"Homeowner" Dozer Recommendations Please

[bplust]

Howdy, I've been reading this website for a short while, and am making my first post here looking for recommendations for a dozer.

Here's my situation:

I live in Northeast Vermont on a "maintain it yourself" road on a very hilly piece of property. In addition to the road going to my property, I have smaller roads (more like a wheeler trails) all over my property. I'm looking for a machine that'll cut roads, do some yearly maintenance, as well as some random tasks I'd rather not do by hand, like skidding firewood and pulling a trailer. My neighbor has an excavator, so it'd be nice to add a dozer to the road maintenance crew (us!).

I work full time as a mechanic, primarily on mechanical diesels and two strokes, mainly chainsaws. My working experience on heavy equipment is limited; I worked for an excavating company for a summer, and did some basic maintenance on logging and excavating equipment (greasing machines, tensioning/changing tracks, fluids/filters, etc.). So while I'm not a heavy equipment expert by any means, I spend a lot of time wrenching, and my compressor is outfitted with 1/2" line, ready for a 3/4" drive impact.

I'm looking to spend up to $5000 (for the moment) on a machine. My primary concerns are parts availability. not going too big or small, and, of course, getting something of good quality. I have no problem putting in any amount of work and some money to fix something. I have no immediate plans to make money with any dozer I acquire, so it can be a project that sits for a while. And by all means, please tell me if I'm out of my mind in expecting to get something decent for $5000 (the less the better, of course). I have very little knowledge of the general market.

So any suggestions are welcome. Thank you very much in advance for any replies.

Bryan

 

[ttazzman]

in my humble opinion you are "out of your mind in expecting to get something DECENT for $5000" that will "CUT" a road

you MIGHT find a old farm tractor and box blade for that, it wouldnt "CUT" a road but it would spread gravel ......maybe....

i guess the key undefined word is "Decent".....i guess you could buy something for 5k then spend your time and another 5k in parts to fix it up and then have something that still not fit the decent description

 

[250c]

In your situation a wheel loader might be of more use-cheaper to run and easier to maintain,they also do much better at snow removal. It's still going to be hard to find a "decent" machine for that money.

 

[CM1995]

Welcome to the forums bplust!:drinkup

And by all means, please tell me if I'm out of my mind in expecting to get something decent for $5000 (the less the better, of course). I have very little knowledge of the general market.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but what you are looking for at that price is just not available. Just an undercarriage for an old D3 will run more than $5K and that's using aftermarket parts. $5K for a D3 sized dozer is pretty much scrap value.

 

[g_man]

Your land and need for a dozer sounds a lot like mine. You will need to be awful lucky to find what you are looking for but you have to start somewhere and see what happens. In our area I would keep looking at Uncle Henery's they seem to have some deals come along. Search Dozer Crawler. ( It is like a little Craigs List in Maine ).
I ended up with a TD7G when I was in your boat. Its 70 hp and 14000 lbs. Small, but I can do quite a bit if I am patient. I use it in my woods mostly to convert rough boulder and stump strewn side hill skid trails into tractor roads and log landing and road maintenance. When I found a machine I thought I wanted I brought our town road forman with me to check it out because he new what he was looking at and I didn't. Good luck

 

[tuney443]

I have seen JD's 350's and 450's in that price range but they will be originals or B models with dry clutches and most likely need some TLC----but you did say you were mechanical,so there you go. Good luck.

 

[td25c]

The good news is that your allready ahead of the curve being that your a full time mechainic bplust. I spotted a few on machinery trader that might fit your needs. The 1970 cat d4d caught my eye , little more money but good parts avialabillity http://www.machinerytrader.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=8941735

Old IH cable blade,Classic TD14 http://www.machinerytrader.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=8745297

IH 175 highlift http://www.machinerytrader.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=8209213

 

[TomA]

Keep an eye out for a Cat D4 7U. You can sometimes get a decent one for thatprice or better if it needs some work.

