"ETD66SS" wrote:

I have a very basic question about this whole Siamese setup, I'm sure it has been asked/answered before, or maybe it's a stupid question...

Are the final drives and sprockets seeing more load than they were designed for with this kind of setup? One track per engine as opposed to 2 tracks per engine etc. If the drawbar pull of a D8 is xx,xxx lbs, is the drawbar pull of this machine xx,xxx lbs + y lbs? If so, what is y equal to?

I'll take a guess. I will be for sure be corrected if wrong. The drive gear is built strong enough to spin the tracks without breaking anything. Granted there is more weight on each track as they each are holding a engine and tranny instead of sharing the weight. My take is that the drivetrain will hold up and the biggest advantage will be moving a somewhat larger load faster because of the extra power available. OK, now to hear from the mathematicians whom know how to decipher such things.

So I went by my local Peterson tractor today to get some parts and I saw it hiding behind the shop.
I think your going to have to wash it to get my drool marks off of it. I'm glad I got to see it.
good work

Hey Gang,

Went to Peterson Tractor San Leandro store today for an employee party. The Siamese Twin D8 and the DD9g were on display.

Hi Glen,
Legendary stuff for sure and will be part of your legacy.

Glen, I had not read this tread until today. All I can say is WOW! All of you involved in this project have done a fantastic job. I knew about the twin Cats because of a book I bought 15 or 16 years ago! To see that one has been reproduced is fantastic!

Makes me kinda ashamed of my rusty 7u D4. I gotta get started doing some work on it. Waiting for my nephew to have a little free time to help.

Rick

Hi, O-I-H and ETD66SS.

"old-iron-habit" wrote:

I'll take a guess. I will be for sure be corrected if wrong. The drive gear is built strong enough to spin the tracks without breaking anything. Granted there is more weight on each track as they each are holding a engine and tranny instead of sharing the weight. My take is that the drivetrain will hold up and the biggest advantage will be moving a somewhat larger load faster because of the extra power available. OK, now to hear from the mathematicians whom know how to decipher such things.

Wotchyer got there is not a whole lot different from turning a normal crawler under load - you dis-engage the power from one track and it all goes to the opposite track while the machine is turning. In this case, the track that is being driven in a turn has a lot more leverage over the other track to make the turn 'cos of the width but in straight line travel, I can't see that it would be much different from a normal clutch-n-brake steering crawler in a sharp turn. The drive line on each side of a normal crawler has to be built strong enough to take full power on its own or the crawler will have a fairly short life expectancy - - - - like some of 'em did.

Hi, Glen.
Great stuff. Thanks for sharing.

Just my 0.02.

Very cool thread! Love the pics........Great Job Guys!!!!!!!!!!

hear a little video of all the hard work that when in to make such a great tractor. from Glen just thought i would share it.

Great Vid.

It was a massive undertaking making them new and also now recreating.
Thank you to all those involved and for having a Caterpillar Dealer so willing to be a key part in making history in 2016!!!