Been running small dozers on and off for 30 yrs.On Residential jobs. D3, case,John deere. Pretty good operator not the best by no means. Had a job offer the other day to run a D8 for a couple weeks. They will not show me how to run it i am suppose to know how. I turned down the job. I am sure i can run it but for pure embarassment i turned it down. This is on a commercial job site pushing dirt no finish work. My question is how hard or how complicated are the big dozers to operate. Or my experience on small dozers would be enough to let me get right in to it. Good choice or not.
Easier than small because they have longer tracks. What model D8 ? I would do it if you can.
Go for it.....whats the worst that can happen... They tell you to get another job. At least you have run a dozer before, you'll know which end of the machine to push with! Everyone started somewhere with 0 hours. Who knows maybe another guy on the job will coach you.
They offer you a job and won't so much as show you how to start the machine? :crazy I'm alway amazed at the arrogance of some people....you'd think they they'd at least want to be sure you knew how to do the maintenance checks. That said, if you'd like to run a larger machine I'd do it just for the experience. You might find you know more than some of them anyway, and if they're a pain to work for, then dump them.
Good choice! Every make of equipment seems to use different controls. There is always a learning curve. Those places that do not take the time to train people (Regardless of previous experience and background) are most likely dangerous places to work for. I think it is the interchangeable people mindset. As for embarrassment, Why? Now if you had taken the job by misleading about your experience, that could prove embarrassing.
I agree with the above post, but I'm thinking you may have lost out on a good opportunity, How big was the construction site?? Would you be in an area away from others where you could learn and get the feel for the size of that machine? With the wealth of info here and on youtube, internet etc...I'm sure you could find some operational instruction for that particular cat model, along with maintenance info, that way you won't look like a dummy. But that being said, if your unsure about it you made the best choice!
buddy, if you can run a little one well, a biggun is no sweat.
had the same thing happen to me,a month ago small earth moving company needed a driver for late model hitachi 175hp dozer for 20 machine hours, like yourself only operated old machines and told the owner so . he said he would stick around for a hour or two and see how i would go 15 minutes later came over and said he could see i had afeel for dozers and left me to it. incredible machine for ripping and stock piling amazing climbing ability with full blade of gravel clay mix. the only problem encounted was levelling on top of stack, all the controls operated from left hand.
i would have hire you for being honest and went from there. i get guys all the time that kept telling me 2o years exp. and can run everything but couldn't keep up with my 10 year old daughter. JMO.
I agree with Heimy and would have done the same! I have found in my short 18yrs experience with earthmoving equipment that " The bigger it is, the easier it is to operate ".
We all love the honest I just feel that nowadays a second chance is getting rare. Years ago I faced the same problem, but the only thing at that time i know about was a TD9 gear job no tilt had to put feet on dash to steer it. I went for it and sat in a new world. A fairly new TD25. Tilt blade power steering, power shift, ripper and A ROOF. The biggest problem I had was when the job ended. Beleive me it wont take you long with a D8. You will have to get over the thrill of it. I pushed piles 65 feet in the clouds , I destumped acres with it. Good size stumps pop out like twigs. Then I guess all things come to an end. After that I could NOT run that old TD9. It goes like I run the backhoe for years and took the big plung an excavator. I get in my backhoe now and its like "you gotta be kidding" The only thing I caution is you will be spoiled. Bigger is better and much more foregiving. sam:usa
if you can operate a small dozer the big'un' is the same. d8 nice bit of kit.if it makes you feel better guy everyone has to start somewhere and if all you are doing is stockpiling don't worry about it once you start pushing you will so get the hang of it and after all it's only a stockpile but seal it to keep the water out.Why don't they wanna show ya?...just remember one thing....those that can.do.....those that can't criticise. all they can do is give you the 'run' they can't take your hands off....good luck
For me it is a night and day difference between the two. Most of the work we do requires a D7 and up then going to a D4 for finish grade. I hate this less power, speed and smaller pushes.
There loss,after the first day you would have had no problem. seems like they are a strange outfit anyway.
I was always told to never turn down a job. So, even if I wasn't familiar with a particular machine I just went slowly, and carefully until I figured it out. The worst that can happen is being told that you're not working out. But, maybe someone could take a liking to you and keep you around. If you have 30 years of (on and off) small dozer experience, it won't take you long to figure it out. If you're still unsure about going in feet first, ask your perspective employer if you can check the machine out at the end of the work day to familiarize yourself with it. YOU CAN DO IT, JUST TRY!
Like most said, if they didn't want to show you what to do, then it ma not be a safe job. But!! Maybe, just Maybe, they didn't want to embarrass themselves because they didn't know what to show you. They may not have been able to do it! Just saying.
Noah: So what happened? Did you take the job? Are you a pro at the D8 now? Give us the rest of the story . . .
Thanks for all of the help. Took a job with a other contractor running trackhoe installing catchbasins and pipe.
The bigger dozers are quite a bit easier to run. For the longest time a 6 was the largest I had ever run. When I came to this company I was offered a couple days in a 10N. I asked the operator what I needed to know, he said they are all the same. 2spds forward, 2 spds reverse. His biggest piece of advice was shovel the tracks or he'll be after me. If your wondering about the 2spds..... wehave 3rd locked out in many of our dozers. It also seems appropriate for a shameless video plyg on the controls of a D8 :Cowboy YouTube - Caterpillar D8T Operators Station
Pushing dirt is easy if you've been a finich man. Make sure the blade is full and your golden. Pushing downhill always helps to get a big blade full stop halfway then backup get another blade full. pushing twice the dirt, but only works on steeper hills.
a dozer is a dozer,it's what you are use to doing with it that makes the operator. when i moved to tx. i had not done any real grade work,only running big stuff pushing scrapers,clearing just hogging dirt mostly. had quite a few years experince on dozers but was far from operator.when i got to flat houston there was no mountains to move.just cut the top soil off then they set bluetops,talk about lost. the point here is like a few others said,if you run the small stuff the big ones are a peice of cake.the only diff will be the controls and thats easy.as far as that goes every time i get on a diffrent dozer i has diffrent controlls.i don't know why they got to change them every other year.