It’s amazing how many people just see a cat crawler and think construction machine. I’ve had the conversation with so many people explaining the fact that Cat was basically an ag company pre ww2. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to tractor shows. The response is always this is an ag focused show we don’t want to get into construction stuff. If half of them new their tractor history they would know that Cat was an ag tractor supplier too. Anyway rant over thanks for the video hope the eye is coming along as the doc wants.
I had some farm magazines from the 50s and Cat advertised as a farm tractor choice for serious operations. Many pictures of multi hitched implements doing more work in one pass.
Hi Toby. Do continue to take things gently. It's one thing walking around gently chatting to us via the camera, quite another sitting at a desk working close up to the screen editing the video. Please don't push yourself on our behalf. We can wait, we are not going away!
Good explanation of the dozer blade issues. I had never made the association that early Caterpillar tractors were primarily aimed at agricultural uses for a number of years.
My father’s 22 was just a drawbar tractor, but it had the 14” orchard (low soil compaction) tracks, so it looked better proportioned than most 22s. It was actually kind of cute!
I had the opportunity to drive a pre and post war D6 a few years before the pandemic, one after another. The difference is huge. Neither were flogged units, part of a collection in France, so a pretty accurate experience. Squatch wasn't kidding that dealing with the pre-war model was a chore to deal with. It was a pretty cool November day and i still broke a sweat moving it about 30~40 meters. On the other page, the post war one is a breeze by comparison. Also the time it crystallized for me, just how much better we have it these days. I never complained about tight controls after that experience. :))
Hey Squatch, how about a tour of all of your machines with a short history lesson on each? I’ve been watching you for a couple years now and still feel like I see something I haven’t yet seen every time you’re out in the grounds. Just an idea buddy. I’m glad to see you up and about. Take care of that eye!
Thank you Squatch, I always learn something from your knowledge. Possibly do a video on your life's experiences, background and careers where you gained your knowledge and extreme attention to detail. Boe
Hey Toby ... great To see you up and about ....... Just been Binge watching The D2 Starting Engines..... Brilliant..... Your Playlist is awesome ....... It got me to thinking about something you maybe able to do in the future unless I have missed it is to Show all the Special Tools you and Your Dad have had to manufacture to make things easier for you both to do all these Wonderful Builds. There have been so many on all these different builds and I reckon it would make a great vid seeing them all together and to add to your content while in recovery. Cheers From Australia 🇦🇺
When I was in classes learning to be a Caterpilliar worker in one of their factories in the 1990s, they would tell us the story of how they got the Caterpillar name. They told us that when they first started out as a company, Holt took off the wheels and put tracks on for a demonstration; the photographer asked Holt's nephew, Pliny, what he thought of it and Pliny replied, ""If that don’t look like a monster caterpillar....going up and down." So the name stuck.
And if you go back in history on what would become Caterpillar, the Holt family had the Holt combined Harvester works in Stockton, CA circa 1882 that was producing what was called at the time Combined Harvesters that we have shortened to just combine today. Unlike the modern take on Caterpillar history of the region, they weren’t used out in the swamp lands (delta) but in the formally rolling grasslands of what they called the great valley in the 1880’s on massive tracts of land that were primarily wheat or barley. The Best family was also producing combined harvesters about that time as well.
Thanks for the video Toby! Im currently helping my grandfather put stuff away for the winter. The Swamp Angle looks incredible with those wide tracks. Almost looks capable of pulling the earth in the opposite direction. Cheers
Ok. Now we really know where your artistic, creative, and organizational skills come from. Great job Ma Squatch ! Good to meet more of the family. Happy Thanksgiving.
I always remember my work placement had a Fordson Major with pull coil start and it was horrible to start. Nobody would want to drive it so I had the short straw every day and one day I was surprised when my boss said that I would be getting a starting lever fitted so to make it easier. Afterwards still nobody wanted to swap from their comfortable seat with cabs to the bare metal open to the elements Fordson Major
Hi there squatch, glad to see you're up and about making videos again! I hope the recovery has been going well and continues to do so! Would there be any possibility that you could make a video explaining what purpose/use implements like discs, scarifiers, ect serve?
Could it also be that Caterpillar saw that the focus of farm tractors was moving away from tracked crawler machines and toward wheeled farm tractors ? Something of an "End Of An Era" type thing.
Great history! However, instead of scrapping that old blade, I would see if there is an equipment museum that might want it donated. These days with the networks we have online, even trucking might well be donated to get it to a new place.
Spoken like a teacher who knows his stuff about Cats. You look and sound like you are getting back to your old self again. Love the fall foliage in the trees and in your yard. Wish we could see that here in Florida. Keep on healing and getting better, buddy!🚜👍🍂🍁
Video request: Coffee Table Book Suggestions I recently put the Red Tractors book on my coffee table and have enjoyed it. The video could also be a good gift giving guide for those looking for awesome gift ideas.
