Cat D5B

[TrevorJ]

Nice video. I almost get the feeling that's an area feed by the Pete F. dam or lake as they try and call it now.

If you plan to use the 5 disc version, you're going to have to run the track in the furrow, which will cause a bit of stress (wear) on the chains until the plates bend up ... not unless you plan to pre bend them like many of the full track harvester owners do now. There are 6 disc versions of the plough which might let a crawler sit on top nice and level.

The other thing that comes to mind with tracks, is the speed ...

I'd have to also echo Richard's sentiments, the 886 seems to doing fine.

BTW Snakes in the cane? Richard - If I took a stab in the dark, it almost sounds like you've done a stint of cutting and loading cane by hand. On the eastern coast, cutting cane for planting, nothing more fun than walking past a tiapan or brown out sunning itself on the cut plants, or when cutting by hand, realising there's one rolled up beside the cane stool you've just wrapped your arm around. Other than that it's mostly only the poor old carpets (a mostly harmless snake) that find themselves in harms way of mechanical harvesters.

[RichardJW~]

BTW Snakes in the cane? Richard - If I took a stab in the dark, it almost sounds like you've done a stint of cutting and loading cane by hand. On the eastern coast, cutting cane for planting, nothing more fun than walking past a tiapan or brown out sunning itself on the cut plants, or when cutting by hand, realising there's one rolled up beside the cane stool you've just wrapped your arm around. Other than that it's mostly only the poor old carpets (a mostly harmless snake) that find themselves in harms way of mechanical harvesters.

Hi Trevor,

Nope, never worked in cane but I am petrified of the bl00dy things..............i have worked with some of your fellow country-men over the years on cotton picker support projects in different parts of the world and they have told me plenty of stories about them slithery things that bite and the places they like to inhabit and some capers to catch out non-believers.....like along the irrigation lines......like wrapping a dead one around the foot pedals of a pick-up---- or Ute as I think you call them......and lying out a dead one in amongst the shovel sticks in the back of the Ute, or wiring dead ones up to the inside of someones tool-box so it pops up when they open the lid......and having a resident carpet python sleeping in the rafters of a house......all highly amusing when the tinnies are flowing from the esky.....which is close enough for me

[RichardJW~]

I dont know that Italian crawlers will be heavy enough for the type of work I have in mind had my heart set on a Cat D5b with linkage.
Paul

you're right, they most definitely are not a match

[Mrsmackpaul]

Richard and Trevor yes the tractor pulls the plough just fine but what you dont see in film is how wet things can be just under the surface in spots when I am ploughing along there is water coming out in the furrow on return pass. Yes Trevor I would have to modify a plow to suit proberly go to a six disc would want plough on the land so to speak crawler sitting up on unploughed land . Another thing you cant see is that it was only a week or sow earlier that paddock had grass and weeds as high as the tractor bonnet but then we had a couple of inches of rain and it knocked them all flat then the grass wouldnt feed through the discs of the plough so had to disc in twice nearly getting bogged plenty of times the other block a few hundred yards away was getting bogged. The old inter is 120 hp
Paul

[TrevorJ]

Richard, yeah, we've got our fair share of larrikins, most know where to stop ... maybe those who don't have to head off overseas Some blokes just don't like anyone fooling around with their ute.

Paul, you've done well to plough after only a week or so since offsetting (I'm guessing offsets and not bumpers) the long grass in as well as ground being wet in spots. A plough dragging up in the long grass can be a big headache to set or change disc types so it'll perform better, but there are times where it's impracticable to even bother. I think that's why rotary hoes became so popular in the Qld cane industry.

[deltasierra]

Hi Guys

The D5B VHP must have been a hell of a tractor in its day, even today it will do as much work as a Magnum 270. It is rated at 165 hp but I reckon ours has some extra, that 10.5 liter 3306 just keeps pulling, no wheel slip, swing straight round at the end, rides over all the rough ground, far more comfortable than a wheel tractor.
It's only drawback is noise, you need a really good set of ear defenders.
I did most of the heavy cultivating this year with it, mostly with a mounted subsoiler disc combination but we did borrow a Simba Solo 330 which was OK on the level but too much on slopes.
The other consideration is implement strength, nothing "gives", hit a tough patch in 4th gear the tractor will pull through but the stress on the implement is massive and the frame will crack unless it is reinforced.


Dave

[Mrsmackpaul]

Thanks Dave all this imput is good as we dont use crawlers much here in Aus and hardly any with linkage
Paul

[bigkit]

Small scale application with a crawler, no D5 tho'