Is a dozer worth buying?

[karmakanic]

Hi Mark,

Well, you've gotten a lot of good advise. Just thought I'd add
my .02 worth.

I own three dozers, so you could probably say I'm kinda partial to'em. Some of my closer friends even use the word addicted. Of course, being dozers, two are broke. So you could also say my affection/addiction for the crawling beasts might be some kinda retribution for a grevious sin in a past life.

So I tell my story, in hopes that I may save some poor soul from following a similar path to financial ruin.

Like you, I wanted to clear a few trees and maybe build a little pond or two. So I found a worn out 1938 D-2 Cat (about 8k lbs) and spent two years restoring it and building a front blade. Two hours of use after restoration and I realized I'd made a serious under estimation of my needs. The little thing
just bounced off our heavy red clay and I worried around a 12" tree for an hour or so without the tree even noticing.

So I went and found a bigger one. (First sign of addiction, I see in hindsight). This was an Allis Chalmers HD-11E, around 30k lbs. I bought this dozer because as the salemen like to say "she's knee deep in undercarrage son". And she was. It was just the final drives, steering clutches, hydraulic pump, main clutch, fuel injection pump, the engine, and numerous other pieces that were on the verge of failure. And they proceeded to fail, one by one. I fixed them as they broke, and probably spent around 2 hours of fixin' for each 8 hours of dozing, until it came to the engine, when I cried uncle.

But, by this time, I've got two ponds and a half built, acres of brush and trash trees cleared, and another couple thousand yards of dirt moved from where I didn't want to where I did.
I've driven most every exotic car known to man, many pieces of heavy equipment, and I can tell you, nothing beats the satisfaction of pushing a full blade of dirt from one place to another. It looks easy, but it's not. Like welding or pool playing, you just gotta do it to learn it. Nobody can teach you the touch needed. But the amount of work you can get done, the freedom to shape the ground as you and you alone want, that is the narcotic. I guess you'd say I'm hooked at this point.

So I'm seriously looking into rebuilding the engine in the Allis when I stumble across her. My dream dozer. A 1980 John Deere 550 with only 1350 hours, six way blade, and winch. And she was a pipe layer in her previous life, so the hours were easy hours. I've owned this dozer for 5 years now, and I realize there's no hope for me, the addiction is complete.

So, that's my sad story. I use the 550 almost every weekend. The D-2 and the HD-11 are sitting next to the shop, awaiting restoration. I'll never sell them. Even in their broken state I'm blown away that a working man can own something which took so much effort and skill to produce. The D-2 in particular, being almost 65 years old, is a history lesson in the evolution of our country's industrial skills.

In closing, let me get serious for a moment. If you compare the amount I've spent on the dozers to the value of the work done, it's about even. That doesn't include my time, but working on dozer's keeps you young, so I figure I've saved a bunch on yuppie gym charges. And I've still got the dozers. But to me, one of the biggest advantages to owning a dozer is the freedom it gives you. The freedom to do it when you want. The freedom to do more then you would if you had to pay someone for each job. The freedom to change your mind half way through a job and change things around. The freedom to take on larger projects then you would if the dozer wasn't handy. And the freedom to say "I did it" when the job is done.

And also seriously, as I hope my story illustrates, if you buy a dozer, you can figure it's gonna break something. You need to be prepared for that. Having an experienced friend to advise is helpful, as would having someone you can trust to fix it. Buying from a dealer is more expensive, but you at least have someone to turn to if you need help. (Not that you're gonna get a warranty on a 20k dozer) But with auction dozers, you're completely on your own.

HTH
Dave Perry aka karmakanic

 

[MarkV]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I sure am listening but I’m just not sure if I am trying to talk myself into buying or out of buying. I did take a look at several machines this last weekend. The first lesson I learned, besides here, is when looking at dozers don’t try and kick the tires./w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

MJB, you make the same point that others keep making when you say,<font color=blue> you need to be fairly mechanically inclined or have a large bank account in order to own a dozer</font color=blue> I am only moderately gifted in both of those areas./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif It is encouraging that you were able to find a workable machine in that price range. I hear you about friends. A few of mine get this glazed look in their eyes when I just mention that I am considering one.

JT, thanks for the lead to ironplant.com. That would be a great option if an out of state deal came up. I saw a pair of D8’s clear a tract of land and one of them had a blade like the one in your attachment. It is quit a site to see them popping 40” stumps out of the ground the way you would pull weeds in the garden.

Dave, I am still smiling from your post. You also scare the heck out of me. I also have friends that claim I have an addictive tendency and I love to do things myself. I can see you and I surrounded by half working dozers grunting away like Tim Allen. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Thanks everyone.

