New guy here needing advice on equipment for clearing land.

[boatskipper]

Hey everyone,

I have searched through the forum and found some good tips, but I'd like more information. I've never ran a dozer before, but I'm ready to learn. I just bought about 25 acres of heavily wooded land that we want cleared and I don't really want to pay someone else to do it, I'd like to buy the equipment and do it myself and then sell the stuff. I did have a driveway cleared and a housepad cleared to build our home and that alone was $10K, I can't imagine how much someone would charge to clear the entire plot.

Anyways.... I'm looking at used dozers and I'm trying to stay at $25K or less. My main thing is that I'm not sure what features I need to look for, how old is too old, how many HP and size of dozer, etc.. Again, this will be used mostly for pushing timber, the trees go in size from small to big (60 feet tall). Also, I saw some people on some previous threads say that an excavator was a better option than a dozer, I'd like to get your input on that as well.

Thanks for the help.

 

[NCSUfan2015]

i'm sure others will give you some good advice too but i would say that you should look at an excavator instead of a dozer. For clearing land with a dozer you would likely need atleast a D6 size machine minimum to take down any large trees. For 25k or less I just don't think you could get a big enough dozer. I would recommend looking for a 20 ton+ excavator with a thumb. A track loader might also be a good option.

 

[boatskipper]

I'm open to an excavator, but I've been looking at prices for the past two weeks and it seems like excavators are more expensive than dozers. I've found a few D6 sized dozers in the 20-25K range, but the excavators are over 30K.

I know less about excavators than I do dozers, what size/HP should I be looking at?

 

[Grease Gun]

I hope you don't take my comments the wrong way, but the type of work you're talking about is poorly suited to a dozer. And with no experience, it's also a good way to get yourself hurt or killed.

A track loader or excavator would be the better choice. Unless you can get the trees cut for timber. Then you would just be dealing with stumps, and a medium size or large size dozer would be fine. This would also be much safer.

Around here (VA) it's about $1,000/ac to get land cleaned up.....just food for thought.

 

[CM1995]

Welcome to the Forums boatskipper!:drinkup

First of all I would suggest checking with local loggers and get an estimate of what the timber is worth, 25 acres is a nice size tract if it has good timber. Yes you'll have stumps and slash to deal with but if you can get paid something for the timber that goes into the till.

To be brutally honest, $25K isn't going to buy you much of machine to handle this type of project without spending considerable cash to keep it operating. Good used equipment has skyrocketed in value over the recent years due to the cost of new equipment, contractors are purchasing the good used iron more and more in order to stay profitable.

For what you describe I would either suggest a 50K lb excavator or D6 sized dozer, the D6 would be on the small end. Realistically I would budget at least $40K to find a decent machine between those two, even then be prepared to work on it.

 

[CatToy]

I shopped around for a year and finally picked up a LB330 excavator to do just what you are wanting to do. I also have a track loader and dozer but only used them to clean up after the heavy work is done with the excavator. Takes me 5 mins to take down a tree with the excavator, have taken down several trees with loader just because I did not want to go get the excavator, took me over 30 mins to dig around it and finally push it over. I have not tried with the dozer but I would think it would be slower than the loader.

BTW- since the work is on your property and using you time, get a dozer, just be careful when cutting around a big tree, they tend to fall when you are not expecting them too. And as CM1995 stated, be prepared to work on you equipment unless you are very lucky.

 

[td25c]

Yeah boatskipper , At 25K you are in range of a late 1960's Cat D7E or early 70's D7F .

Just about the perfect size machine for clearing & dirt work on a farm or job site .

Few examples ..... http://www.machinerytrader.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=10974669

http://www.machinerytrader.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=11010423


Big enough to do the job and easy to move on a tandem truck & lowboy . Cat D7E was the militaries choice machine for clearing operations in Vietnam .

Listen to those four cylinder diesels cracking through the bush . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56bJ4RLF6tg

 

[movindirt]

I admire you wanting to do it yourself, and I completely understand where you are coming from, but as the others have said clearing is very dangerous work, not only that but if you buy a $25k machine, you'll have a LOT of fuel and probably a few hoses (hopefully no major engine trouble or hyd. pump problems). In the end you'll have a fair bit more then $25k in the project. If someone else would come in and clear it for $25k I'd be tempted to just go that route.

 

[Nitelite]

A track loader with a four in 1 bucket and rippers would be your perfect machine as there is more to cleaning up land than just taking down the trees. Save some of that 25,000 out of the budget for tools and repair parts along the way. A ready to work loader in fair shape can be bought for under 20,000.00

 

[boatskipper]

A track loader with a four in 1 bucket and rippers would be your perfect machine as there is more to cleaning up land than just taking down the trees. Save some of that 25,000 out of the budget for tools and repair parts along the way. A ready to work loader in fair shape can be bought for under 20,000.00

What size should I be looking at?

