Known primarily in the U.S. for its excavators and wheel loaders, Doosan is entering new territory in construction equipment with its first ever dozers.
Also unusual for the South Korean company is that the new dozers will make their world market debut in the U.S.
Doosan unveiled a “pre-prototype” of the DD100 dozer recently at the company’s testing grounds near Tucson, Arizona. (A video of the dozer in action can be seen at the end of this story.)
The dozers are being developed and built in South Korea and will be shipped to the United States. A 10-ton model is expected to arrive in the third quarter next year. A 13-ton model is slated for mid-2023.
“It’s something dealers have asked for, to help expand their business and help with their rental fleets,” said Aaron Kleingartner, Doosan product and dealer marketing manager, during a media event in Arizona. “We’re excited to see what this particular product category can do for us.”
Preliminary specs on the DD100 dozer are likely to change, but so far it runs on a 122-horsepower Doosan diesel engine that does not use a diesel particulate filter.
The company hopes to capture a portion of the $2.1 billion U.S. dozer market, 45% of which is made up of machines under 140 horsepower, Kleingartner says. The dozer additions will also give Doosan dealers and their customers a “one-stop shop” for their construction equipment needs, he said.
DoosanKleingartner summed up the company’s goals for the new dozers:
“We want to make sure we have low maintenance costs, superior power and traction, excellent visibility, and safe and easy operation. Those things are all going to be the requirements for us to be able to provide the opportunity for our customers to make the switch into this new product category.”
The cab, with lots of glass for better visibility, will be similiar to the company’s new line of excavators and wheel loaders. Controls will also be similar. Visibility is further increased by a narrow front engine box, and Doosan hid the air-intake pre-cleaner under the hood so it won’t block the operator’s view.
Other standard features include an 8-inch touchscreen display, rearview camera, front and rear LED lights, and rear side wiper blades. It will have keyless entry and push start.
Equipment WorldThe dozer blade will be six-angle, variable pitch. The standard blade will have a capacity of 2.9 cubic yards, and for the LGP model, 3.4 cubic yards.
The company says it has an agreement with Trimble to install mastless 3D machine control as an option. The controls will be standard electro-hydraulic, and the operator will be able to adjust control speed.
Mooyoung Park, Doosan engineering manager, said Doosan was mindful of the U.S. labor shortage and is designing the dozers to be easy and comfortable to operate. Safety features include a seat with an automatic cut-off sensor, so when the operator stands up, the machine will stop.
DoosanThe DD100 model, which the company rolled out at its Arizona testing grounds, is expected to undergo changes in the development process before mass production.
The concept model was a low ground pressure version weighing 25,000 pounds. The standard model will weigh about 22,000.
“So our machine is a little bit heavier than the competition, and being a heavier machine,” Park said, “you’ll have more tractive effort to accommodate the power.”
Other preliminary specs on the DD100 prototype:
- Blade height: 3 ft. 7 in.
- Blade width: 8 ft. 10 in.
- Blade angle: 22.5 degrees
- Drawbar pull: 33,721 pound-feet
- Track length: 7 ft. 7 in.
- Travel speed, max: 5.7 mph
Check out the video below to watch the prototype DD100 in action: