Hey, just wanted to thank you for your videos. I took a blade operator position at the county highway department and your tutorials have been very helpful. It's a very unappreciated position, but rewarding when things come together. Keep up the good work.
Your welcome that’s the whole reason I do these videos is to help others become better operators there’s very little information on how to properly grade roads so I’m glad to help out with my videos I appreciate you watching and if you ever have any questions feel free to ask away!
Happy to hear you liked the video and it answered a lot of your questions and I agree the comments from all my followers have been great really enjoy hearing from everyone and there thoughts on stuff. Thanks for watching!
Yes it suer does I’m very lucky my township supervisors take my input on machines because I’m the one I the machine all the time I will enjoy the new machines thanks for watching!
you're lucky. My boss who doesn't even know how to drive the equipment across the lot but buys what he thinks we need and does not take any input from the operators. Only time he bought what the guys wanted was when the three guys that were getting new graders last year said they didn't want an M so he bought three of those new 140s with the wheels. They were also cheaper than the Ms so I think he wanted them anyway. When I got mine back in 2018 he downsized to a 12M3 to save money and wouldn't even put that savings towards an AWD machine.
I've used the G, H and M series CAT and have sat in a newer 670 Deere with the antler rack and 872 Deere with the fingertip controls and I prefer the M series. It has a few shortcomings like the controls not being mounted to the seat suspension, the HVAC system has a hard time keeping the windows free of frost in the winter unless you open all the vents and run the AC but the positives outweigh the negatives.
Yep I run my ac all winter long and every time I get up into cab I spend time knocking the snow off my feet before I get in. Usually have a towel too on the floor to soak up what is left
The 2022 Deere 772G I run has the same problem with keeping the windows free of frost and fogging over as well. It is very annoying and when the fan is on max it is pretty loud in the cab.
I agree I also prefer the cat there are little flaws in the cat but there pretty minimal compared to the Deere I would recommend you run the AC in the winter it will help keep moisture out of the cab I run mine on ac and prefer a cool can and all defrost vents closed to keep heat off windows allows snow to not stick to windows. Thanks for watching!
When I plow snow with a 772G, I crack a side window open to the first notch and just turn up the cab heat a little bit to compensate. Sucks all the humidity right out. No more foggy windows and don't need to run AC either.
@@jameserickson5532 I do that also and helps a lot I still run the ac I wish Deere would still have a defrost fan to keep air moving thanks for watching!
I'd like to see Cat update their cab on the 140/150/160 machines to the cab they have on the joystick 120 cab. Having a secure place to put large water jugs that won't go flying into the door when the grader hits something hard would be nice too.And yes Cat needs to change their controls to follow the seat. A hour strait roading kills the shoulders lol.That over head storage in the Deere is nice.
Really like the side by side comparison. My gripe about john deere is how poor the visibility of the blade is when your actually sitting back in the seat. Especially if youve got the console pulled back. How does cat compare?? Ive only ran deere & champion. That dozer style cab LOOKS like it has way more blade visibility but doesnt look like theres even any room for your lunchpail lol.
The viability to everything on the cat is way better then the Deere there is a big open area you can put luck box on right side under the right joystick I will make a short video on it and thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
Very informative video. Just a couple things. What about the fact that the circle on the Deere cannot be adjusted? Where as the CAT can be. Also the lift and ram cylinders are heavier built on the CAT. And let the record show I have about 8,000 working hours in each brand.
DEERE has smaller clutch packs which shifts smoother. The power you hav with the CAT you need larger clutch packs. I gladly give up smooth shifting for the performance of the CAT any day
Yes i agree with you plus Deere generally only gets around 6 to 7 thousand hours on there transmission where cat will go 10,000 or more big difference there thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
@@graderman140mthe biggest complaint I get about our shifting is between 4th and 5th. The reason is that we are basically double clutching between high and low range, so it’s a delayed shift. If you are flat out in 4th and shift into 5th it’s definitely aggressive, I usually coach operators to let off the throttle before making that shift and it does help smooth it out. Do you know how to do the transmission fill calibration? Maybe that needs to be my next tutorial video.
