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I've spent quite a bit of time operating some of their larger crawlers, last being a D65 LGP, around a D-7 size machine, but we had the 21's and the 31's forget the model letters. From an operators standpoint, I always thought the performance was quite good, as Roy stated I can recall the D6 LGP ( both were new in '94 ) outsteered the 65 with a blade full, but again that may just be something petty to really complain about too much, just a noticable difference betweent the 2 machines. The 21's and the 31's were good grading tractors, great on building pads and such, smootht to operate, that 65 was the 1st joystick machine I ever ran and it was flawless after the hours started to add up, ( they are all nice when new ;) ) ! Back when the Cat D8 H was superceded by the 8K, the Komatsu 155 became heavy sales competition as the K did have some problems, so contractors who depended on reliability started buying the K brand. I'd have to say that trend continued, they make a good product ( I hate to admit that, but sure seems that way ) excavators I've run really seem to support this. A lot of contractors were buying their PC 200's - 400's because of the cost differential between K & Cat, one outfit I worked at even had several PC 400's re-furbished at the dealer, they came back like new and I'm sure it was cost savings that motivated them to do this. Best source of information on things like this will come from the people who supported the machines in the shop, working on them, maintaining them and doing repairs and overhauls, I can only vouch for performance in the field and longevity in the field, the mechanics who work on these are indispensible sources of information on the details of specific models and related concerns for each. I'm a CAT fan, but when in the market for any machine, one that is in good condition, well maintained, not abused, is one you want to look into, I've run the older JD's and they are pretty good, 1010, 350's 450's, but I think I'd lean to a D3, that's just a matter of preference. You want to make sure to measure the undercarriage components, check as new specifications and calculate the percentage of wear based on the actual measurements taken, then you have a good determination on how much life the undercarriage acutally has left before you will need to invest in new components. This will also allow you to determine if say a pin and bushing turn will be feasible to get some more hours out of the undercarriage, or say you find that the sprockets are worn out, but the pins bushings, links, rollers, are in good shape, or whatever the case may be, it is a good idea to identify wear and analyse it to see where a smaller investment may extend the life of the undercarriage. If your sprockets are worn, you don't want to run good set of chains on them, it accelerates wear, same is true if the rollers are worn, bottom line is to see what is worn the most and see what can be done to rebuild or replace to avoid accelerated wear. Judging by eye, with he exception of seeing the pin bosses having wear marks from hitting the bottom roller flanges, is never reliable, best to measure, a lot of people are taken to the cleaners by eyeballing. I'll attach a link that illustrates track components and how to measure. As far as working in the woods, you will want the machine set up for what you need. Brush cage ? Obviously it will have a R.O.P.S., but does it provide the protection you need in the conditions you will work ? Limb risers from the nose up to the R.O.P.S. protects the stack and nose to a certain degree Winch ? Logging arch - I can see that being handy Remember, any machine needs good support on the parts & service side of things, CAT still has the edge on this, but if you check with your dealer and see what the lead time is on parts, you may get a better idea of how much down time to expect if something critical is needed to make a repair. I do know that is something that should be explored, what is stocked locally and what is ordered, average time for delivery etc. On some of the older CAT's if you find one in decent condition, many of their models were very reliable and parts resources are still pretty good, but if you need to plug and play, no time to tinker or take one that needs moderate work to become a reliable workhorse, no matter what the manufacturer, it's best to spend a few extra dollars on one that is in good shape all around than one that needs a lot of repair. With that in mind CAT, Komatsu and Deere seem to be my preferences. QUESTION: WHY is it that this thread will not post if I attach a link to Tractor Parts dot com ? KIM ? I've noticed that many vendors are taboo to do the same with here. Is this true or just the board does not like the link or is there something I am completely unaware of. I cannot understand this if it is indeed true, I know this particular vendor does sell parts and may be of competition, but their website has valuable information, in this case regarding undercarriage illustrations and in laymans terms on how to measure, which I'd like to add to this thread because of it's direct relevance to the subject, and to help the person who initiated the thread if they are not well versed in the subject. Furthermore I really enjoy adding what little I know when time permits, to be of help to someone, but after say, spending an hour contributing to a thread that I can share my limited experience on and try to be of some help, but not to have it post because what appears to be censorship specific to this site ( I've encountered this many times before ) is difficult to understand why. If I did not figure out why it would not post, everthing written above would have been deleted and lost. So why bother if it won't post. Being able to share information, attach links to relevant sources of information or parts resources is what makes a site like this so valuable to everyone in my opinion. Why is it that I have to use oddball abbrieviations, code, punctuation, or other means to step around this to relay good information that could be of good use to someone ? Is this explained somewhere and I missed it ? Do appreciate this site and all who support it, still trying to figure out what the deal with the taboo links is. Not to sound abrasive or carry a negative attitude, no one benefits from that, just an honest concern as to what the deal is, thanks again ! Randy, go to Tractor Parts dot com and look for undercarriage, you'll find the information I tried to attach the link for. The company's name is General Gear and they are in Idaho or one of the states upper northwest if I recall correctly.
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