Re: Dozer vs Trackloaders
 

Hey Steve, I have a friend that used 3 different Hanomag loader's, and he roaded it all over the county! my neighbor uses his John Deere 544's to dig and tag team with the excavator. From a fuel standpoint, a hoe will
Pull it out cheaper than a loader! Thanks for your explanation !
Cheers, Neil.

Re: Dozer vs Trackloaders
 

I would say that in the model world a track loader is an OK compromise. My 955 with it's 4 in 1 bucket, technically has a blade but without being able to change the angle it is not all that useful. It is very similar in power, size and weight when compared to Greg's D8(955 1/10- D8 1/14 scale) but Greg's machine would have the job done and he could be building another model by the time I was halfway. As a loader it is slower and makes way more of a mess than Lou's 966. It is a bit of a jack of all trades, master of **** all type machine though which I think makes it appealing. At the end of the day though I built mine because my Dad has a 1:1 955K and I wanted a model of it. Arguing about what is better is kind of stupid. All of us wish that we had every piece of equipment out there and eventually if we live long enough to build or buy it we will!

Sorry was I just rambling:confused:

Re: Dozer vs Trackloaders
 

Track loaders were very popular up to about 1990, then excavators began to dominate. Not confirmed yet, but I've heard CAT will be dropping track loaders in the near future. Komatsu dropped them about 8 years ago (at least in North America and Europe). As the construction market changes and shrinks, fewer models will be available from everyone. Generally, excavators are more versatile than track loaders, so the loaders will gradually fade. Same thing has happened with big dozers. In the 1980's Komatsu had over 300 large dozers running in Kentucky alone. Today, only about 20 large dozers are sold in the state - all brands - each year. No telling what new machines may appear over the next 20 years, but they will be high tech!

Ken

Re: Dozer vs Trackloaders
 

I just remembered 3 more contractor's that dug basement's with there loader's, One of them had a heel cutting edge on the back of his loader bucket for grading. Now both of my skidsteer bucket's have heel edges too!
Cheer's, Neil.

Re: Dozer vs Trackloaders
 

I had a 544 j and a 544 k both had 28L26 skidded tires on them and they both would dig like crazy and had floatation. I could out dig my dads 963 track loader.