I think you hit the nail on the head here. I bought a JD1026r TLB and have been doing work for people in really tight spots. I wanted a cheap dozer for a big job that I have coming up because I figured I could buy an old one for about twice the cost of a rental. I think i'll just do the rental and not have to fool with rebuilding the whole undercarriage. Otherwise i'll find someone else that has already done all the work for me and I'll just get an older rebuilt dozer for around $5k once my truck is paid off. That would be the cheapest and fastest way I think, since they will never get back their labor costs.
pricing for old broken dozer?
- Thread starter swick1
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I think you hit the nail on the head here. I bought a JD1026r TLB and have been doing work for people in really tight spots. I wanted a cheap dozer for a big job that I have coming up because I figured I could buy an old one for about twice the cost of a rental. I think i'll just do the rental and not have to fool with rebuilding the whole undercarriage. Otherwise i'll find someone else that has already done all the work for me and I'll just get an older rebuilt dozer for around $5k once my truck is paid off. That would be the cheapest and fastest way I think, since they will never get back their labor costs.
flusher
Super Member
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2005
- Messages
- 7,555
- Location
- Sacramento
- Tractor
- Getting old. Sold the ranch. Sold the tractors. Moved back to the city.
I restore vintage tractors (1940s, 50s, 60s)--a lot smaller in size that that dozer, but the issues are the same:
-- Do you have equipment of your own (or maybe a friend's) to transport the dozer and any heavy replacement parts to your shop?
--Can you handle the restoration yourself and/or with the help of friends who'll work for beer and pizza?
-- Do you have a shop with suitable equipment (hoists, cranes, jacks, jack stands, etc) that can handle the heavy stuff?
-- Have you identified a source of replacement parts (new, new old stock, used, etc)?
If you answered no to any of these questions, forget about it. You'll be wasting your time and money.
If you really, really want a dozer, find one that's running, that hasn't been rusting away in the rain for 20 years, and spend your money wisely.
MikeD74T
Veteran Member
My brother has a 440, I doubt it weighs more than 5000 lbs as I trailered it easily on my trailer. 7k cap.
If you get & need tracks look for someone with old rock drills on tracks, some are the same pitch & seldom have much wear. MikeD74T
If you get & need tracks look for someone with old rock drills on tracks, some are the same pitch & seldom have much wear. MikeD74T
creekbend
Super Star Member
A neighbor down the road from us had hired a logger to clear cut 80 acres of pines. A couple of months ago, I engaged the dozer operator, and asked him if he could possibly remove some large stumps on our land. We both agreed to terms agreeable to the both of us. Well around three weeks ago he called me and informed me that his dozer, a CAT-D6, broke down and had to be repaired. After getting his dozer fixed, he started the work on our property 4 days ago. After working less than an hour, his dozer threw a rod clear into the block. He offered his regrets to me in not being able to finish the job because after all the money that he had spent previously in fixing the dozer, he was not going to invest anymore money in his 1970's dozer. I feel sorry for him and now another operator is coming over next week to give me an estimate.:tractor:
LD1
Epic Contributor
Are you talking about a 440 dozer/crawler? or tractor?
20 20
Elite Member
I'll agree with the others about finding out the value of scrap in your area. I would take it one step further though, I would NOT pay the full scrap price, maybe half. You'll be the one that has to haul it and get it out of where it is. If you do find out it can not be fixed then atleast you might break even. Dozers can be a real pain and one that has been sitting for 20yrs could end up being a home wrecker 
jenkinsph
Super Star Member
I have had a Deere 450A in the late 70"s and an Deere 850 new at the time. Having worked with older and new dozers they can be costly to operate, I would stay clear of the old stuff as you will never come out on them. Buying a $5000 dollar dozer is simply getting a new job as a mechanic and parts are expensive, none of which makes you money. Rent one when you need it, that is the cheapest way for most people.
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
If you can buy one that is running for $3,000 and this one is a busted up rust heap, I would offer $300 for it at the most and probably feel like that was too much. $500 is too much in my opinion. Especially when you consider the time it will take you to find the parts, tear it apart, fix, replace and clean what is broken. If you figure your time is worth $10 an hour, not counting parts, you will lose money on just what your time is worth compared to what it would cost you to buy one already running.
Eddie
Eddie
DAY
Platinum Member
Go halfsies with the cousin- he supplies the dozer and the dough, you supply the sweat. You will both learn a lot in the end. . .
MtnViewRanch
Elite Member, Advertiser
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2005
- Messages
- 10,648
- Tractor
- Mahindra 7520, Mahindra 3215HST, Case 580 extendahoe, Case 310 dozer, Parsons trencher, Cat D6,
The secret to this old equipment is that you really need to know what you're looking at and know how to fix it. Just because it is old doesn't mean that it is warn out. We have a 1943 Cat D6, we are the 3rd owners, yes it is warn, but not warn out and for ranch work it is just fine. I have a 1962 Case 310 dozer, 6 way blade and rippers, I restored it a few years ago. We have less than 10K in both of these tractors. They both do what we need them to do at our place.
When it comes to old machinery, if you really don't know what you're looking at and have to deal with, you probably should stay away from it. There's always a chance that something costly can break, but if you are naive enough to purchase a known problem to start with, well good luck to you.
Here are a few pics of our crawlers.
When it comes to old machinery, if you really don't know what you're looking at and have to deal with, you probably should stay away from it. There's always a chance that something costly can break, but if you are naive enough to purchase a known problem to start with, well good luck to you.
Here are a few pics of our crawlers.
