Anyone got a compact dozer?????

[Highbeam]

Money of course. I could use it forever but the need for it has been much reduced to where a tractor can do the job plus so many other things like cut fields that the dozer can't. In most ways the tractor is an upgrade.

 

[Donman]

I had the same hankering for a dozer 20 years ago when I was a full time home builder and small subdivision developer, so I bought an International 500 and used it quite alot at first. Soon I realized that it was just too clumsy and slow and every time I needed it on the other side of the blacktop street I needed boards or old tires to get it across the street without damage. I traded it for a Bobcat 743 skid steer loader and that was the best investment I ever made. I purchased a set of wheel tracks for it that could be removes in 10 minutes. That skid track could work circles around the dozer and I got so proficient at operating it that even fine grading was no problem. There are so manyattachments that fit it these days that almost any job can be done with it. There are still certain jobs that need a tracked dozer but after having experience with both - just give me the skid steer!

 

[ultrarunner]

I had the same situation and ended up with a 1977 Cat D3 with 6 way blade and ripper. (I really was looking for something smaller that I could tow)

It has been a good machine and always ready when I need it. My Cat dealer is 3 miles from home and has had anything that I needed.

Thought about renting, but then decided that the best time for me to clean-up the fire trails is about 3 days after a good rain...and no way to plan for that. Besides it is just too much fun.

 

[Tim_in_IA]

so what are the important things to look for when checking out a dozer? I've heard the term undercairrage used quite a bit. Is this just the tracks or is it more involved than that? What does the percentage mean? ie 30% undercarriage. Is this kinda like a chainsaw chain being 70% worn?

Does anyone know of a good guide to buying these things?

 

[Highbeam]

Well the "undercarriage" is all the external moving parts that are used to move the dozer. So sprockets, rail (chain), pins and bushings, pads (grousers), rollers, front idler, top idler. The easiest things to check are how pointy the sprocket tips are (they should not be pointy), how thin the contact surface of the rail is (varies by manufacturer), and whether the bushings are round or not(should be pretty round on the outside). There are all kinds of other specs like measuring the distance between the pins, and the height of the grouser bars. If you are fortunate, you will be able to inspect the rollers. The rollers are the small wheels that actually carry the weight of the dozer on the tracks, they should all be round and roll, there should be 5 or more of them on each side sometimes hidden by the track frames.

When they say 30% undercarriage they mean 30% reamaining, if they say 30% worn then you have 70% remaining. Generally people pull this percentage right out of their keesters since all but the most **** do not have the charts for the particular machine. I wouldn't want anything that was supposed to have less than 50% remaining.

But really, in the end, as long as the tracks don't come off then it will work.

 

[Tim_in_IA]

Highbeam,

thanks that helps quite a bit. I'm going to be checking on a '57 D8 and now I have a pretty good idea what to look for.

 

[RonR]

I still think if you are going to buy a used dozer, better take a dozer wizard with you. Giving a dozer-savy guy $100 to let you know the shape of it might be the best money you ever spent.

Ron

 

[Highbeam]

Holy smokes, a D8!!!? That is a bit different. You see a new roller for my 10,000 lb dozer cost me like 125$ and I put it in at home with automotive tools. To replace or repair a machine of that size requires lots of big tools and people. The risk associated with missing something on a dozer like that is a lot higher.

Now if everything is in good shape, a D8 will be near impossible to wear out while dinking around on your place. They were built to be used hard in the harshest environments. Be sure that you know what it takes to move it. A D8 isn't going to be easy or cheap to move. Massive fuel consumption too.

I would bring a pro with you.

How cool would that be? A D8. Super macho power.

 

[Tim_in_IA]

Yeah, still in the very early stages of checking it out. It's pretty old so hopefully price will reflect that. Even if this one doesn't work out I'm going to start paying attention so I know what to look for in the future.

Didn't think much about fuel till you mentioned that. I imagine that this becomes a big issue after a decent amount of usage.

I missed out on a dozer a few years ago that went for $1500. The guy said it popped out of first every so often but he build a couple ponds with it. I could live with stuff like that I guess if it brought the price down.

If I put any decent amount of money towards it I have a guy I can take with me to check it out first.

 

[HomeBrew2]

'57 ? Is it a cable rig?

 

[Tim_in_IA]

Yikes. Don't know if it was a cable rig or not. He was trying to recoup his latest repair bill on a transmission overhaul and he was asking 20k!! I'd seen some online for around 10K and I was thinking (hoping) to have it for less. Will have to keep my eyes open. That is way way out of my price range.

