Best older farm dozer

[sequoyah101]

If you insist, a Case 450 type for reasons mentioned by others. The mechanical power turn is a really nice thing to have with very little complication and good reliability.

I have a dozer, sits in the barn most of the time, not enough work for it and a lot of the work I need done is too much for it. Handy as pockets on a shirt when I need it though. I'd sell it but can't get near what I paid for it.

If you insist on a tracked machine consider a small loader. For a lot of cleaning up stuff it will work better than an small dozer and for clearing it reaches higher with for more push leverage.

I worked for a old fellow who crushed rock for a living. He hated dozers. Wouldn't own one. Even his pit loaders were on tires. His blast rig had tracks.

Nice to own, don't know how much work you have to do compared to your purchase budget but dozers can be in that category with things that float, fluck and fly that you should rent instead of owning.

 

[BrokenTrack]

Just rent one.... Put the cost of maintenance on the rental agency.

You are not going to get much for $10,000 that is for sure, and you can rent a small dozer for a lot of days for $10,000. And this is coming from a guy who owned many bulldozers, of many sizes.

But trust me on this, you could buy a bulldozer for $10,000, then throw a track and as you are busting your gut putting the worn out track back on, think, "I could have rented a bulldozer for 3 months for the same amount of money and NOT be doing this".

It is your call.

 

[Thomas]

Just rent one.... Put the cost of maintenance on the rental agency.

You are not going to get much for $10,000 that is for sure, and you can rent a small dozer for a lot of days for $10,000. And this is coming from a guy who owned many bulldozers, of many sizes.

But trust me on this, you could buy a bulldozer for $10,000, then throw a track and as you are busting your gut putting the worn out track back on, think, "I could have rented a bulldozer for 3 months for the same amount of money and NOT be doing this".

It is your call.

That's hitting the nail on the head. :thumbsup:

 

[Hay Dude]

Much better off with a larger tracked skid steer unless you have really big stumps to push out or rocky land to grade.
Bulldozer is too much of a one trick pony.

 

[fried1765]

If you insist, a Case 450 type for reasons mentioned by others. The mechanical power turn is a really nice thing to have with very little complication and good reliability.

I have a dozer, sits in the barn most of the time, not enough work for it and a lot of the work I need done is too much for it. Handy as pockets on a shirt when I need it though. I'd sell it but can't get near what I paid for it.

If you insist on a tracked machine consider a small loader. For a lot of cleaning up stuff it will work better than an small dozer and for clearing it reaches higher with for more push leverage.

I worked for a old fellow who crushed rock for a living. He hated dozers. Wouldn't own one. Even his pit loaders were on tires. His blast rig had tracks.

Nice to own, don't know how much work you have to do compared to your purchase budget but dozers can be in that category with things that float, fluck and fly that you should rent instead of owning.

^^^^^^^DITTO!!!

 

[Ken45101]

Older machine? Hilly land? Make sure it has ROPS!

Forest land in WVa? Make sure it has FOPS (Falling Object Protection System). With the death of the ash trees, some heavy branches can come down and kill you.

I'm in hilly terrain. I hired a contractor to do some of my hardest trails. Now I maintain them and build new ones with a skid steer and mini excavator. I had thought about a small dozer but I'm not a mechanic.

 

[ultrarunner]

After finding out the cost to put in fire trails I decided to buy a Dozer and settled on a D3. Used it 17 years and averaged $100 a year for repair/maintenance

Sold it for just about what I paid.

Owning meant I could work when soil conditions were optimal on my schedule

A few years later bought Deere 350c

Smaller machine like a small mountain goat... also can move it on my trailer... not a huge fan of levers vs pedals but gets the job done.

 

[EddieWalker]

Best is a tricky word, especially when talking about heavy equipment and dozers.

To me, Best means something that is going to get the job done and work when I want it to, or be able to fix it myself with parts that are easy to find.

Cat has a well earned reputation of supporting all of it's equipment, no matter how old it is. To me, that makes it the Best brand to buy.

No other brand has that level of support for it's parts. If you buy a different brand, be 100% sure that you can get parts. I have a 1989 Case dozer that the fan broke off of it's mount and destroyed itself and the shroud. Case no longer has those parts. I got lucky and found a salvage yard that sold them to me for just under $2 grand including delivery. You either pay what it costs or the machine never runs again. On another issue, one of my hydraulic motors went out. I have three of them on my dozer. Case wants $25,000 for a replacement motor. They will not rebuild or repair them, only see a complete unit. Installing it is extra. I found a rebuild shop that to fix it, but I had to remove it, bring it to them, then bring it home when they where done and install it. Cost for the rebuild was $4,000 Rebuild the turbo was $800 Rebuild the engine was $2,000 in parts and all my own labor. I can't even guess what I've paid in hoses and rebuilding hydraulic cylinders. The big hydraulic cylinders are something like $180 each from Case, but half that on Amazon. I also have 2 fuel filters, and a oil filter on it, along with an inner and outer air filter that's well over a hundred bucks.

Cheap dozers to buy can be very expensive to keep running.

 

[fried1765]

Best is a tricky word, especially when talking about heavy equipment and dozers.

To me, Best means something that is going to get the job done and work when I want it to, or be able to fix it myself with parts that are easy to find.

Cat has a well earned reputation of supporting all of it's equipment, no matter how old it is. To me, that makes it the Best brand to buy.