 

[DPete]

Keep an eye out for a Cat D4 7U. You can sometimes get a decent one for thatprice or better if it needs some work.

Good post, they are around out here in Ca.not sure about Vt. though. Welcome to the forum

 

[bplust]

Thanks for all of the replies!

As I previously mentioned, I have very little (next to nothing) knowledge of the dozer market, and dozer makes and models as well, and figured I'd start somewhere.

Thanks again,

Bryan

 

[td25c]

Couple Cat D6 dozers in the price range ,undercarrige looks good on both.I know they are not in your area but looks like there are still a few older machines around in that price range. Keep looking & beat the bushes and I'l bet you can find somthing close to home. Good luck whith your search bplust http://www.machinerytrader.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=8819386 http://www.machinerytrader.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=8840909

 

[bplust]

Based on the replies I've seen, it looks like unless I find a steal of a deal, I should put off the idea of being able to reshape the ground until more funds are available. For now, I should probably be more concerned with just skidding and material transport, so a tractor or small loader should do.

Thanks again for all of the replies. I know I have quite a bit of homework (and paying work) to do, and will be watching the classifieds.

Bryan

 

[CM1995]

Also don't forget to factor in transportation. A great deal on a machine 500 miles away becomes less of a deal when you add in transportation costs.

 

[bplust]

Also don't forget to factor in transportation. A great deal on a machine 500 miles away becomes less of a deal when you add in transportation costs.

Definitely. I wouldn't buy a machine beyond New Hampshire or Eastern NY (I'm located in Northeastern VT).

 

[shopguy]

Someone here put it best, (cheap dozers don't stay that way long) Welcome to the Forum

 

[Lindsey97]

i would consider spending $25,000.00 on a decent d3,4 or 5c, that would require little to no repairs. use it on your place, make the payments and write it off as an expense. talk to your tax accountant and have a plan before you buy. or look for a crawler loader, sometimes a loader can be bought for much less money than the same sized dozer in the same condition.

 

[Randy88]

First off, what heavy equipment dealerships are there in your area to get parts from, not to sound harsh, but maybe renting might be a far better option for you than buying, its gives you some experience of how the machines run and also give you an idea of what it is your wanting or needing. Can you get a dozer or crawler loader in your price range, probably, but then the expenses start and your going to go over your budget in a heart beat with even a simple repair, not to mention all the repairs you'll have to do to a dozer in that price range.

 

[td25c]

Nash Equipment is up in your neck of the woods bplust.Looks like they have quite abit of old iron on hand.Might give them a call & tell them what your looking for in a dozer as far as cost or size of the machine.They may also be able to deliver a machine if needed. www.nashequipment.com

 

[D4Hgreenhorn]

i would consider spending $25,000.00 on a decent d3,4 or 5c, that would require little to no repairs. use it on your place, make the payments and write it off as an expense. talk to your tax accountant and have a plan before you buy. or look for a crawler loader, sometimes a loader can be bought for much less money than the same sized dozer in the same condition.

watch out buying from a private party!! im new to dozers too and almost got burnt on one!! a guy tried to sell me a D3 for 12K and the undercarriage was shot and the engine smoked pretty bad after it got up to temperature... take my advice and do like i did and take someone with you who knows how to run it and who works on them and they can tell you everything you will need to know about it... also keep in mind to get the dozer hot and run it a lil bit.. form what ive been told if a hydraulic pump is weak or if the motor/trans has issues you will know it after it gets good and hot.. most all of the ones i seen under 15 K needed serious work( undercarriages, engine work).. I ended up going to a cat dealer and buying a used one form them... I paid almost 27K for mine and its a 1989 D4H.. low hours though and in really great shape.. i didnt really want to spend that much on one but had i bought a cheaper one i woulda had the same amount of money in it if not more after fixing the problems...

 

[kevin37b]

You can hire alot iof work for 5000 .