@@ironman3406 yep that’s the hardest shift point there I agree with you on letting off throttle when shifting to 5th makes it way better and yes I do know how to do the transmission fill calibration makes a huge difference I did a video on my channel about it but I’m suer you’d do way better job explaining everything!
Great video, do you notice as well in the Deere that you're sitting further back from the blade? I find the seating position in the Cat is a little more strained looking down at the ends of the blade as you're sitting more "on top" of the circle. Totally on point with the controls needing to be mounted on the seat, they do it in their dozers.
Glad you enjoyed the video you do probably sit a little further ahead in the cat but I don’t feel it affects the visibility out of the cab though just my opinion and yes they would be so much better if cat would mount the controls to the seat thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
@@graderman140m had one in the forest industry, lots of snow. I never had an issue with the height. Helps that the wing fans out nicely. Definitely a nice wing to work with. The one issue I didn't like was, when in deep snow and needed as much angle on the moldboard as possible, you would have to kick the circle out some. Doing this brings the moldboard further outside the wheels. You can slide your blade in but just a pain. I like to the have blade right be\side your wheels so that truck traffic can see, and is comfortable, that the road is not overplowed.
Hey Mark, good day to you sir. I have operated the Kat M and do really enjoy the visibility but having the permanent position of the choice is a little bit annoying as you know, I will be operating the new joystick version of the 620 GP John Deere soon, as I get some time in that machine, I will give my input as well. As far as the John Deere that you’re operating, was that a choice that you made to get that machine or was it the township that you work for? Will you get to choose the next machine that you get?
Looking to hear your feedback on your new Deere the Deere I operate was the boards choice I unfortunately probably never see a cat to replace the Deere because Deere is 60,000 cheaper then the cat and most don’t want to spend the extra money.
The one thing I do like about Deere, well in my area anyway, is there are a lot of dealers everywhere and they keep quite a lot on hand. So it is pretty simple and fast to get the normal maintenance items. To get warranty work though that has to come out of Sioux City which is 75 miles away. Cat dealers are much further for parts.
I tell everyone dealer support is huge I’m lucky to have cat dealer 10 miles from me so parts warranty work is always close so that’s nice hope the Deere treats you good. Thanks for watching!
Hey bud - I’ve asked the Cat guys when I’ve been down at training why they haven’t made the controls move with the seat because it is a common complaint and this is the answer I’ve been told. When they were doing all the testing when they were designing the joysticks, the biggest complaint with the fact that it was EH was there was no feel anymore. By having the controls mounted rigidly to the floor an operator can still get a little bit of feedback from the blade.
That does make a lot of sense thanks for asking that for me I do agree with still having some feel when there mounted rigid to the floor and I’ve noticed on Deere you have no feel but once you’ve used to it it’s not that bad.
@@graderman140m when u jump out of my 938m loader if the seat bounces at all the joystick wobbles and the bucket bounces around may be a safety feature too
@@schneiderexc3557 I’m not really suer to be honest with you but it’s an option on the new ones hopefully in next year or so cat will have there premium circle out
I noticed some white residue on your John Deere batteries, maybe they were just dirty but we have a 2018 672g and we are on our third set of Deere batteries due to them leaking around the top.
I will have to check my batteries out now that you mention that they could be just dirty but will definitely check them out and that’s no good your going through batteries like that I have noticed my machine starting a little harder then normal could be batteries getting weak thanks for the info and thanks for watching!
Hey, so I got a good question for you. Where would you mount a toolbox on the motor grader because the one that comes with the John Deere is too small to fit any tools or a grease gun second question is where do you mount your roadwork signs or what type would you use that would be easy to take out andset up easily
I have a friend of mine who has a rear ripper on his machine he made a bracket to mount a regular pickup truck size toolbox on his grader one could do that otherwise I honestly don’t know I just use the little one that they have on machine I generally don’t bring much with me. I have some folding road work ahead signs that are pretty compact I’ve seen guys make little storage boxes for them I haven’t I just put them on the front between my lift group and strap them on I don’t use them very often though hope this helps you out a little.
