Cat Unveils New D7 Dozer: Bigger, Stronger, Smarter

Updated Sep 25, 2020
The Cat D7 was unveiled Monday at ConExpo 2020.The Cat D7 was unveiled Monday at ConExpo 2020.

A day before the crowds descended upon ConExpo-Con/Agg 2020 in Las Vegas, Caterpillar unveiled it’s all new D7 dozer model. The new D7 packs more power, more weight, and potentially huge productivity gains over its predecessors.

You can check out all the details in this video or read on below.

As has been the case with all of Cat’s new machines in the last year or so, the new D7 is subject to Cat’s new naming convention that drops letters from its model names. As such, this new D7 replaces the D7E and D7R.

The new D7 features a High Drive undercarriage design that Cat says provides a smoother ride, better stability thanks to a lower center of gravity, long track life and easy clean out of accumulated dirt and other material thanks to all the room between the track and the roller frame.

Cat says the High Drive undercarriage is also easier to repair and rebuild thanks to modular component design.

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The D7 will be available in standard or low ground pressure configurations with a variety of blade and track shoe choices.

Cat dozer product manager Sam Meeker told us that Cat felt the old D7E was a bit too close in terms of capability to the new D6. So, on this new D7, Cat has bumped up the weight, horsepower and blade size to get this machine’s charts closer to that of the D8.

The D7 is powered by a Cat 9.3B engine delivering a 12-percent bump in horsepower to 265 hp and features a fully automatic 4-speed transmission like the one found on the D6 and D8T.

Cat bumped up the weight of the D7 by about 6 percent. The machine now weighs in at a range between 62,000 and 65,000 pounds depending on the configuration. Blade capacity on the D7 has increased by 10 percent.

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In addition to the spec bumps, the D7 also features higher drawbar power and improved winch and ripper performance.

The result? Cat says you’ll be able to move up to 8 percent more material with the new D7 than you were able to move with the D7E.

And the D7 is not just a rebadge of the D7R, which also featured a high drive undercarriage. The D7 delivers a productivity boost of 11 percent over the D7R while being 8 percent more fuel efficient. Plus the new blades on the D7 are larger and it has the new 4-speed automatic transmission that the D7R lacks.

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The D7 also features the upgraded, redesigned cab found on the new D5 and D6 dozer models. The cab features more space, better visibility, a highly adjustable seat and controls for more comfort and a 10-inch touchscreen display. A high-definition rearview camera is standard.

The other half of the capability story on the D7 is the huge productivity gains that Cat says can be achieved by equipping the dozer with several operator assist technologies.

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Those include slope indicate, slope assist, Cat Grade with 3D, a blade load monitor, Cat’s second generation Stable Blade feature, traction control and AutoCarry, a feature which automatically lifts and lowers the blade to maintain more consistent blade loads and limit track slip.

When making use of these technologies, Cat says operators can increase productivity by up to 50 percent on the D7 over the D7E.

Finally on the technology side, you can order the D7 remote control ready with wiring and hardware direct from the factory.

Waste/Landfill, Forestry and Pipeline configurations of the D7 will also be available from the factory. Each of these specialized configurations are heavily modified with purpose-built components, application-specific undercarriages and speciality blades.