Does anyone know what the new machine that Mother Deere's launching at ConExpo is? Looks to me like an articulated 4-track dozer with the cab off a wheel loader.....? I've seen pictures of the prototype before so it's not that far of a stretch.... what I'd like to know is why the hell they haven't put the tracks on their articulated loaders. http://www.deere.com/en_US/cfd/construction/deere_const/docs1/jdcfc_homepage.html -Josh
The Bison 4 positracks with a blade. Very fast will be an awesome machine! :drinkup
Check this thread out - already been discussed.
Eh, looks like another wannabe machine to me. Maybe ok for some light duty work
Hate to be the one to say it, but Deere isn't going to push a product this touted out without proper testing... so my assumption is that every single one of the field test companies selected to test the Bison either thought originally that it'd be a niche product or that it'd be stupid and useless. With time, I think, they've learned that Deere's got its head screwed on right. Marketers aren't stupid... yet...
i don't do site prep, but i gotta believe that'd be the cat's meow to finish jobs up on developments. big enough to get something done, yet not have to worry about your steel grousers gouging curb/gutters, pavement. pick up the blade, drive it over to the other side of the driveway opening or street, and keep going. i'll bet they sell the hell out of em!
I would also think it would be the cats meow. I do a lot of underground and I would think that working around in a ditch between manholes and such that thing would be awesome. Now we end up using a D8/9 to push dirt down the bank to a track loader or another dozer to push it around in the ditch, but that thing would have the visibility and maneuverability to scream around between objects and have the blade to make a nice grade for the packers.
the test site is here in dubuque but they have been using it like a dozer and a grader road work there is two of them in use close to me i all so seen a the frist prototypes the look like a quad with a corn picker cab. i think a three point would be great on them so u could pull a small scraper or plow
Just for the sake of argument what would it be good for except in loose fill material? It looks quite light in weight, those tracks would be eaten by rocky material. It probably won't cut hard ground or even a compacted fill. Can't see doing any serious clearing with the cab windshield right behind the dozer. No drawbar. A landleveler here had 2 Case quad tracks, they were constantly broke down either because of the rollers or tracks chewing off the drive lugs. Just about broke him so he got rid of them.
I'm sure there were people that said the same thing about those new fangled and overlly complex hydraulic excavators back in the day when everyone was using cables. I'm sure it is hard to imagine but there really are more types of material to move than rock. I bet the boys down in Florida that get about 900 hours out of there undercarriage would like to take a swing at this little gem. I agree with the post above in that you have to look at what it was probably designed for....finish grading. Putting this thing into rock would be like taking a knife to a gun fight. Just the wrong tool for the job. You can't use a D8 and a 657 for every single job that entails moving dirt.
It would fit a landfill application very well....but then again thats what compactors are for.:beatsme
Well said Farm Boy Deere had a lot of REQUESTS from customers for this type of machine. I have also heard rumors of a motor grader with a set of these tracks on the back where the tandems normally go. A lot of the old dirt contractors put their heads down and dont look at any other way to do stuff and bitch because they are getting outbid by people "working for nothing". Some customers are looking for a new, cheaper way to move dirt. Undercarriage is the biggest cost on a dozer. Maybe this machine will work, maybe it wont, I dont know. I DO know it is worth a try ! That is all I know. Geno
Check out the Deere site now, The flash movie shows some of its capabilities. Only real use I can see is high speed grading of roadways. Using drop bottom dumps, the stone base could be spread in windrows, and then spread with this machine. Until someone buys one, and puts it to use we wont know.
After watching the video clip, I want one to take to the drag strip.
After watching the video...I want to take one to a landfil .....And leave it there..Half o fine grading with a dozer is a mix of what you see the blade doing .and what you FEEL the seat doing....Not much sense of feel there with 4 tracks....And, as far as pulling a scraper pan goes, if you are just removing the windrows from between 2 "real" scrapers go....It should work...Anything more than that, look for junk tracks soon! We had one case ih quad and the drive sprockets wold shred the the lugs off the INSIDE of the track!
and were those who were reluctant to unhitch the oxen and try the tractoron the plow...i've seen it, i'm impressed....those who bury those heads in the sand and think this is junk, going to go away? ain't going to happen, this is a neat piece of equipment
I don't think Deere would have built something that's this different without having a lot of requests and some specific markets in mind. Might be trying to use it for firms that want to shrink the number of pieces of equipment they have on a site. It can pull a small scraper, do the grading and pull a sheepsfoot. More or less combine three machines into one. Will it work? Who knows. Only time will tell if it's a worthwhile machine. People probably thought the Wright brothers were crazy at the time, but it didn't work out so badly. That said it does look pretty interesting. Be nice if Deere would say what markets they are intending this for.