Why run 2 different brands? Are there different jobs that one is used for over the other or can they both do the same jobs? If so when do you decide Wich one to use?
I work for several different townships who have different equipment some have cat some have Deere they both do the same job I myself prefer the cat machines over the Deere but I can operate whatever they have hope this answers your question and thanks for watching!
I drive a Deere 672Gp and the reason we bought that in stead of cat, is that Cat does not have steering wheel. I'm not feeling safe whitout a steering wheel when i transport it on the public road.
I can assure you that running a Cat in 8th gear flat out is safe. Firstly they don’t use bump steer like everyone else, so the wherever the joystick is pointed that’s where the wheels are, it doesn’t spring back to the middle. Second Cat has speed sensing steering, so the faster you go the less aggressive the wheels turn, meaning in 1st they turn fast and in 8th they turn slower. Now in any other make of grader that I’ve operated that uses joysticks, they all have a steering wheel and I do feel unsafe going any faster than about 5th gear. Cat has built in lots of features to make sure they are safe to operate in road gear. (They had their issues when the M’s first came out though, but that’s all been sorted out since) Id encourage you to try an new one, and see how good the steering feels now.
I hear that a lot I honestly think it’s inexperience on guys who don’t feel safe in road gear going down the road the cat had awesome steering once your used to it you won’t want anything else thanks for watching!
@@ironman3406 well said good buddy I’ve even noticed on my new 150s the steering is even more refined then the old m3 I had thanks for sharing your knowledge I appreciate it!
After running an antler rack and steering wheel in a Cat G and H for the last 25 years I thought I’d never like the joysticks in a Cat M. I got my new Cat140M in July so this was my 1st winter plowing with the joysticks. I caught on quickly and easily plowing in 7th and 8th gear. So much handier and less fatigue at the end of the day. I would never go back to the steering wheel! Love the joysticks!
That’s a really hard question to answer but if it’s middle of the summer and I’m just maintenance grading making two passes I average 20 miles a day so 40 altogether I average around 5 to 5.5 mph while grading hope this helps thanks for the question and thanks for watching.
I run a newer 160 cat same set up but with a v plow on the front with the bigger tires... Why oh ever loving why do cat graders bounce. 5th gear and lower is usually pretty safe if the mold board is rolled back but if I go to cut roads or ice I can't hardly go in 4th before my machine starts bouncing/hopping. Tire pressure is around 55 psi on all tires. Crabbing doesn't help. Anyone have any help? My back can't take much more
Speed is always a struggle with any grader if I’m plowing snow I won’t use my moldboard that just causes you to bounce I use my front directional plow or v plow and that eliminates the bounce as far as tire pressure I run 55 wing side 45 non wing side and 65 in my front with the plow on hopefully this helps a little bit I know your pain that’s why I pushed for my townships to invest in the directional plow and I’m so much more efficient plus easier on the body.
The cat 150 is at 255hp and the Deere is at 275 hp is what I found online the cat will out preform the Deere though in my opinion even though it has less horsepower.
Hey, just wanted to thank you for your videos. I took a blade operator position at the county highway department and your tutorials have been very helpful. It's a very unappreciated position, but rewarding when things come together. Keep up the good work.
Your welcome that’s the whole reason I do these videos is to help others become better operators there’s very little information on how to properly grade roads so I’m glad to help out with my videos I appreciate you watching and if you ever have any questions feel free to ask away!
Sir
Good video! Thanks for the comparison, it answers a lot of questions about both rigs. The comments have been really helpful too!
Happy to hear you liked the video and it answered a lot of your questions and I agree the comments from all my followers have been great really enjoy hearing from everyone and there thoughts on stuff. Thanks for watching!
Your opinion counts, you’re the one operating it for hours on end! Thanks for the comparison, enjoy the new machines!
Yes it suer does I’m very lucky my township supervisors take my input on machines because I’m the one I the machine all the time I will enjoy the new machines thanks for watching!
you're lucky. My boss who doesn't even know how to drive the equipment across the lot but buys what he thinks we need and does not take any input from the operators. Only time he bought what the guys wanted was when the three guys that were getting new graders last year said they didn't want an M so he bought three of those new 140s with the wheels. They were also cheaper than the Ms so I think he wanted them anyway. When I got mine back in 2018 he downsized to a 12M3 to save money and wouldn't even put that savings towards an AWD machine.
Mint video, cheers for that 👌
Wow. Those are cool.
I've used the G, H and M series CAT and have sat in a newer 670 Deere with the antler rack and 872 Deere with the fingertip controls and I prefer the M series. It has a few shortcomings like the controls not being mounted to the seat suspension, the HVAC system has a hard time keeping the windows free of frost in the winter unless you open all the vents and run the AC but the positives outweigh the negatives.
Yep I run my ac all winter long and every time I get up into cab I spend time knocking the snow off my feet before I get in. Usually have a towel too on the floor to soak up what is left
The 2022 Deere 772G I run has the same problem with keeping the windows free of frost and fogging over as well. It is very annoying and when the fan is on max it is pretty loud in the cab.
I agree I also prefer the cat there are little flaws in the cat but there pretty minimal compared to the Deere I would recommend you run the AC in the winter it will help keep moisture out of the cab I run mine on ac and prefer a cool can and all defrost vents closed to keep heat off windows allows snow to not stick to windows. Thanks for watching!
When I plow snow with a 772G, I crack a side window open to the first notch and just turn up the cab heat a little bit to compensate. Sucks all the humidity right out. No more foggy windows and don't need to run AC either.
@@jameserickson5532 I do that also and helps a lot I still run the ac I wish Deere would still have a defrost fan to keep air moving thanks for watching!
great video 😊
I'd like to see Cat update their cab on the 140/150/160 machines to the cab they have on the joystick 120 cab. Having a secure place to put large water jugs that won't go flying into the door when the grader hits something hard would be nice too.And yes Cat needs to change their controls to follow the seat. A hour strait roading kills the shoulders lol.That over head storage in the Deere is nice.
Thanks for sharing.
Really like the side by side comparison. My gripe about john deere is how poor the visibility of the blade is when your actually sitting back in the seat. Especially if youve got the console pulled back. How does cat compare?? Ive only ran deere & champion.
That dozer style cab LOOKS like it has way more blade visibility but doesnt look like theres even any room for your lunchpail lol.
I stick my lunchpail on the floor up against the seat and between my legs. It's a little bit of a tight fit but it's worked for me for the last 6yrs.
Lots of room for lunch beside the seat. It would drive me nuts to have lunch pail on floor by my feet
The viability to everything on the cat is way better then the Deere there is a big open area you can put luck box on right side under the right joystick I will make a short video on it and thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
Very informative video. Just a couple things. What about the fact that the circle on the Deere cannot be adjusted? Where as the CAT can be. Also the lift and ram cylinders are heavier built on the CAT. And let the record show I have about 8,000 working hours in each brand.
DEERE has smaller clutch packs which shifts smoother. The power you hav with the CAT you need larger clutch packs. I gladly give up smooth shifting for the performance of the CAT any day
Yes i agree with you plus Deere generally only gets around 6 to 7 thousand hours on there transmission where cat will go 10,000 or more big difference there thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
@@graderman140mthe biggest complaint I get about our shifting is between 4th and 5th. The reason is that we are basically double clutching between high and low range, so it’s a delayed shift. If you are flat out in 4th and shift into 5th it’s definitely aggressive, I usually coach operators to let off the throttle before making that shift and it does help smooth it out. Do you know how to do the transmission fill calibration? Maybe that needs to be my next tutorial video.
@@ironman3406 yep that’s the hardest shift point there I agree with you on letting off throttle when shifting to 5th makes it way better and yes I do know how to do the transmission fill calibration makes a huge difference I did a video on my channel about it but I’m suer you’d do way better job explaining everything!
