Anyone here have bulldozer experience?

[1930]

I had a unit set up for last weekend with driver/operator. That fell thru.

I am considering renting a D-5 with 6 way blade and doing the work myself. Am I asking/expecting too much from myself like I had done with the wheel loader or is a bulldozer almost a no brainer cause its a tracked vehicle which Im assuming wont cut the highs and lows like the wheeled vehicles do so easily?

At this point most of the material ( sand central florida ) has been moved where it needs to be and now its the job of dispersing that sand more evenly than I would have been able to have done with the wheel loader.

I still also have a great amount of virgin material that I need to push from the R side of property over to the left.

I have no idea what to expect with using a bulldozer. I do not think I have ever sat on one even.

Nothing I cant do given enough time but looking for advice/opinions. Thanks

 

[PILOON]

OK, I've had some.
Owned a HD6 for couple years.
What do U want to know?

 

[mcfarmall]

Yes. It's not as easy as it looks!

 

[1010]

Sand is one of the hardest materials to spread with a dozer and keep it smooth. You having no experience even on a dozer could be a waste of money for you.
But smooth isn't as important as getting the material to the correct grade. Then you can use a tractor and box blade or back drag with the dozer blade.
If you push the blade control all the way forward it goes into free float, but you can't go forward with it in FF, just backwards.
If I was closer I'd been glad to help you out.. Good luck..

THE LGP dozers grade much easier than the narrow pads. So look/watch for that..

When you get aggravated take a break.. HAHA!!

 

[LouNY]

They are not hard to use,
it does take practice to become proficient.
An angled back drag can fix quite a bit of whoops.

 

[sweettractors]

I ran a Cat D3B for a few years here on the farm. It will take a day or so to get the feel of it and then you will be fine. Ken Sweet

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I've been running one since I was about 13, and when I was in my 20's I was running an HD11 Allis, back blading.

An old dozer operator came over and gave me HE!!, and said "if you can't do it going forward, it can't be done!!" lol From that day on, I strived to live by those words!

Well, years and years later with a LOT of hours under my belt, I'd have to say.... he was right!! Just learn how to do it right in the first place, starting out by going slow enough to get it right, going forward!

SR

 

[BertZegers]

I almost killed myself using a dozer.
It was a old Caterpillar with a pony motor, I don't remember the model. The lever for forward and reverse was backwards.
To go in reverse you had to push the lever forward. To go forward you had to pull the lever back. Tired at the end of the day I went too far on the top of the pile, and intuitive pulled the lever back hard, only to go over the dirt pile, the dozer almost rolled over.
It was probably the scariest things I ever experienced, made me feel sick.

 

[searcyfarms]

ive driven 3, one old D6 lever dozer - another D6 high track and a 963C. I have at least 2000+ hours running various skid steers and who knows the hours regarding different tractors, 100+ hours on excavators small to large 250class, and I will say i was humbled quickly on the dozers.

The lever dozer i lasted a day on it said screw it. The Hi-Track was better and the 963C was so much easier, pushing with dirt in the bucket was much like running a skid steer and the pedals/controls were much easier to navigate. Gouging was so much more avoidable with the bucket articulation. NOW, that being said they move totally different than anything you have ever driven unless you have spent time in a tracked SS vs wheeled. They are ROUGH, they are RIGID and unforgiving - you have to go slow, and then a little slower, you have to back up and try again many many times, I never did do worth a heck n the D6s with a straight blade, all i made were gouges and more bumps and it was frustrating. IF i ever rent another I will get a track loader for sure like a 953, 963, 973. We hired a company to build a mile of road for a subdivision we built and they only used track loaders no straight blades. Not sure why and they dug all the ponds and ditches with them also.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

For what you are doing a D-5 is a big machine to learn on. If you are set on a dozer get the smallest one you can. Depending on the rapidity of your learning curve, you will at least spend a good part or most of first day just getting used to the controls and the dexterity required. Like was said, sand is tough with a dozer unless you digging it out and building piling it up. Helps to have a tutor like I had first time.

Bert, I can identify with you. Cold weather we had to build a fire under it to get it warm enough to start. Always had ether ready. The old pony engines were also problematic with their hand crank.

Ron

 

[Big Barn]

I will echo what others have mentioned. Slow wins the race. Concentrate on control. Backblading is for amateurs. Take your time.

 

[oosik]

Back in '82 my driveway was constructed with something like a 5 series JD dozer. The operator made it look like a walk in the park. He let me try. I made a bloody mess. Thank God, he easily corrected what I had done. What I thought I could do and what I actually could do - night & day.

