loader or dozer as a second farm machine?

deerefan · Sep 16, 2014

marcin said:
deerefan,

Thank you for your response. What size machine would you recommend? Is there a big difference between my 12 000 lb machine and your 19 000 lb dozer or do I have to go to 30 000 lbs to notice a real difference. Thank you for the info.

The Case 850 is a good all around machine, non hydro. I recommend the JD 650 lgp. They are hydro, simple to operate and JD does onsite service when a maintenance need or repair comes about.

charlz · Sep 17, 2014

If it is mostly just pushing/shaping/smoothing dirt I would go with the dozer. One thing with track machines though is the bigger they are the more the tracks tear up soft ground when you turn which means more clean up work. If you don't already have a box blade with full top and tilt controls for your tractor I would get one. You can do the finish work a lot faster and easier on a wheeled machine.

paulharvey · Sep 17, 2014

I would look at possibly getting a 6 way blade for the ctl. It won't do the work of a big dozer but will work as well as a 350 size machine. Plus you would be out maybe $6k at most. Loader is great for clearing and moving material but difficult or nearly impossible to grade with.

Jim Nelson · Sep 17, 2014

After thinking about this some I would consider the fact that $60K would buy a lot of rental time and you wouldn't have to be concerned about wear and tear. I've rented Cat dozers 2 or 3 times and always had a near new machine usually with cab,heat & air that I could never begin to afford to buy.

TomSeller · Sep 17, 2014

Jim Nelson said:
After thinking about this some I would consider the fact that $60K would buy a lot of rental time and you wouldn't have to be concerned about wear and tear. I've rented Cat dozers 2 or 3 times and always had a near new machine usually with cab,heat & air that I could never begin to afford to buy.

Ya, good point. It is not like you would get on your dozer on a lazy Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and check out the back 40. Those things are going to sit there unless you use them to move dirt.

Happy Gilmore · Sep 17, 2014

TomSeller said:
Ya, good point. It is not like you would get on your dozer on a lazy Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and check out the back 40. Those things are going to sit there unless you use them to move dirt.

Hey says who :laughing:

charlz · Sep 18, 2014

paulharvey said:
I would look at possibly getting a 6 way blade for the ctl. It won't do the work of a big dozer but will work as well as a 350 size machine. Plus you would be out maybe $6k at most. Loader is great for clearing and moving material but difficult or nearly impossible to grade with.

But a 350 class machine against 75-100 acres?

charlz · Sep 18, 2014

Jim Nelson said:
After thinking about this some I would consider the fact that $60K would buy a lot of rental time and you wouldn't have to be concerned about wear and tear. I've rented Cat dozers 2 or 3 times and always had a near new machine usually with cab,heat & air that I could never begin to afford to buy.

Problem with rentals is you have to set time aside to do nothing but dozer work. Same reason I own a tractor versus renting one... when I have a little free time or the itch I can go get some work done. I am not young any more but not as old as some... I doubt I could do 8 hours a day on a dozer for a week to get my rental moneys worth without spending another week or two recovering

paulharvey · Sep 18, 2014

charlz said:
But a 350 class machine against 75-100 acres?

You probably are right. For the ponds and even for leveling it's hard to find piece of equipment that will do everything you want. Dozer won't really move material from A to B, loader will, but doesn't really dig well and is very difficult to grade with.
For the ponds I think dozer and loader; hoe and truck; or a pan (only if no rock) are your best options.

The leveling part screams dozer or motor grader; but only if your basically balancing material; if you need to move material from a few hundred feet away or more, dozer isn't going to do it.

Have you considered getting a medium sized hoe (20-30 ton) and a rough dump truck? Doesn't need to be road legal. Then you can dig ponds with hoe; load your truck; dump on your "leveling" area, and spread/grade with the CTL.