Small bulldozer for woodlot access?

[Shrew_Gardens]

In fact I am in central VT. I certainly have much less class 4 road to contend with, and there is no dwelling so it doesn’t need to be in GREAT shape, just good enough to facilitate access with truck & trailer.

I have to admit, I don’t quite understand how exactly my dad cut our “woods roads” with just a chainsaw, hand tools and a half ton pickup, even though I was there for much of it as kid, hauling firewood and brush. There are few stumps, even (though I managed to find one with my bumper -thanks Dad!).

I had not considered a mini excavator at all. A great idea, and I bet it would probably do everything I need. I think that the buy-in price may prohibit it. This is also likely true for a skid steer, which someone suggested.

 

[Fxfymn413]

HD rents small excavators for around 4 to 5 hundred per day and less as you stretch out the time you keep it. You can get a 4.5 to 5 ton machine for $3.2K for a month long rental in my area.

I'd rent one to see if that is a good solution for you.

 

[Loaderman22]

I'm all for buying the dozer, because I did!! But for pure versatility, I agree with above, you can't beat a small excavator with a blade. Can't push much, but you can load the dump trailer and put it where you want it. Remove that stump that you found with the truck bumper, but also you'll find uses for it elsewhere.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

if I had more property...and a larger budget...I'd own both a small dozer and a mini excavator! I have rented a mini-ex for projects and found it to be quite reasonable. If I had a large project and the time to set a aside to get it done, renting a machine for a month for that dollar figure suggested would be a really good option...and you never have to store it or maintain it afterwards!

 

[EddieWalker]

I have a little experience with owning a bulldozer. I rented a Deere 450G at first, but it was just too small to get anything done. When the ground was dry in summer, the blade couldn't break through, and I spent too much time trying to chip away the top layer to get to softer soil. It also couldn't turn when I had a full blade of dirt. Just not enough weight or HP. I later learned it was great for shaping dirt and spreading dirt that had been dumped in a pile.

I bought a Case 1550 bulldozer after that. 170 HP and 40,000 pounds. It's similar to an older D6 in weight and power. That's where they start to have the weight and power to dig and move dirt. I couldn't imagine having a smaller machine. The amount you can get done with more HP is significant.

My neighbor hired out all his dozer work and they always had new Cat D6, which I think was closer to 200 HP in the newer ones.

Not knowing your land, but assuming it's hard packed soil with rock mixed in to deal with, I think you will really struggle to get anything accomplished with something small or affordable.

Affordable means it's worn out and probably abused. That means lots of wrenching after even more time trouble shooting. With dozers, and all heavy equipment, just making a simple repair can take days because of how heavy the parts are, or difficult they are to get to. Prices for parts are all over the place. The fan shroud for my Case dozer was $1,000 from a used salvage place in Florida. Case no longer supplies them. Make sure that you can get parts for what you buy. There is a reason that some old equipment is left where it is when it breaks down for all eternity.

I would call in some pros to get some bids before buying a dozer. Getting somebody in there with a big enough machine to get it done quickly should be considered.

What is your budget to buy a machine? How much time do you have to work on it when it breaks down? Do you have the tools to repair it. I have wrenches in every size up to 2 inches, sockets over two inches and an 3/4 impact wrench for those REALLY hard to remove bolts. My tool collection grew considerably when I bought my dozer!!!!!!

 

[Deertamer]

I had a Mitsubishi D-2 with a 6 way blade. I love operating it. The problem was that I was clearing too much of my property. I would go to the woods and didn't stop for lunch or hardly stop to take a leak. I dug a pond and did a lot of dirt work with it. I sold it when I got a good offer to save my trees.

 

[renegade99]

Thank you all for the thoughts. I am surprised at how positive you guys are, I would have expected more negativity -but then we are all machine lovers.

I’m handy but not a mechanic, for example the dipper cylinder on my TLB needs to be rebuilt but I am having someone do that for me. I have the 1 ton truck and a 160000# deck over/tilt/dump trailer but I am not really seeing dozers that I can transport with that. The rigs that caught my attention seem to be somewhere over 6 tons (Deere 450, Fiat-Allis FD5).

In any case, if I did this it would get transported to the woods and live there.

And yes, I am getting older and starting to want what I want.

I know it is a typo but I could haul anything with a 160000# trailer. On short moves or 1 time stuff you can overload, carefully and be OK (not on the freeway or major highways, but I have seen a lot of overloaded trailers move from 1 farm to the next and not have any issues, you just need to be careful.

