Tips on how to run a track loader

Heavy equipment like dozer, excavators and track loaders are not so easy to run and require years of experience to understand how to deal with the machine in different conditions. For instance, if you are working on a rugged land or trying to clear trees in a forest, you will experience severe hardships to operate the machine. Simultaneously, not every machine is meant to do all kinds of work and therefore you should be depending on the best, the one that has the ability to perform the task. Operating heavy equipment is certainly not like driving a car and is a far complex subject. So for beginners, getting into something this complex without someone experienced beside you can lead you into a deeper mess. It has often been witnessed that the best of the operators had a tough time dealing with situations and they take a day’s time to complete a job that perhaps take few hours to complete in a normal situation.

We would be discussing in length on how to operate a track loader that is considered to be one of the most important and effective heavy equipment in the construction sector.

Brakes are your priority:-

When you are on the tracks of a crawler loader, you must ensure that no one gets under it. Proper functioning of brakes should be the uttermost priority of an operator. Once you slip inside the cabin, the first thing you got to check is if the brakes are in order. Try to push the brakes using your feet and see if it’s getting pressed smoothly. Anything wrong with it can have very serious consequences and also has the potency to damage the machines and injure people.

Making optimum usage of joysticks:-

Joysticks are the eyes of the machine. You need to learn how to use it optimally. In order to move the machine to your right, you need to make use of the joystick that is located to the right of the driver and in order to move it to the left, pull the one that is to the left of the driver. The joystick is also used to control the boom. The drive rods also play an important role as far as the movement of the loader is concerned. The drive rod is used to operate the tread at the bottom of the machine. The drive rod is also used to increase or decrease the speed of the tread. So if you move the drive rod forward, it tend to move ahead and pulling backwards will take the tread back. In case you want to turn the machine to your right, simply hold the drive rod located to the right of the machine and move it forward without doing anything to the one on the left. This will tilt the machine to the right.

Take help of the user manual:-

Referring to the user manual is another option one can go for. The user manual contains lot many ways and process to run the machine and especially when you get stuck on something, it is advisable to refer to the book and come out of the situation.

 

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Land clearing with big heavy equipment

Land clearing is probably one of the most difficult jobs in the construction business. It takes a good amount of time to get a small piece of land cleared especially when the work is to demolish an existing construction and take the debris from there and dump it elsewhere. You need to have several pieces heavy equipment in order to do this job. Just using a bulldozer or an excavator may not be sufficient to do the entire job and in case if you want it to be done sooner then you got to deploy more such machines. Clearing land can become quite a challenging task taking into consideration the existing structure that needs to be demolished. Quite often, a contractor may get the work to demolish a big house and may be given very little time to complete the work. It becomes very crucial for him to deploy suitable heavy equipment that have the capacity to complete the work in time. It has ideally been seen that contractors get nightmares when they are given contracts of land clearing within a stipulated time. They are of the opinion that land clearing is not a job that can be done in few days. It may take a long time to break an existing structure part by part and then carry the debris and dump them in the dump yard. They also suffer from the problem of not having sufficient number of heavy equipment. Either they have already deployed few heavy equipment at some projects and can’t get them off from there or they simply do not have the equipment with them and may have to arrange it from somewhere which might take long. The machines that are typically used for land clearing are bulldozers, excavators, backhoe loaders, wheel loaders etc. Then you also need trucks to transport the debris to the dump yard. It is highly unlikely for a contractor to have all the equipment with him and therefore it becomes a challenge for him to collect all the needed stuffs and then begin the job. When it comes to land clearing that has big trees on it, it becomes all the more difficult. The contractors then need equipment that can cut the trees, make logs of them and then transport it to the destined place. In order to do this job, they need grade chain saw and staff that knows how to operate the saw. Cutting the trees requires special skill. You need to cut the tree in a way that it falls at the spot you want it to fall. If it falls in some other place, it may cause serious repercussions. So in a way, you are dealing with something very serious and dangerous. If you manage to cut the tree properly, you also got to ensure that the tree doesn’t roll over on you or any other person present on the site. A lot of safety precautions are needed to be taken when it comes to land clearing.

