Komatsu’s Next-Gen D175AX-10 Bulldozer Completely Redesigned

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Bryan Furnace

What's going on, everyone? Welcome back to Equipment World. You're watching the dirt. I'm your host, Bryan. And today we're here to talk about Komatsu's new release of the D175. This is the dozer that is replacing the old D 55. And today, Robert Hussey is here to tell us all of the details about the changes.

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Bryan Furnace

Well, Robert, thanks for being on the dirt today. I really appreciate your time, Bryan.

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Robert Hussey

Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.

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Bryan Furnace

Yeah, I am too, because we're talking big dozers and I am a fan of big dozers. So the first question I have for you is this new D175. What's the idea behind the name change of the model?

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Robert Hussey

So Bryan it’s funny as we are going through the development of this tractor, we noticed that there's just so much gain in productivity, performance and what the capabilities of this tractor are that we felt like it was time for this machine to graduate from the 155 up to the 175. If you look at history, it's going to kind of predate you and I.

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Robert Hussey

But you look back to 355 eventually became the 375, the D455 became the 475. And based on the value package we put together here, with the increase in performance of this tractor, we felt like it was time now in 2026, to let the 155 graduate up into that 175 class. So if it ends in 75 and it's a two, it's going to be one of your big outside push arm high production tractors.

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Bryan Furnace

Gotcha. So I went through read some of the documentation. And you guys are boasting a 25% increase in productive, which is that's substantial. And I guess my question is the guy that runs these things, what drives that number? What are you talking about when you say 25% more production?

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Robert Hussey

Yes, that 25% production increase is really the culmination of a lot of the powertrain and structural improvements to this tractor. So it starts at the heartbeat of the machine with the engine. So this machine is powered by the DBA 127 engine. It's a brand new engine that makes that we're starting to put out in these next gen machines.

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Robert Hussey

So you'll see in the 460 the WA475. 48511. And now in the D 175. And that engines putting out 450 horsepower, which is the highest in this size class. But if you're going to put all that horsepower into the engine, doesn't really matter if you can't find a way to get that to the ground. And so the operator can feel it and move it.

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Robert Hussey

So we've also developed a new transmission as well as a new steering system, and increased the track of ground of this machine so that all 450, those horsepower are making its way through the power line down to the tracks and get behind the blade. Also, big improvement for this tractor is we now have a 13.9 yard semi blade, which enables all that horsepower to be realized on the business and money making end of this tractor.

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Bryan Furnace

Awesome. And this is a hydrostatic machine.

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Robert Hussey

Correct hydrostatic steering, but it is still a traditional torque converter. Large dozer.

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Bryan Furnace

Gotcha. So what are some of the other updates and upgrades that are coming on the D 175 but before we get into that, I want to take a second to tell you about the sponsor of this video, Chevron Lubricants.

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Bryan Furnace

So what are some of the other updates and upgrades that are coming on the D? 175.

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Robert Hussey

Yeah, so I want to start. We kind of talked a little bit about the engine. I want to talk about the transmission and the steering system to kick it off. So if you look at the 155, it was a really solid tractor for us. But sometimes operators had trouble finding the right speed for the job and what they needed the machine to do.

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Robert Hussey

So now we've gone to a true for speed for clutch transmission, and within each speed there's different speed settings that adjust the engine output for that travel speed. So you can actually have 30 different travel speeds for this tractor. So it's not infinitely variable like it's smaller siblings like the D 71. But you can find a speed that will work for your application.

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Robert Hussey

Turning is also so important with these tractors. And so we have an all new steering system on this tractor. So now there's three different ways you can steer a D 175. You can spin turn it. So one track going forward one going in reverse. Really really tight maneuverability. Maybe you're in a tight spot and you don't want to reverse all the way down.

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Robert Hussey

You can turn the tractor around, come back down and forward. You can power turn it. So now that's when you have a blade load, and you want to keep that blade loaded while you're pushing off to the side. We're going to speed up the opposite track and keep that power coming through. And now what's new for this tractor?

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Robert Hussey

And really cool because we've taken this from like our the 375 and 475. It's a larger collection brake dozers as you can pivot turn a D 175. So that means is I'm going to lock one track, keep the other track going and basically spinning a 180 just like a larger tractor. And I should mention all of this is done with a dedicated steering pump.

