Komatsu D20A-6 ?

[GuglioLS]

Thanks Eddie,

Sorry about the too many ideas thing, don't worry, I'm running out of them . I figured as long as I had headlight's, I better have a rear work light. You just never know what may come up long after the sun sets that just has to get done no matter what.

Just three things left for Dozer mods:

1. Rear receiver hitch for my dump trailer. (in progress)
2. Tap into the hydraulics so as to add a valve to operate the dump trailer. (in planning stage)
3. Skid shoes for the blade to plow snow. (worry about that after the first snow)


Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

Here is the receiver hitch dozer mod I thought would come in handy to move trailers around. I need to use the dozer and dump trailer combination to haul firewood, gravel or dirt. With this setup I'll be able to use the FEL on my tractor to load the dump trailer.
On the rear of the dozer there is a bracket and pin to attach a chain for towing. I removed the bracket so as to use the hole pattern to fabricate a receiver hitch.
Many of the dozer bolts are rather large, to remove them I use a 3/4" ratchet wrench in combination with large size metric sockets.


I found a chunk of 3/4" thick steel plate to weld on the receiver tube, drill holes, then bolt up to the dozer.
Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

After laying out a pattern on the steel plate that looked good for the dozer, I started the cuts.
The band saw is a 7" tall x12" wide capacity, horizontal / vertical unit.





Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

A few angle cuts add some style to the bracket, those small cut-offs will be used as gussets to minimize waste.





Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

After drilling out the holes, the plate was counter bored to recess the washers. The plate is thicker than the bracket I took off so counter boaring was done to keep the OEM bolt length. I suppose I could have eliminated the washers, but it's fun to use my machine for this stuff, plus it looks cool.




Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

Here is the finished product after welding, priming and painting with matching Komatsu Dozer yellow:





Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

After installing the receiver hitch bracket I had to test it out. So I attached my 16' flatbed and moved it to a new location. It sure was easy to back up the dozer and align the hitch to the trailer tongue. All I have to do is look back and down and the hitch is right there in plain view. Not only that the way a dozer maneuvers makes it a breeze to connect.
Here are the two trailers I use -


Next is to tap into the hydraulics on the dozer and add a valve to operate the dump trailer. That's my next project to figure out.
The fittings on the dozer are "Komatsu Metric", meaning they are their own proprietary style of fitting. So now I have to find some Komatsu fittings. I called a local hydraulic shop and they stock crimp on Komatsu hose fittings. They suggested I remove the hose I need to tap into, bring it in and they will fix me up "no problem". I hope to get to that in a week or so.

Larry

 

[3RRL]

Hi Larry,
You amaze me. Always thinking of ways to improve what you got. That is a really nice beefy receiver hitch you are making. It should easily tow the Titanic.
Are you going to make a slip in hitch for the the grab hook too? That way you'll have both.

On the Komatsu Metrics, isn't there a Japanese Industrial standard? Maybe that's what those are? Here is a link to them at Discount Hydraulic Hose.
Japanese Industrial Standard Fittings

 

[GuglioLS]

Yo Rob, my buddy -
Thanks for the compliment - sometimes I even surprise myself, it did turn out pretty good. Having the band saw and a few metal working tools, I no longer hesitate to add some curves & angles for style.

Thanks for the Japanese fitting link on the Discount Hydraulic Hose web site.
Yep that's them, 30* metric.

Your grab hook suggestion is a good one, it will be incorporated. Your idea made me think of getting a weld on one that I could easily fabricate to insert into the receiver tube or maybe just weld it on that top gusset for a permanent installation? Something like this:



What do you think?

Larry

 

[EddieWalker]

Don't know why, but it never occured to me to use a dozer for towing a trailer. Not that I've seen you pics, I'm thinking how smart that is!!! You can get that trailer just about anywhere and never have to worry about getting stuck.

You really have me re-thinking my opinion on small dozers. They seem to be pretty handy for a whole variety of projects!!!!!

Eddie

 

[3RRL]

Thanks Larry,
Yeah, I would weld that right on top of the receiver like that, assuming it's out of the way for other jobs and easily accessible like that. If you think it's gonna get in the way for something, put it on another removeable tow bar that you can insert into the receiver hitch. You can never have too many grab hooks?

 

[machmeter62]

Yo Rob, my buddy -
Thanks for the compliment - sometimes I even surprise myself, it did turn out pretty good. Having the band saw and a few metal working tools, I no longer hesitate to add some curves & angles for style.

Thanks for the Japanese fitting link on the Discount Hydraulic Hose web site.
Yep that's them, 30* metric.

Your grab hook suggestion is a good one, it will be incorporated. Your idea made me think of getting a weld on one that I could easily fabricate to insert into the receiver tube or maybe just weld it on that top gusset for a permanent installation? Something like this:



What do you think?