 

Caterpillar 336E Excavator

Right from building a house or a tall rise to constructing bridges, dams and roads, you need an excavator for every type of work. Excavators are the machines that dig the earth and get the mud out. It is needed for several purposes. Most importantly, it is needed to prepare a foundation for the building. So you dig up the ground to start setting pillars from there and in order to do this digging business, you need a good excavator. Excavators are of different sizes. You can get a smaller one for small excavation works or deploy a bigger one for huge construction or mining projects. The size of an excavator depends largely upon the kind of project you will need it for.

All the construction equipment manufacturing companies produce excavators with different unique features that hit the consumer market every year. However, the excavators produced by CAT are simply outstanding out of the league. Caterpillar’s 336E excavator is one such extraordinary piece of steel that does not have much competition from its rivals. Caterpillar has always maintained its performance and has ensured that the trust consumers have on the brand remains intact. It is because of this CAT products get overwhelmingly positive responses whenever it comes out with a new model. People are dead sure that it will have something new to offer them.

Speaking more about the 336E excavator, the machine has a net power of 266 hp. The figure only suggests how good the machine is in terms of power. It has a displacement of 537 cu in and the total operating weight of the machine is 30498 kg or about 68,000 lbs. The fuel capacity of the excavator is 620 liters with the cooling system fluid capacity and hydraulic system fluid capacity of 40 and 410 liters respectively. One of the most intrinsic features of the machine is its engine oil capacity which is 40 liters. Not many machines of this size has this capacity of engine oil installed in it. The hydraulic pump flow capacity is 280 liters per minute and the swing drive fluid capacity is 19 liters and the speed of the swing is around 10 rpm.

Changing our focus on the undercarriage, the shoe size is around 800 mm with maximum travel speed of 5km per hour and a drawbar pull of 300 KN. The minimum and the maximum capacity of the bucket is around 1.2 yd3 and 3.3 yd3 respectively. This model of excavator can be installed with 3 different boom/sticks. HEX1, HEX2 and HEX3. The maximum digging depth for all the 3 options are 27 ft. in, 24.6 ft. in and 21.8 ft. in respectively.

If you intend to buy this machine, you can get in touch with the nearest authorized Caterpillar dealer or heavy equipment dealer and he should be able to help you with the proceedings to buy this stuff. Caterpillar has managed to keep the price within the range so that people do not find it very hard to buy it. One can even visit Caterpillar’s website and can order it online.

 

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Caterpillar D6K Bulldozers

If you are in the construction zone, you may understand the importance of a bulldozer in this industry. Right from demolishing an existing construction to leveling the roads, you need a dozer for all the activity that is pertaining to this industry. Having proper roads is considered to be the backbone of any developing economy and a dozer plays a pivotal role is constructing smooth ones. Also, it is used extensively to clear snow during the winters. Winters are a nightmare for most of us in the US especially when it starts snowing and the snow get laid over the entire road. In such a scenario, a dozer along with other heavy equipment is used to get rid of the mess and bring life back on track.

Many construction equipment producing companies are in the business of making quality dozers but the one that people trust the most is of CAT. The heavy equipment that are manufactured by Caterpillar are known for its supreme quality and durability. It stays on with you for years and when you feel the need to change the machine, you can expect a good resale value for it. You will always find buyers available to buy a CAT machine but for brands other than CAT, it may take some time to resell the stuff.

Caterpillar’s D6K bulldozers are one such make that is known for its long lasting utility. We will be speaking about its specification in detail.

Coming straight to the engine of the machine, the net power of the machine is 125 hp with a displacement of 403 cu in. The number of cylinders that is installed in this equipment is 6 with an operating weight of 13467 kg. If we check its fuel, cooling system fluid and engine oil capacity, it is 295, 24 and 16.5 liters respectively. The hydraulic fluid capacity is 58 liters and the final drives fluid capacity is around 23 liters with an operating voltage of 24 V and alternator supplied amperage is 95 amps. The transmission type is hydrostatic with a forward and reverse speed of 10 km per hour.

Moving our focus to the undercarriage, the ground pressure of the machine is 4.7 psi and the ground contact area is 6200 in2. The standard shoe size of the dozer is 30 in with 40 shoes on each side. The total number of track rollers on each side is 7 and the track gauge is 6.6 ft in. If a standard blade is installed, its width will be 11 ft in and the capacity will be around 3.8 yd3. The length of the machine with and without blade is 16.3 ft in and 12.4 ft in respectively. The height of the dozer from the ground to the top of the cab is 9.7 ft in and the length of track on ground is 8.7 ft in with a ground clearance of 1.2 ft in.

