Reliable $5k-15k Dozer...

Hey folks, new guy here. I just bought a house with 20 acres of woods that needs some serious lookin-after. The terrain is mostly hills and valleys with some streams here and there. Ill be maintaining a few old logging roads, controlling erosion, and doing some hardcore landscaping and I need some advice.
What kind of dozer do ya'll recommend? Im leaning towards a small to medium size tracked dozer with a 6 way blade that will be living at my residence and not going anywhere else. I require something in the $5k-15k price range that is very reliable and easy to work on myself and has great parts availability. I know that's asking a lot of a dozer in that price range but there must be a few models meeting that criteria.
What do you think?

A nice D4 might fill the bill if no big (+6IN) trees. May have to look a while at auctions, ect.

D31e-20

some of these are in your price range, mine was just slightly above

Take look at the johndeere 450c. I see them all the time for $10k-$20k In good shape. I've spent some time on a couple of them scraping roads and never had any issues with them.

I like the case 450 and 550 series dozers I had a 450a for a while and never had trouble getting parts. If I could get one now I would love a Case 550g there going for about 20 k around here. I see 450 b & c around 10-15k

Were there any dozers designed specifically for working in the woods, ie: lower center of gravity, good balance of size vs power? What should I look for in a new-to-me dozer? Im new to this and have no idea where to start? Any huge red-flags (money pitfalls) to avoid mechanically?

What is a safe hour range for a dozer in this price range?

mossyoakpenn said:

Any huge red-flags (money pitfalls) to avoid mechanically?

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Yeah, a cheap dozer!

There is no "safe hour range" or "dependable model". When you're looking at decades old, complex machines like dozers, there's no shortcuts. Get to know the machine before you buy it, or you will after you buy it.

Best place to start would be to read this forum until you get a sense for what you understand, and what you don't know.

Delmer, summed it up 100%. Cheap & "safe hour or dependable" normally do not go together. It is pretty cheap & easy to call the rental company and have one delivered, do your work, even if it takes a month or so and then call them when done and have it picked up.

JBGASH said:

Delmer, summed it up 100%. Cheap & "safe hour or dependable" normally do not go together. It is pretty cheap & easy to call the rental company and have one delivered, do your work, even if it takes a month or so and then call them when done and have it picked up.

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Along these same lines, gets some bids for having the work done from a local contractor. Might be less than you expect.

I understand that you have a budget to work within, we all do. So, your budget dictates that you are talking about an older machine, 1960s or 1970s. You are not buying a truck, so age is not the factor. Condition is the factor. In the older machines I would recommend that you look for an older Cat because Cat parts are available at a reasonable price. Deer, Case and some of the other machines will not hold value like a Cat and therefore will fetch less than the older Cats. The reality and the expensive payback comes when you need parts that any older machine will need sooner or later.

I have two 1979 model Cats they both need some amount of work, had they not, I could not have been able to afford them. If you buy a machine in the $10,000 to $15,000 range that will start up easily, run, push dirt, and work hard for more than an hour and not overheat then consider buying it. You can expect to spend some amount of money on it as there are no free rides and at that price there should be visible defects already. If you can do the repair work on the machine yourself it just might pay itself out eventually. If you have to hire your repair work done, you would be better off to hire your dirt work out. Renting a machine for your own farm use is not usually too profitable unless you are already an experienced operator, else you end up paying a lot of money learning to operate with poor results for time and money spent. About the time you get the hang of running the beast you have to either buy the machine or return
It $$$$$$.

Don't overlook a pretty fair old Cat track loader for a keeper. A 4 way on the front and a ripper or a winch on the back would be a plus. As far as safety on and of the machine, that is entirely a result of your work habits. Working in the trees requires quick decisions and eyes in the back of your head. A good cab or Factory ROPS sweeps and screens are highly recommended for that kind of work.

Don't expect 80% on an undercarriage in that price range or even a claimed 50%. Some older machines sit on good uc, but not in that price range. Before you go looking, educate yourself on forums such as this one, or better yet take someone with you that already knows what to look for. Knowing when to walk away is important but so is knowing when to pull the trigger on a good deal that will fade away quickly.

Best of luck to you!

Nitelite has pretty much nailed it.Service is always going to be an issue and even though you will probably do most of the work yourself it is imperative that you be able to source the parts you need and sometimes price is not an issue on the parts if no one else has them so buy something that has the best dealer network.I would not be afraid of John Deere but the old Cats have the best chance of being repairable for the long haul.Resale value probably does not even enter the equation here but if it did it would still be a three letter word.Ron G

I would look for an old cat d3/4, or a track loader. Like others have said hours aren't the biggest concern, condition and how well the machine had been cared for are the most important. assuming you are somewhat mechanicly inclined you should be able to handle most repairs yourself as long as you get a decent machine and no catastrophic failures. A track loader with 4 in 1 bucket is probably what I would be looking for personally.

Some people on here believe that the only to move dirt the machine must first be a Caterpillar. When your looking for a reliable machine above 200 hp, they may indeed be right. However, in your size and age group, I don't think that they are. They are right to preach condition though. You need to learn what a worn out undercarriage looks like for starters.

Now for your intended buget there are several machines that I would consider. In the under 12k category, your going to have to be sharp cause there is a lot of worn out junk out there, but there are some usable machines as well. The 2 that come to mind are Deere's 450c & ih's td7e. From 12-20 opens up the field significantly, you should be able to find a nice deere 450 & 550 g, ih / dressers td8e and maybe even an h comes in. As well as cat's d 3 & 4 c's. Some case's will be in that $ bracket.

Bottom line is anything in that price range will be older and have the possibility of needing repairs, learning what your looking at will be the biggest hurdle. Think of it as a 15k dollar poker game without cards...

Thank you all for the great advice so far! I understand that I will be working on this machine myself and I also learned from this forum that maintenance manuals are a must for any dozer. I haven't ruled out renting a machine just yet either but that's an easy option. Hmmmmm.......my brain is going in circles.

I would consider a small track loader like a Cat 939 or Deere 555.

Realistically your budget needs to be $15-25K, a $5K dozer in this class is close to it's value in parts or scrap.

stumpjumper83 said:

your going to have to be sharp cause there is a lot of worn out junk out there, but there are some usable machines as well.

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This is the big part of the problem. The majority of machines in that age/price are junk, and the VAST majority of the ones for sale are junk. You can't be in any hurry to find one. Go to a few big auctions to poke around, start them up, drive forward and back, turn etc. DON'T get a number.

I am in the cat only camp because I don't need self punishment.

for your price range look around for a 955L. you will never be sorry.

My personal opinion is you to check with some local contractors and see how much they would charge to do what you want done before you go out and buy a dozer. Reason being is that I know several people that tried to do the same thing you are looking at doing. They bought a dozer ended up having to do repairs to it. Spent thousands of dollars to fix it on top of what they paid for the dozer. Not only that but a machine is ment to be operated not sitting out in the pasture for months at a time ask some of these guys what happens in the final drives when they have sat for a long whil .

This is my two cents anyhow. The only reason I say this is because I have bid on jobs and the land owners tell me well I can rent one for that or I will buy one and do not understand what it cost to replace undercarriage or trans.

I have had very good luck with my d3c III. Great machine but each to his own. I have also run the jd550 & 650 g also good machines. But keep in mind cheaper machine more the repair bill.

What do I look for in an undercarriage or transmission? How do you tell if its on its last leg or still has life left in it?