Dozer vs. 4-in-1 bucket on a crawler loader??? Pro's and Con's???

[JDDozerman]

Hello all,
I did not see another post on this subject, and I'm very curious to see the variety of answers, so I thought I would give it a shot. What are the benefits, or shortcomings, of one vs the other??? I'm VERY interested to read what all you're thoughts, and/or input, are on this subject! I have my ideas, but I'm sure I'm not thinking of everything. Have a great day!

JDDozerman

 

[PCSHAY]

I'll leave to others on the 4 in 1 but a list of things a dozer can do;
Doze, rip, winch, tow, push, skid, plow snow &.....
The machine can be fitted with slopers, ripper teeth on the blade, custom trencher blades, root rakes, root plows, tree pushers, &......
The pto can drive farm implements, A-frames and loaders, saws, roto-tillers, scrapers &.....
It can winch out or push out stuck wheel tractors, fight fire, demolish buildings, &......
With a ramp and chute it can even load dump trucks.
With ingenuity it can do a lot of things and in my opinion is the most versatile of all machines.

 

[250c]

I have a 4 "n" 1 bucket on my 250C and find I'm only limited by my imagination. I also have a 3 yard wheel loader with a solid bucket, there is no doubt that the 4"n"1 can do more things but the wheel loader can do them faster.

 

[PCSHAY]

More things I've done with a dozer;

Pull a sheepsfoot roller, vibratory compactor and rock crusher.
Wrap a chain around fence posts and lift em out with the blade. Works great.
You can throw a chain around a heavy object, lift it with the blade and move it around.
Throw a chain around stumps and pull them out.

Other things I haven't done;
Use PTO to run an irrigation pump or electric generator.
Use a cable reel to lay cable.
Pull a logging arch.

 

[PhilDirt]

I like loaders, but I can think of 2 negatives right off the top of my head. 1 is that loaders have rigid track frames, so they will tilt more quickly when trying to grade, and 2 the blade of a 4 in 1 is no wider than the tracks - when dozing through fill for example, the dirt falls in behind the blade and gets under the tracks, if there are rocks or debris in it they fall against the track frames and damage the guards, can even fall behind the loader and trap you in your 'slot' if they are large enough. I'm pushing a lot of fill lately and rocks falling under the front of the tracks is a PITA.

 

[RDG]

Cant tilt or angle like a dozer can, some jobs a 4in1 is better for, some jobs a dozer is better for, try doing a side cut round a steep hillside with a 4in1 then do it with an angle dozer/ SU dozer and see which one is the quickest and easiest.Cheers RDG.

 

[PCSHAY]

Another attachment you can hang on a dozer is a portable backhoe. These used to be fairly common. I knew a guy who had one on a John Deere and just took it off when he wasn't using it. Could be handy on a farm.

 

[OldandWorn]

1 is that loaders have rigid track frames, so they will tilt more quickly when trying to grade.

Interesting info, do the track frames on dozers move or pivot on something?

I wish I had a 4-in-1 on my loader AND a dozer.

 

[norite]

I never used a 4 in 1 bucket but grading with the bucket of a crawler loader I found the higher attachment point of the loader arms made the loader pivot when encountering rocks and such causing a dip in the grade. On a dozer, the blade is attached much lower, usually to the track frames and the blade seems to either cut the grade better or push rocks ahead of the blade with much less deviation from grade.

Of course the best solution is to have a loader and a dozer to do the jobs they each do best.

 

[OldandWorn]

I never used a 4 in 1 bucket but grading with the bucket of a crawler loader I found the higher attachment point of the loader arms made the loader pivot when encountering rocks and such causing a dip in the grade. On a dozer, the blade is attached much lower, usually to the track frames and the blade seems to either cut the grade better or push rocks ahead of the blade with much less deviation from grade.

That makes sense....tnx!