Buying this dozer will not hurt your wallet as the price has been kept quite modest and within the reach of most of the people engaged in this form of a business.

Heavy Equipment being used in a Rock Quarry

We have seen the use of heavy equipment in the construction sector but the very same heavy equipment also play a pivotal role when it comes to the mining industry. Rock Quarry is one much business that requires good heavy machineries to work on it and get the minerals extracted. A rock quarry site is not so often seen like a construction site which can be seen at every nook and corner of the area we are living in. It is found more in an isolated area that is inhabited by no humans. The sight that you will get is a barren land with huge piles of rock all around and men working with big machines. However, what kind of machines can be used on those heavy rocks is a thought that must have pondered many minds. When you extract minerals from the crust of the earth, you got to follow few processes for that and you require the help of the machines to follow the required processes.

There is a need of stripping and drilling equipment when it comes to rock quarrying. In order to extract the minerals, you first need to quarry the rocks that is on the surface and for that you need to either strip the surface or blast it with some explosive. In case you decide to strip the surface, then you can make use of heavy equipment like crawler tractors. Bulldozers are used to break the rocks wherever needed and then the crawler tractors are used to carry the dirt using its big blades it has in the front. It can also rip the rock apart with the help of the ripper arms that is fitted at the rear of the machine.

A wheel loader also comes handy in quarrying rock. They are widely used to load the dirt in trucks or tractors. They use their hydraulic arm and bucket to perform this job. The intrinsic feature of the bucket is that they are real huge and has the capacity to carry dirt weighing almost 35 tons. A wheel loader is a must in a rock quarrying site and one can’t think of working without it. Other than just lifting dirt into tractors, they are also used to load the mined products on the trucks which can be then transported for further processing. If the rock quarrying site is huge, then it makes perfect sense to deploy big wheel loaders. However, if the operation is limited to a small site, then one can make use of small wheel loaders as they are available in different sizes.

Last but not the least an off-highway truck also forms an important component in the family of heavy machinery that are used in rock quarrying activities. These big trucks are used extensively to carry huge piles of stuffs from one place to another. You can’t take the service of ordinary trucks that we see on the roads. These are special trucks that are used exclusively for transporting mined materials.

Wheel Loaders

A construction or a mining site requires all sorts of heavy equipment and it never restricts itself to just one kind of machine to take care of all its requirements. Right from dozers, excavators, back hoe loaders to wheel loaders all play a very important role as far as the overall industry is concerned and therefore the heavy equipment manufacturing companies are also paying attention to manufacture heavy equipment that are more user-friendly and cover fuel consumption. Wheel Loaders are particularly an important component in the family of heavy equipment as it is required for all major work that one can think of in a construction site.

Wheel loaders need specialized operators to operate them. These days when machines are manufactured keeping into consideration the technological aspect, it is also crucial to understand that the people who will operate them should be equally skilled in knowing how to make optimum utilization of these technologies. If they are not trained well then they might make major blunders that will be irreparable. This can also cost big to the company and any construction business owner will not want blunders happening due to employing semi-skilled operators or the ones who do not know much about the technology being used in modern time wheel loaders.

Wheel loaders also play a significant role in the mining and crude oil producing industry. They did some major work in North Dakota which the second largest oil producing state in United States. Wheel Loaders are used extensively in several oil producing companies in the state. Companies use wheel loaders with coupler it becomes very simply to switch a bucket for a fork and vice-versa.

This saves a lot of time and also ensures that the work is carried out quickly. The wheel loaders are installed with pipe forks which are broadly used for safe assembly; transport the oil rigs and disassembling them. It also includes moving pipes and many other such essential pieces of equipment that are needed to get the work done. It is estimated that this kind of work can take 2 to 4 days’ time and the timeframe ideally depends on the type of rig it is working on, the time of the year and how far the distance is between the 2 oil wells.

Wheel loaders are easily available at an authorized dealer. It may not be possible to buy it directly from the company as there are possibilities that the company may not ship the machine in that part of the state. They have several restrictions and this is why they have authorized dealers who take up orders for them and deliver the machine to the address of the buyer.

The other option is one can find wheel loaders on websites that sells heavy equipment. There the customer can expect some choices and can also go through the description to know more about the machine and if it meets its business needs. So once everything is in place, he can book the machine online and will get it delivered at his address.