If you have to move something heavy, you can push it with the Iron Mistress or the Swamp Angel, or DRAG it with the RD-6. Any dirt work you plan on doing can be done with the tumblebug.
I'm really digging storytime with squatch. I've never thought of Caterpillar as being an agriculture company, away construction, i always assumed the ag part was secondary.
Ben Holt designed a caterpillar type track system for his machines so he could farm his ground around Stockton, Ca. Track systems weren’t new, but he made them successful and practical. But farm use first. Other uses came along and were adapted. It’s fascinating to see how the early timber operations were quick to adapt track style tractors. Like Red River Lumber.
On later tractors from the 60’s through to the start of rubber trac challenger series here in Europe we fitted three point hitches to our crawler tractors for use with mounted agricultural implements
Thats a good point to make about the weight balance. It does a good job showing the tractors intended use. Even wheeled tractors from that era had a similar weight balance, and the operator position reflected the typical impliment being used, mostly trip clutch or ground driven tools.
Hello Squatch!! Like I have said sometime in the past I had a post WW2 Cat D6 I think about 1947 0r 48 This dozer was equipped with the LaPlant Choate blade with hydraulic lift with cylinders mounted on the sides of the radiator front bracing. I was involved with rehab of a much OLDER CAT RD 5 with the 4 cylinder gas engine that the tag said was rebuilt about 1950 or so and that the cylinders were bored 30 over. Actually this old girl was in fair to good shape to begin with drive line wise with exception of the tracks chain which was almost badly worn but still useable!! This old cat was equipped with the Bucyrus Erie blade system with the lift cylinders mounted horizontally over the tracks. This dozer was given to a friend of mine who's name was TOM CORANAS who used it for some medium construction work on his property just south of Newburgh, New York for 3 or 4 years. I think the dozer was made sometime in the late 1930's or so! The engine was a real good runner and did NOT burn ANY OIL at all and it had early electric start as well as the crank start as usual. The gas tank was located just behind the engine and in front of the operator's position. By the way take it easy with bending over! Many thanks doing these history talks about the older Cat's they are interesting to me!! Take care and good luck with the eye problem!!
Well, very nice to see you back in some form of action. I am probably like many other's where I was not aware that Cat was primarily an ag tractor. The old saying, "we learn something everyday" is so true. Thanks
Episode idea. A tour of your upcoming projects describing your plans and highlighting any particular challenges, like finding or repairing a part, would be interesting. Don't forget the rock crusher. :)
You know, you could make watching paint drying interesting! LoL 😂😆 . . . . You have! I enjoy informative videos like these! Something I didn't even know I "needed" to know! Good to see you following Drs orders!
I appreciate all of your in depth explanations and knowledge of equipment. Thank you for your time and quality of videos. I was hoping you might be able to identify a piece of Caterpillar equipment I was given if I provided some serial numbers. Caterpillar knuckle buster grader that hasn't run in many years but motor turns by hand.
@@squatch253 On the front right side above the blade reads Peoria Tractor Company 71D528. I heard a lot about this dealership growing up and all the old timers talked about it. The hour meter has rust under the glass but reads 14520. A pile of hours but not beat up! Not sure where I can find more ID numbers but can crawl on it anytime. Would like to find books for it once it's determined what model it is.
Good job on informing us! Bless a quick and full recovery!!! We are too missing the continued work on rebuild and the other projects!!! 10 X231….maybe??? Know paint an issue. But can not wait to see it a roller!!! It is where I started watching at the start of 10X
Good to see your recovery is heading in the right direction. Your viewers might find it interesting to have you shed some light on all those patent dates on the brass plate on nearly all of Cat’s products. I looked into them years ago and was amazed at the things Cat was working on and patenting.
My great grandpas 40 acre farm was 1.5 miles as the crow flies from lake michigan. 35 acres of it are still in the family. The soil goes from sand dune hills to clay and mucky holes, the disc could be in dry sand and the tractor in clay muck at the same time, in many places. He grew primarily fruit and used a Ford N, not sure which and a D1 Caterpiller with no blade, just to pull implements and unstick the Ford. The neighbor farmer had a D1 with a blade. I never got to see either, my father did though and filled me in. Never knew the details of why you wouldn't even want to blade one up before, makes sense!
