The most common ripper fitted was the fully adjustable single shank type with hydraulic pin puller – a multi shank model was also available.Ī very specialized impact ripper was offered for a time but seems to have been discontinued. AttachmentsĬaterpillar offered several attachments to outfit the D10.īlades included the 10S straight blade, 10U full U bulldozer and the 10C that was a cushioned blade specifically designed for pushing scrapers.Īngle blades were not offered nor, apparently, a logging winch. No pedals or levers penetrated the floor plate allowing easy access in and out of the cab with the added benefit of heat, dust and noise reduction. ![]() The entire interior was very well laid out and obviously the folks at Caterpillar had put a lot of thought into its design.Īll the control levers featured short throws and were closely grouped to minimize operator fatigue. This featured a suspension seat angled off at around 30 degrees to the right to allow easy visibility to the ripper and blade. ![]() Isolation mounted from the tractor frame was the operator’s compartment. This arrangement prevented any shock loads being transmitted to the machine’s final drives. Track frames were entirely independent of the final drives and were held in place by a very substantial pivot shaft at the rear and a conventional equalizer bar at the front allowing track frame oscillation. There was a track idler at both ends of the track frame and a very large hydraulically adjusted recoil cylinder maintained track tension. These allowed the tracks to wrap over an obstacle rather than ramp up it, reducing point loading on the tracks and adding to the machine’s traction. One of the principal considerations when designing the D10 was ease of servicing and to this end the transmission or final drives could be extracted very easily in just over an hour due to the modular design of the tractor.Īnother feature (since copied by some other manufacturers) was the independent bogies that held the bottom track rollers. This was mated with a Caterpillar barrel-type planetary powershift transmission. It was powered by a 700 horsepower Caterpillar D348TA V-12 twin turbocharged diesel engine. The Caterpillar D10 DescribedĪs this article is a retrospective look back, we will be examining the first production model of the machine, the 84W series. Subsequent versions of the machine have included the D10R and the current production version, the D10T. Production of the 84W series D10 was discontinued in 1986 following a design revision that resulted in the D10N. Mining contractors particularly liked them because they could rip material that formerly had to be blasted. Sales of the D10 were very strong and at one point Caterpillar had a quite a waiting list for new machines, the demand was that great.ĭ10s could be found in most segments of the industry, including quarry, mining and large roading or subdivisional works. This reduced heat buildup in the turbocharger area and as a consequence also improved the machines’ exhaust back-pressure.Ĭonsideration had obviously been given to this problem during design as the machine came delivered from the factory with a fire suppression system in the engine bay. This change replaced the single large exhaust pipe with two separate stacks, one on either side of the bonnet. Officially unveiled in September 1977, first deliveries of the new machine did not take place until 1978.įollowing a few ‘meltdowns’, a revision was made to the D10’s exhaust system quite early in production. Test machines were sent to selected contractor’s jobs and also to Caterpillar’s Arizona proving ground where some were worked to destruction in order to determine component life expectancies. ![]() In fact the idea of a tractor larger than the D9 was mooted as far back as 1955!īeginning in 1973, several test “mules” were constructed to prove some of the designs and to iron out the bugs that invariably appear in a new machine, especially one as large and radical as the D10. It is interesting to note that none of Caterpillar’s competition offers a machine in this drive configuration.Ĭaterpillar began serious design development of what was to become the D10 in 1969 in response to requests for a tractor larger than the (then) current D9G. It wasn’t until Caterpillar introduced its D10 that the idea again came to public attention.įollowing the introduction of the D10, the entire Caterpillar range of track type tractors have received the elevated sprocket design at one time or another, with the exception of the D3. The concept of an elevated sprocket drive wasn’t a new one and dated back to C.L.Best’s model 45 “Humpback” of 1914 and Cletrac’s F-series tractor of 1934. On its introduction in 1977, the Caterpillar D10 raised quite a few eyebrows: firstly because of its sheer size and secondly the odd configuration of the undercarriage.
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