Great video, do you notice as well in the Deere that you're sitting further back from the blade? I find the seating position in the Cat is a little more strained looking down at the ends of the blade as you're sitting more "on top" of the circle. Totally on point with the controls needing to be mounted on the seat, they do it in their dozers.
Glad you enjoyed the video you do probably sit a little further ahead in the cat but I don’t feel it affects the visibility out of the cab though just my opinion and yes they would be so much better if cat would mount the controls to the seat thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
Try out the mastless Brandt wing. Fantastic visibility.
I’d love to go to a mastless wing but I’m worried I wouldn’t have the benching hight I have now with the wings I have.
@@graderman140m had one in the forest industry, lots of snow. I never had an issue with the height. Helps that the wing fans out nicely. Definitely a nice wing to work with. The one issue I didn't like was, when in deep snow and needed as much angle on the moldboard as possible, you would have to kick the circle out some. Doing this brings the moldboard further outside the wheels. You can slide your blade in but just a pain. I like to the have blade right be\side your wheels so that truck traffic can see, and is comfortable, that the road is not overplowed.
Hey Mark, good day to you sir. I have operated the Kat M and do really enjoy the visibility but having the permanent position of the choice is a little bit annoying as you know, I will be operating the new joystick version of the 620 GP John Deere soon, as I get some time in that machine, I will give my input as well.
As far as the John Deere that you’re operating, was that a choice that you made to get that machine or was it the township that you work for? Will you get to choose the next machine that you get?
Looking to hear your feedback on your new Deere the Deere I operate was the boards choice I unfortunately probably never see a cat to replace the Deere because Deere is 60,000 cheaper then the cat and most don’t want to spend the extra money.
The one thing I do like about Deere, well in my area anyway, is there are a lot of dealers everywhere and they keep quite a lot on hand. So it is pretty simple and fast to get the normal maintenance items. To get warranty work though that has to come out of Sioux City which is 75 miles away. Cat dealers are much further for parts.
I tell everyone dealer support is huge I’m lucky to have cat dealer 10 miles from me so parts warranty work is always close so that’s nice hope the Deere treats you good. Thanks for watching!
Hey bud - I’ve asked the Cat guys when I’ve been down at training why they haven’t made the controls move with the seat because it is a common complaint and this is the answer I’ve been told. When they were doing all the testing when they were designing the joysticks, the biggest complaint with the fact that it was EH was there was no feel anymore. By having the controls mounted rigidly to the floor an operator can still get a little bit of feedback from the blade.
That does make sense actually. There is 0 feedback feel on my deere joysticks. The one advantage of the old antler racks is the feedback for sure
That does make a lot of sense thanks for asking that for me I do agree with still having some feel when there mounted rigid to the floor and I’ve noticed on Deere you have no feel but once you’ve used to it it’s not that bad.
@@graderman140m when u jump out of my 938m loader if the seat bounces at all the joystick wobbles and the bucket bounces around may be a safety feature too
When did they start using a grease zerk for the circle gear drive?
@@schneiderexc3557 I’m not really suer to be honest with you but it’s an option on the new ones hopefully in next year or so cat will have there premium circle out
I noticed some white residue on your John Deere batteries, maybe they were just dirty but we have a 2018 672g and we are on our third set of Deere batteries due to them leaking around the top.
I will have to check my batteries out now that you mention that they could be just dirty but will definitely check them out and that’s no good your going through batteries like that I have noticed my machine starting a little harder then normal could be batteries getting weak thanks for the info and thanks for watching!
Great comparison. I think they’re both high quality machines. Cat looks heavier. Bias towards the cat- it’s in my blood 😂
Thanks glad to hear that and yes they are both very good machines I prefer the cat also just my opinion though. Thanks for watching!
Where is the coolant check on a Deere? I love your videos👍
The coolant check is up on top of the engine can see it from the right or left engine door it’s back by the coolers thanks for watching!
@@graderman140m thankyou fella, really appreciate it.