 

[boone]

Also, don't most all dozers have a flexible equalizer (axle) bar on the front attached to the track frame whereas a loader has a rigid bar? So a dozer can take a rise on one side of the idler without the blade rising up as much as say a loader would.

This topic is interesting to me cause last few weekends I've been experiencing much of what you guys describe with a loader. I was pushing rock on uneven terrain and with a regular bucket, rocks were coming around and trying to fall down behind the bucket and in front of the track. It seems a dozer with a much wider blade would have been better. I was wishing for a TD-15 or a D6 with a 10' or 12' blade in a bad way. I love my loader though!

Sound like JDDozerman doesn't have much rock though.

 

[ttazzman]

to me a 4-1 loader is a compromise of many machines, so it will do a lot of things fairly well so to me they make a good single farm machine, lotta bang for the buck

a appropriately sized dozer and excavator will do those same things much better

 

[Dickjr.]

I have a 4 in 1 on my backhoe and in times it is very handy. The worse thing about one on a loader , seems like it would be easy to spring it. I've seen several at auction that were sprung all to hell. For demolition or brush clean up they are good , picking up rocks tree trunks pulling fence posts etc. The 953C run has an equalizer bar allowing the front track frame to oscillate about 5 inches. Smaller loaders and older ones don't have this. I know what Boone is saying when a rock falls behind the bucket it will jar your teeth. Thats one thing the eq bar does is raise that side and let the other down to decrease some shock.

 

[PhilDirt]

In addition to the wider blade, the push arms on the sides keep the rocks out from under your tracks on a dozer

 

[JDDozerman]

Hello everyone,
Sorry I've been away for a few days, my disease decided to "kick into high gear" again, and I was feeling pretty poorly. I'm VERY impressed by all the different answers, ideas, and input, all of you have come up with! I must admit that there are several things I did not even consider, that I probably should have! Thank you all SO much for contributing your time, and expertise, to this posting, I'm learning even more, and I enjoy that immensely! Hopefully I can stick around and see what else you come up with, at least I sure HOPE so! Take care everyone, and I hope you all are fairing better, especially you poor folks down in Texas! I hope that situation, with the fires, has gotten better!

JDDozerman

 

[JDDozerman]

OOPS! I forgot to add, Boone, you're right, I don't have much rock to deal with, however, I'm noting some interesting things here that I hadn't anticipated, regarding going with a dozer vs. a loader with 4-in-1 bucket. As I said I've been "down" for the past few days, however, just prior to that a friend of mine told me of a guy he knows very well, that has a 1978(?)ish Fiat Allis 14C dozer for sale, in VERY VERY nice condition, completely replaced undercarriage, including grousers, rails, sprockets, idlers, the whole works, he says it runs great, and he's asking $12,000.00 but will go lower! I'm finding myself having to consider this VERY hard, because it's also very close to me, so I wouldn't have to spend a small fortune to get it here! I've seen pictures, and a short video of it, and it certainly appears to be as nice as he claims! I know there was some question about finding replacement tracks for these 14C's, however, I wouldn't need them for probably several years anyway. By that time HOPEFULLY I could afford to get something even better, so I MAY have to jump on this one!?!?!?! From what I'm reading here, I do think a dozer, at least at this point, would probably work best for me, rather than a crawler loader, but YES, I DO wish I could afford BOTH!
Anyhow, I will probably make a decision in the next week or so. Thanks again for all the great input and assistance!

JD

 

[Forestgnome]

If you want to know what a 4-in-1 is good for, check this out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tztj9lZLus

 

[OldandWorn]

If you want to know what a 4-in-1 is good for, check this out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tztj9lZLus

What a great invention!

 

[JDDozerman]

I still wish I could get BOTH, a dozer, AND a 4-in-1 bucket on a crawler loader, it IS a "wonderful invention", and I certainly could use both, just don't have the funds right now because I'm buying another farm. Oh well, guess I will just have to wait and save my "allowance"! :^) Thanks for ALL the great input you guys posted here, I know I found it VERY educational, and enlightening!

JD