Rethinking Tractor - Maybe a bulldzozer?

[txdon]

Woodlandfarms, before buying a dozer I would at least get an estimate from a local dozer operator. I have used the hired dozer several times and each time I amazed at how fast he gets things done with his big dozer (the bigger the faster). If you buy a used dozer with plans to sell it after you are finished you are taking several gambles: 1. it won't break down or you can fix it(see eddiewalker's threads), 2. you will be able to sell it with a loss less than the expense to hire, 3. you can operate it efficiently and safely in your sloped area. 4. You will have more fun than stress.

 

[PBinWA]

Woodlandfarms, before buying a dozer I would at least get an estimate from a local dozer operator. I have used the hired dozer several times and each time I amazed at how fast he gets things done with his big dozer (the bigger the faster). If you buy a used dozer with plans to sell it after you are finished you are taking several gambles: 1. it won't break down or you can fix it(see eddiewalker's threads), 2. you will be able to sell it with a loss less than the expense to hire, 3. you can operate it efficiently and safely in your sloped area. 4. You will have more fun than stress.

I'll second that. If you own a dozer you better like grease and fixing things. Dozers (at least older used ones) seem to need a lot of TLC and hands on time. I'd love to have one but don't need one. I'd need a bigger yard to make messes in if I ever got one.

You can probably find some excavation companies to do the work for you. If you are persistent and flexible you can get the Excavation companies to bring out some big equipment and a skilled operator for around $1000-$1500 a day when they are between bigger jobs. The right tool in the right hands can get a lot of work done in a short time. It helps to get things set up in advance - make sure they can get a big truck and the equipment to your site easily (clear a road, remove fencing, put down some rock if it's muddy). I've had some good luck over the years by getting everything all set up and just pestering companies in a friendly manner until they are on a down time. When they call and say they want to come out "tomorrow" you need to be ready for them.

Check out the NickelAds (available for free at most convenience stores in your area) for smaller operators. There are lots of smaller dozers for hire around us.

 

[kubuddha]

Hiring out the man with the right equipment is the way to go. I had 42 trees taken out and 150 ft. of road put in with 18" of sandstone base ,2" of crusher for cover. The excavator plucked trees out with stumps near the size of his dump bed, in fact one got wedged and spread the bed walls. In three days the property was landscaped and not a twig left to be seen. $4,000.00 May 2001.

This past August I hired a few gentlemen to take down the old feed mill without the right equipment 6 weeks later they finished. For the same price with right equipment it could have been 3 days.

Lesson, "I won't make that mistake again" !!!!

 

[N80]

I would agree with the idea about used dozers. They apparently get sold when they are too broken down or unreliable to work on. My B-I-L got one in a trade a few years back and it was a disaster. He could not fix it himself and he has his own tractor shop (he has restored WWII half-tracks and duece and a halfs in addition to his farm tractors) but this dozer was just too much. I think he gave it away and it is still sitting. We looked at another one recently and considered making a community purchase (him and me and a couple of other locals) but it too was a mess. It was a smaller one and supposed to have had just one owner and used for one project (right!). We passed. Now we're thinking along the lines of a good sized used skid steer.

 

[ToadHill]

I was looking to get a bunch of dozer work done a couple of years ago. I got several estimates and the lease expensive was $2900. I looked around and found an old Oliver for sale for $1900. I did all my work and even cut some ditches that I hadn;t planned on doing. I put the Oliver out front with a for sale sing on it last summer and ended up getting $2400 for it. If you can find a reasonably good piece of equipment, it may pay off to buy rather than rent.

 

[Doc_Bob]

A fellow in my area charges 75 an hour for dozer. He is one mile away. Cash only.
Bob

 

[BarryinMN]

I bought a JD 40 hp dozer with a quik tach backhoe in 2002 because I wanted a tracked vehicle. Wheeled tractors & stuff were getting stuck in the mud. At 5 tons it's easily trailerable behind a 1 ton dump.

For stumping I'd recommend a backhoe or excavator. The dozer blade makes a larger than necessary crater.

For slopes my dozer stays locked to the hillside where on a tractor I'm hanging by the seatbelt.

As far as maintenance I've ound the dozer easy & simple. YTMAG & other sites have tech expertise willing to share on keeping old iron running. I'd be more afraid of a late model ODBII compliant car out of warranty in the hands of incompetent dealer techs.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Well, gotta say I love an hate this site. Advice is always spot on, but it sure blows my dreams. I think I am back to plan A ( the one started in mid 2006). Get the tractor, see what I can do by myself, and then hire out the rest..

This puts me back in to the what kind of tractor category. I am quite sold on a standard tractor (TYM, Deer Kubota 35hp hst), but with our hills the Powertrac lineup seems very enticing. They have no service on the west coast, and that scares the heck out of me, though...

 

[Timber]

You could always go with a skid steer and put tracks on it or buy 1 with tracks. You would have a more powerful hydraulic and lift capability. Of coarse you would have no 3 point hitch but that wouldn't be a problem as you can do almost anything with a tach-all. Grass cutting would be out of the question though.

 

[Dargo]

I bought a used 955 Cat several years ago and spent 3 years changing the shape and contour of the dozen or so acres where my house is as well as digging a lake that is just over an acre in size. Sure I ended up doing some work to it; as expected, but it wasn't bad. I had both tracks off at different times, rebuilt the lift cylinders (one day and under $100) and replaced the front ilders. That sounds like a lot, but I pretty well ran that thing 3 or 4 hours a day on average. It worked a few hours every evening and all day on weekends. When I was completely finished I sold it for a profit, including all parts I bought for it and even fuel and grease costs.

If you know how to determine the condition of an undercarriage and if the transmission feels right, if the hydraulics feel right and slop is minimal, you can certainly buy a used piece of equipment that isn't ready for the scrap yard. I'm actually considering the purchase of another dozer or excavator for a couple hundred acres I've since bought. The problem is that I now need something that will be far too big to easily transport. As a matter of fact, I'd have to get a permit every time I move one the size I'm considering. That kind of kills a bit of the idea. Otherwise, if you know equipment well and can work on it if need be (or know someone who does and can) I would still consider the purchase of used equipment if you think you'll need more than one specific thing done. For me, renting one for several months would have been out of the question and there was no way I could have come up with the money to have hired out all the work I did.