Looking for a bulldozer to have a play on!

[DHWALL]

Hello everyone, I think this may be somewhat of a long shot...
I am working for a startup company designing a new bulldozer! There are a couple of us engineers who, whilst we have experience with other offroad machinery, don't have specific experience with bulldozers! We are trying to find someone/somewhere where we can just come for an hour or so and either just see one working up close or it would be awesome to have a little drive forwards and backwards in one!

Does anyone know anyone with a Bulldozer, preferably in the midlands/northwest area (UK)??!

(preferably in the 25-30 tonne range like a CAT D6, and even more nice to have, one with a V-PAT blade!)

Thanks for any tips/hints!

DH

 

[Bri963]

Think you need to do a bit more background, mate. D6 tops out at about 23 tonnes and you won’t find many 7’s with VPAT. What exactly are you working on? EV start-up? Be aware you’re designing for a crowded market. If you want a bit of seat time try Flannery, O’Brien or someone like that.

and avoid the word “play” when you approach them.

 

[6feetdown]

Why muck about try these guys a bit further north

 

[Bri963]

Why muck about try these guys a bit further north

No VPAT

 

[DaveDCB]

Explain abit more to me, you work for a startup company to design a new bulldozer…. Yet have never driven one…. Or presumably seen one?

 

[JD450A]

Explain abit more to me, you work for a startup company to design a new bulldozer…. Yet have never driven one…. Or presumably seen one?

JCB

 

[Lancs Lad]

JCB

Maybe it's an undercover paint inspection team

 

[DaveDCB]

JCB

They’d just buy 1 of everything, rip them to bits and build a Frankenstein!

 

[DaveDCB]

Maybe it's an undercover paint inspection team

I’ve been telling them the fix for that for a very long time, use a grinder to flatten the sharp corners and some primer may help!!

 

[Bri963]

They’d just buy 1 of everything, rip them to bits and build a Frankenstein!

Then claim they’d invented the bulldozer

 

[Lancs Lad]

I'll give em a head start.

TD-16N - DRESSTA

THE BENCHMARK FOR VISIBILITY TD-16N ENGINE Cummins B6.7 EPA Tier 4 final/EU Stage V POWER 143 kW / 192 hp @ 2200 rpm OPERATING WEIGHT TD-16N LT: 18,560kg TD-16N

dressta.com

 

[6feetdown]

I'll give em a head start.

TD-16N - DRESSTA

THE BENCHMARK FOR VISIBILITY TD-16N ENGINE Cummins B6.7 EPA Tier 4 final/EU Stage V POWER 143 kW / 192 hp @ 2200 rpm OPERATING WEIGHT TD-16N LT: 18,560kg TD-16N

dressta.com

Think they had 1 on welderfabber a few weeks ago

 

[Bri963]

Got a funny feeling the OP isn’t coming back.

 

[JD450A]

Got a funny feeling the OP isn’t coming back.

Problem is there is a genuine chance that it's the reality such is some of the funding floating about ATM.

 

[Canal Navvy]

Why muck about try these guys a bit further north

That looks absolutely brutal on the machinery.....what on earth is the hourly operating cost of ripping rock like that ?

 

[6feetdown]

That looks absolutely brutal on the machinery.....what on earth is the hourly operating cost of ripping rock like that ?

Don't know but did I hear 7000 ton a day mentioned possibly

 

[Bri963]

That looks absolutely brutal on the machinery.....what on earth is the hourly operating cost of ripping rock like that ?

TBH that’s a fairly easy rip, looked more like sand than hard rock. Even in rock, the first pull is us the worst. Once you’ve got through once and start moving across it gets easier. If you’re working downhill you can rip some yardage, over a certain gradient it’s more efficient to reverse than turn and pull uphill.

A few years ago when the D11’s came out one was ripping a massive slag pile that sat on the Belgian/Luxembourg border and they were using two tips a day. In the end they started welding sections of railway rail on to save money. They weren’t allowed to blast.

 

[DHWALL]

Explain abit more to me, you work for a startup company to design a new bulldozer…. Yet have never driven one…. Or presumably seen one?

Ha thanks for the responses guys! You are correct I have never driven a bulldozer... how many people have?! But I know people who work on nuclear subs... doesn't mean they've driven one! Gotta start somewhere!

I'll give em a head start.
[URL REMOVED]

Ours is going to be considerably better than this!

Think you need to do a bit more background, mate. D6 tops out at about 23 tonnes and you won’t find many 7’s with VPAT. What exactly are you working on? EV start-up? Be aware you’re designing for a crowded market. If you want a bit of seat time try Flannery, O’Brien or someone like that.

and avoid the word “play” when you approach them.

Yeah this was kind of the path I was already starting to explore, lot of hoops to jump through though!

 

[Lancs Lad]

Ha thanks for the responses guys! You are correct I have never driven a bulldozer... how many people have?! But I know people who work on nuclear subs... doesn't mean they've driven one! Gotta start somewhere!


Ours is going to be considerably better than this!


Yeah this was kind of the path I was already starting to explore, lot of hoops to jump through though!

Blow me down. He's back.
Let's see pictures then?

 

[DaveDCB]

What company are you from out of interest? No secrets on this forum!