42131 CAT Dozer outdoor experience

[KirTech LAB]

Hi! I'd like to share some thoughts regarding a winter test-drive of my 42131 CAT D11 Dozer. The first indoor tests left very good impressions, and I was excited to try it outdoor. I still remember a short video from the official LEGO website, were the 8275 Dozer pushes snow (it was about 15 years ago :)) The set isn't new, I tried to find something similar here, but without any results. Sorry, if this topic has been already discussed.

- Let's begin with the most important function - a motion. It works very well indoor, especially on a soft surface, but for moving in snow grousers are too small. Of course the model can push some amount of snow but it tends to stuck and skid. Some additional beams on tracks will improve the situation.

- As we know, the blade elevation in a stock model works extremely slow, I tried to solve this problem by replacing gears near the actuators. Instead of 12:20 reduction I've done 20:12, but the system even couldn't complete a calibration, so I ended up with 12:12 ratio. But in outdoor conditions (it was pretty cold) it didn't work, probably because of accumulators voltage drop. So, during the test-drive I couldn't change the elevation at all. And as a result, I also didn't use a blade tilting mechanism.

- Of course, the ladder mechanism works perfectly in any conditions :)

- And the last function - a ripper. If we follow building instructions of the set, ripper won't even touch the ground, so it's necessary to change its connection points. The ripper works very well in loose snow. It would be cooler to have three teeth instead of one, but there is a risk, that it will be not a ripper but anchor, because of low tracks friction :)

So, without any modifications the model has pretty low performance in snow (yes, I'm spoilt by BuWizz and buggy-motors). But I had a lot of fun during these tests, you can check the dozer in action:

Thanks for watching!

[nerdsforprez]

Do these operate much in the snow period?  I mean other than at ski resorts or other projects where the underneath is paved asphalt?  

Btw.. I see the re-branded YT channel and EB tag (formerly Desert Eagle).  Good to see you back! I always loved your builds.  

[KirTech LAB]

11 hours ago, nerdsforprez said:

Do these operate much in the snow period?  I mean other than at ski resorts or other projects where the underneath is paved asphalt?  

Btw.. I see the re-branded YT channel and EB tag (formerly Desert Eagle).  Good to see you back! I always loved your builds.  

Do you mean the real dozers? I'm almost certain that CAT D11 is too expensive to work at ski resorts.

Thank you :) Yes, I'm trying to overcome the main reason of my inactivity - my English is getting better, and now it takes less time and suffering to read, write and film :) I have a lot of interesting videos on my main channel, I hope I'll refilm the most interesting movies for my English channel as well.