Ne farmer said:I need to move my 200D. How far do you drive an excavator? I need to go 1.5 miles.Click to expand...no good reason not to drive it that little distance
Around here in the mountains guys will get out every couple miles and feel the finals to see if they're getting hot climbing hills.
I've walked one 6 miles before. Just walked mine 1 mile today.
I've had to chase them 8 to 10 miles in southeast Alaska. The roads were too soft and turns too tight to run a low boy up so they roaded them everywhere. As Check says heat is the only real problem.
Good dayA couple of points may be worth a thought check the crawler transmissions for lube make a good inspection of the undercarriage may save a breakdown along the way, in real terms it could be less costly to put the machine on a trailer.Kind regardsUffex
Ne farmer said:I need to move my 200D. How far do you drive an excavator? I need to go 1.5 miles.Click to expand...On my farm I go that far all the time, that's the only way I can get my Cat to where I need it. I don't like to leave it out in the weather so I bring it back to shed it. My only suggestion would be to check for 'hot rollers' (especially in Rabbit) when you stop.Of course if you're 'not in a hurry', it's better to run in Turtle (slow) mode.
Good dayI guess you may have seen this simple idea could be a money saver if you have a tow tractor YouTube
As long as you don't travel in reverse the whole way..
It's an excavator. It doesn't matter which way the boom is pointing does it?
John C. said:It's an excavator. It doesn't matter which way the boom is pointing does it?Click to expand...Idlers forward for track wear?
Standing by with popcorn and a drink. Waiting to see the outcome of forward VS reverse travel debate. LOL.PS I travel both ways over .5 to 1 mile occasionally. Wear out both sides of sprockets and pins evenly. In the end I don't thing it really matters in my opinion.
CM1995 is correct on the direction. It makes a big difference on wear on the sprockets and track bushings.
John C. said:CM1995 is correct on the direction. It makes a big difference on wear on the sprockets and track bushings.Click to expand...There for a minute I was doubting myself....wait that is right, right?
John C. said:CM1995 is correct on the direction. It makes a big difference on wear on the sprockets and track bushings.Click to expand...I'm curious if you have any real life examples where there is a substantial, measurable difference in life of the spockets and bushings, and what the actual difference in hours is. For example, two identical machines doing the same work, only one always spun his tracks around to travel forward for any measurable distance, and the other just went with the flow. Not disputing at all that you get more wear in reverse, I'm just also in the camp that doesn't think it matters as much on an excavator as a dozer. If you are consistently walking the machine several hundred yards or more in one direction on a daily basis, then I'd say yes, you should be keeping the idlers pointed the way you're going, if practical.
I'd imagine driving in reverse puts more pressure on the upper rollers.
On a machine working in a mine or in many cases putting in utilities, the chains will be shot before the bushings. The links will spread on the pins. However the point of the thread is in how far can you travel. Out here we have turned excavators into logging shovels and the logging shovels have become skidders. Logging shovels do those miles each day and many times in some real steep terrain. I've had to get to some where walking was pretty tough. It won't take long going up and down those hills the wrong way to see the effects of reverse travel bushing wear.Going up hills with the sprockets in front of you will pull the chains tight over the top of the track frames and try to compress the front idler spring. If you punch into a stump sliding down hill it will compress the spring and the track will go slack on the sprocket and the chain can free wheel over several teeth before catching. Makes for a funny sound and a white faced operator the first time they have it happen. If the spring is weak in the first place, the spring will compress and the chain will jump the sprocket also.No one here really cares about the top rollers anymore. They can be changed in minutes and don't cost much anyway. On the logging shovels they use bottom rollers for top rollers and those take a little longer to change.
Plus it easer to push the pedals forward with the front of your foot for 1.5 miles instead of using your heals.
CM1995 said:Plus it easer to push the pedals forward with the front of your foot for 1.5 miles instead of using your heals.Click to expand...Lol. So you're saying you've *never* backed up a bit by using your toes to push the pedals rearward for reverse?? I know I have, and it's much easier than using your heels.