MarkV

 

[Wiz]

MarkV,
I went this route almost 3 years ago. Never had one, never operated one, but always wanted to. Had the attitude, If "they" can operate one, so can I. I debated between a dozer, and "tracxcavator/crawler loader". decided that a bucket would more suite my needs, as opposed to a blade. I looked around, asked a lot of questions, and purchased a Cat 977H with a hi-lift bucket. There isn't anything you can't do with this Cat. I have taken down large trees including the stumps, moved dirt, and cut trails on the 63 acres that I have. When something is too big for the Kubota L4310, out comes the Cat. It's around 22k lbs, and I don't have anything to haul it with, so it's just used on my property. The experience takes time, but you definitely become more proficient as you spend more time in the seat. Repairs can be expensive, and if you don't have someone that can come onsite to work on equipment, that means having it transported to be repaired. I am planning to put in a lake this fall, and the do the necessary excavation work for having a house built in the next year or two. The way I viewed the cost of any necessary repairs was that if I had someone do the excavation work for me, and lets say it cost 10k. By doing it myself, and let's say if in the future I had 10k worth of repairs, those costs would basically cancel each other out. Hoping to recoupe most, or all of the purchase price, when I'm done with the work, and sell the Cat. In the end I view this to be a great learning experience, and personal satisfaction, knowing the work I was capable of doing. Lots of luck on whatever decision you make.

 

[Stonewall]

You know what the old Texas Oil men say? "If you can fly it ,float it or flirt with it, LEASE IT!" Same goes for heavy equipment that will have a one time use on your land. With things pretty slow right now you can probably get a decent lease with maintenence included and the lease cost can be rolled into a construction loan. Don't even try that with a purchase, the baker will send you packing. In six months you will have had all the fun you need to have and be ready for a more versatile piece of equipment.

 

[uglyest]

Kenny
For the amount of work you have to do i would strongly
suggest that you buy a smaller J.D, ( i had good experiences with J.D). A 450 or a 550 dozer would be perfect for clearing over grown areas. We have ran a 550 on our farm and it works like a dream, we have rear rippers that come in handy
in our very day use. Make shore that you have a experienced operator or machinic look at it before you make any final choices. Thats my idea about that ,but far as your wife, cant help. (dont tell her)

 

[Panache]

see www.machinerytrader.com also. RSC and United both rent dozers for about $1200/week + fuel. This is for a D5/JD650 size. As soon as I can find a 50-100 gal fuel tank I plan to rent one for a week just to learn on while repairing some roads. I am considering buying one also but an strongly considering just renting when I have gotten several needs accumulated and will have need for a weeks worth. I think they are about $3000 for a month.

 

[Highbeam]

Be careful not to get caught on the weekly or monthly rental. These assume an 8 hour day and 40 hour week. They'll get you for the 12 hour days, 7 per week.

 

[Panache]

United is 56 hrs/week and up to 12 hrs on a 1 day or weekend rental. I do a lot of weekend rentals. They drop off Friday and pick up on Monday. If less than 12 hrs I am only charged 1 day.

 

[Highbeam]

Great, bonus, our United here in WA does the 8 hour day thing. They told us that when renting an excavator. Maybe it varies by location but regardless it is very nice to know this detail.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've only run a few dozers, and own one. The small ones I ran before buying my big one were like night and day. Kind of like comparing a ride along lawn mower to a CUT.

Any operator you talk to will tell you they can do the same thing with a small dozer that you can with a big one, it just takes longer.

After a day on my dozer, I'm so beat up from the bouncing, operating and mental stress from staying focussed on what I'm doing that I need a day of rest afterwords. If I rented a machine for a week or a month, I'd feel obligated to run it the max hours allowed every day that I had it. I also know that this would wear me out something terrible.

Owning the machine allows me to run it when I want to and not stress about what it's costing me while it's sitting there.

It's been sitting for about 4 months right now except for some trench filling one day.

I also have a realy bad habit of being overly optimistic on what I think I can get done in a day. It's not in the destruction you can accomplish knocking things down, but in the clean up. This takes 4 times as much time or more to accomplish.

Right now my dozer is giving me issues with one of it's hydraulic pumps. Case said they wanted $20,000 to replace it. I've already rebuilt it and the drive motor for $3,000 last year. I'll keep rebuilding it every year if I have to for that price and still be money ahead. It's a pain, but that's what happens with used equipment.

The guys at Case also suggested that I sell it at action since the buyers dont' get any warantee and they are stuck with whatever they get. That's not my style, but it does make me very cautious about buying anything from an auction. Especially something I can't test out.


Machinery Trader is probably the highest prices you'll come across. The only thing I like about it is you can find dealers in your area. Sometimes they have deals on their lot that they don't put in the paper.

Iron Planet has a great rating system. They go through the whole machine, take samples of all the fluids and rate the maching. You know what you get from them better than any other source that I know of. Price also reflects what you get. If you can find something local, it could be a great deal.

Trucking a dozer long distance can add up to several thousand dollars. Be sure you know what the shipping prices will be no matter where you buy a machine. I always make sure to get it included in the price of the machine. Even local dealers want to charge several hundred dollars to deliver a machine.

I love my dozer, it's the funnest thing I've ever operated. I also agree that there is nothing more satisfying than a full blade of dirt. I just love to look behind me and see the flat surface with my tracks on the edges. It's a feeling you have to experience to appreciate.

If you can afford it, buy it!!

Eddie