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Cat D6R Dozers

Big construction companies go for the best heavy equipment in the industry and when we talk about the best heavy equipment manufacturing companies, we have one name that has been very prominent all over the years in terms of upgrading its technology, delivering high level performance and ensuring that it has customer base is content with its service and quality and that name is Caterpillar. Caterpillar as we shortly pronounce it as CAT has been the leader in this segment for the last many years. Despite of numerous cut throat competitions from all corners, it has still managed to keep its position intact.

Though all the heavy equipment manufactured by CAT are of supreme quality, it specializes in producing excellent dozers for its customers. We will be speaking in length about the D6R dozer and would highlight few of its specification and the fact from where a person should buy this model.

CAT D6R dozer is a powerful machine with a net power of 175 hp and is turbocharged. It has a displacement of 638 cu in and the total number of cylinders it can hold is 6. The operational weight of the machine is 41900 lb and the fuel capacity is 383 litres. This is quite phenomenal as it has enough space for fuel and can run for days without having the need to refuel. The cooling system fluid capacity is 74 litres, engine oil capacity is 27.5 litres and hydraulic fluid capacity is 76 litres. The operating voltage of this dozer is 24V and the alternator supplied amperage is 70 amps.

Let’s change our gears and speak about its gears. It has 3 forward and 3 backward gears with a maximum forward speed of around 12 km per hour and backward speed of around 15 km per hour. It has a standard show size of 22in and the total number of shoes each side is 41. The total number of track rollers that it has on each side is 7. It has a hydraulic pumping system that has a flow capacity of 190 litres per minute which is pretty good. If we talk about the blade, the width of the blade it has is 3260 mm and the height of the blade is 1412 mm and the cutting depth it has is around 459 mm.

CAT D6R dozers are available at any CAT store or heavy equipment dealer or you can even order it over the phone. However, if you want to inspect the machine first before buying it, you can visit to the nearest CAT store or heavy construction dealer and check if they have the model available. You can then inspect the stuff and see if it suits your requirement. Caterpillar has tried to keep the rates modest and you can also check if the company can offer you any discount. Ideally, discounts are given on bulk purchases.

Buying the dozers online is another option that you can go for. You can compare the price of the dozers from other sellers and then take a wise decision.

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Tips on how to run a dozer

Operating heavy equipment is no child’s play and it requires good deal of skill and knowledge to operate any kind of machine. People who possess years of experience can also experience tough time operating equipment and if we consider someone who has just taken the cabin, he needs to ensure that he does not bump it off to people working on the site. Construction companies usually take due care of their machines and do not let it out to a novice. It will be a big risk to let a beginner operate heavy equipment without the presence of a senior person or veteran operator inside the cabin. He will definitely need guidance that will help him to learn to operate the machine and will eventually make him a better operator.

Out of the many machines, a bulldozer is the one that has been found to be extremely difficult to operate in rough terrain. If you try to work with a big dozer in a place which has been affected by some kind of natural calamity, you will get to know the sort of toll it can have on a person. When the land is hit by a storm or a hurricane and leaves everything wrecked, you need a dozer along with other set of heavy equipment to set the place back to normal. Few basic tips one should follow when they make their way to run a dozer.

Wearing good pair of boots:-

Wearing good pair of boots is a must when you are making your way inside the cabin of a dozer. Wearing anything below average can have serious consequences. Your legs may skid from the brakes when you try to apply them and that can lead to serious injuries. In order to avoid any such misadventure, one must invest in quality boots. Along with it, it is also advisable to wear a good pair of gloves as that will keep your hand protected from heat and dust.

Make proper use of the joystick:-

The joystick in the bulldozer is the eye and brain of the machine. You give orders to the dozer by moving the joystick to the desired direction. Make sure that you know which move of the joystick will take the machine to the direction you want it to go. When you get yourself inside the cabin, check if the joystick is in order and if it is moving freely. That ensures that the machine will move smoothly at your command.

Have good control on your pedal:-

In order to slow the dozer, you should make use of the decelerator pedal. You will locate this pedal just next to the brake. You may not want to make use of the brakes too often and can use the decelerator pedal to slow the machine whenever required.  It is important to check if the decelerator pedal and the brakes are properly oiled and are easy to apply or else there are high chances of you bumping off the person that comes in your way.