Shimmy1 said:Lol. So you're saying you've *never* backed up a bit by using your toes to push the pedals rearward for reverse?? I know I have, and it's much easier than using your heels.Click to expand...Of course but not for 1.5 miles.The cab on the 325FL is so darn roomy you could stretch out and prop your feet up to go in reverse - not so much so in the 321DL.
That sounds like a lot more abusive conditions John C.. How many hour does the UC last on some of those machines?Sounds like mine has an easy life cruising the township roads and farm fields.
I've seen some get less than 2,000 hours in the early days. Now I see excavators do 3k to 4.5K on a set of chains and able to do two sets of chains per one set of rollers and idlers. Last time I was around loggers you could see 3.5K for the whole undercarriage. Haulback might be able to give a better idea of what's happening now. I think he still has a shovel logger or two.
In the thinning with a track buncher/harvester running a D5 undercarriage on a 40k machine we’d see 3500 to 4k with single bar grousers in an application where you’re always bouncing off of stumps.farmerlund said:That sounds like a lot more abusive conditions John C.. How many hour does the UC last on some of those machines?Sounds like mine has an easy life cruising the township roads and farm fields.Click to expand...John C. said:I've seen some get less than 2,000 hours in the early days. Now I see excavators do 3k to 4.5K on a set of chains and able to do two sets of chains per one set of rollers and idlers. Last time I was around loggers you could see 3.5K for the whole undercarriage. Haulback might be able to give a better idea of what's happening now. I think he still has a shovel logger or two.Click to expand...
I have 4100 hours on my hoe. Rails are shot. Lots of walking across job sites, land clearing, sometimes I'm on solid rock running a hammer. Hasn't had an easy life. I have a few slightly bent pads but rollers and idlers are all in great shape. Sprockets even look brand new still with hardly any wear except for a few chips gone off the corners. I've been debating whether to take a link out and run them till they break and try to tough out the bouncing that comes with worn rails or to replace the bent pads and put a set of sealed and lubricated tracks on. Adjusters are maxed out and tracks are starting to really sag. Any input?
I've looked at lots of machines where a link was removed. It will work fine as long as the roller flanges are not riding on the track pin bosses.As far as using SALT track on excavators, I've never seen it done. The problem in my mind is that excavators put weight to the links and push them apart over time. If you look at the joints on old tracks you will see the big end of the links have pushed apart. SALT track has seals in that joint and if you push the outsides away from the trailing link the seals will lose their contact and leak.
Thanks for the info. The rails haven't worn much on the part that rides on the rollers and are nowhere close to hitting the pin bosses so I may just have a link took out. For some reason I thought you could use Salt tracks on a hoe
Would be interesting if they had a miles traveled meter. Maybe some newer ones do. My volvo 210blc has 6,000hrs on it. Still has original UC on it, and I will get probably get 2,000 more out of it easily. Obviously mine is a trailer queen compared to logging and other applications.
farmerlund said:Would be interesting if they had a miles traveled meter.Click to expand...My Case has a log of hours traveled in low and high. A guy could probably come up with a reasonable estimate of miles traveled.
I looked in the wheel machine today at 2360~ or so hours it was over 500 miles.
I think I might be able to be calculated but there is nothing in the finals that counts revolutions. Nothing like in a transmission that can count turns of a gear or shaft.
Shimmy1 said:My Case has a log of hours traveled in low and high. A guy could probably come up with a reasonable estimate of miles traveled.Click to expand...What kind of case hoe do you have?
I would go back to the use/abuse line theory. Walk it accordingly. Are you covering shot rock, sand, field dirt, pavement, and so on? Don't get it bouncing and causing a bunch of stress that could lead to cracks. Take your time.
Oldcatpusher said:What kind of case hoe do you have?Click to expand...210C
How do you get it to pull that up? I have a cx210c and cx160c both 2015 models and I can't get the machines to even switch the auxiliary hydraulics from crusher to hammer mode on the monitor. All I can change is the flow amount.