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Robert Hussey

In the past, if some of our older models that were using a common system, you know, if you tried to multifunction it was it was kind of one of the areas we felt we needed to improve. So now when you're pushing with a blade load or your pivot turning, you've got dedicated flow for your steering and then your work equipment is on its own.

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Robert Hussey

Implement pump and so you can get really good multifunction performance out of this tractor.

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Bryan Furnace

So this is where the operator in me gets curious. Is this a setting? Is my steering going to be a setting that I'm selecting in the menus. Or is it all done just in how I'm controlling the handle.

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Robert Hussey

So that's a that's a great question for the operator in you is we've done a really nice job at making these steering modes quick and easy to access. So there is a pivot turn setting in the monitor that is tied to your customizable ID. As long as that's enabled, the way it works is I'm running the tractor, and as I move the steering lever to the right, it's power turn power turn power turn.

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Robert Hussey

And at the very end there's a slight detent. You'll feel it click, and that's when your tracks are going to lock and allow you to pivot. Turn so you don't really. And if you don't want it to pivot turn you only want power turn. You can turn the pivot turn mode off and you'll just get a power turn all the way like the prior model was.

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Robert Hussey

And spin turn. Same thing. It's just a click of the button on the joystick, and you have to be a neutral and the tractor will spin around. So really when we design this tractor, we'll talk a little bit more about some of the operator features in the cab. But we really wanted to put all this performance in the tractor, but make it easy to learn and easy to access and make things easy to find so that they're used.

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Bryan Furnace

Yeah, it sounds super intuitive.

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Robert Hussey

Next thing you want to hit on is let's talk a little bit about the undercarriage on this tractor. So up until the D175AX ten, the prior models had a seven roller undercarriage. And so now we've gone to an eight roller undercarriage like you would see on a 375 or D 475. And there's some really good advantages and improvements that have been made here.

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Robert Hussey

So the first is the front idler. On the older models it was a just horizontal oscillation with the cannon extension. So if I was on a D155AX-8 and I hit a rock on one of my tracks, kind of what would happen is that front Idolator would oscillate in horizontally and it would bounce me up. Well, now we have put oscillating front idlers on our tractors.

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Robert Hussey

So if I'm an operator and I'm dozing along and I hit a rock now the idler is going to oscillate up, allow the tractor to climb up and then those the bogie suspension is going to do its thing and put me back down on the ground with much less impact shock. So it's way more comfortable to operate. But we didn't stop there.

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Robert Hussey

I mean, the the ride comfort improvements span multiple different facets. A lot of people will say, you know, these two cabs are really quiet. You don't get a lot of vibration. And it's actually pretty simple. Why is all of our cabs are mounted on viscous mounts? So that operator cab is completely isolated from the vibration that comes with operating a tractor, whether it's from the tracks, from the engine, from the components.

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Robert Hussey

And it really takes that vibration away so that the operators are hanging out in the cab and they're like, it's actually pretty quiet in here.

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Bryan Furnace

That's something I've always noticed about machines, is you spend 12 to 14 hours a day in a machine, and noise becomes far more taxing than you think it will be. And and machines have always been you get in the cab and it's just quiet. I don't have to blast the radio to hear my song.

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Robert Hussey

Well, it's. I'm glad you mentioned the cab, because, I mean, obviously I like big engines. I like the transmissions. I like that, you know, that the gear part. But the cab is probably my favorite feature on this tractor. This is the first machine with our next generation large dozer cab, and we spent years sitting around talking to each other, arguing about, hey, what should the cab look like?

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Robert Hussey

How should it be laid out? What what what makes a dozer cab great? And I'm so proud of where we ended up with the D175. So if there's one theme with this cab is when you're in the C, every control, every switch, everything you need to access is within your line of sight and it's within arm's reach.

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Robert Hussey

So there's no more lean up clicking through a monitor. And if you click too many times, you got to click like seven more to get back to being where you were. It is all on your right hand pillar touch screen. Easy to get to, easy to work through. We also have added another monitor on this machine directly above it on the pillar, and that's for our Common Vision system.

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Robert Hussey

That's a standard piece for North America. It's a four camera all around monitoring system. And look big dozers. Visibility is always a challenge. So with some of these improvements, with our LED lights and with Komvision and even how the cab glass has been repositioned, this is a really good visibility machine for for being in this size class.

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Bryan Furnace

That's awesome. Yeah, that is one of the big hazards, I would say, of a large dozer both in front and back, is just that lack of visibility up close to the machine.

