Caterpillar has been upgrading various machine categories to its “next generation” platform and used the recent Public Works Expo in Chicago to introduce the 140 LVR motor grader.
“This machine is an all-new ground-up design for us,” said Eric Kohout, Cat’s product application specialist for motor graders. “This is a lever machine, so there are steering wheel levers, but we also have a joystick offering as well [that was shown at Bauma in April].”
“The idea is the cab and controls could be different, but a lot of the content on the rest of the machine would be common between that lever machine or that joystick machine,” he says. “With the 140 you’ve got your choice of the controls, lever and steering wheel, lever or joysticks, and also rear tandem drive or all-wheel drive.”
Choices abound on the machine, Kohout says, specifically so that customers can equip it to match graders they may already have.
“This machine can easily have front attachments put on,” Kohout says. “You can put a front straight dozer blade on to be able to knock down piles. You can add a snowplow or other attachments and a front scarifier. Or, if you don't want that and you just need a weight on the front, you can bolt on a push block counterweight on the front of this machine.”
On the rear of the 140, the plate is common with the company’s H Series or M1, M2, and M3 graders.
Cat 140 grader powertrain
“When it comes to all-wheel drive or rear tandem, we're using a lot of the same technologies we already have out there; if it's a rear tandem machine, we still have that live spindle design that we've always had with the oil bathed bearings in there, large bearings,” Kohout says.
“In terms of the all-wheel drive, we still have that capability of obviously all four or six wheels to move the machine along. We also have steering compensation built into it. If you have that all-wheel drive system on, you start to go into a turn, you speed up the outside wheel and slow down the inside to help pull that machine around to be able to make it more maneuverable,” Kouhout says.
“Or, if you have an application where you just need to have the front wheels pull you along, you can put the creep mode on and just adjust from zero to five miles an hour to be able to have the front wheels pull you along as you go.”
The new cab is built for increased visibility, a design that was borrowed from the first next generation model that was upgraded, the 120. The C pillar has been reduced and placed directly behind the operator with side windows.
Learn about the history of motor graders
There are larger windows overall, and a standard rearview camera, along with an option for a 360-degree high-definition camera with a people detection system that features audible and visual alerts.
Technology adaptation
The camera feeds into a robust 10-inch touchscreen, which also provides access to next generation tech such as Cat Grade.
As usual, Cat has made it easy for users to upgrade their technology. Additional sensors and wiring harnesses are at the ready for conversion to Cat Grade 3D, the company's mastless integrated grade control, and Cross Slope Assist.
Cross Slope Assist now includes a position-sensing lift cylinder and two sensors to simplify mastless upgrades. It allows the operator to manually control one end of the moldboard while the system controls the other.
The Attachment Ready Option provides sensor-ready swivel mountings for faster aftermarket attachment installation.
"If you'd like, this will be an integrated, mastless system on a lever machine," Kohout says. "So now, if you have a design file, you feed corrections into that machine. You no longer have two masts on the moldboard.
"What the operators absolutely love is that now they can focus on their work," he says. "They're not worried about catching a mast on a tree. They're not worried about putting it into the cab because they need just a little more moldboard angle.
The 140 LVR also has Stable Blade available, which is an anti-bounce system. "If you're blading with six tires at speed, with certain materials the blade can start to lope a little bit," Kohout says. "It automatically throttles back so you don't get a scenario where you have to rework.
"We're trying to get novice operators up to speed and help veteran operators work easier," Kohout says.
Cat 140 LVR Motor Grader Specifications
- Engine: Cat C7.1
- Horsepower: 248
- Operating weight: 42,542.6 lb.
- Blade width: 14'
About the Author
Frank Raczon
Raczon’s writing career spans nearly 25 years, including magazine publishing and public relations work with some of the industry’s major equipment manufacturers. He has won numerous awards in his career, including nods from the Construction Writers Association, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, and BtoB magazine. He is responsible for the magazine's Buying Files.