks up. Glad to hear you had a good time.
Nope...it does it after startup at times..but it also does it at times when idling and in park. Thats when its a pain in the butt.
Great pic Grader4me. That is great that you are liking it up there. I don't think I could be that far from home but that is just me. can't wait for more pic's. Kyle
Hope you were able to get at least one time in fishing, I hear up that way its amazing
Your complaints about the steering calibration are heard often. I didn't pay much attention to the complaints in the beginning because CAT obviously used the operators for R&D. I thought they'd come with an upgrade at some point to fix that problem. Guess not. I don't hear you complaining about much so you must fit the seat rather well. I wonder, after you run joystick for a while will it be a struggle to go back to a rack?? Just seems like such a dramatic reflex change. As we all know when you are in tune with a machine it's purely reflex. positioning and moving the blade becomes just as natural as swiping your hand across a table top.
Nice looking grader when you go back how about some pictures of the inside. So we can see how you are roughing it, working those controls.
Didn't think I could either Kyle..but working with this group made it a lot easier. I'll post more pics when I get time. Lakes and streams everywhere...they say the fishing is amazing...good to hear from you again Murray. ovrszd....I was switching back and forth for the first week as the trimble system was on the 140 H. Wasn't really a problem..but more time on the m would make it interesting to see how the adjustment back to a rack would be.
Here is a pic of the inside of my grader and a lake where I parked it one evening after work. Excuse the mess on the inside..lol
I really liked the visibilty of the Cat M
There was a couple of things that were a PIA for me that you haven't mentioned so either they fixed them or they weren't an issue for you. First the 140M and the 160M that I ran both had consideral lag when upshifting while carrying a windrow, would have enough speed and power to upshift but lag was so great that when it finally happened I had lost all momentum. The other was more a design flaw that Cat should have seen from the get go. They mounted a trans line on the bottom of the tranny with NO protection around it. Probably wasn"t an issue on their test track but in use, on rocky ground, it gets knocked off. There rant done, there were other things I didn't care for but I don't care for change just for the sake of change I understand that the NINTENDO generation likes buttons and joysticks, not me, guess I'll take my club and head for the cave now. PS glad you had an enjoyable time
I did find that starting out under load, for example waiting for a truck to dump and continuing with the blade full, it lacked the get up and go...darn near stalled it a couple of times..the amount that I have to push and level there is no upshifting..lol Had a great time...thats why I'm going back...leave again this Sunday.
Yep, the tranny lag time was a no go for me too. I'm used to a JD machine that shifts very smoothly. One time my JD quit me in the middle of the winter about a mile from my house. A tranny solenoid lost connection. I called my friend to bring his 140M and tow me back to the house. When he would shift gears it would almost stop, then BANG into the next gear. After a couple shifts he just left it in the selected gear. I only ran his machine a few hours but also noticed the shifting lag and lack of engine torque equalled not being able to shift under heavy load. Like Grader4me, I stalled it a couple times in that situation and in trying to start a load. I really liked the visibility toward the ends of the moldboard, but I hated the visibility straight forward. I also noticed the cab design did little to shade the operator. Was always partially sitting in the sun. And there's absolutely NO storage space in the cab. I carry a couple spray cans of gasket lube to use on plastic culverts, a few shop towels, a bottle of window cleaner, a roll of paper towels and a cooler. Gonna spend all day kicking that stuff out of the way in the CAT cab. I couldn't see any reason they couldn't have created storage areas in the top area of the cab.
Great pic's Grader4me. I ran a simulator Of Cat M grader I like it. It was at the Atlantic Heavy Equipment Show. Kyle
mess? look at the skoal droplets all over in there , must be a snoose chewer runing that machine.
Heres a pic from behind of the first layer I leveled. Second pic is a behind shot of leveling by the guiderail. Grade stakes are behind the rail..so.. give her the boot and drive it under..lol
Here is a pic of my buddy leveling with his JD. Surveyors didn't allow for a hollow in the road...we took it out. Get a load of the fill..lol. Man..I'm telling ya..that JD is a dozer on wheels.
Gramps..I'm here to tell ya...a small can of chew costs 18 bucks in Labrador city..more expensive than a large can here..wasn't much chewin going on..lol
im sorry but the old H's are no where near the machine these M's are, (well the 14's an 16's) we have a 14H and 14M an that M runs circles around that H, and has twice the power!
Yeah, I mean, who would want a machine that runs with no problems like an H does...........
The JD look's nice too. Kyle
LOL we had a 14H with 3000hrs break an axel today! Im not even goin to attempt to argue with you alco, ill just say ur right, H's are the best, and unless ur gettin 1000 loads a day your not being productive!
Hard to argue that when a whole fleet of Hs with many thousands of hours is getting an average availability that's in the high 80s and a fleet of Ms is getting an average in the mid 60s...and that's up from when we first got them....running in the low 40s. They are slowly getting better, but still have a ways to go.
