case 550

[334 lawn co.]

i am looking to buy a case 550 with lgp tracks for our farm. what type of performance can i expect from this size dozer? we are needing to uproot a few old trees(somewhat often... for food plot prep) but also need one that can be used for about a mile and a half of road maintenance every once in a while. it would also be used to maintain trails thru hardwoods. i am considering renting a unit from sunbelt to try it out.

 

[chh]

Renting one would be a good idea. I don't think you will have much luck pushing really large trees with it. We have a Cat D-3 hydrostat and a Cat D-4 H and it is pretty easy to find trees you can't push with either one. A LGP is really great if you have any type of wetter or soft ground to work in. LGP will beat you to death on rocks though. That size would be a good road maintainer and would do quite a bit of work.
Do you have heavy equipment experience? If not get someone experienced to shop with you or have any machine thoughly checked by a mechanic. Dozers are very expensive to work on, especially undercarriage work. An ad for a "farm dozer" usually means it it pretty well worn out, in my exerience.

 

[334 lawn co.]

oh yeah... you can believe i have heavy equipment experience. i have used all types of equipment. it is my hobby and job. but anyway, about the pushing the trees, they are easy to knock over because they are mostly pine or small hardwoods(we own a 1500 acre pine tree farm so we have a "few" trees if you know what i mean) but once on the ground we have a 4 wheel drive new holland ts 110 with a loader that we can use to push em away with. that, along with a john deere 5400 with loader plus a box blade, is what we are currently using for this work so you can see my dilema. thanks for the reply and i will definately rent one before buying. also i attached a pic of what we work with, equipment and terrain. hope it helps with a reply. and suggestions of other models would be greatly appreciated. the only other ive looked at is a used john deere 450 and an old dresser."gotta love an old dresser."