No other brand has that level of support for it's parts. If you buy a different brand, be 100% sure that you can get parts. I have a 1989 Case dozer that the fan broke off of it's mount and destroyed itself and the shroud. Case no longer has those parts. I got lucky and found a salvage yard that sold them to me for just under $2 grand including delivery. You either pay what it costs or the machine never runs again. On another issue, one of my hydraulic motors went out. I have three of them on my dozer. Case wants $25,000 for a replacement motor. They will not rebuild or repair them, only see a complete unit. Installing it is extra. I found a rebuild shop that to fix it, but I had to remove it, bring it to them, then bring it home when they where done and install it. Cost for the rebuild was $4,000 Rebuild the turbo was $800 Rebuild the engine was $2,000 in parts and all my own labor. I can't even guess what I've paid in hoses and rebuilding hydraulic cylinders. The big hydraulic cylinders are something like $180 each from Case, but half that on Amazon. I also have 2 fuel filters, and a oil filter on it, along with an inner and outer air filter that's well over a hundred bucks.

Cheap dozers to buy can be very expensive to keep running.

MANY years ago I bought an OLIVER crawler loader (OC46-3G)
I was so delighted when I bought it....even MORE delighted when I sold it!

 

[ultrarunner]

I guess I was lucky because I didn't know anything Dozers or anyone that did.

I did buy the CAT D3 from a Deere Dealer and had it delivered. The $100 annual expenses were for lines and to repair steering clutch...

I showed up at CAT and first thing I was asked is if I was on a job... which I was... I snagged a hydraulic line and they made it on the spot and $65 later I was back on the job.

My topography is rugged ridge and valley so it was quite a learning experience with a good outcome.

The D3 seemed top heavy compared to the 350C. but 16000 lbs moves a lot more dirt than a 9500 machine.

 

[hawkeye08]

We had IHC TD14s (one with dozer blade, one without) growing up. I used the one without blade to farm 300 acres, I could pull disk/packer/drill/packer in one pass (8' wide). It still took a couple weeks to plant 300 acres (only ran during daylight). It was a 1942 model with something like 5000 hrs on it, engine was fresh, had to start with crank sometimes. I was just a kid that loved the open 4" stack and knew all the sounds including when one of the track rollers was low on oil.

 

[leadfarmer]

If you have to own one, I recommend CAT equipment. I have purchased all the manuals and new parts I needed for fixing up my CAT 955L from ebay and amazon, at great prices. I only had to go to my local CAT dealer once for fluid when I changed the final drive. All the pedal bearings, shift linkage rod ends, and filters came from online, much cheaper than the dealer, and they came new in CAT packaging. I don't have experience with other brands, but I've been happy with my CAT experience.

I spent $8k on my 955L, and it got me a machine that needed some fixing up. If you can double your budget, it would get you a much better machine from what I see in my local market.

But overall, the best plan is renting if you can time your work with the weather and take the time off work to go after it and get it done. These machines are a gamble, and one major repair from being a huge loss to your wallet.

 

[Ortimber]

I have a dozer, but totally agree that in most instances, renting one might be a better choice. I have a family member that insists on buying one, but he’s not the type of person that likes to work on anything. His budget is under $10K.

 

[fried1765]

I have a dozer, but totally agree that in most instances, renting one might be a better choice. I have a family member that insists on buying one, but he’s not the type of person that likes to work on anything. His budget is under $10K.

If your family member actually buys a dozer for "under $10K", he is one sadly misguided individual who is about to learn a hard economic lesson.

 

[ultrarunner]

5 years ago paid 10k for JD350c and so far very pleased... it was originally a water district dozer bought by a water district employee who was downsizing when I bought it... maybe just lucky?

 

[Ortimber]

If your family member actually buys a dozer for "under $10K", he is one sadly misguided individual who is about to learn a hard economic lesson.

Exactly! That’s why I keep telling him to rent one. I hope he listens or yours truly will be the one working on it.

 

[JDAOWNER]

RECENTLY LOOKED AT A 1980'S JD450E THAT A FRIEND SAID WAS IN NICE SHAPE FOR 12K. I WAS A HEAVY EQUIP. MECHANIC AND OPERATOR FOR YEARS SO I KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR--ON OLDER EQUIP ANYWAY. I WAS NOT IMPRESSED. THE TRACK BUSHINGS WERE WORN DOWN ALMOST TO THE PINS AND THE SPROCKET WERE WORN PRETTY GOOD. I DIDN'T BOTHER TO LOOK ANY FARTHER. TO PUT NEW TRACKS, SPROCKET AND ROLLERS ON IT WOULD HAVE MADE THE VALUE MUCH LESS THAN WHAT I WOULD HAVE HAD INVESTED.

 

[Sonny580]

I have owned several IH TD-9's over the years and too small for what you want to do. --- I currently have and use an IH 250-c-series III crawler loader and it will do some serious destruction if you want to.
Too many cat and deere people pushing their brand!
My uncle had a 1950 Cat D-7-3t and I ran it for him. It was a good dozer too ---a bit on the small size but we did a lot of heavy work with it,---just took longer!
D-6 c will do a lot of work too.
on a final note----for $10,000 you wont come close to getting a dozer big enough or in decent enough shape to do what you want to do.

 

[fried1765]

I have owned several IH TD-9's over the years and too small for what you want to do. --- I currently have and use an IH 250-c-series III crawler loader and it will do some serious destruction if you want to.
Too many cat and deere people pushing their brand!
My uncle had a 1950 Cat D-7-3t and I ran it for him. It was a good dozer too ---a bit on the small size but we did a lot of heavy work with it,---just took longer!
D-6 c will do a lot of work too.
on a final note----for $10,000 you wont come close to getting a dozer big enough or in decent enough shape to do what you want to do.

SO TRUE !!!!!