Grading Tractor and HD Box Blade vs. a small Dozer?

[fried1765]

I started out renting a John Deere 450G dozer on my land and quickly realized it was too small for what I wanted to do. It couldn't break through the hard packed, dry red clay, and when pushing a full blade of dirt, it would quickly become too much and spin its tracks or kill the engine. It was great at shaping and spreading loose dirt. I bought a bigger Case dozer similar in size to a D6 at 170 hp. It does everything I want a dozer to do. It's also a never ending project of fixing things. I could never afford to rent one to do everything I want to do, or hire it out, so wrenching on it is how I save money. Hoses go all the time, cylinders fail one at a time until you've rebuilt every one of them. Then I think they start the process all over again. Branches are your worse enemy. Never run over them, they will catch on the tracks and then get through your belly pans and break something. I had a small, green pine branch bust off the oil sensor on the side of my engine block that created quite the mess of oil spraying through the engine covers!!!

Buying means that you have it there 24/7 and you can use it for as long as you want, or just let it sit until it's needed. Never expect it to work right away, there will always be something to fix on it. Renting means killing yourself to get the most out of it while you have it. Usually it will run perfectly while you have it, but hoses break, things happen, so even renting brand new, don't be surprised if you break down.

As to your original question, I personally hated my box blade. I never became proficient at it and found it to be extremely frustrating to smooth anything out with it. I tried digging ditches along my trails with it, but I just created a mess. I tried using the back blade for filling trenches when running water lines, but found it painful twisting in my seat going backwards all the time. After sitting around in my yard for ten years, I gave it to a friend who is now experiencing the same issues I had with it.

My personal favorite way to smooth out a road or a pad is to back drag with the front bucket on my loader. I have the best control that way, and my results are always good. The dozer is great for filling trenches, or spreading dirt, or digging the pond. It doesn't move dirt very far, but for short distances, it's good. Hopefully this year I will level off about an acre to create a parking area close to my pond, build up a pad for an event center and shape a two lane road to get there. I'm also clearing trees for my fence line and it looks like a war zone with all the craters left from digging them out. I'll reshape the side of the hill with the dozer and use that dirt to fill in where the holes from the stumps.

The one thing that I find that most people don't understand is how much running a dozer beats you up. The first hour is fun, but then it turns into work, and after you've been on it all day, your beat up. Both mentally and physically. My brain feels numb, and my body is exhausted. If you break down, you are doing the repairs right where you stopped. Most of the time it's on uneven ground, or in a location that's not ideal. I've had to cut down trees and haul off debris to get to where the problem was. I've had to use my backhoe to dig a pit so I could get under the dozer, and I've resorted to digging with a small, garden hand shovel to get to where I needed to be.

Whatever you do, NEVER GET STUCK in the mud with a dozer!!!!!

Hope this helps,
Eddie

The lesson here is obvious: Unless you are a ********* DO NOT buy a dozer!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I love running a dozer. I would buy.
My dad bought a small 1010 crawler, with a blade we could only angle manually. Yes, it broke down, but we made so much with it, it was worth it. He finally sold it several yrs ago, for more than he paid for it.

 

[Oldoak]

Just proves how true the old axiom is "To each, their own".

Years back I purchased a well worn J.D. 350B crawler loader. I thoroughly enjoyed working with it but found it too small to be efficient for my intended use. Also it quickly became a money pit when the reverser and final drives needed work.

I then sold it for less than I had paid for it. I probably paid too much to begin with. Like was suggested by others, I should have hired a professional to at least get his advice while still realizing there are no guarantees.

Would I like to have another crawler? I certainly would. But my lesson was learned. Not for me. I am older and wiser now and also being older, no longer have the strength to be my own mechanic on heavy equipment such as crawlers. Although I am still open to renting one should the need arise.

Oh well, that's my story.

 

[Deere Dude]

Just proves how true the old axiom is "To each, their own".
Like was suggested by others, I should have hired a professional to at least get his advice while still realizing there are no guarantees.

If you could even get an owner operator or a good mechanic to run it for an hour putting it through the paces, I think that would be a big help locating hidden issues.

 

[TerryR]

When I was growing up in California in the 1950's my Dad ran IH TD-40's, which were already obsolete. Everyone there used track engines for tillage to avoid compacting the heavy clay soil, and I suppose there weren't good rubber-tired options then. The 40's were cheap, and just small enough to be hauled on our flat-bed farm trucks. Dad was known to buy two - one with a busted final drive housing and another that had put a connecting rod through the block and pan, and put the pieces together.

He kept our top farm hands employed most winters rebuilding one of them -- final drive, transmission, engine, even the fuel injector pump -- in our farm shop. They ran well when kept up, but you needed to tools and expertise to do it. Our local IH dealer (my Mom's uncle) hated that he had to keep parts for them in stock, but he did.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I have mixed feelings on this one. I read through your intended uses several times. Each time I came to the same conclusion. I would rent a rubber tracked bobcat to do what you want to do. If you need to buy something then buy a bobcat but I would leave the crawler alone unless you like to work slow and have your body shook to pieces at the end of each day.

That machine has looked like it's been parked for while. Usually there is a reason for that.

I've run both and they each have pro's and con's but in the end a good bobcat operator will run circles around a small cat in terms of the amount of work that gets done at the end of the day. The cat will undoubtedly push more but the maneuverability of the bobcat wins the day.

 

[Surreal001]

I have mixed feelings on this one. I read through your intended uses several times. Each time I came to the same conclusion. I would rent a rubber tracked bobcat to do what you want to do. If you need to buy something then buy a bobcat but I would leave the crawler alone unless you like to work slow and have your body shook to pieces at the end of each day.

That machine has looked like it's been parked for while. Usually there is a reason for that.

I've run both and they each have pro's and con's but in the end a good bobcat operator will run circles around a small cat in terms of the amount of work that gets done at the end of the day. The cat will undoubtedly push more but the maneuverability of the bobcat wins the day.

This is good advice. While I too dream of owning a dozer, a tracked skid steer is a better option in the long run, and gives you more toy options as well. Also, a skid steer can be hauled by pick up and trailer. That dozer is going to require some major hauling equipment to get home!

 

[jenkinsph]

My first dozer was a Deere 450 used and well worn. It was easy to buy but I had to work on it constantly. My next dozer was a brand new Deere 850 it was easy to operate and ran very well but it was hard to pay for. Just my experience.

I find old tractors a lot easier to work on and a lot more dependable than old dozers.

 

[sd455dan]

The lesson here is obvious: Unless you are a ********* DO NOT buy a dozer!

Well I wouldn't go that far...

- Having a JD 550 has been great, - a little grease, adjust track tension , oil,filter changes.

That's been about it- and when moving dirt, pushing over trees, or digging stumps out- it has been very helpful.

No machine is perfect but if you check it out carefully and buy at a good price, there are more than a few of us that got a Whole lot of work done and can still get our money out of a dozer if the need arises- but It is nice having it when you need it.

I agree about how your body feels at the end of a long day on a dozer- even the bones hurt:laughing:

If I was the OP a mini EX would be on the radar , imo just more versatile and still have many of the attributes of a dozer if you can find one of similar weight with a blade...but more $$
as far as skid steers go I sold mine... but each their own

 

[Rustyiron]

You just need to be careful purchasing, but it will always be a....