Engineered and manufactured in Dubuque, Iowa, the new 1050K crawler dozer has more power and weight than its J-Series predecessor and is, in fact, the largest, most powerful dozer ever built by John Deere. According to the company, the new dozer is aimed at taking on large-scale jobs, such as mining, quarrying, and road building.
The 1050K uses a 317-net-horsepower, Tier 4-Final John Deere PowerTech engine and a completely redesigned dual-path hydrostatic transmission. A new Eco-mode feature, says the company, “optimizes fuel economy, while maintaining ground speed by automatically adjusting engine speed and transmission settings based on load.” The system, says Deere, has the potential to reduce fuel consumption up to 25 percent, with no loss in productivity in many applications.
John Deere 1050K Specifications
- Engine: John Deere PowerTech PSS 6135
- Rated power: 317 net horsepower
- Displacement: 13.5 liter
- Base weight (Full-U): 95,000 pounds
- Drawbar pull: 47,600 pounds @ 1.2 mph
- Hydraulic flow: 81 gpm
- Hydraulic pressure: 3,625 psi
- Blade types: Semi-U/Full-U
- Blade capacity: 12.7/14.9 cubic yards
- Track on ground: 134.6 inches
The 1050K’s oval-track undercarriage, with sealed and lubricated chains, is designed, says Deere, with “only one wear-causing, forward-travel flex point.” Double-reduction planetary final drives are mounted independently of the track frames, isolating them from shock loads.
In the cab, a high-back suspension seat is angled 15 degrees to provide a comfortable view of the ripper, and a joystick controller is designed to provide intuitive, low-effort control of steering, direction, and ground speed. The Total Machine Control monitor allows operators to select a decelerator mode (and its response), forward/reverse ground-speed ranges, steering modulation, directional shift rate, and forward/reverse speed ratios.
An updated LCD display monitor provides enhanced onboard diagnostics with real-time values for temperatures, pressures and speeds. Transmission temperature is monitored to avoid damaging the hydrostatic drive system, and when maximum ground speed is set, the power-management system automatically maintains peak engine speed and power efficiency without stalling or shifting.
The hydraulic power-pitch option allows controlling blade pitch from the cab, but blade pitch also is adjustable via three mounting locations to accommodate a range of applications and materials. Programmable return-to-pitch settings allow presetting blade-pitch positions, which can be activated with the push of a button.
With standard electro-hydraulic controls, the 1050K is grade-control ready, making the addition of a grade-control system, says Deere, “as easy as plugging in the components, calibrating and going to work.” The 1050K can accommodate Trimble, Topcon or Leica systems, and the Topcon 3D-MC2 system is available for factory installation. The 1050K’s WorkSight system is a suite of telematics solutions based on the company’s JDLink monitoring system, which provides real-time machine location, utilization information, and machine-health prognostics.