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm all for buying the dozer, because I did!! But for pure versatility, I agree with above, you can't beat a small excavator with a blade. Can't push much, but you can load the dump trailer and put it where you want it. Remove that stump that you found with the truck bumper, but also you'll find uses for it elsewhere.

I think the blade is the ticket… some have 6-way blades which is a sweet set-up.

 

[fishdoggy]

I bought my IH TD-9 as a project in 2003, 13,000 lbs with a bad motor is a project just getting it home. It is a track loader but could dig out stumps and push dirt, leveling is in reverse with hydraulic float pressure on bucket. The excavator down the road that came and pulled me out of the marsh said he liked his big cat ex. for most work including leveling. The machine is down right now with a frozen clutch and starter that just spins, will not pop the gear forward. It does not have a rops and in trees that will kill you, i was pushing some buckthorn out and hit a tree root that swung the tree at me, only about a 4 inch but if I had not been quicker i would have eaten it.

 

[neilpaku]

One has to remember that undercarriage is a consumable, like oil and filters. They wear down and then are replaced. Sprockets/segments, idlers, rollers, rails, grouser pads. Just like cutting edges, tips, shank guards. For undercarriage, Cat defines their condition as % worn, so 100% means end of economic life and time for replacement or refurbishment (many items can be refurbished if one is willing to spend hours on a welder)

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Sorry, but that's not a bulldozer

Yes, it is a Track Loader. But it will do a lot of what a push dozer will do, and is quite versatile.

 

[fishdoggy]

If you click on my picture you should see the TD-9, a 1946. I am standing in the deepest part of my duck scrape in the photo, that is not where I got stuck, found a spring on the hillside.

 

[ultrarunner]

I got the D3 stuck in the ravine…

The soil turned to sand when I tried to get out.

Lots of what are you going to do and hope you can afford to get pulled out.

I said I will just leave it there until the rains come… a couple of months later the rains started… after a few days of rain I waited another 2 days of sunshine… started the dozer and drove out.

Moisture content of the soil can’t be dismissed… especially in areas with long hot dry summers.

I really enjoyed the D3 and it paid for itself putting in and maintaining fire trails and fire breaks…

 

[Shrew_Gardens]

One has to remember that undercarriage is a consumable, like oil and filters. They wear down and then are replaced. Sprockets/segments, idlers, rollers, rails, grouser pads. Just like cutting edges, tips, shank guards. For undercarriage, Cat defines their condition as % worn, so 100% means end of economic life and time for replacement or refurbishment (many items can be refurbished if one is willing to spend hours on a welder)

I have a little experience with owning a bulldozer. I rented a Deere 450G at first, but it was just too small to get anything done. When the ground was dry in summer, the blade couldn't break through, and I spent too much time trying to chip away the top layer to get to softer soil. It also couldn't turn when I had a full blade of dirt. Just not enough weight or HP. I later learned it was great for shaping dirt and spreading dirt that had been dumped in a pile.

I bought a Case 1550 bulldozer after that. 170 HP and 40,000 pounds. It's similar to an older D6 in weight and power. That's where they start to have the weight and power to dig and move dirt. I couldn't imagine having a smaller machine. The amount you can get done with more HP is significant.

My neighbor hired out all his dozer work and they always had new Cat D6, which I think was closer to 200 HP in the newer ones.

Not knowing your land, but assuming it's hard packed soil with rock mixed in to deal with, I think you will really struggle to get anything accomplished with something small or affordable.

Affordable means it's worn out and probably abused. That means lots of wrenching after even more time trouble shooting. With dozers, and all heavy equipment, just making a simple repair can take days because of how heavy the parts are, or difficult they are to get to. Prices for parts are all over the place. The fan shroud for my Case dozer was $1,000 from a used salvage place in Florida. Case no longer supplies them. Make sure that you can get parts for what you buy. There is a reason that some old equipment is left where it is when it breaks down for all eternity.

I would call in some pros to get some bids before buying a dozer. Getting somebody in there with a big enough machine to get it done quickly should be considered.

What is your budget to buy a machine? How much time do you have to work on it when it breaks down? Do you have the tools to repair it. I have wrenches in every size up to 2 inches, sockets over two inches and an 3/4 impact wrench for those REALLY hard to remove bolts. My tool collection grew considerably when I bought my dozer!!!!!!

EVERYONE’s contribution is much appreciated but you two in particular have just effectively talked some sense into me.