Track Loader or Dozer?????

If you could buy only one machine, what are the opinions on which is more universal.

This would be my first piece of heavy equipment besides my 4100 deere and I will be pushing and moving dirt for a motocross track in rock and clay.

Thanks.

Without a doubt, the loader is the more versatile. You can push dirt with a loader, and grade to a certain degree, but you can't achive the precision grading that you could with a dozer. On the other hand, with a dozer, loading anything is strictly out of the question, and moving material any great distance is more difficult.

Loader definitely!

For smooth dirt roads, I would say the dozer. But for a motocross track, definately the track loader. Grading ability will depend on the bucket used, but for piling and moving dirt around, definately the track loader.

Dozer or track loader.

Hi, Nicker.
Firstly, welcome to the forum.

Now, dozer or track loader? A dozer is great for shifting bulk dirt over short distances, up to about 100 yards with a larger dozer where you can work in a slot. A track loader will not move dirt efficiently over anything like those sorts of distances, either pushing or carrying. On the other hand, a dozer can't load trucks without some sort of aid, like an old-fashioned 'chinaman'.

Some people above have said that a dozer will grade better than a loader. I would dispute this, especially if the loader is fitted witha 4-in-1 bucket and you know how to use it. Yes, most dozers these days have tilt cylinders and some have PAT blades. What they don't have is the bucket floor to act as a skid plate.

Personally, I would be opting for a track loader with a 4-in-1 bucket and rippers but I certainly wouldn't rule out a 4wd articulated loader with the same equipment either. Some people may laugh at this but I have done things with a 4wd articulated loader that even a bigger track loader could not do. A good 4wd loader with ballast in the tires will climb in places where a track loader will struggle and it is amazing how much rock you can take out with bucket teeth properly angled.

If you do choose a loader with a 4-in-1 bucket, another good investment would be a spreader bar. You can find photos of one in this thread:

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=4405&page=2&highlight=fine+grading

The one shown in those photos is 13 feet wide, designed for leveling house sites. For a motocross track you might not need it quite that wide, say maybe 10 feet.

Hope this helps.

I had this same quandry a few months ago and was sent down the loader path by the good folks here on the site...ended up with a CAT 939c ...love it would never think twice about recommending one to anyone...although I do have a deep fondness for the in-your-face power of a big dozer pushing mountains around :notworthy

big dozer pushing mountains around

HeyUvaVT said:

although I do have a deep fondness for the in-your-face power of a big dozer pushing mountains around :notworthy

Click to expand...

There is nothing like the feel of power from a big dozer pushing mountains around. That's why we all love this heavy equipment so so much.

Thanks for the repies. This is a great site. Now to start the hunt for a Track loader with a 4 in 1 bucket and rippers at a decent price. Pedal steer or lever steer?

we have an old 941b for sale no rippers or 4 in 1 bucket, never needed them. the clay here is easy to dig with just the teeth. as far as a 4in1 bucket well we just get it close going forward then back drag it and it always gets it fine for us. call me if you need the loader we are in the kingsport area of tennessee. i think dad wants 15 for it. we use it as a spare right now. just came in off a job pulling a sheeps foot roller


423 306 8892
lynn

Lever or pedal steer??????????????????????

Hi, Nicker.
You have just made it very obvious, at least to me, that you don't have much track loader time. I don't know anybody who has spent much time on pedal steer track loaders who would willingly go back to a lever steer machine. I personally would not entertain for a moment the thought of buying a lever steer machine.

Just my 0.02.

what about the choice of transmission
hrdrostatic?
powershift?
direct drive?

I'm a LAZY type.

Hi, Z240.
Direct drive is out for any serious commercial work for the same reason that lever steer is out. You might think you can imagine just how much busier you would be if you had direct drive and lever steer on a track loader but I'd suggest doubling your best guess and then add the last number you thought of over 100. Then you might be somewhere close.

I once spent ONE day on a stick shift, lever steer Cat 933 loading 12 cu. yd tippers. I was a LOT younger and probably a little sillier then. I have no wish to repeat the experience. They're fun to play with - - - - - - for about 10 minutes. Then the novelty wears off.

