@atvking04032 The old D3 was basically the same. This one is so quiet inside the cab, but it's new to....no slack tracks and drive sprockets. The D3 had throttle/gear change in one unit on the left and you steered with your feet and operate the blade with your right hand controller. A hydraulic switch operated the rippers from the blade cluster (if it had them).....But I have driven D8H & D7G with hand tilt/angle blade back in the good ole days :), and a Kummagutser 87A as well.
I run a d9 Cat from time to time, and it has pretty much the same controls except no blade swing, just up down and tilt. Oh and the throttle is a button.
@boardingpass04 I haven't ran any cat dozers besides one track loader, A liebherr track loader I ran was the same way with forward and reverse the further forward or back you pushed the faster you went same thing, except it still had steering pedals you didn't "turn" with hand controls.
It's been alot of so-called operators FIRED in my trade,claiming its sooo EASY to operate equipment !!! Believe me, if it was so easy to operate, than EVERYONE WOULD BE DOING IT!!!
@darensmiles4 the cat i ran was a little d5 and the further forward you pushed the stick the faster you would go so you could crawl along or just speeed up and it had a rabbit or turtel setting i found it alot better then the pedals but i was using it for logging not really pushing much
For every "operator" I've had work for me I've probably had to let 10 "Bulldozer drivers" go. There is a ton of difference in an operator and a driver. And just because you are a good operator on a dozer, that skill helps, but does not transfer to a dragline, crane or motor grader, in fact, ask an old grader operator about "blue topping," if he can blue top, you've got a grader operator!!
And you've never seen an operator jump, till you've seen a rattlesnake get on his machine, or a moccasin fall out of a tree or off a limb, that will make you move, in a hurry. And snakes like to crawl up in machines when you stop for the day 'cause they are warm, so first thing in the am, after all the oil checks, ect. check for snakes around your seat, ect I've even had one inside a straight pipe for the exhaust, 977, when that machine "fired up" that sucker got blown out, and people sctered.
its not the principle that a dozer is hard to drive as everyone says, but its operating and pushing dirt and grading that gets difficult you cant just get in a dozer and do it all it takes practice.
This new equipment is so easy to operae it does not take a lot of skill, but go back to some old steering clutch machines, with open rops stations, cable blades, now those guys were true "operators" in the real sense. Try clearing land and hit a wasp, yellow jacket, or heaven help you, a hornets nest, with an open rops, I've had operators jump off, leaving their machines in gear, and running for their life, and we just let it go till it either gets away from the critters, or gets stuck.
@boardingpass04 Idk i got back problems these days using it in my hand would prob be better I have more trouble with my right leg using an accelerator all the ones I ran with it in the hand it had speed control on the steering control.
You cant be taught to operate a dozer, you can to drive one but to operate takes field experience, every situation is different requiring different techniques, he just showed you how to drive a dozer lol.
what sort of dozer u ask old mate then other old mate replies i think its a john deer then goes on about operating them and stuff mate just by the colour i can tell it a komatsu and instead of being a hero and telling about ya cant be shown how to operate a dozer obviously ur still driving one..... oh yea watch the movie it says komatsu on the dash
All I see is a bunch of computerized crap that will fail, w/ lots of money spent in future repairs.. I'll stick with the older manual controlled dozers,.. Most machines, are nice when their new, however, that wears off over time.. I'm speaking for myself and others that use a dozer occasionally , not for a living.