Larry

LARRY: I don't think "TLC" suffices for the work you have done to your tractor since purchase; RESTORED to "MINT CONDITION" now applies! All those photos and improvements, along with the well thought out procedures, make it first class. It's fun to see the detailed improvements, which look very challenging!

 

[GuglioLS]

Don't know why, but it never occured to me to use a dozer for towing a trailer. Not that I've seen you pics, I'm thinking how smart that is!!! You can get that trailer just about anywhere and never have to worry about getting stuck.

You really have me re-thinking my opinion on small dozers. They seem to be pretty handy for a whole variety of projects!!!!!

Eddie

Thank you Eddie,

It was surprising how easy it was to maneuver those trailers around. Especially backing up into tight spots. The large amount of rear-end pivot you get out of a dozer when steering is a definite advantage when maneuvering a trailer. Aligning the receiver hitch ball on the dozer to connect the trailer tongue was super easy.

You really have me re-thinking my opinion on small dozers. They seem to be pretty handy for a whole variety of projects!!!!!

Well ain't that a big surprise! Yea Small dozer's can be handy for small projects in limited space. They are a good tool, just so long as you match the size project with the size of dozer, and keep your expectations realistic. I have been able to knock over trees, however the soil conditions, & type of tree I have allow that to happen. I would imagine my dozer would bounce off the trees found on your property. Another good thing about this Little Komatsu is parts are easily obtainable from a local dealer. Don't believe the rumors about gray market parts on these. This dozer is not "Grey market"
One thing for sure that you have always emphasized and so eloquently stated - "parts prices are ridiculous" No one should be thinking about getting any dozer without that warning. And be able to do all their own repair and maintenance work.

Larry

 

[3RRL]

Larry,
That receiver hitch you installed...where did you get it? Do you have a link or did you get it local?

 

[GuglioLS]

Machmeter,

Your words are too kind. All the restoration was not done alone, Rob sure did help me out replacing those track rollers, that was quite a job. If I remember correctly, It took the two of us about 4 hours to complete that.


Rob - the receiver tube I picked up local in Albuquerque at a trailer supply joint, 10 bucks. I have one more left if you need it. I bet you can find one at a decent RV parts / sales dealer. Maybe you have a trailer or RV supply place somewhere near Red Hill?

Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

The following story is more about wood gathering but involves the use of the Dozer and newly installed trailer reciver hitch. Since it's related to the new hitch I thought I would tell it here.
Yesterday Esther and I finished cutting firewood for the season. We decided to take the Dozer and home made dump trailer along with the ATV and it's little trailer up the new road. I wanted to test out the trailer hitch on the Dozer with the dump trailer to see how it handled up the road and through the woods in some tight spots. It did a fine job, I was able to navigate through some tight spots and turn the whole rig around to get facing back in the right direction.
We filled up the dump trailer with a little more than half a cord, and the ATV trailer with about 1/4 cord, so me made quite a haul for one trip up and down the hill for one day.
Here are a few photos showing all the wood we gathered for the day. Total amount for this season is five and a half cords all cut and stacked. We have been cutting wood and chipping branches on and off for the last few months. We are glad this is done,and are now ready to enjoy all the warmth by the fireside this coming winter.






Are you all ready for winter?


Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

After splitting and stacking the last log, then putting all the "toys" away, I got right to work on the chain grab hook for the new Dozer receiver hitch.
I found a chunk of 2" X 2" solid square bar stock in my scrap pile inventory. It looked like it would do the trick for welding on the grab hook. The bar was cut at an angle to have enough surface area to completely weld the hook all the way around. I used a little super glue on the hook to hold it's position while it was welded. Has anyone ever used super glue to hold an odd piece of metal prior to welding? It works quite nicely. Do the welds look OK?





Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

After welding the metal was allowed to cool off a bit, then the new grab hook got a coat of primer, then gloss black. After the paint dried, the hook was installed into the Dozer receiver hitch to see how it all fit together. A chain was attached to see how it was going to work. Notice the hook is at an angle, that helps to keep the chain locked into position.

Next is to try and tear out some trees with a chain to test the overall strength of the hook, receiver hitch and welds. I am hoping it will hold up to real life use.
Thanks for checking this out.

Larry

 

[tommu56]

Larry what is the fence around the wood pile for?


tom

 

[GuglioLS]

Larry what is the fence around the wood pile for?


tom

Tom,

Good question - It keeps my dogs from tearing up the wood pile

Squirrels & mice make quick residence between the logs. It drives our dogs nuts so they tear the wood pile apart to get at them. This season I have decided I'm only going to stack the wood once, as opposed to two or three times like I did last year.

Larry