Considering a dozer blade for a Cat 299D XHP

[labradorguy]

Anyone with experience have any comments? Any suggestions on brands to look at and/or width? Cat has a 79" and a 92". The 79 will cut out the tracks by an inch or two.

I actually need it to do some light dozing, ditching, etc... The cutting edge needs to be able to cut. All the vids online show them pushing loose dirt or worse, sand.... makes me wonder.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts on this.

LG

 

[eric12]

I've never used one but they seem to be more for backfilling or spreading materials than cutting or stripping. i don't think the CTL will have enough traction and breakout force to really doze well. however if i bought one id buy the smaller one so you have a higher breakout force.

 

[lowbed driver]

I was looking at one of the bigger cat machines decked out with a blade owned by a local contractor.He had it for snow removal. Anyways while looking at it I asked if he thought it would push and doze like his D3 and he just shook his head NO. The tracks do not look very aggressive and spinning them looks like it would not take to much so,to me anyways, as soon as you need to cut she will just bog down or spin tracks.
They do look good for sand,topsoil or knocking down a pile of gravel dropped by a truck as well as pushing snow.

You might be better off with a small dozer. Cheers LB

 

[CM1995]

I echo the OP's comments. If it was my money I wouldn't spend on a dozer blade for a CTL for the reasons listed above. A good friend of mine bought one many years back to fine grade with, it currently sits in his barn collecting rust from the few times is was used.:cool2

A tooth bucket will do more than a blade and be much cheaper. If you need to cut ditches, just make your initial cut and pile the loose dirt up to the pitch you want for the ditch. Smooth out your "template" and go from there. The machine will then be on the angle you need. I have cut many a slopes, swales and ditches this way without a tilt bucket or any other attachment.

Every CTL/skid salesman will say that their largest machine will "push like a D3". Part of that comment is true in certain situations but even the largest CTL lacks the physics to cut like a dozer. The torque/power to weight ratio being one and the difference between rubber tracks and metal single bar grousers.

For example I have a D5G and a T250. If we are pushing tandem loads on a fill lift, yes the T250 will do the job and probably push like a D3 in loose truck loads. However, given the machine choice I will always put the D5 on it before the T250. The D5 will get more done in a day and burn the same amount of fuel, not to mention the D5 is more comfortable and has better visability. I know I am sorta comparing apples to pears with the D5/D3 comparison but you get the idea.

 

[dirtmonkey]

I echo the OP's comments. If it was my money I wouldn't spend on a dozer blade for a CTL for the reasons listed above. A good friend of mine bought one many years back to fine grade with, it currently sits in his barn collecting rust from the few times is was used.:cool2

A tooth bucket will do more than a blade and be much cheaper. If you need to cut ditches, just make your initial cut and pile the loose dirt up to the pitch you want for the ditch. Smooth out your "template" and go from there. The machine will then be on the angle you need. I have cut many a slopes, swales and ditches this way without a tilt bucket or any other attachment.

I agree with CM. A good tooth bucket or 4n1 bucket with teeth or a tooth bar is more productive in my opinion.

 

[labradorguy]

Darn. Everyone is thinking the same thing as I am...lol. I was hoping someone would come on here (who isn't a salesman) and tell me these are the greatest thing since sliced bread. My problem is that I learned to move dirt on a D4 and worked as an engineer for Caterpillar for years. I currently work as a mining engineer. I'm not the best operator by a long shot, but for an engineer, I'm a decent one... haha. I've moved dirt with everything from a D3 to a D11CD but not so much with the CTL's. Every time I try to work on a ditch or something, I want to tilt the blade. I can't get used to my "blade" always staying on the same plane as my tracks.... I've done what CM mentioned and built up the ground to get my slope but it just seems like a whole lot of farting around for nothing. I was hoping that the small Cat blade would do the trick. The Cat salesman keeps going on about the HP of the 299D XHP compared to the D3, but he's either lying or he's an idiot because the weight and the length of track on the ground is where it's at, not HP.... That steel on the ground (vs. wide pad rubber) doesn't hurt anything either... haha. I appreciate the feedback guys. Like I said, I kinda knew what my answer was going to be, but I was hoping someone knew something that I didn't. It seems we are all of the same opinion.

 

[CM1995]

I've done what CM mentioned and built up the ground to get my slope but it just seems like a whole lot of farting around for nothing.

I can set up a ditch slope with a regular bucket in about the same time you can hook up the dozer blade on the CTL, it just takes a little practice.:cool2 I cut my operating teeth on a 1986 Bobcat 843 my father bought new, all we had was a tooth bucket. You learn to do a lot of things with what you have available and with time you can become pretty efficient as well.

 

[labradorguy]

I hear ya. Lol. No disrespect meant. I should have said that I do a lot of farting around....

Having a lot of equipment has spoiled me. Necessity is truly the mother of invention. I've got about a mile rock road running up a steep hill into my property. Every time I drive up the damn thing after a rain, I think of how well a little dozed blade would work to maintain it. That's what got me started with this idea, but bottom line is it'll be hard to justify one given the price. Maybe one of those barely used ones.... Lol

 

[CM1995]

I hear ya. Lol. No disrespect meant. I should have said that I do a lot of farting around....

No worries, none taken. I guess I grew up "running whatcha brung" and making do with what you have.

 

[Lindsey97]

try a land plane for the driveway. cuts foward and reverse.

 

[JDOFMEMI]

try a land plane for the driveway. cuts foward and reverse.

I second that. Much better job than a dozer blade too.

If the lack of tilt is throwing you, how about one of the tilt-tach attachments that lets you tilt the bucket?

I have not tried one, so it is not an endorsement, more of a question.

Also, I agree with CM and others that the tooth bucket is a better deal for digging/pushing dirt. I have a custom built looooong nose bucket, and it pushes like nobodys business. The production is worth the rollers it eats, for me.

 

[lumberjack]

Another +1 for a dirt bucket. A long, flat floor can make it easier to carry a grade, and the weight in the bucket greatly improves traction. Teeth greatly improve digging efficiency.

 

[nzpatch]

Hi , I have a tilt hitch on my cat216, done about 2900hrs with it on, and it's so good that I don't think I could go back. It does to the skid steer what the tilt ram did to a dozer ,yes you can live without it on both the dozer or the skid steer but it's hard to go back after having one. Not sure about the dozer blade on a ctl, I have a d3c hystat dozer and can't see a 299d keeping up but I guess a blade on a skid steer or ctl has its place. I'm with the others that a bucket is so usefull that you wonder if you need to have the dollers tied up in a blade. My tilt hitch is made in New Zealand.

 

[CRAFT]

labradorguy : ….. I know where you are coming from re: using a dozerblade off of a real dozer …. That's exactly why I used a real 4-in-1 bucket from a full sized backhoe which also happens to be 94" wide … I use it to grade roads and sites, besides for just snow removal … the back part of the bucket works great as a dozerblade too ! and has a bolt on cutting edge as well ….. I started a thread "4-in-1 Buckets in the Skid-steer section, where I posted some pics (back in the day when is wasn't so complicated to do just that ….LOL) ….. the machine handles dozing quite well, even tho it's a wheel machine …. I find that the added weight of the attachment adds to the machines traction because there is hardly any down pressure needed from the skid-steer (front wheels stay on the ground) gravity looks after the grading part ……. If it was me in your case I would go with the 92" wide blade, don't forget you will loose width when you angle the 79" making it narrower than your tracks ….. looking forward to seeing your out come if you go ahead with the project …. have fun !