What to look for when buying a dozer help us?

[hawkeye08]

We had a couple of IHC crawlers, both well used, one with no blade, just for pulling farm equipment. It was 1942 TD14 and I used it on the 300 acres that I farmed. it was a pulling monster and did everything asked. Just normal maintenance for the period I used it. The other was a used logging unit, full cage and nice big blade. The only maintenance I recall was rebuilding the front pump attachment that was worn out. Pa used it to fill in an irrigation pond and level up some fields and dig a new irrigation pond. He was a master cat skinner and I was amazed at the dirt he could move. Mom sold them both at auction when Pa passed for around $1500 each, both in good working order, many useful hours left on them.

 

[airbiscuit]

Here is your "quick lesson"
I bought a used crawler loader many years ago.
Part one of the lesson: It will ALWAYS be too small for the job you are planning to do!
Part two of the lesson: It will break down right in the middle of the job.
Part three of the lesson: It will cost you PILES of cash to keep it running.
End of lesson!
DO NOT BUY A DOZER!..... ANY DOZER!

Here is another way to say it. Unless you want to spend huge bucks, you will end up buying an older smaller dozer that will have high maintenance/repair issues. Last summer, I had to have some road work done, and hired the local sand and gravel company that had been around for years. Back in the day they had John Deere 350 and 450s. They showed up for this job with a new John Deere 850 LPGS. It was amazing to see how much the capability had improved with hydro, sophisticated hydraulics, visibility, hp, etc. An experienced dozer operator with today's technology can do in a day what would take you a month to do, assuming you had no break downs. I think you would be money ahead to hire the big stuff done.

 

[mopardude318]

What do y'all think of this D6...? I know....don't do it!! lol I'm just lookin.

Caterpillar D6 Dozer - heavy equipment - by owner - sale

 

[sd455dan]

So far so good with the JD 550G long track-
I still think that an excavator with the required 6 way blade of about equal weight would be more useful overall

Then again Still have a field to rip and disc and the rippers with down pressure on the dozer will break it up quick.

 

[ultrarunner]

What do y'all think of this D6...? I know....don't do it!! lol I'm just lookin.

Caterpillar D6 Dozer - heavy equipment - by owner - sale

My friend with an old family farm still uses his CAT with a pony motor... Grandfather bought it 75 years ago and parts still available.

That said... for Bulldozer work I like a 6-way blade... it just makes working that much more efficient... I also like pedal steering to keep my hands free for throttle and working the blade...

If you have a job to do and the Dozer will do it... you could buy it and later sell... that is what I did...

Looks like it has been maintained with new brakes and such...

Wonder what the asking price works out to by the pound?

 

[fried1765]

What do y'all think of this D6...? I know....don't do it!! lol I'm just lookin.

Caterpillar D6 Dozer - heavy equipment - by owner - sale

Could easily turn out to be about the same hourly price as a cheap divorce attorney......$300 per hour.

 

[mopardude318]

My friend gives lectures on the building... he was an engineer and dispatched to get it done as in punch it through as once it was blazed others would come and improve it... very entertaining and glad I had a chance to hear it first person on hoe the Alaska Highway came to be.

My opinion of Dozers is limited to my experience and self taught.

Years ago the folks were directed to build and maintain fire trails on their land after the 1991 Oakland Fire Storm...

Got a couple of estimates that were out of this world... more than the rugged property was worth...

I approached Dad and said how about we buy a dozer and I learn to operate it and put in the cuts to satisfy the Fire folks... Dad was skeptical and talked to someone with a large paving and grading company who emphatically said NO WAY... because of inexperience and the steep terrain.

Being young I did not listen and found a deal on a CAT D3 with 6 way blade and rippers... Dad and I split the cost of 17K with the Dozer being mine when the job was done...

I owned that Dozer 20+ years and put in and maintained all the Fire trails... and only reluctantly sold it because I ran out of work to do...

Just realized I have never uploaded a picture of the D3 so here it is.

Bought it for 17K and sold it for 15K... did a lot of work, had a lot of fun, being I owned it I could work on my schedule AND when ground conditions were optimal which I quickly learned the importance of.

Going over 20 years of ownership I average $150 a year in parts/supplies... mostly lines, oil, coolant, etc. and I replaced both steering brakes... tore it down under an oak tree and dug in... while at Peterson Tractor I was offered jobs while waiting at the parts counter... owners had equipment to maintain and I guess doing my own work was enough to strike up conversations.

I can't say enough good things about Peterson CAT... always made sure to get me in and out... made lines while I waited and let me use their private reference manuals... treated me like I owned a fleet of tractors instead of one.

About two years after selling the D3 my brother bought a ranch and needed Dozer work... said how useful my D3 would have been... so I started looking again and brought home a JD350C that had belonged to the Irrigation District... paid 10K

So far it has not needed any parts in 3 years but did have to flush the fuel lines and tighten up some things... tracks are good... rollers so/so

The D3 had foot pedal steering which I really liked and the 350C has levers... so between steering and operating the 6-way blade my hands are always moving...

The 350C is really like a mountain goat... the D3 can be a little tipsy with a higher center of gravity.

The smaller 350 takes a lot longer to move dirt but has done some nice work...

My brother has been offered 12k for the 350C from a neighbor so I feel we did OK price-wise... the Park Service used a lot of Deere 350 to build trails and I can see why.

Like Eddie said operating can be taxing... about 4 hours on the D3 was about my limit before I got Loopy... you don't want to go right when you meant to go left on the side of a steep ravine... so I would call it a day and be mentally done for the day...

Maybe being able to do my own work made the difference.... or I have just been lucky?

The D3 is not quite double the weight of the 350... so only natural it could do more.

A nice feature of the 350 is I can actually move it with my PJ trailer and my brother's Diesel F250...

As with most things tractor related... if you can do your own work so much the better.

The D3 also saved my life... was just going down the trail not doze and a huge bay toppled and hit hard... the CAT ROPS stopped me getting killed.

This is the response I like to hear. I've always been wanting one despite the bad stories I hear on this forum. LOL. I'm confident in my mechanical abilities, can fix almost anything. I don't think my little Cletrac will be big enough. I'd like to find a similar Cat D3.

 

[ultrarunner]

I miss the D3 but ran out of projects...

Also prefer the pedal steering keeping my hands free for the throttle and six-way blade.

Now I use the Deere 350C...

Compared to the D3 with it's high operator position the 350C is like a mountain goat...

Very capable for fire trails but my hands never stop... you have to be quick between steering and operating the blade when both require hands.

The D3 was more relaxing but after a good half day of steep trail blazing I knew when to call it a day... it was mentally for me... did want to accidently go left into the ravine when I wanted to go right.

Maybe I was lucky but I found working machines hold value well... plus, renting would have never worked for my schedule and being able to do the work when conditions are optimal makes a big difference... i.e. when soil moisture is conducive to working and not so dry sparks from the blade could start California/s next woodland fire...

 

[TractorNH]

I've owned my JD 350C since about 2002 and it has always served me well without a lot of issues. The biggest thing I did to it besides putting on new tracks two years ago was to have the injector pump rebuilt which cost me about $750 about 10 years ago.

Here's a pic of mine on the dealer's lot when I bought it.


And here's a pic of it with the new tracks:

 

[mopardude318]

Those 350C are a nice lookin machine. I will consider those too.