Hey, so I got a good question for you. Where would you mount a toolbox on the motor grader because the one that comes with the John Deere is too small to fit any tools or a grease gun second question is where do you mount your roadwork signs or what type would you use that would be easy to take out andset up easily
I have a friend of mine who has a rear ripper on his machine he made a bracket to mount a regular pickup truck size toolbox on his grader one could do that otherwise I honestly don’t know I just use the little one that they have on machine I generally don’t bring much with me. I have some folding road work ahead signs that are pretty compact I’ve seen guys make little storage boxes for them I haven’t I just put them on the front between my lift group and strap them on I don’t use them very often though hope this helps you out a little.
Why run 2 different brands? Are there different jobs that one is used for over the other or can they both do the same jobs? If so when do you decide Wich one to use?
I work for several different townships who have different equipment some have cat some have Deere they both do the same job I myself prefer the cat machines over the Deere but I can operate whatever they have hope this answers your question and thanks for watching!
Caterpillar goes back with Balderson to i think the 1940s & the 50s
Yes I believe you are correct balderson has always been a well made attachments for equipment thanks for watching!
I drive a Deere 672Gp and the reason we bought that in stead of cat, is that Cat does not have steering wheel. I'm not feeling safe whitout a steering wheel when i transport it on the public road.
I can assure you that running a Cat in 8th gear flat out is safe. Firstly they don’t use bump steer like everyone else, so the wherever the joystick is pointed that’s where the wheels are, it doesn’t spring back to the middle. Second Cat has speed sensing steering, so the faster you go the less aggressive the wheels turn, meaning in 1st they turn fast and in 8th they turn slower. Now in any other make of grader that I’ve operated that uses joysticks, they all have a steering wheel and I do feel unsafe going any faster than about 5th gear. Cat has built in lots of features to make sure they are safe to operate in road gear. (They had their issues when the M’s first came out though, but that’s all been sorted out since) Id encourage you to try an new one, and see how good the steering feels now.
I hear that a lot I honestly think it’s inexperience on guys who don’t feel safe in road gear going down the road the cat had awesome steering once your used to it you won’t want anything else thanks for watching!
@@ironman3406 well said good buddy I’ve even noticed on my new 150s the steering is even more refined then the old m3 I had thanks for sharing your knowledge I appreciate it!
After running an antler rack and steering wheel in a Cat G and H for the last 25 years I thought I’d never like the joysticks in a Cat M. I got my new Cat140M in July so this was my 1st winter plowing with the joysticks. I caught on quickly and easily plowing in 7th and 8th gear. So much handier and less fatigue at the end of the day. I would never go back to the steering wheel! Love the joysticks!
Great comparison! Balderson only at our shop! Heavy duty and so much easier installation on and off. Bulletproof! Thx for sharing!
How many days will it take you to grade 50km road and what is the speed that you will be going.
That’s a really hard question to answer but if it’s middle of the summer and I’m just maintenance grading making two passes I average 20 miles a day so 40 altogether I average around 5 to 5.5 mph while grading hope this helps thanks for the question and thanks for watching.
I run a newer 160 cat same set up but with a v plow on the front with the bigger tires... Why oh ever loving why do cat graders bounce. 5th gear and lower is usually pretty safe if the mold board is rolled back but if I go to cut roads or ice I can't hardly go in 4th before my machine starts bouncing/hopping. Tire pressure is around 55 psi on all tires. Crabbing doesn't help. Anyone have any help? My back can't take much more
Speed is always a struggle with any grader if I’m plowing snow I won’t use my moldboard that just causes you to bounce I use my front directional plow or v plow and that eliminates the bounce as far as tire pressure I run 55 wing side 45 non wing side and 65 in my front with the plow on hopefully this helps a little bit I know your pain that’s why I pushed for my townships to invest in the directional plow and I’m so much more efficient plus easier on the body.
What is the H.P. on the two units?
The cat 150 is at 255hp and the Deere is at 275 hp is what I found online the cat will out preform the Deere though in my opinion even though it has less horsepower.
Ran both of them to date never beat a cat 10 to 1
I would agree with you hard to beat the cat machines.