Help selecting a dozer

[hayden]

After looking around some more, I'm now leaning hard towards a Cat D5G XL with Cab. It's essentially the same weight and HP as the Komatsu D39, but I think the Cat will have much broader appeal when it comes time to resell. New, the Cats are much more expensive, but after a few years (units I'm looking at) they are priced the same at the Komatsu. Over time, the Cats seem to hold value better where the Komatsu drops faster.

 

[EddieWalker]

Don't think it's possible to go wrong when buying a Cat. Nothing else holds their value and you will always be able to get parts for it.

Eddie

 

[allaboutmowing]

how much is the cat w cab your looking at? I have considered a new dozer.

 

[hayden]

They range from the mid 60's to 100k depending on age, hours, and undercariage condition. New they are $125. This is for the D5G. D3 and D4 are less, and the bigger dozers are more (big surprise).

An older D5C without Hydrostatic drive (Hystat as Cat calls it) can be found for 30k or so.

 

[hayden]

I ended up settling on a 2006 D5G XL (not wide track), Cab, with about 1100 hours on it. That's it under my name. It's in good shape, was just serviced, and I got a 1 year warranty with it too. So far I've found a couple of minor things that need attention, and I think I'll just ask the dealer for the parts as fulfillment of the warranty. The issues are:

Sticking throttle cable. It only happens when cold, but it's a pain. Simple fix to replace the cable.

Worn cylinder end bearing on the tilt cylinder and one of the angle cylinders. The bearings are held in with snap rings, but I don't know if they will tap out with a drift and hammer, or need to be pressed out. I'm just going to assume they need to be pressed and will take the cylinders off and back to my shop.

For all this Made-in-America stuff, this true-American Cat is made in Japan. I have to admit I was a little surprised.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Don't think it's possible to go wrong when buying a Cat. Nothing else holds their value and you will always be able to get parts for it.

Eddie

My brother has a 1926 Cat Ten, ( small about 3500lbs I think) and he has the owners manual for it. It says that you will always be able to get parts for this machine. I believe that to be true.

 

[chh]

For all this Made-in-America stuff, this true-American Cat is made in Japan. I have to admit I was a little surprised.

Made in Japan by Mitsubishi if I'm not mistaken. Both my 3 and 4 where too. I'm not sure what size is still made in the US, but I'm guessing a D8 or D9 and up and even then the blades(and many of the parts) are made overseas. On my old 60's model D6C the hydraulic cylinders where made in Mexico or Japan(I can't remember which one) so Cat had a jump on many companies on outsourcing.
If you ever get to the point of pricing undercarriage work. Cat branded components are higher priced, but according to what I have been told there are only 3 foundries in the world that make undercarriage parts and Cat specs all theirs out like everyone else, so there is really not much difference.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I'm not sure what size is still made in the US, but I'm guessing a D8 or D9 and up and even then the blades(and many of the parts) are made overseas..

I was told that D7s and bigger are made here. Don't know that for a fact, just relaying what I was told by an acquaintance that was buying and had got to go to the main plant.

 

[chh]

I was told that D7s and bigger are made here. Don't know that for a fact, just relaying what I was told by an acquaintance that was buying and had got to go to the main plant.

You may be correct. I saw and article on it, but it has been long enough ago that I don't remember offhand. I still run into a lot of construction guys that swear that they are all made in the US. I have 1 dozer(D4H) that is a gray market machine and one that was made for the US market(D3C). I was warned that I wouldn't be able to get parts for the grey market because of the different serial number prefix by an otherwise very knowledgable construction company owner.(He also didn't know his JD was made by Hitachi). The dealer selling it assured me otherwise and it has never been an issue when I have gotten parts. The full parts book comes up on the system just like any other Cat product. The Cat parts person I usually talk to informed me that the only difference between the gray market and the US line was OSHA required items (ROPS and backup alarm) where installed at the factory for the US ones. My ROPS was upgraded to specs before it was sold to me and I did not opt for the backup alarm.

 

[hayden]

One of the first things I did was disconnect my backup alarm. I can see the importance of the alarm on a busy construction site, but it was going to drive me nuts.