Caterpillar PR105 – specifications

The register lists here 5 versions with 57.4 to 750 kW from engines of 3,870.6 to 27,001 cm³ displacement; a Perkins 4.236 is recorded at the lower end of the range and a Caterpillar 3412 at the upper end.

Cold planers such as the PR range remove asphalt or concrete pavement layer by layer before a road is rebuilt; the span from compact machines for repair work on pavements and narrow areas to large mills for full-width reconstruction of multi-lane roads makes the programme usable across road construction generally.

Cutting width matches the length of the milling drum, while cutting depth is adjusted steplessly via the chassis height and ranges from a few millimetres to full layer thickness. The biggest ongoing cost factor here is not the engine or chassis but the carbide-tipped, replaceable picks on the drum: they wear especially fast on hard, aggregate-rich asphalt or concrete and need regular replacement. A water spray system cools the drum and picks and binds the resulting dust. A conveyor carries the milled material sideways or forward onto waiting trucks, where it can be reused as reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP).

On used machines, wear on the milling drum and tool holders, the condition of the conveyor system, engine hours and the condition of the respective diesel engine, tightness of the hydraulics and the condition of the track undercarriage all matter; spare parts and service run through the Caterpillar dealer network.