Tractor vs. Bulldozer

[Iplayfarmer]

What are the pros and cons of a tractor vs. a bulldozer for ground leveling and road building? I have a piece of ground that I want to improve for camping etc. It's mostly hilly. I want to make a few leveled spots for parking campers and make a road to connect things.

I have purchased a Case 801B with a bucket (with tooth bar), front blade, and bale fork attachments for the included Farmhand F11 loader. However, I have found myself hankering for a bulldozer lately. There are a few smaller bulldozers around as I peruse Craig's List, Marketplace, etc. Is my emotional need for a bulldozer purely emotional, or are there instances where a small bulldozer really will outperform this tractor as equipped?

The other option is to do what the tractor will do well and then sell it or trade it for a little dozer. What should I do with the tractor, and what should I do with the dozer?

 

[Egon]

It’s all a mater of machine size. A big tractor will bury a small dozer. A big dozer will bury a tractor.

 

[plastikosmd]

1) a dozer is well suited for the tasks you have mentioned but is less versatile than the tractor.
2) dozers usually bought second hand or 20th hand are worked hard and need to be assessed for undercarriage life, clutches or whatever
3) I love my dozer, I started garden tractor size and now am up to a 18k lb machine. I will always keep my deere TLB. If i could have only one, it would be the tractor. The best is having both. The dozer moves the dirt, cuts the trails and yanks the stumps, rocks or stuck vehicles with ease.

 

[LouNY]

A dozer of comparable or larger size size with a 6 way blade will do a better job of grading and leveling and road building.
If it's in decent shape, many of the older ones are pretty well whipped and parts for the under carriage will add up fast.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

A dozer of comparable or larger size size with a 6 way blade will do a better job of grading and leveling and road building.
If it's in decent shape, many of the older ones are pretty well whipped and parts for the under carriage will add up fast.

Yup, a tractor anywhere near the weight of the dozer, the tractor looses!!

SR

 

[deereman75]

The problem with dozers is that small ones aren't overly useful, and large ones are either expensive, or cost as much as the purchase price in repair bills every time you try using it.

But as far as getting work done there is no comparison. A D6 or D7 can do in a day what would take a month with a tractor

 

[Industrial Toys]

There is no comparison in operating cost between the two. Buying a used dozer is a money pit. You had better have mechanical abilities and time, if you want to do OK buying a used dozer.

I ALWAYS wanted a JD 450 (wet brakes version) but it never happened and probably never will. Watching so many videos of repairs makes be realize, it would be foolish for me.

 

[Tinhack]

I have a tractor and a crawler. The JD 420C at 20-something horsepower will out push and pull my 50+ horsepower tractor. I use the "dozer" to maintain the dirt path I call a driveway. :ashamed: It's over a quarter mile long and sloped. After a hard or long rain, there's many areas that need attention. I've also used the dozer to pull my tractor out of a mud hole in the back. I also use the dozer to consolidate cactus patches where I wouldn't dare take my tractor(s). I built the backstop for my range too. Once you have it, you find all sorts of work for it. Mine has a crane I've used many times to unload trailers and move downed trees. It picked up a 3500lb OBI punch press off a trailer. I also used the crane to move my Bridgeport mill into the shop. I only paid $1500 for it and haven't done anything except do a valve job and put a new carb on it. Oh, and put gas in it. It's a 1956 model. It's paid for itself many times over.

She ain't pretty but she sure is a hard worker.

 

[Tinhack]

Oh yeah. One other thing about a crawler. Don't run over rattle snakes. There's a good chance the tracks will throw them up on a rear fender. That will scare you into a new pair of shorts.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Thank you for some great replies as always. I appreciate the mention of maintenance costs. That is something I had not considered. It sounds from those with experience like a dozer is a high maintenance machine. I do have some mechanical aptitude, but I have less and less time as my life gets longer. If I could get into a deal like Tinhack with a machine that hasn't required much work that would be ideal.

I'll probably still keep my eyes out for a good deal on a dozer, but maybe with a little less urgency. I'll also probably do a lot more investigating on a used machine than I would have before posting this thread. Are there any specific checks or tests that I should do when looking at a used dozer?

Also, any thoughts about what tasks I should save for a dozer? I.e. if I were to use the tractor for a while and then sell it to get a dozer... What land prep should I do with the tractor and what tasks should I save for the dozer?