Oldcatpusher said:How do you get it to pull that up? I have a cx210c and cx160c both 2015 models and I can't get the machines to even switch the auxiliary hydraulics from crusher to hammer mode on the monitor. All I can change is the flow amount.Click to expand...You have to go into menu mode and setup the aux hydraulics. In setup, it will make you warm up the oil if it's not warm enough, then you set what pressure you want, then it will prompt you to hold the aux hydraulic control until it finishes its calibration. I have mine set at 2900 for my thumb, and 4500 for my tilt bucket. To get to the data log, you have to go into diagnostic mode. I can't remember which buttons you use without looking at the screen. I'll look tomorrow.
We walked an old CAT 225 and a older Komatsu dozer out of a mine 34 miles to the road a few years ago. Nothing bleeding oil when we were done.
Sorry, guys. I don't run in turtle, lol.I also don't run in "A" mode very much.
that's a cool page Shimmy. looks like your using the power boost also
I'm going to try to find that tomorrow. Definitely never seen that page on mine. But I'm still finding out stuff if does all the time. Had it since new and just found the aux plug in the other day for the radio 4100k hours later.
You've got me beat on power boost time shimmy. But I still can't get my attachment to switch to hammer mode. I had no clue you could look at all that. Last time I put hammer on I called the case dealer to come flow test machine and the mechanic told me my monitor was out is why it wouldn't switch over. He only brought a 3/4" flow gauge that went to 32gpm for a 1" line. I called dealership and told them how highly disappointed I was. Never got charged but never got what I asked for.
Wow, you really never use "A" mode, lol.
Nope. Keep it wound tight. Thanks for teaching me something new.
When I hold down my button to change my auxiliary hydraulics to hammer mode it won't ever change out of crusher. Am I doing something wrong?
160 has had easy life
meoschmaslam said:So no need to get it moving on a truck to our property next door? It's about 7-8 miles and the cost of moving it is as much as the material for the fence we want to install there as well.Click to expand...Unless there is a road in the middle of that trip, there is no need for a truck. Just make sure the finals have good oil in them, check your hydraulic fluids, and clatter on over!
The quality of Cat excavators now days is on par with the second tier producers. There is little difference between a Cat and a Link-Belt or a Kobelco. Just because they are popular doesn't equate to their quality of design or workmanship.
yes he's a spammer. Not adding anything of substance to a discussion? check.Posts a link? check.I've walked a 345 about 6 miles in Mt. Rainier Park on the (closed) Stevens Canyon road.Did not get warm hydro or the finals to the touch.
John C. said:The quality of Cat excavators now days is on par with the second tier producers. There is little difference between a Cat and a Link-Belt or a Kobelco. Just because they are popular doesn't equate to their quality of design or workmanship.Click to expand...And that goes all the way back to the 2 series, they were a POS as well.
yup I loved how a 235 or 245 would sidewind up the road with a weak track motor. Doing a bucket turn with one, you looked pretty damn spastic up there with one knee on the stupid stick, 1 foot on the pedal.
I'm thinking about a larger mini-ex or a smaller small-excavator (CAT). I'll be using it exclusively on a property I'm hoping to purchase soon. At some point I may end up needing to travel a half mile or mile a day on the property. From what I've read here this is not a real problem if I travel with the machine pointed in the correct orientation, check the fluids, and pay attention to heat in the finals.About right? Any admonitions?
Good dayAn investment in a tractor trailer may be a good financial choice.Kind regardsUffex
uffex said:Good dayAn investment in a tractor trailer may be a good financial choice.Kind regardsUffexClick to expand...It wouldn't be able to get around on this piece of land. Not until the land has been worked over anyway.