I cant see it being productive pulling a scraper or even a scraper blade because of the visibility issue. How are you going to see whats going on back there with the engine being there. But I guess we wont know until it hits the dirt!
New High Speed Dozer Applications The design of this unit was actually conceived by contractors. Deere took a customer advocacy group of around 60 contractors, narrowing it down to a handful for prototype units, to come up with the best design. So what you are seeing is what the contractors that were involved asked for, within engineering limits of course....changes have been made as the design process has evolved from its beginning several years ago to today. The machine is designed around the power unit in the middle with several different front attachments available beyond a blade. Also, visibility is actually good due to the high cab and aggressive slant on the rear hood. You can't see your drawbar but you can see the cutting edge on a dolly wheel scraper and you can see the front of a roller blade. The machine will pull a 15 cyd scraper and load in a short distance from what I have heard. As far as track wear....seems to be good from what is coming out of the field. There was a large heavy highway contractor in the Midwest that prototyped a unit and used it for backfilling along concrete curb as well as cutting in a burm. I think that this will be a machine that will continue to find new niche markets but can also work as a plain old dozer, if needed, the weight is just below a 750 with the horsepower of an 850J and ground pressure of a 650J LGP so I can't wait to get it into the hands of customers who have ground pressure limitations or flotation issues.
I want one, I keep thinking of new ways we could use one doing sewer and water. The small electric company im with for the winter has been lookin for a grader to clean up sites but don't want to pay the rate of a grader operator, or buy one for that matter. And a dozer wouldn't be useful enough for them. This is the cross in between for a lot of people and I think it will make an impact. I think I heard one of the Deere guys sayin that in '77 they introduced the first hydrostat dozer at conexpo.... I'd say that turned out pretty good for em.
Looks like one of those there tracked farm tractors with a dozer blade to me..:beatsme Then again maybe geared more twords agg. use the industial.
i saw it at conexpo, it is industrial, and i'll bet all the major manufacturers have a version of this machine within 2 yrs. you have to look at the machine and the application it was designed for...made to push jagged rock in a quarry? no...made to fine grade, push dirt around finished pavements, etc....wonderful. i think deere's gonna sell the hell out of em.
I was extremely skeptical about this machine before the show but now that I have had a chance to see it up close, I am a believer. I think the visibility in all directions is fantastic and don't think the rear view will effect scraper use at all. This should be a great seller for Deere. I too think that other manufacturers will come up with a similar products in the future. - Chris
I think there's alot of contractors out there begging for a machine like this...... whether they know they are or not. I understand some people are always critical of new designs but this looks very viable for many applications. Rock quarry use - no, hard clay excavation - no, but I could literally count hundreds of times I've sent a lowboy 30 to 60 miles to move a steel track dozer across the highway! The kind of work we do would be well suited and I think I could keep 2 or 3 of things running 6 days a week. As far as feel goes....... I think you'll be able to feel the blade way better without being bounced and jarred on a typical steel undercarriage dozer. I'm young and dumb but I have tried alot of the newer technology and methods and I'm saving money, making more money, and getting done faster than contractors have in the past. And I'm not the only one. I love watching that big old iron work because it's interesting thinking about how "before it's time" it was but then I get to thinking about my fuel bill and operators wages. I think it looks like a great machine, maybe it's a P.O.S. I'd like to find out.
my opinion I think this can be a really good machine on the right places!! man i would like to try that one on the soft motocross track, could be really handy! it could also be great pushing snow in the winter, just add some studs in the tracks wonder how much the price is for a machine like that... BUT WHY THE HECK A STEERING WHEEL???????:Banghead even modern wheel loaders are joy stick operated, so why should a slow going machinee like this must have a wheel??? kinda stupid, it only takes a lot of space, its hard to operate all day long and needs more effort from the operator. this is the farm tractor jerk part of the design wonder how long it wouls last pushing rocks... :drinkup
It is joystick steer just like the 724J and up (standard joystick steer for 844J). They keep the steering wheel in for backup....for legal operation in some states and oversea.
THank god! now i would like to have one also