How did you know it was time to sell?

   / How did you know it was time to sell? #1  

ultrarunner

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Apr 6, 2004
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Location
SF Bay Area-Ca Olympia WA Salzburg Austria
Tractor
Cat D3, Deere 110 TLB, Kubota BX23 and L3800 and RTV900 with restored 1948 Deere M, 1949 Farmall Cub, 1953 Ford Jubliee and 1957 Ford 740 Row Crop, Craftsman Mower, Deere 350C Dozer 50 assorted vehicles from 1905 to 2006
For the last 17 years I have owned a Cat D3 Dozer, 6-way blade with rippers.

I bought it to put in and maintain required fire trails on family property... it's just shy of 16,000 pounds...

Not having a truck or trailer with enough capacity to tow it has been a good thing because it has stopped a lot of people from asking to borrow it.

Much of the family property has been taken over by the park district and while I enjoy my seat time... I can dress the fire trails on the remaining few acres in a couple of hours...

Dozer worked great cutting in trails... some of which was very rocky and also moving downed trees. If I parted with it, I will still have my Deere 110 TLB and the BX23.

So the dilemma is sell or keep...

Would it even bring enough for it to make selling worthwhile... at a buck a pound it would be 16k...

The one thing I don't want to happen is for it to become yard art...
 
   / How did you know it was time to sell? #2  
It would seem that once you have the trails put in, you could maintain them with a tractor and a brush hog.

As long as you fire the dozer up and continue to maintain it, it isn't "yard art".

Hmmm, so the D3 is relatively new, for Caterpillar models at least, introduced in 1973, I think. So you aren't talking about a 70 year old D2 or D4. Most (or all) would have factory ROPS.

Prices seem to be $8K to $15K for 70's and early 80's models, and $10K to $20K for 80's and early 90's models, depending on the condition, of course.

$1 per pound? Scrap is closer to $0.10 per pound.

For a good idea of values, try googling:

D3 Caterpillar site:craigslist.org

The value may not go down a lot in the future, but it likely won't keep up with inflation either. And, if you have a major breakdown, perhaps due to infrequent use, then your value plummets.
 
   / How did you know it was time to sell? #3  
How can it not keep up with inflation. You are getting 1 percent on passbook savings. Paid for itself did it not.
 
   / How did you know it was time to sell?
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Good points...

Price per pound was my feeble attempt at humor.

It has ROPS and seat belt as far as safety equipment.

I figure a battery every couple of years, a hydro line every so often and fluids... and one set of steering/brake bands about 10 years ago...

I think your values are spot on... the one wild card is those in the business need tier 3 or better in their fleets here in CA... not that anyone is buying a 30+ year old machine for busines use.
 
   / How did you know it was time to sell? #5  
How can it not keep up with inflation. You are getting 1 percent on passbook savings. Paid for itself did it not.

Most equipment depreciates over time. I didn't think about the EPA requirements that Ultrarunner mentioned which could turn perfectly good equipment into scrap metal.

In fact, it might not be a bad idea to try to send the dozer to Nevada or a neighboring state.

It is possible that at about this age, 30 years or so, the dozer will in fact be at near its minimum value, and if maintained, it could slowly appreciate, but I wouldn't bet my savings on 30 year old iron apreciating. It is also quite possible that future collectors will seek out equipment that fits in the garage.

The ROPS, and I assume electric starter motor gives it a good functional appeal, but the the pre-ROPS dozers with pony engines gives good nostalgic appeal.
 
   / How did you know it was time to sell? #6  
We had a D7 for a few years. Transmission let go and it was going to cost more to put that in than we gave for the dozer. Ended up selling it to someone that works on dozers and buying a much newer Deere 750.
 
   / How did you know it was time to sell? #7  
I had a JD 3020 row crop tractor, cab and loader that seldom got used. After several years I got tired of spending $200 to $500 every year on it to keep it in good shape and ready to use. That is when I decided to sell it. 72 hours after I put it on Craigs List it sold and I had cash in my hand.
 
   / How did you know it was time to sell? #8  
Ultrarunner, I surely wish you were closer. I'd love to have a little D3 with scarifiers. I think I can move/dig just fine with my TLB, but smoothing, leveling, and making roads/trails through woods with minimum damage are all things those little machines do well. Unfortunately, the transport costs to N. Texas would make the deal bad for both of us. It sure gets me thinking though. . . sigh!:)

Of course, my ideal dozer would have a cab with air/heat, but I still have not found one within my budget and I have priorities that tell me there are many things I need to spend money on besides more equipment.
 
   / How did you know it was time to sell? #9  
Of course, my ideal dozer would have a cab with air/heat, but I still have not found one within my budget and I have priorities that tell me there are many things I need to spend money on besides more equipment.

Good Afternoon Jim,
Wow your way fussier than me !!! :)

Ultrarunner, I would think that if you can maintain your trails with your other equipment, then sell it if you can get your price...

Of course there is nothing like seat time in a dozer ! ;)
 
   / How did you know it was time to sell?
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Scott/Jinman

Pushing dirt with the Dozer is a great stress reliever... it's just I'm down to less than 5 acres.

Mostly all I do now is back-drag the blade in reverse to clean up the trails once each Spring when the moisture is just right.

One year, I tried simply mowing... it worked great until I hit a patch where some baseball to footfall size stones had sloughed of the bank... really screwed up the mower!

Thought about looking into a ratchet rake... called my local Tractor Supply and others... local being several counties away, all said I would have to order one as they didn't stock ratchet rakes.

Living in a metropolitan city of 400k is like being in the middle of know where for small tractors.

Of course, Peterson CAT is 5 minutes away and has great service...

If I was ever down to one tractor... it would be my little BX23. Easy to store inside, fuel efficient and very versatile in a small package.
 
 
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