Compression-Ignition said:I'm thinking about a larger mini-ex or a smaller small-excavator (CAT). I'll be using it exclusively on a property I'm hoping to purchase soon. At some point I may end up needing to travel a half mile or mile a day on the property. From what I've read here this is not a real problem if I travel with the machine pointed in the correct orientation, check the fluids, and pay attention to heat in the finals.About right? Any admonitions?Click to expand...Traveling a mile is not a problem, traveling it everyday is not going to destroy the machine it's just going to wear out the undercarriage really quickly. Something to move it on would be better, or what is the reason for moving so much? Is the work changing that much or just not wanting to leave it some place at the end of the day? I would go to the machine and leave it where it's working as much as possible, even if it's a weather issue in the winter a diesel heater would be much more cost effective over the long term then tracking it that far everyday.
suladas said:Traveling a mile is not a problem, traveling it everyday is not going to destroy the machine it's just going to wear out the undercarriage really quickly. Something to move it on would be better, or what is the reason for moving so much? Is the work changing that much or just not wanting to leave it some place at the end of the day? I would go to the machine and leave it where it's working as much as possible, even if it's a weather issue in the winter a diesel heater would be much more cost effective over the long term then tracking it that far everyday.Click to expand...I need to take down quite a few trees as part of getting a road to the home site. At some point I will have to move them to a corner of the property and I'd have to take the machine from wherever it is to the spot where I am dumping them with the dump trailer to stack them. I can get away with just dumping them for a time, but eventually they will become sprawled out and less manageable. So I would have to track from wherever I'm working down to the stack area at some unknown interval.I am looking at a big backhoe for this work as well.
Tracking a mile or so isn't a biggie at all apart from accelerated track wear. Changing the planetary oil at the same intervals as the engine service is a effective way of ensuring longevity.
With the travel required and multi purpose needs at hand, perhaps the backhoe with a thumb and a grapple bucket would be the best option. I am assuming these trees are not super large since you are going to put them in a dump trailer. Renting an excavator for knocking the trees down and put them in piles that are convenient to do with an excavator, might be an option. After you have a bunch of piles of trees, use the BH with the grapple bucket to transport them where you need them. Unless you have other plans for the excavator beyond this, I am not sure owning one for this purpose is worth the expense, especially as expensive equipment is right now. A 590/410 sized BH could likely get the majority of work done, perhaps not as fast as some other methods, but your working for yourself and perhaps in this case a "jack of all trades and master of none" might make the most economic sense. Having a large CTL, equipped with a grapple, may make sense as well.
Make sure the track tension is at specs. Too tight/loose increases wear and other issues.
KSSS said:With the travel required and multi purpose needs at hand, perhaps the backhoe with a thumb and a grapple bucket would be the best option.I am assuming these trees are not super large since you are going to put them in a dump trailer.Renting an excavator for knocking the trees down and put them in piles that are convenient to do with an excavator, might be an option. After you have a bunch of piles of trees, use the BH with the grapple bucket to transport them where you need them. Unless you have other plans for the excavator beyond this, I am not sure owning one for this purpose is worth the expense, especially as expensive equipment is right now. A 590/410 sized BH could likely get the majority of work done, perhaps not as fast as some other methods, but your working for yourself and perhaps in this case a "jack of all trades and master of none" might make the most economic sense. Having a large CTL, equipped with a grapple, may make sense as well.Click to expand...After cutting them down to size. I have an 8x16' deckover dump that has pretty amazing ground clearance. I can't stand the thought of renting something. Every time I do I end up wishing I'd a just bought the dang thing instead. I think a CTL will do for me much later down the road after the property is basically where I want it. The backhoe does kinda make the most sense, depending on how you're looking at the whole thing.
I agree that renting sucks, but especially for a homeowner project, it tends to make the most sense. Rent the ex if you need it (and maybe you wont), but put more money in the backhoe which you intend to keep.
It won’t be an issue now, tomorrow or every other day you do it. I rattle the Kobelco around all the time in fast mode, in irrigation works and it probably has one of the worst (weakest) finals in the industry.just check your oil colour every engine oil change and if it’s starting to go brown or black change it.for piece of mind you could flick between fast and slow, this will only change your finals operating temperature. It won’t affect track or roller wear.A mate walks his 330B CAT all the time further than that on a daily basis. Has all its 26k hr life. Never had a finals problem ever.Often you just can’t use the truck for what ever reasons...........