Friend is getting a D8!

[N80]

A friend of mine who has property across the road from my country place is getting a Caterpillar D8 to clear some land for pasture. He has indicated that I could use it (or have him use it) to clear some small areas on my property as well. It is an older one. His uncle, who is my brother-in-law and who owns the cattle farm next to my place, showed me a picture of it. It is an older model without the raised drive sprocket, which means it is probably a D8K from late 70's early 80's. It looks gigantic.

Around here this type of equipment often becomes "community property" with whoever uses it helping with repair and maintenance costs. Don't ask me why or how it works but it does.

Anyway, I'm just wondering a few things. How much fuel do these things use per hour? Can an average tractor owner operate one to do simple tasks? From the videos I've seen the controls look very basic but I'm sure that actual effective operation requires experience. If I were to operate it, what are common hazards and things to watch out for. It has the full ROPS but not a cab. The jobs I need doing would be clearing and smoothing a few acres with small pines and cedars (20-30 feet tall but thin). What types of goof ups would damage the machine?

It does not have a ripper but he is planning on adding one....I'm guessing a three shank.

 

[mcfarmall]

If you are a proficient tractor operator with good "common sense" regarding heavy equipment you can operate it. To be proficient with it is another story, and takes years of experience.

 

[Billrog]

I cleared 160 acres of thick jack pine in the early 1960's with one and the boss spent 10 mins. with me told me how he wanted it piled and not to back and get myself killed with a tree coming in from behind.

 

[N80]

I cleared 160 acres of thick jack pine in the early 1960's with one and the boss spent 10 mins. with me told me how he wanted it piled and not to back and get myself killed with a tree coming in from behind.

I have cleared land with my tractor/FEL and pushing piles of brush and trees is dangerous, especially bendy pines which will bend and then swing back at you like a whip. I imagine that is magnified with a big dozer since you probably wouldn't even feel the resistance.

(My grandfather lost a leg to a bulldozer that rolled over on him while clearing trees in the early 1950's)

 

[Thomas]

Don't over think it as they say,take your time for couple hours and get the feel,most all don't bog down the motor....watch out for bee hives.

 

[Gary Fowler]

The biggest obstacle to effectively using a dozer is getting up the tree and roots without getting 10 tons of dirt at the same time. Even a good operator with get some dirt. You need a root rake on the blade for piling after you push everything down, otherwise it is pretty hard to push up the timber without a lot of dirt going with it.
Collecting all that dirt leaves some holes that have to be refilled after burning the bush pile so a second use of the dozer might be necessary.

 

[oosik]

I ran a Cat D6 while in Alaska, for one day. I had/have absolutely no experience on a dozer. Everything was peachy keen - I drove it around for half an hour learning the controls - until I actually had to clear land. I was able with very little difficulty to make one large mess of dirt, brush and trees. The only thing I can say to my credit - I didn't get the dozer stuck. Clearing land with a dozer, like many other activities, is an acquired art form.

If the neighbor has experience - why not have him come over and do the work.

 

[mapper]

Be very careful around wet areas, you get stuck with a D8 you are not going to be able to pull it out with anything much smaller than it. I got involved with try to extract a D7 from a sidehill swampy patch when I was working for a big timber company in 1977. The operator had many years of experience, he was pioneering a new road and got stuck in an alder grove. The alder trees were 12"-18". We probably cut a couple of cords to throw under the tracks to no avail. The rear drum would simply pull the alders out of the ground like a weed, at one point we tried going around a clump of 7-8 alders - it sucked them all together them pulled them from the ground. We finally found a solid old growth Doug fir stump about 8' in diameter to hook on to. The 1.5" steel cable was sparking it was so tight but the stump held and the Dozer came free. (Yes we were standing way back when this was happening).
Keep in mind a D7 is considerably smaller than a D8.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It's really not the machine one wants, to learn how to run a dozer. There are many things and tricks that save both fuel and wear and tear. And yes, they are thirsty. And incredibly expensive to repair. If I owned one, only the most experienced people would ever be allowed to touch it. Probably if I was smart, I wouldn't even let myself operate it. A person that allows anyone to run his D8 must be a fool or very rich.

 

[Citydude]

I learned to run a D9H back in the early 80s. The clutches are the weakest link in the drive system. Do not load up a full dozer blade and use the clutches to turn the machine with. Straight pushes until you learn how to turn using the side to side tilt on the blade.