 

[HomeBrew2]

Nothing wrong with a cable rig ... I think they're very cool ... PLUS you get a built-in winch!!! Might have a "pony" engine (not sure what they call them in other parts or the world) starter too!!! ... Kindof "interesting" the first time you use one but it is a proven starting system ... just another engine, clutch, drive-gears to pay attention to.
Cheers!

 

[MtnViewRanch]

My brother and I bought a 1943 Cat D6 with cable blade, 6 yard pull scraper, sub-soiler and 12 foot off set disk, plus manuals and some extra parts for a whopping $2000. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif 3 days work to get it running (we didn't have to pay until after we had it running and agreed to purchase) 1 day to get the pony motor running, 2 to get the main engine un-stuck and running. Got it moved to my property, did some maintenance( oil, adjustments etc.) went to work disking 80 acres. I have disked it 2 times so far. This tractor has as of now paid for itself vs having rented a D6 and 16ft disc. And by the way, it does use more fuel per hour, but it uses less fuel per acre than my Case 310 dozer. Just my experience. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Brian

 

[Tim_in_IA]

Oops. Didn't mean there was anything wrong with a cable rig. I was saying yikes to the 20k sticker shock. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Maybe a D6 would be more in my price range? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I'll have to look into the differences of thes a bit.

 

[Tim_in_IA]

Okay I was thinking about this overnight. Not trying to be a complete idiot here but what was the primary purpose for a cable in the first place? Was this used for logging or winching or some kind of safetey?

I agree I could think of a lot of uses for a cable.

 

[HomeBrew2]

Oh, the cable just refers to the fact that the blade was raised by a winch, usually rear mounted, with a cable run to the front, either under or over the cab and engine, and a set of pullies ... no hydraulics. The attached pic isn't too good but you can just make out a round thingy behind the cab which is the winch.

 

[EddieWalker]

Way back in the old days, they used cables to control the blade. No hydraulics. Most people avoid these older dozers because of there age, difuculty in finding parts and extreme wear.

I looked at a 1969 D7 for $20,000 near Dallas before buying my dozer. It had more leaks and issues than I wanted to mess with, especially on a machine that large and old. Cat had the parts in stock to fix it, and the prices weren't bad, but I didn't want a project to work on, I wanted one to do work with.

In my opinion, Dozers under 100 hp are fine for clearing brush and grading soils. They aren't very effective at tree removal or digging massive amounts of dirt. The John Deer 450 that I ran couldn't break the surface of the red clay on my place. The guy who bought the land I sold brought in a guy with a small D5 who had to use rippers to break the surface first.

Dozers over 100hp to the mid hundreds are big enough to do most jobs you'd need. The can take out fair sized trees without to much effort and move enough dirt to make it worthwhile.

The bigger ones like a D7 and up are way overkill and unless you got a really good deal on one, I'd shy away from them. If you can afford to buy something that large, there's gotta be a reason it's being sold for so little. Big machinery costs big bucks!!!!

Just my thoughts,
Eddie

 

[N80]

I have no dozer experience but will relate a brief story. I have an in-law who is a farmer and who has his own shop for repairing tractors and large machinery. He maintains and repairs one of those huge articulating front end loaders (currently has engine scattered all over his shop), he has rebuilt a WWII halftrack. So he has some experience with big stuff.

In any case, he got a small/medium dozer in a trade. Hydraulics were shot, engine okay, looked beat up to me, but he was exited about it. I don't know the details since all I do is hand him tools and provide what muscle I have to offer, but apparently the bottom of the dozer is a big thick heavy 'pan' bolted to and an integral part of the chassis. Well, he later found that some of these bolts where sheared off and the holes were slightly out of line. Even with his shop (he has a huge overhead lift; I've seen his big JDs hanging from it when he does tranny work) was not sufficient for this type of repair and the cost to have it done was going to be huge. He gave up and gave the dozer away.

All that is to say that it really probably is a good idea to have a dozer person look the thing over. My in-law didn't have much of anything in it, but even he probably should have had some help from an expert.

 

[Highbeam]

Belly pan, or stump pan. Yep, it's heavy, it takes a lot of abuse, and yep, it is important. Most dozers have a bolt on belly pan that is basicly a big skid plate. It could be left off in a pinch. I hadn't heard of one used as a structural member. Most folks use floor jacks to raise it into place before bolting it up. Many times the bolts are not exactly in place due to the stressful job and likelihood of the thing being smashed into a not so flat shape.

Yep, things are heavy. The items on a D8 are really much larger. Floor jacks might not build it. Still, people put this together so people can take it apart.