 

 

Looking for a stable scraper – Caterpillar 613 Scraper is the answer

Construction companies are always in the look of scrapers that are stable; consume less fuel and deliver high performance and something that can endure the stress of work for years. Heavy equipment mean a lot to the construction companies and they are also ready to pay a good price for the right machine. It is just that they get a solid stuff that can carry on the work without giving many hurdles and can serve the business in the most reliable fashion. Scrapers are the equipment that no construction company can ever avoid. They will feel the need of a scraper every now and then whenever they have taken a construction project in hand. Therefore scraper becomes the much needed machine in the list of heavy equipment one must possess.

Scraper is ideally a big machine that is used for mining, construction, taking off the mud from one place to the other and even for agricultural purposes. Many heavy equipment manufacturing companies produce classy scrapers with all the latest gadgets in it, but how reliable they all are is a real big question in front of the users. For last many years Caterpillar has been ruling the heavy equipment industry and is considered to be one of the most stable companies of all. Caterpillar has come up with the model 613 also known as CAT 613 scraper. It is no less than the blue eyed candy machine of all the major construction companies and it has made a strong impression in the minds of the construction companies with its concrete performance and undefined reliability. The users have undoubtedly rated this scraper to be one of the best in the scraper line of machine.

The back portion of the scraper has a movable hopper and a sharp front edge. The operator only has to lower the hopper and the front edge cuts the soil and fills it in the hopper.  It keeps on doing this as long as the hopper is full of mud and then it closes the hopper with a vertical shaped blade. It then moves the soil to the dumping ground, opens the blade and the hopper is pushed up and the soil are thrown out of it. This is an ideal function of the scraper.

If we check the strength of the engine, it has up to 175 net horsepower with a displacement of 403 cu in. The fuel capacity is 66 gallon and the cooling system fluid capacity is around 10.2 gallon which would be nearly around 38.5 liter. The number for forward gears it has is 6 and just one reverse gear. The maximum speed it can have while moving forward is 21.8 mile per hour and maximum reverse speed is 2.2 mile per hour. The total operating weight of the machine while it is empty is around 15264 kg and the weight while it its loaded is around 27239 kg.

While buying a scraper directly from the company or authorized dealer, you can also expect great discounts or some real good deals. In totality, Cat 613 is the best choice one can make if they are looking for a scraper.

Caterpillar 740 articulated truck – Many vouch for this model

Heavy equipment are undoubtedly the most important requirement of the construction, mining and agriculture industry but there is something evenly important that pertains to all these sectors and that is the equipment to carry the soil from one place to another. It may become very difficult to work on a construction site if the unearthed soil is left idle at the very spot. One can simple imagine how much of soil will be excavated from a medium sized project and what kind of difficulty it may give to people working on board if they are not moved at the right time. Simultaneously, trucks are also used to transport heavy equipment, medium sized and small sized machines from one state to another. It is highly crucial for a construction company to invest in good solid and reliable trucks as they carry stuffs that are quite important for the company to carry on with the project.

If we check what all companies manufacture trucks, we may get many names but out of the entire lot, Caterpillar has been able to make a separate place for itself. Cat 740 is the kind of truck that companies can vouch for. They have a lot of confidence on this model as it has the capacity to carry huge loads and can travel for miles. Owners of this truck are of the opinion that this truck has rarely broke down and could be relied upon when you are ferrying huge debris.

If we check the specification of this model, we find that the gross power is 489 hp and the net power is 474 hp. It has a displacement of 926 in3 and can carry a payload of around 43.5 tons. Not many trucks produced by other companies in the price range of CAT 740 is sold has this sort of payload carrying capacity. The fuel capacity is 560 liter and cooling system fluid capacity and hydraulic system fluid capacity is 80 liter and 233 liter respectively. The engine oil capacity is 38 liter and the transmission fluid capacity is 72 liter. More or less every company offers similar specification but can be termed to be a bit expensive than CAT 740.

If we talk about the gears, then this model of truck has 7 forward gears and 2 reverse gears with a maximum speed of 34 miles per hour. The total weight of the truck when loaded is 70840 kg and when empty, the weight is 32840 kg. It has turned out to be the most sought after truck within the construction and mining industry and people who prefer Caterpillar brands usually go for CAT 740 articulated trucks.

These trucks can be bought directly from the company or can be purchased through a dealer. Buying it directly from the company will entitle you to get more benefits. However, it has been often seen that buying it from a dealer can fetch you the same discounts as having bought directly from the company.