New to Site and wanted to say Hello. Oh yeah, I need some advice also.

[stathamj]

I've been looking at getting a dozer for over a year now and still haven't gotten one. I work a lot on the weekends and by the time I get a chance they're already sold. Anyway, I started looking for something like the Cat D4d, D4c 80's-90's, D5c, D6c & D6d. I also looked at the Deere 450, 550 & 750. As well as the Case 650, 850d, 850g & the 1150. I've also looked at some Komatsu's D21, D31, D37, D39. I've looked at several other brands as well. I'm not partial to a brand because I've never really operated one. I think I would like the PS transmission. I had thought about a Deere 750. But, was kind of scared off of it by people saying it could cost more to fix it than I paid for it if the Hydst pumps went out. So. I'm kind of gun shy of the Hydrostat's now. This week I'm going to look at a few. So, I thought I'd try and find out some info of what to look for to help me to decide on which one to buy if any. I'll give all of the info I can. This is just what I was told.

#1. D6c 1970's ? $18000 50-60% U/C Runs out well, no leaks or problems. No Ripper/ Winch

#2. D4c 1991 $19500 New U/C Pedal Steer Runs out well and was used yesterday by the owner. No Ripper/ Winch. Has Aux Hyd for rear attachment.

#3. D4c 1990 $25000 New U/C Lever Steer Runs out well and is owned and is a backup for the guy that did some dozer work on my property. It has a Winch.

#4 Case 850d $25000 All new undercarriage 3 month Warranty, No Ripper/Winch

I can operate them and dig or push some dirt and maybe some trees with them on their property.

Do these sound ok. Are the prices in the normal range? Some of these may sound high compared to prices in your area. But, it seems that dozers in Texas are about 5-10K more than other parts of the US. A dealer told me, that was because, that most of them go to Mexico from here and they can get more for them. I don't know if this is true or not.

I don't know if pedal steer is better than lever, or the small lever on the Case are a problem. I think it would be nice to have a winch. But, I'm not sure if it's worth an extra $5500. I think to 6 way would be handy but the D6 could do a lot more. But, I'm not keen on the 50-60% U/C on it. Since I've never operated one I was looking to get everyones opinion. I do know that there is a Cat dealer about 30-40 miles away. I'm sure a Deere dealer is somewhere close as well. If I bought the Case with the warranty he said he would sevice anything he sells. So, what are your thoughts on these?

Thanks

James

 

[22a]

No ripper is a downside.

 

[bigrus]

No ripper is downside.

No rippers! If your going to use it as a farm tractor, remotes are ok but using it as a dirt pusher you'll need something like rippers to 'win" the dirt unless you have a big farm tractor with a set of rippers.
Worn undercarriage to rebuild that could be the price of the machine, cause once you start, you'll end up looking into the final drives, then there's a can of worms

 

[stathamj]

I bought a tract of timberland. So, mostly what I'll be doing is cleaning up fallen timber, cleaning up the mess that the original owners did not. They had timber cut and the branches and trunks were left scattered everywhere instead of being piled and burnt. There isn't any dirt to rip unless you use them for ripping roots out. I'll also be taking out some standing dead trees as well as selective thinning.

 

[Reece38]

i would say that is a decent price on the case in my area

 

[Mobiltech]

An excavator with a thumb attach works really well for what you want to do but I guess that might be more pricey.
I guess it depends on how far you're moving the trees. A good sized skidsteer with a root grapple can do a lot too. There are so many attachments for them they are really handy .

 

[S.I. Farmboy]

For what you are doing a dozer is about the last thing I would buy, unless you like to spend alot of $. I would look for a compact track loader or excavator, I have a 10k lb trac-hoe that I clear and clean with, it can handle way more than you would think, and either one would be a lot more agile. My old dozer does good if it breaks even between what it makes and what it costs to run.

 

[old-iron-habit]

I am curious if your property is to remain timberland why one would clean up the slash and leftovers from the timber harvest. Here in MN on State or Federal Forrest timber sales we are required to leave a large percentage of the slash scattered through out the cut area to support wildlife and to rejuvenate the soil as it biodegrades. Just trying to learn something new about forestry practices in different areas.

 

[stathamj]

I looked at skidsteers, Trackhoe, Crawler Loader, Wheel loader and dozers. Around here a decent sized skidsteer is about the price of a dozer. The trachoes are even more and the availibility is not very good. A track loader is almost impossible to find. Let alone a good one for under 25-30K. The wheel loader were harder to find than the crawler loader. Leaving fairly recent dozer with new undercarriage the easiest to find. It's still not easy finding one of them. I've been looking for year now. But, have recently come upon a couple that look to be in good enough shape to go and look at. That's how I decided on the dozer.

OIH- The area around where I will be building my out building and house need to be cleaned up for fire hazzard. I also want toget rid of the huge piles of limbs and branches they trimmed off all over the property. I want to push up small piles and burn them. THe gentleman that did the dozer work previously did a great job. But, the piles are so large that I'm having trouble getting them burnt. There are some piles 100-150 feet long 50 feet wide and 20-25 feet tall. So, I'm waiting on RAIN so I can get some burnt. There are three that need burnt before I can build my house or shop. Plus, one needs burnt to install the electric. Here most all of the land is privately owned and to my knowledge there aren't any requiements about leaving a percentage. When I get some of it cleaned and burnt I will replant. But, I've got to get it cleaned and burnt first. Hope this explains what I'm doing. I got a plan. Just don't know how it will work. Yet!!!

James

 

[old-iron-habit]

Reducing fire hazard is an excellent reason for cleaning up the slash. Good luck n your dozer hunt.