Dozer,pedal steer or lever steer?

   / Dozer,pedal steer or lever steer? #1  

John White

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2006
Messages
430
Location
Newark, Oh
Tractor
Kubota B3030
I would like your veiw on pedal steer or lever steer on dozers. I have a Allis Chalmers HD4 which has lever steer. After a days work my arms are pretty well beat. With my age and tendonitis too. I am wondering how a pedal steer dozer would be. I think Allis made a 653 model and some of them had pedal steer. How much force does it take to steer one? This is my third small dozer and it has served me well. I may eventually go to one of the small Mitsbushi or Komatsu dozers. Any one with any thought on them. I had one dealer who sells both brands say that he thinks the Mitsbushi is a better dozer and eaiser to work on but parts are not readly available. Any feed back will be appreciated. John
 
   / Dozer,pedal steer or lever steer? #2  
I have limited experience with pedal steer, but it does make a huge difference if you run a machine all day. I currently have a Dresser TD-8E lever steer and boy it does get hard on my left arm going from levers to reverse and holding the levers all day. Now my right foot isn’t doing anything, pedal steer isn’t hard, although the only machine I ran with it was a Deere 450. My experience on it was it made a huge difference, I just couldn’t afford the machines I found with it on.

Now on the subject of small dozers. I would stay away from the small Mitsubishi and Komatsu dozers unless you know they were sold here in the states. Do a search here or on google for gray market machinery. A lot of the smaller Komatsu’s and I think all of the Mitsubishi are gray market machines. The reason parts are hard to get is, these companies will not support them. Most of them have motors made in the country they were sold in. I know of people who have purchased such machines and not been able to get parts. One person even found the place that made the motor for his compact excavator in China and they would not sell him the parts. They were not set up to do business out side of China is what they told him. Most people who deal in such equipment don’t bother to explain this. Komatsu even took out an ad in a magazine a few years ago and plainly stated and explained why they would not support machines not originally sold in North America.
 
   / Dozer,pedal steer or lever steer? #3  
John, depending on your budget.........pedal steer is better than lever and hystat is better than pedal. Maybe you could find a hystat machine that will fit into your budget. They are about as effortless to run as you can get. A real joy to operate. Left joystick control for forward-reverse and turning, plus transmission speed up and down with a push of a button.Right joy stick for 6 way blade control. About the most effort would be pushing in the decelerator pedal.
 
   / Dozer,pedal steer or lever steer? #4  
I've run both, but never a hydrostatic steer. My current dozer is a pedal steer and I like it allot better than pulling the levers to turn. The biggest advantage is that I sit back in the seat comfortably and my forearms rest on the tanks. I never take my left hand of the direction control and my right hand is always on the blade control.

After a long day on the dozer, my legs do feel it, plus on cold days, the metal on the pedals will work through my boots and layers of socks, but otherwise, it's much, much more comfortable and easier to run than pulling those handles.

Eddie
 
   / Dozer,pedal steer or lever steer? #5  
My Cat D3 has pedal steer and I like it because it keeps my hands free to control the blade and forward and reverse. Even with pedal steer, my thighs really feel it after an 8 hour day. The pedals disengage the clutch and pressing more activates the brake for the track on the same side as the pedal. No power assist, so the only thing steering or stopping the 15,000 lb dozer is foot pressure.

I know Mitsubishi has a deal with Cat on some items. My Cat D3 is actually made in Japan by Mitsubishi and Cat is the sole source of parts as far as I can determine.

My Cat dealer, Peterson Tractor, has been very good to deal with. Anything that I've needed, they have.

Last year one of my hydraulic lines broke mid morning on my Dozer day. I went to the parts counter and they said they would have it the next afternoon. When I said I had hoped to finish the job that day... they made me a new line on the spot without extra charge.
 
   / Dozer,pedal steer or lever steer? #6  
Sounds like it's time to get away from levers and pedals. Alot of dozer manufacturers like Deere, Cat, Dressta and Komatsu now have joystick operated dozers. All controls are now controled by either one or two joysticks. Not only is it easier on the body but they increase productivity because they are easier to use. I think Cat even makes motor graders that are joystick operated. It seems to be a growing trend.

