hayden
Veteran Member
I just got a dozer to complement my tractor, and am intrigued by some of the design and service differences between the two. This is probably a bit like when a Florida kid who sees snow for the first time, so my pardon in advance to everyone who already knows all this. There's no real order to these observations - I'm just dumping them out. I've been in the product business all my life, and am facinated by different ways of designing and supporting products, which is why this is interesting to me. The dozer, by the way, is a 2006 Cat D5G which is a small/mid size dozer (95hp, 20,000lbs)
Designed for Servicing:
More design attention has gone into the dozer to enable quick and easy servicing. Hydraulic and fuel filters, for example, are behind convenient eye-level doors for quick changes. The hydraulic reservoir has a sight tube so you can inspect the level at a glance - no dipstick required. Engine and hydraulic oil drains have valves and fittings for drain tubes instead of just a plug. This beats the heck out of crawling under my tractor to change filters and fluids.
Another nice feature are hydraulic test ports labeled and located behind that same access door by the filters. You can hook a gauge up and test things out very quickly and easily.
Engine Starting:
All the tractors I've used (and my car too) have glow plugs to aid cold starting. In my experience, these work extremely well and enable the engine to start instantly when you crank it. In contrast, the Cat (and other dozers I looked at) have intake air heaters instead of glow plugs. We started up a couple of them in coldish weather (20 deg F), and they struggled to start even with these pre-heaters. I don't know why they don't use glow plugs.
One neat feature in the Cat is an automatic ether injector to aid cold starting. The air pre-heater still runs, then when you crank the engine a measured squirt of ether is injected. I'll report back on how it works after I have more operating time.
Nothing is on the Web:
And I mean NOTHING. You can find a bunch of info, parts, etc on line for tractors, but not for a Cat. I don't know how much of this is Cat and how much is the construction industry in general. However, read on because I think Cat has an even better solution to on-line access.
Conducting Business:
Business gets conducting in a different manner. Fundamentally it's a business-to-business relationship for the Dozer rather than a business-to-consumer relationship. Thinking about it, this makes sense since construction equipment is typically company-owned where tractors are typically individual-owned. The first thing you do at the Cat dealer is set up an account and fill out a credit application, just as you would do with any trade supplier. Once you have your account, you can order parts or anything else (I ordered a workshop manual), and they know who you are, what you own, and will drop ship directly to your home, office, or job site. No credit cards - they bill you monthly. It's VERY convenient.
Plus, I think they have an even better approach to on-line business. You have to fill out a request (associated with your account) for on-line access, and once granted you can access parts books, etc on-line, order parts, etc directly. I've haven't tried it yet, but I really like this approach. This online access includes an inventory of your equipment, maintenance performed, maintenance due, where the equipment is, etc. It's clearly geared towards fleets of equipment and managing them effectively. There are even options for remote monitoring of equipment. Very cool. I think tractor and car dealers should do this. You should be able to view all your car repair records on line, schedule maintenance, etc.
Service Level:
The last thing is the service level and attention. I can't say how much is this particular dealer (Milton Cat), versus the industry in general, but I'm loving it. When I called to order a service manual, it was simple and quick with a drop ship to my house and a bill at the end of the month. When I called to sign up for on-line access, the person I needed was at lunch, and I was told they'd have her call back. All too often that means nobody will call you and you'll need to try again on your own. I got a call back within 30 minutes, but couldn't take the call. When I called back, she was on the phone so I left a message. In less than a minute I had a return call and all my questions were answered. That's service!
Designed for Servicing:
More design attention has gone into the dozer to enable quick and easy servicing. Hydraulic and fuel filters, for example, are behind convenient eye-level doors for quick changes. The hydraulic reservoir has a sight tube so you can inspect the level at a glance - no dipstick required. Engine and hydraulic oil drains have valves and fittings for drain tubes instead of just a plug. This beats the heck out of crawling under my tractor to change filters and fluids.
Another nice feature are hydraulic test ports labeled and located behind that same access door by the filters. You can hook a gauge up and test things out very quickly and easily.
Engine Starting:
All the tractors I've used (and my car too) have glow plugs to aid cold starting. In my experience, these work extremely well and enable the engine to start instantly when you crank it. In contrast, the Cat (and other dozers I looked at) have intake air heaters instead of glow plugs. We started up a couple of them in coldish weather (20 deg F), and they struggled to start even with these pre-heaters. I don't know why they don't use glow plugs.
One neat feature in the Cat is an automatic ether injector to aid cold starting. The air pre-heater still runs, then when you crank the engine a measured squirt of ether is injected. I'll report back on how it works after I have more operating time.
Nothing is on the Web:
And I mean NOTHING. You can find a bunch of info, parts, etc on line for tractors, but not for a Cat. I don't know how much of this is Cat and how much is the construction industry in general. However, read on because I think Cat has an even better solution to on-line access.
Conducting Business:
Business gets conducting in a different manner. Fundamentally it's a business-to-business relationship for the Dozer rather than a business-to-consumer relationship. Thinking about it, this makes sense since construction equipment is typically company-owned where tractors are typically individual-owned. The first thing you do at the Cat dealer is set up an account and fill out a credit application, just as you would do with any trade supplier. Once you have your account, you can order parts or anything else (I ordered a workshop manual), and they know who you are, what you own, and will drop ship directly to your home, office, or job site. No credit cards - they bill you monthly. It's VERY convenient.
Plus, I think they have an even better approach to on-line business. You have to fill out a request (associated with your account) for on-line access, and once granted you can access parts books, etc on-line, order parts, etc directly. I've haven't tried it yet, but I really like this approach. This online access includes an inventory of your equipment, maintenance performed, maintenance due, where the equipment is, etc. It's clearly geared towards fleets of equipment and managing them effectively. There are even options for remote monitoring of equipment. Very cool. I think tractor and car dealers should do this. You should be able to view all your car repair records on line, schedule maintenance, etc.
Service Level:
The last thing is the service level and attention. I can't say how much is this particular dealer (Milton Cat), versus the industry in general, but I'm loving it. When I called to order a service manual, it was simple and quick with a drop ship to my house and a bill at the end of the month. When I called to sign up for on-line access, the person I needed was at lunch, and I was told they'd have her call back. All too often that means nobody will call you and you'll need to try again on your own. I got a call back within 30 minutes, but couldn't take the call. When I called back, she was on the phone so I left a message. In less than a minute I had a return call and all my questions were answered. That's service!
