Komatsu’s new wide-blade dozer excels when low ground pressure is needed

The ability to move mass quantities of material and finish grade with one machine on a variety of jobsites is a distinct advantage. Komatsu’s new D65PX-18 Wide VPAT (Variable-pitch Power Angle Tilt) Blade Specification dozer provides it in a package that includes nearly a foot more blade width and six-inch larger track shoes than its standard counterparts. Traditional and intelligent Machine Control models are available.

The 53,925-pound dozers have 14.1-foot, six-way blades, which deliver greater grading productivity and versatility, according to Chuck Murawski, Komatsu Product Manager, Dozers, who emphasized that customers are increasingly using these size-class dozers for more than slot dozing. Komatsu beefed up the C-frame to ensure it could carry the wider blade.

“Our D65s handle the heavy lifting of stripping, cutting and pushing, and the Wide VPAT blades make them excellent finish dozers,” he said. “Each has increased steering power for greater maneuverability, and we added an automatic shift mode with a full-time torque converter that maximizes production and efficiency on both short and long pushes. The hydraulics are smooth, so operators can control the blade with little effort.”

Light footprint

The D65PX-18 Wide VPAT Blade Specification models really stand out in sensitive areas, said Murawski. Ground pressure with the 36-inch track shoes is approximately 5 PSI, which is 14 percent lower than machines with 30-inch shoes.

“This makes them ideal for projects such as landfill cells where the dozer is running across a liner or in pipeline construction where it’s operating on top of buried pipe,” reported Murawski. “Another advantage is that the shoes are centered on the track compared to being offset like some competitive models, so the load is always evenly distributed. That helps lengthen undercarriage life.”

Komatsu equipped the D65 dozers with its PLUS (Parallel Linkage Undercarriage System) Undercarriage, which features rotary bushings and larger components that undergo a unique heat-treating process for increased strength and durability.

“Customers report increased flotation and better traction with the wide, 36-inch track shoes; greater stability on slopes with the 7 percent wider track gauge; faster times when spreading material using the 14.1-foot blade; and a smooth, comfortable ride from a well-balanced machine,” said Murawski.

See more on the Komatsu D65PX-18 here!