Powershift or hydrostatic? As far as ease of operation is concerned, there isn't a lot to choose between the two. Where the hydrostatic leaps ahead is in manoeverability and speed control with its infinitely variable speed range. Also, when properly adjusted, a hydrostatic is automatically brake-applied when you put the control lever in the neutral position.

I can only imagine what a pain it must have been to play with levers and try to load and dump. On a dozer you can get away with lever steer, but what a bother it must be to have to fiddle with bucket controls. Glad it didn't drive you nuts!

Dozer !

Nicker said:

I will be pushing and moving dirt for a motocross track in rock and clay.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

HI!

I would search for a D6C size dozer!
14-18 tons machine with 6 way blade and 5-7 tooth ripper/scarifier.
I have a lot of experience of motocross track maintanance, both on hardpack and really soft sand tracks. I as former pro rider i have also been keeping the track in good shape over 10 years rofessor

The second option would be a trackloader with 1/4 bucket and ripper, 10-15 tons machine (cat 955, 951). single grouser or dubble grouser would be the pads to prefear.

make shure the machine you buy have powershift tranny!!! and it on the track its better with accelerator pedal instead of deaccelerator pedal, but its easy to change, and doesnt matter so much when you get used.

I have tried almost everything on the track, ag. tractors, excavators 1-30 tons, wheel loaders and back hoes.

the problem with agricultural tractors, even if if they are BIG 4wd's is that they don't cut the top's of the braking and aceleration bump's. They just push the soft material betveen the bump's and then it goes in bad shape really fast again. I have used a 5,5 tons, 6000series Deere with loader and blade in the rear.
also preparing jumps is a lot harder with ag tractors and wheel loaders, with a dozer you can make really good jumps when you get used to the blade! The wheels are so sensitive for small bumps, they don't float on the ground like tracks do.

also an big excavator is quite good to prepare the track with, but it's slow and expensive compared to the dozer. with the dozer you can use a blade up to 4 meters wide, then again the excavator can hardly carry a bucket wider than 2 meters... with the dozer you can make one long straight in one push, with the excavator you have to move the machine all the time.

The first dozer i had on the track weighted only 7,5 tons, and it was all to light to use in hardpack. when i bought the D6C things started to happen! the fuel economy was a lot better and i could prepare the track a lot faster (2-3 times).
I use the trackloader and excavator mostly when i need to do some bigger changes, it's quite rare othervise that you need to carry dirt.
to prepare the stadium whoops i use a smaller excavator 1,5-5 tons, with a wide tilt bucket.

Have fun!

I found the perfect beast.

I went ahead and bought a Case 1155d that is 27,000 pounds with a 6 cylinder cummins, 4 in 1 bucket and rippers on the back. It seems to be exactly what the doctor orderd. Next will be a root rake of some sort to clear more area.

I plan on enviting Paul Carpenter and Bob Kinery whenever they get close to my area again.:notworthy

I move a lot of dirt and load many dumsters with my bobcat track loader.

Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums bildrrick! :drinkup

A cunning plan bildrrick!!! them machines I would call a drott :thumbsup

I have an IH500C trackloader, Drott 4in1 and rippers. Kinda wish I would have found one with the backhoe. I've seen plenty of Deere 450C's with the backhoe. Awesome combination!

I have been planning to put a backhoe on my D6C that i use on the motocross track :drinkup
I have a quite one of D6C! the cab is made for forrestry crane, so the seat turns around and it has the fueltank on the side
so it would be extremly easy to add a hoe to the rear! it allready has a mounting plate there, or could also be called a ripper... but it's a ripper modified from a sled connector, my machine was used to load and pull logg sleds from the forrests.

Quite sone i will begin to work on the machine, so i will snap some pictures of the wierdo and start a new tread on it! So hold on Deas! (i know you have been waiting)

now when i have compared the D6C with angle blade and the Komatsu D41S trackloader with 4-1 bucket on the motocross track, I have to say that the D6C is my choise any day!