My 2H D6 had a blade on it. When I bought it, the previous owner had already removed and scrapped it. He said it was a scary looking home made contraption. The reverse gear in the 2H transmission is not made to do dozer work. The reverse idler is located above the oil level and is supported by a bushing. It does no get enough lubriaction to be operated continuously in reverse. When I had my transmission apart for repairs, the bushing on my reverse idler was almost completely worn through on one end which caused excessive wear on all of the reverse gear teeth. It made a squalling noise when you would back up. The idler gear is also pretty small compared to the rest of the gears in the transmission. One more reason not to put a blade on these tractors.
Having run D2s in the 70’s as a college job, and I thought they were ancient machines then, as you stated, the short track frame required skill to avoid the washboard effect. Once it happens the wave exaggerates and is difficult to eliminate without backing up and making another pass.
We farmed dryland wheat in Colorado from the 50s till the mid-70s with Allis Chalmers Crawlers. Then they started buying the big four-wheel-drive Steigers
I agree with all the other comments just keep this style of videos and when you get the green light to return to work please don't rush as I enjoy the content but am willing to wait for the full on lets getter done videos when you feel up to it. Heal up and stay safe and warm.
Congrats to you keeping things going on the channel hope all is going well with your eyes I would like to say you have an amazing collection of old literature and brochures that are in great shape and hold a wealth of knowledge
A machine designed to not lift up the nose while pulling heavy stuff can't just handle big front loads, as you said, it will literally stand on the nose while moving backwards... Great explanation, I could see it directly happen, when you were talking about it! Take it easy on yourself, Squatch, you sounded a bit tired... 😯
Yes that was very educational thank you did not know all this that you said looks like you're feeling pretty good I hope everything works out for you have a good evening
I love it when you get into the history and explain these technical things to us. Can you explain the naming? I have attempted to google what RD-6 means and how the abbreviations are determined but it's a lost cause with google.
Yet another very cool episode. So many things that I didn't even know that I didn't know. Thanks very much for the very clear explanation and the history of Caterpillar tractors.
Thank you for the great explanation, I always appreciate your detail and knowledge. I am wondering if you have any winch model cats and if you would consider doing a video on them. I have a D2 pre war with a factory winch and would love to know more about it.
My grandfather had a Caterpillar Twenty-Two with a dozer blade on it. I guess it was totally useless as a dozer. Couldn't even push a blade full of loose dirt let alone dig. It was a farm tractor for sure.
I just finished Douglas Brunt’s new book about Rudolph Diesel. I would recommend it BTW. I cheated and did the audiobook version because I spend too much time staring out the windshield. It probably wouldn’t be a bad way for you to stimulate the brain while giving the eye a break. Anyway, at the end of the book he only briefly touched on Caterpillar’s switch to Diesel. Do you have any information on that particular part of Cat history?
I love comments like this as I spend hours driving for work! Always on the hunt for books that match my interests and this fills the requirements. I have downloaded this book and am already listening to it - thank you!!
Hi there squatch is there any plans to restore seniors Allis Chalmers with the baker blade ? Love seeing that dozer in past episodes or just in the background the baker blade is my favorite looking blade setup from that time period keep up the great videos look forward to each up load and hope all is well with your eye
I have not seen Senior's Allis. What model would it be? I had an HD-5 ag tractor with a front end loader kit. Removed the bucket, built a 13' wide rake and bushed brush with it. It sure enough had the weight to get the job done! The only negative was just like Toby described, you could easily stand it on its nose! Wish I had not sold it.
Thanks for the video Toby! Great explanation as well. Would be great to drive a CAT someday. There’s a 35 looks like D2 size with narrow tracks for sale close to me for $5000. If I had the money or use due it I would pick it up. Hope the eye is coming along well for you. My next ear nose abc throat appointment is tomorrow for my tonsil which isn’t getting any better. Nervous what’s gonna happen. Thanks again Toby and can’t wait for the next video!
The logic Toby presented holds water. Everything was made with a specific purpose in mind. I'm not against drawbar tractors they are from the era when most farm equipment was with manual leavers and without power assist. One thing has me wondered: how long was the expected service life of a WW 2 era D6 or D8? I'm sure some where lost into the depths of the ocean and some may have had a encounter with a landmine. But from the old footages they kept going even after the war until they became just too broken or obsolete? Any comments?
Hello Toby! It is good to see you doing fine after your surgery. But here is one more request for a future video while you are recovering: We all know 5J1113, we know the Iron Mistress, we know X253 and X231, the "Torque Monster, the H, the Super M. But I think there is a lot more. I once started setting up a list of what I've seen so far. Right now there are 6 wheeled tractors, 12 tracked tractors and 4 graders (including the scrapped 5J2115SP and 8A539). Would you mind doing a feature showing what else is hiding in the barns and sheds, beneath the trees and tarps?
I hope your eye is progressing well. Wow, you could write a history book on Cat crawlers! Just curious what projects, especially restoration projects, you have planned in the future, either near term or someday projects.