Here's a add for a Deere that has some nice pictures and descriptions of the joystick control system. Notice, no pedals or levers.

http://www.deere.com/en_US/cfd/construction/deere_const/crawlers/brochures/DKA950J.pdf
 
   / Dozer,pedal steer or lever steer?
  • Thread Starter
#7  
I know that a joy stick would be the way to go but they are mostly found on the larger and newer dozers. I think Komatsu makes one in the D21 series, but I think it is still a grey market dozer. My local Komatsu dealer would not commit himself to weather he could get parts. I have got to stick to the smaller dozer. John Deere and Case no longer make the 350's. and I didnt like them when they did. My HD4 is in the same size weight and hp catogory and I feel is a much better dozer. I sort of got into the dozer work by accident. I had run a different type of business for 30 years and about ten years ago I built my own house. I had three different dozers out to do a one hour job at different times. Larger than I could wo with my tractor and scraper blade. The first one he spent 45min working on his tracks to keep them from falling off and 15 min of work. And I know that no dozer operator can just do a one hour job. The time and cost of loading it up, trucking it to site, fuel, license, repairs and I realize that most must have a 2 or 3 hr minum. The second dozer operator couldnt really decide between uphill and down hill. I wanted some grading done so the water would run away from my house and after paying him, it was still high so I had to cut it out with my tractor and blade. The third one was for a 8 hour job and I have moved more dirt with my tractor and a box blade with a ripper in the same amount of time than he did with a JD450. So I still had more work that needed done and another property that needed some and it was the type or work that could not be done all at one time, so renting one was not practical. I started thinking about getting a older dozer, the smaller the better because I could haul it on my skid steer trailer and did'nt want to buy a larger truck at the time. I ran on to a MF 200B that had a ripper on it. It weighed about 9000lbs. I had to do some work on it. After getting it in good shape I would use it from time to time as needed. First thing I knew, people were asking me if I could come out of Sat. or after 5. during my weekly job, and do a small job that other dozer operators would not do. So I started doing small jobs, (driveways, cleaning up fence rows, pileing up brush, just small light jobs. I was just about at retirement age but could never just sit by. I kept getting more jobs. I couldnt get parts for the MF200 so I sold it and make a good profit. I bought a Case 350. It wasnt near the dozer the MF was. It doesnt have steering clutches, just a brake band to lock one axel up. I kep it for a year or two, then a private contractor asked me to to some dozer work for him, so he could move his crew on to another job. This worked out fine for me and him too. He didnt have to pay all the benefits, and taxes. So I kept the little dozer pretty busy and just retired and started up doing another line of work. I didnt like the Case 350 but there are just not any small dozers made in the US any more. I ran on to a old Allice HD4 (probably around 1963) It was in excellent shape for a dozer of that age. I bought it and I really like it over the other small dozers. But as I age, you start thinking of ways to ease the pain at the end of a 8 hour day on a dozer. I had heard that Allice Chalmers made some 653 with pedal stee, I was curious to know if any one had ever operated one of them. I have seen a few of them with a blowed motor or final drive and I could buy one of them pretty reasonable and some people have told me that most of my HD4 parts will fit on it. Other than that my only alternative is a little Mitsbushi or Komatsu. I see too many people with Case 450 and JD450 sitting around and not busy. I know that my jobs are limited with that small of dozer but I have found a nitch that was lacking in my area and I have made money going that route. Any more input is appreciated. " Remember that asking a dumb question is not near as hard as making a dumb mistake" .John
 
   / Dozer,pedal steer or lever steer? #8  
Hey all, How's everything? It is been a long time since I've come around and I see from this thread it's just in time. I actually want to reply to stay away from the small Mitsubishi and Komatsu dozers. :( Something about motors being built in China. ?????? I would love to see something backing this statement up. I right now have over 25 of these small dozers in both Komatsu and Mitsubishi in my yard and after 5 years of moving these little babies I have YET had Komatsu AMERICA not support all my parts needs. As for Mitsubishi there is an American DEALER so hmmmmm.. THERE ARE NO PARTS YOU WON'T GET.

Keep in mind I am referring to Komatsu and Mitsubishi "gray market" ONLY. Other manufacturers may be different. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns you are more than welcome to contact me dmm@inbox.as

Darin
 
   / Dozer,pedal steer or lever steer?
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks for the reply. Since you have sold both brands. Which do you think is the best? I think Hitchi and Fukiawa also make a small dozer in this size. Any thought on those brands, and parts availability?
 
   / Dozer,pedal steer or lever steer? #10  
Having operated dozers that were built from the early 50s to modern day, I definately prefer the lever steer. the joystick steer as on the later Komatsu does not equal the Cat lever system (as on D11N). Operated a 977 track loader with pedal steer, it was good when loading trucks but on other work I
feel a lever set would have as good or better, especially in a difficult situation.Have not had experience with hydrastatic steering.
 
 
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