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Robert Hussey

But outside of the cab, there are a few more upgrades on this tractor I wanted to hit on, and a lot of this has to do with reliability, serviceability, and durability. So the main frame of this tractor now actually is a you can almost think of it as a smaller version of a D 375 frame. So if you looked at the older model, the cooling package actually couldn't be removed.

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Robert Hussey

The hard nose was was part of that structure. Well, now with our cooling package you can actually crane the whole thing out, rebuild it, put it right back in like you would on a mining tractor. And speaking of the cooling package, Bryan, I'm proud to tell you this machine has side by side single plane cooling. So if anyone has any history with overheats or any issues with kind of heat balance of the tractor, now we're bringing the air in its passing through one core going out and keep the machine nice and cool and efficient.

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Bryan Furnace

So as a non mechanic, I'm assuming what that is, is you're no longer stacking that that cooling stack. It's separated out so that it's like you said in and out.

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Robert Hussey

Exactly. It also makes changing the coolers a lot easier because you don't have to deconstruct the core sandwich if you will. It's a nice serviceability improvement on this tractor.

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Bryan Furnace

I was going to say even clogging with dust and being able to clean between them was always a pain to to get in there and blow that dust out. So yeah, to have the single stack is is huge.

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Robert Hussey

So some of the other serviceability improvements we've made is this machine does not have EGR or exhaust gas recirculation. And so, you know, if we could go back to the early 2000 and kind of when this stuff was in research, you know, I think a lot of the OEMs would have tried to to go down a route where we could move away from EGR with just some of the reliability challenges that you can get into.

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Robert Hussey

I think everyone knows that they just are generally a sensitive component, and the way we've done that now is by going to higher cylinder temps, and so we're able to clean up the exhaust without having to recirculate it back into the engine. The machine still does have a DPF and an SCR system, so it does use death, but we've also made some improvements with the DPF to extend the life and push that interval out.

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Robert Hussey

And so the first improvement is the diameter of the went from 12in to 14in. So the way you could think of that is as you know, you just got more room for ash to accumulate before it's time to burn it and clean it out. And then the other way we've done it is this machine now has extended maintenance intervals for the engine oil up to 1000 hours when you're using ultra low ash.

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Robert Hussey

And so by taking the ash out of the way and having a larger DPF at that 14 diameter canister, we're saying that you can expect almost 1600 zero hours out of this DPF before you'd have to change it out.

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Bryan Furnace

Wow. And it is. It's interesting. I've got some experience with a couple of manufacturers, and they've got these ultra low ash formulations out now that just, you know, take your traditional machine and it's extended the life out. Now adding what you guys have to it 16,000 hours. That's incredible. You're getting that much life out of a DPF before it has to come off and get washed.

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Robert Hussey

Yeah, it's it's really exciting. And so, you know, with these big tractors, I think we always want to talk about productivity and how much material it can move. But I'm so proud of our engineering team and what they've designed here with with our input, because I really believe that we've addressed all the key major challenges that that you would you would see in this size class and what you'd want out of an OEM.

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Robert Hussey

It's truly a white paper redesign tractor that we think is the future here for for to and large dozers.

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Bryan Furnace

That's awesome. So my final question for you is what are future plans for the D175?

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Robert Hussey

It is a lot. So we're going to release the model this year. In 2026 you'll have your standard machine. And then looking into 27 you're probably familiar with our imc Dozer and Smart Construction. We'll be releasing an intelligent machine control version of this. So just like the 155 had, the one ax and the ax, I same thing here for the 175.

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Robert Hussey

But we also think there's a lot of segment growth beyond just the dirt mining segment. So we're also working on our waste handler version of this machine. We'll see in a few years here as well as a low ground pressure spec. So while the story for the 175 starts here in 2026, be on the lookout from come out over the next few years to see some more arrangements and configurations out there to meet some of these applications where they're required.

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Bryan Furnace

That's awesome. Well, Robert, thank you for all of this information. I know I'm super excited at the possibility of getting in the seed. One of these things, and especially to see what you guys do with it going forward with the intelligent machine control that that's awesome on of those are that size that will that will be some cool capabilities.

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Bryan Furnace

Well, thanks again to Robert for coming on the show to tell us about the new D175. This looks to be an awesome machine. The fact that it has an EGR list motor is huge, and I'm loving the 25% production increase. This is going to be an all around awesome machine to watch on the job site. So as always, I hope this helps you and your business.

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Bryan Furnace

We'll catch you on the next episode of The Dirt.