 

[wrwtexan]

Have you looked at a larger dozer like an older D8H? They are too big for most people to want but big enough to deal with big timber and with the low demand, are fairly inexpensive as compared to a D6. I've run both and when I hit a big tree with my 6C and have to start ripping roots and building a ramp versus just knocking the darned thing over, I sure miss the power and grunt of the 8H. I've run side by side with a friend and his excavator, and it's nice for knockdown, but a dozer to me is necessary for moving anything much distance to pile and for cleanup.

 

[boatskipper]

Have you looked at a larger dozer like an older D8H? They are too big for most people to want but big enough to deal with big timber and with the low demand, are fairly inexpensive as compared to a D6. I've run both and when I hit a big tree with my 6C and have to start ripping roots and building a ramp versus just knocking the darned thing over, I sure miss the power and grunt of the 8H. I've run side by side with a friend and his excavator, and it's nice for knockdown, but a dozer to me is necessary for moving anything much distance to pile and for cleanup.

My brother in law is trying to talk me into a smaller dozer. He has a D4 and has used his to clear about 75 acres on his 150 acre plot and says it will be plenty for my needs as our land is similar. There are some big trees but a lot is just brush and smaller timber. The land I bought has been neglected and needs to be cleared for cattle. But he cuts a lot of the bigger trees down and then chops it into firewood. That's too much work for me, I just want to make big brush piles and burn it.

As for everyone saying I'm not experienced.... Well I agree, but we all have to start from somewhere. I've run tractors and other equipment before and I know I'm completely green with a Dozer, but I'll learn. I'm not reckless.

Anyways, should I listen to him and go with one his size (D4) or go bigger? I'm trying to keep resale value in mind too. I figure I'll be done with this in a year max, then I'll want to sell it to try and recoup some of my investment.

 

[CDUB]

If you understand the danger, you should be fine. I would look for a dozer or track loader. Excavators are fine for knocking down trees but piling and cleanup can be tedious. Buying in that price range there will be a wide range in quality of machines. You'd do well to educate yourself on what to look for in equipment. Go look at a lot of machines and ask a lot of questions and you will soon see the difference in a well cared for machine and painted up junk.

 

[CDUB]

There's a different sizes of D4. A D4H may be big enough. A D4C would be a bit small. I would try to go bigger either way. Cat 953 963's have been really cheap in recent history. They may be a better buy for the money.

 

[JBGASH]

A 963 track loader will do all u would need for complete cleanup of the property with ease. It won't break the bank to buy one also. That would be my choice any day.

 

[Dickjr.]

I'm with JB on this a nice 963 A model or a B would do this job fine and can be had for under 30 grand.

 

[oldirt]

hire it done. you will wear out your bank account to do it yourself with old iron that will be worth little when you are done.

 

[CatToy]

hire it done. you will wear out your bank account to do it yourself with old iron that will be worth little when you are done.

I can verify these good words of wisdom are true but what fun would it be to have someone else do it.

 

[CM1995]

It's a crapshoot buying used equipment, especially old used equipment. There is good used iron to be found but be sure and take a mechanic with you that knows the piece of iron your looking at - there's a reason why a 963A or B can be bought for $30K and the newer used ones run $100K +.

Now I'm a track loader guy and a track loader will fit the bill for what you want to do as well. I got sidetracked in my post above thinking about how much used iron has increased in price over the last 2 years and forgot to mention that.

Anyway a 953 or 963 would be a good choice. The combination I prefer to clear with is a 321 and 953, those machines can double team a clearing job well. The exc. lays the trees down and the loader cleans up. Since you don't need both I would go towards a loader as it can take the trees down and clean up.

A track loader is one of the hardest pieces of dirt moving iron to learn how to run this side of a grader IMO. Now that doesn't mean anything other than it takes time to master all it can do - and it can do a lot. If I had one machine to earn a living with it would be a loader.

The hystats in these machines are durable but if they do go out it's a lot of cash to get it back running, same with travel motors. The internals are jammed in there and replacing hoses can be an all day job deepening on which one goes out. Clearing is rough on any piece of equipment and being inexperienced will only add to the stress put on the machine, no offense intended just stating a fact.

Spend some time looking for a machine and pay a mechanic to go with you when you find one that might pan out. Get the machine hot (to working temp.), especially hystat loaders and work it for a while. Usually a weak hystat or travel motor will show itself when it gets to working temp and under load. Any hydraulic leaks should surface as well. If the seller won't let you run it for an hour or so then pass and keep on looking, they're probably hiding something.:cool2

 

[jaclo]

A 963 track loader will do all u would need for complete cleanup of the property with ease. It won't break the bank to buy one also. That would be my choice any day.

came here to say this. Stay away from the dozers and trackhoes.

you would even be ok with a 953