 

[dalola]

Do it! They are great fun! I rented one many years ago to clean up a fence line, had a blast! Give yourself plenty of time to figure it out, expect to make mistakes, but enjoy the experience. I would also agree with those recommending a smaller machine, especially for what you plan to do.
Let us know how it works out!

 

[PILOON]

I once owned a HD6 and when delivered was told U unload it!
Then I 'drove' it home on about 1 mile of unfinished road bed.
By the time I arrived I was an operator, so to speak.
Next day I proceeded to spread truckloads of road base material to a standard that the dump trucks could use it.
Within the week I carved my 1000 ft driveway thru the forest uprooting trees in the process.
OK, maybe I'm a fast learner and it helped that I 'rode' with the D8 operator while he carved the road thru the forest.

That HD6 was a clutch machine with steering brakes and lots of levers to manage.
Years later I got the chance to drive a Cat D6 with hydro transmission and bet anyone could master that within the hour.

 

[Egon]

There are those who can, those who have difficulty and those who can’t. The same goes for the learning curve.

The bigger the dozer the easier it is to level things. ( contrary to popular opinion. ) The hard part is being able to judge what the blade is doing and controlling it.

It is up to the OP to determine if he is a quick learner within reasonable time.

I’m not an operator but I have moved dirt with a D9 H and ublade. Also spent a few years watching dozers doing mountain grade construction. There were some operators with years of experience that were barely competent. Others it was a joy to watch. A fellow with several hours experience had no chance of keeping an operator’s job.

 

[Gordon Gould]

You will be able to do it just fine. The controls are simple and easy to master. Go slow like everybody said. The thing that will hurt and maybe frustrate is your lack of experience, finesse with the controls, and knowledge of basic techniques to level and move material. But that will just cost you time and you will get better as you go. When leveling keep one side of the blade on the established grade and use it as a guide as you cut or fill with the rest of the blade. When moving your material from the right side to left, depending on how far you have to go, it might be faster to push it thru a slot so that you can keep the blade full the whole way across and it won't dribble off the sides of the blade.

gg

 

[mred2]

If you have the time and money, ok.
I have a small JD dozer, hydro. I have a good many hours on it. However, when I have a big project, I call a friend that is a much better operator. I can do in one hour what it would take me 3. He is that good. NOT ALL OLD OPERATORS ARE THE SAME. You may do great. But as noted, go slow, learn. Best on a smaller and less expensive machine. And track loaders and dozers are not the same. A dozer with a 6 way blade and good operator can move a lot of dirt. But it can't load dirt onto a truck. But a 6 way blade can cut a ditch or crown a road better.

 

[fruitcakesa]

I have had a handful of smaller John Deere dozers from a 1010c to a 450b.
On my steep, 50 acre wooded parcel, they were perfect for my use; logging and some dirt/slash moving
The problem was they were old and dry clutched machines that needed TLC
They were easy to operate and with care and skill would do a huge amount of work.
A D5 Cat is a bigger, more powerful machine but with slow, methodical practice you will eventually be operating competently and safely.
Having a tractor and dozer is a dream fantasy; for now a tractor is my tool of choice.

 

[ovrszd]

There are those who can, those who have difficulty and those who can’t. The same goes for the learning curve.

The bigger the dozer the easier it is to level things. ( contrary to popular opinion. ) The hard part is being able to judge what the blade is doing and controlling it.

It is up to the OP to determine if he is a quick learner within reasonable time.

I’m not an operator but I have moved dirt with a D9 H and ublade. Also spent a few years watching dozers doing mountain grade construction. There were some operators with years of experience that were barely competent. Others it was a joy to watch. A fellow with several hours experience had no chance of keeping an operator’s job.

Most honest post yet.

There's a lot of distance between a Dozer driver and a Dozer operator.

Regardless of OP's learning abilities, he'll still be a Dozer driver when his project is done.

 

[ovrszd]

If you have the time and money, ok.
I have a small JD dozer, hydro. I have a good many hours on it. However, when I have a big project, I call a friend that is a much better operator. I can do in one hour what it would take me 3. He is that good. NOT ALL OLD OPERATORS ARE THE SAME. You may do great. But as noted, go slow, learn. Best on a smaller and less expensive machine. And track loaders and dozers are not the same. A dozer with a 6 way blade and good operator can move a lot of dirt. But it can't load dirt onto a truck. But a 6 way blade can cut a ditch or crown a road better.

Another very good post.