anyone have a diesel trail blazer?

[df5152]

I was gonna buy a 350p but now i think im gonna get a trailblazer and make some real money. anyone have the diesel?

[Pile Buck]

Hi df5152, I use to have the old Trailblazer 55 D. I bought it in 1982 or 83, and sold it around 1997. Are you sure you really need the diesel? The only reasons I bought the diesel was the majority of the time it was going to be on a barge / derrick, other than outboard mixed gas, gas is just not a good idea in a marine environment. The other reason I bought it, at that time I did a lot of large beam fabrication, the majority of the time this machine ran 400-amps plus. I can remember fabing tie-back beams, welding ¾-inch thick flange doubler plates, if I wasn’t very careful I could blow out the edge / end of the ¾-inch plate. That machine had some ba!!s

[precisionworks]

I can't speak for the other TB302 owners (quite a few here that just bought one) but here's why I chose the Kohler gas engine.

Street price on the TB302 is about $3500 USD, free delivery. The 302 Diesel is about $7000 USD. The benefit goes to the diesel IF the machine is run one thousand hours per year or more (roughly four hours per day, five days per week, fifty weeks per year). Then the higher initial cost of the diesel starts to pay back.

I'm brand new to portable work, billed out eleven hours so far (in the first week). My plan is to see how much use this machine gets - if it runs a lot more than I anticipate, it'll be sold in thirty months (with six months of full factory warranty remaining) and replaced with the diesel.

If it runs a more moderate amount (maybe 300 hours per year) it makes more sense to keep the gas drive.

Even if it runs "only" 300 hours a year, it still generates $25K that wouldn't have been earned without it.

Hard to go wrong either way

[J hall]

If I was to buy a diesel, I would go to an indusrial machine like the Pro 300 or Vantage 300. I don't think the small machines have the longevity to warrant the extra expense of diesel. That and I am not a fan of 3600rpm diesels.
If you are looking at a small lightweight machine like the 302, get the kohler.
I run a ranger 305 with the kohler and it is a good machine, but I would not give $7,000.00 for it with a diesel. I would rather pay 10,000 for a 1800 rpm diesel.

[TOMWELDS]

My friend had a 302 diesel, loved it. Sold it and got a 350 diesel, says it's even better. (hope i got the model #'s correct). Both are trailblazers.

[Coalsmoke]

Dan, I made a decent post about engine choice here: here

It mainly talks about gas engines but has some important cost analysis in it with regards to engine choice between gas and diesel for a trailblazer 302.

[MMW]

My brother had a kohler trailblazer & put so many hours on it he sold it before to long & bought the deisel model. He puts 1000 hrs + on it a year. He is very happy with it. Runs stick, wire feeder & plasma from it. He was very happy with the gas model also but figured the deisel was worth the extra money because it would last longer & fuel cost would be less.---MMW---

[SMTatham]

FWIW, I would not fork over the bucks for a small high speed diesel again. I have owned a Trailblazer Pro 350 and a Pipepro 304 ( both bought used, with low hours) I am cured of 3600 rpm diesels. Why? I just prefer the soothing, smooth sound of an 1800rpm diesel. For the money; I'd buy a slightly larger machine with the slower engine. My Vantage 300 was less than 8k delivered.

[admweld]

I Run Two Diesel Drives

I run two diesel engine drives the TB300D is a great unit i bought it for the dependabilty and extra amps it replaced my 250G My 402d is a awesome machine with killer power and whisper quiet compared to the 300 or a gas driven TB .

[Wayne]

Mr

I have a TB301D, anytime I am running 160 amps or less I lock the speed control on idle. This keeps the noise down and it still welds great.
Wayne.

[Manny]

check out the latest edition of Millers PowerClick news letter, both the Bobcat 250 and Trailblazer 302 are now available with a diesel engine.
Manny

[chaikwa]

I contemplated the diesel when I bought my Trailblazer, but went with the Kohler instead due to the cost difference. Should have spent the money for the diesel!

As of right now, the TB has just over 200 hours on it and it'll be out of warranty this month. The Kohler has had more problems than I care to think about. First, the lifters collapsed and went bad. When they did it the second time, the service people dug a little deeper into the motor and found metal filings all throughout the oil journals, so they installed a short-block. After that, the alternator went bad. Now, after it gets up to operating temperature and I shut it off, then restart it, it won't idle until it's been run at high speed for at least 5 minutes. It concerns me that this machine is now out of warranty and the dealer (Kohler, not Miller), has already informed me that I'll be on my own for the next problem.

As for the welder portion of the TB, FLAWLESS! Welds like no other machine I've ever owned... if I can just keep it running! In MY opinion, Kohler should stick to making toilets!

chaikwa.

[admweld]

sorry about troubles

I had one problem in 840hrs with my 300D.I had to replace the radiator the upper hose neck cracked and started leaking antifreeze but nothing major like lifters,I,m not a big fan of foreign products but kubota has this small engine market pretty much covered. sorry about your troubles with the kohler i had a onan on my first 250g then it was all diesel after that.

[Portable Welder]

I have the miller pipe pro with about 1800 hrs on it and noticed when it reves up on high I am getting alot of smoke.

I also have a TB 302 with the kholer motor and it also has a problem idling.

I have a 1996 TB with an onan motor and that has been a great motor, the only problem Ive had with it is I had to replace the battery once.

[Coalsmoke]

so far, (4 hours), not a tick from the kohler, working exactly like it should. However, it'll get worked more than a few hundred hours before warranty is up, so if it turns out to be a dog with re-occuring issues, I'll be telling kohler to keep their block and I'll put in a used kubota. It will be interesting to see if there are any longevity differences in these brand spankin new kohlers.