I run the H for a couple of days....okay my honest opinion...if I had to choose between the 140M and the H...although I like the M and the challenge to master it...I would take the H. But, the best work horse up there is the JD. I'll probably get some seat time on that next week.
Rt 500, went accross that a few years back. Are they starting to pave that road? Dust in the summer was BAD!
Im new school and like the controls, and not having to grab for levers, and the visibility! Yeah they say then deeres are they way to go but are outfit has a deal with cat, we have to stay 90% cat with are equipment
I can understand, you being from the new school. Don't get me wrong..I enjoy operating the m and will continue to do so. But...if I can explain this...when you have been on a grader as long as some of us here..its a different feeling when operating a grader with the levers..you can actually "feel" the hydraulics...you can't with the "m"...maybe its just me?....lol
Yes...about 40 kms now paved...paving more as we speak..still dusty the rest of the way...
Here is a picture of my home away from home. Looking straight ahead is the laundry room on the right and kitchen at the far end (eating area). All new construction..very nice.
Grader4me there are 3 new 16Ms in town now and a rumor that a 24M is coming to IOC.
I agree, but I heard that same quote with the transition from "dog clutches" to hydraulics. My kid tells me that he rather "operate" several pieces of equipment at once from a control center. With the technology available, it can be done and probably is being done, (like in mining operations). I don't like it either, but.... I'm glad I learned graders after they stopped pulling them with horses.
The camps don't look that bad. Kyle
Yeah, if you didnt have GPS finishing would be almost impossible on the M, because you are right you cant feel the hydraulics, and if you are cutting hubs, you can feel when you are hitting them in an H you cant on an M!
I agree with you there. I don't mind the Ms (with the exception of their considerable downtime), but I would choose an H over an M pretty much any time. I just wish John Deere made a grader to compete in our operations. Unfortunately, Cat stands alone there.
Well..I'm doing finish work with the "m" with no gps. I have the blade controls switched to "fine" mode now so that it isn't as fast. Doesn't really matter that I can't feel the hydraulics so to speak..as long as I have my slope meter and a good eye..I'm good to go..
bwah ha ha.... who's eye ya got?:laugh
Just have one good eye gramps...the other one is a little blurry...lol
My JD dealer sent me this "We received an independent market study on North America market share for 2010 for motor graders. For the first time JD surpassed CAT. We sold 900 more graders! Our product is gaining significant recognition." Apparently he thinks CAT isn't so lonely.
Ask them what their world-wide grader sales figures are compared to Cat ............ and that isn't an attempt to knock John Deere. I'd be more pro-JD if they had an engine that was compatible with everything else in the market, maybe a Cummins. IMO they don't do themselves any favours sticking with their own engine when they are trying to sell to customers for whom the engine is a one-off.
Is that really a fair comparison considering JD doesn't market their machines worldwide, at least not on the same scale Cat does, or compete in every size class Cat does?
OK, ask them to state what their sales figures are, model for model JD versus the equivalent Cat model, in all the different markets of the world where they do compete with Cat. I'll say here and now that we are having so much trouble with 16M's (we have 3 here) that we are seriously contemplating buying JD for our next grader purchase. JD are quoing us a price for an 870G not much more than half the cost of a 16M although in truth the JD is more like an overgrown 14 than a direct replacement for a 16 IMO. The 870 may prove to be too small for us.
Well, after spending all last week on the cat "m" I'm in the seat of the JD. Nice to be back to the steering wheel and levers again. Very nice machine..lots of power..nice to operate.
The company that I work for would have no problem purchasing JD graders, but parts and service is the key. That is why Cat stands alone in that area. In this operation waiting a couple of hours for a part compared to waiting 2 weeks...
Your killing me peter!!! J/K Glad to see everything is going well for you!
Well, finally back home as the job is soon shutting down for the season. Had a great time. Looking forward to doing it again next year. Weather turns cold fast up there. Here is a pic that I took on Sept. 23rd...lol
Unfortunately only one manufacturer makes a 24-size machine and that's Cat. I'm speaking with fingers crossed here but we seem to be getting on top of our 16Ms now that we know more about what's what with them, So much electronics interfaced with mechanical linkages it's difficult to know where to start. As an example we had a machine throwing Level 3 alarms on the steering. Backwards & forwards on the electronics until we discovered the root cause was a very slightly worn ball joint on a steering cylinder. Quite honestly I would not have replaced it if it had been on a 16H. But we replaced that and we were good to go. The Service Manuals (at least the Troubleshooting & Test/Adjust modules) appear to being written on the fly as information comes back from dealers & customers about problems they had and how they were solved. Problems the designers never even envisaged. The manuals seem to be updated online pretty much every month.