New Survival Rig!

So, I have been having a MAJOR issue with clearing and maintaining several hundred square miles of forest lands that are not property maintained by any county or the state, so my safety and well being depends on ME being able to protect my lands by maintaining those lands around me! I have been doing this with a 5 ton Caterpillar with dozer blade and gang winches, BUT for all the goodness of that 5 ton, it is S-L-O-W and uses a lot of fuel while only being able to travel short distances! These issues have been stacking up against me, and have exposed the weakness in my "Plans" so I needed to make a major change!

Here is my solution! A 2010 Cat grapple skidder with gang winches and onboard HVAC with smoke filtration system! Came with two full sets of brand new tire chains and a second convertible dozer blade with top rake that can be flipped! Only mods I have planned for this is a quick mount snow pusher blade that can slip on the existing blade so I would also have winter time snow clearance, and I will be adding some external tool boxes for things like chains and chain saws and fuel, and I want to install a bunch of high outpit L.E.D. lights all over to make night operations a lot easier and safer! This Skidder will in fact eliminate TWO rigs, though I will never get rid of the 5 ton dozer, my Tucker Sno-Cat is now unneeded and will be up for sale soon ( I gotta pay my self back for this Skidder)
I'm excited to get a good jump on the fire season ahead and I think this is the best solution I have available! Cant wait to get to work and see just how good this will run! Nice thing is its a Gear Driven and not hydro drive, so I get a big jump in road speed, it will do about 35 MPH flat out!!
Had it delivered last week and have started in on the mods, have a bunch of lights on the way and various parts and I have a guy up in the north country that does SnoCats and he says he can fab a snow blade for this at a reasonable price! So far, so good!

 

Out playing with it ( Come on, who wouldn't wanna take it out and play with it) I have discovered it's loud as hell, so I will be needing to do some creative exhaust work! LOL
Also, I found out the hydro system is factory plumbed for additional control circuits, so a 6 way power blade on the front should be a fairly simple to do!

Projects, always need projects to work on, idle hands and all!

 

Armor?

 

Nice,,

 

I like it

 

Pintle mounts for heavy weapons.....

 

Nice

 

Needs a ten inch lift and some nerf bars...

 

First impressions:
Its a lot of fun to drive.
Its a lot more comfortable in the rough stuff.
It pulls like a locomotive.
It has pretty good visibility all around.
It can go places and through stuff that the Dozer cannot.
The cab is very well insulated and the heater will cook you outta the cab if your bundled up.
It has the right tire combo for what and where i run, and the air pressure range can both improve ride AND traction, but i need to figure out the limits of usefulness and load capabilities.
The transmission and brakes are extreamly effective, load holding seems extreamly good, and engine "braking" seems to be the better technique for control.
Fuel consumption is way way better then the Dozer.
Wife can drive it pretty easy, controls are intuitive and super easy to use, especially for us greenhorns.
Snow dosnt even slow it down, and it can push far more then I thought.
Its the perfect size, weight, width, and power level for what amd how i will be using it. It will neatly fit a standard road lane, and once I do the required lighting, will be super easy to travle around instead of towing it.

First needs: it really needs lights, Lots of lights.
It needs the metal screens removed from the windows.
It needs a few pieces of glass replaced and all the seals.
The bottom winch needs to be re cabled and a heavier clevis added.
It needs a pintle hitch for a water wagon/tool carrier.
Needs road legal marker lights and a amber light(s) installed.
Exhaust needs replaced with something far more effective, may run it under the cab and up the back, and the air filter needs to move to the side with a shield, likely up the left side of the cab at the "A" pillar. Need to swap the blade to the rake blade and see how it runs when pushing/clearing snow!
So far, this thing is amazing, and i cannot see any down sides to it ( yet) its very capable, and bonus, it actually fits the shop where the Tucker currently resides, all i need to do is change the wood on the floor to match the width and it should be golden!

 

YUP! Not looking forward to that day, but, like they say, you gotta pay to play!
I thought they would be more spendy then they are, BUT,they are far from cheap too!
Interestingly, a track on the Dozer costs about the same as a pair of tires, though wear is vastly different between the two!

 

I always love new toys ,,, ones that go bang ,,, and ones with motors ,,, enjoy ,, and take us with you when you go to play ,,,,

 

Nice!!!
Those can be laid on their sides...ask me
They can be sunk....Again ask me
Your correct about the blade upgrades.
A winch on the back end is Gold
Never ram a dead tree...Half of it will end up on your cab.
They will burn IF you fail to keep pine needles and leaves away from the exhaust.
You can make extra bucks pulling stuck hunters out of bogs.
They are stud hosses!!!

 

Keep the tire chains on it when off road. Seems like they protect the side walls.
Keep the intake away from the exhaust. Lost a Detroit 6-53 in Afghanistan because the intake was sucking up soot, clogged the intake, the engine burned so much fuel it over heated the engine and cracked the block. All because of a clogged air filter.

 

This has a reversible engine fan, simply pull a lever and it will blow air through the radiator. Its wide and has a pretty low center of gravity, but roll overs are still possable. The exhaust is on the other side of the engine, so intake and exhaust shouldn't cross pollinate amd cause issues, and once I get the two done, even less of an issue!
Honestly, I have found Caterpillar to be some of the most well thought out and well engineered of the equipement I have been around, what others lack, or make optional, Cat has as standard! I inly wish I could have been able to afford a Tiger Cat, the Gold Standard of logging equipement, but, i got a Cat, so its all good! An older Clark would have also been super, but they are very hard to find, and equally spendy!

 

The chains I have are a cross link ringed, and a "Terrain Saver" which are sort of like a paddle wheel with big steel lugs across the tread, not sure which to use where, and when, but the Ring Chains seem to me a better option for ice and snow and general use, where the others look more like Deep mud and soup use! Will see! Both require the tires be deflated to install, then blown back up to lock them in place! Not exactly user friendly or quick, but it is what it is!

 

Clark, That's want I rode for a year or so for Dad,Model 664-B

 

But they are REAL handy when your trailer tandems slide off the corduroy with a load of drill stem on.