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Max. hours on dozer

Trashman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2008
Messages
216
Location
Texas
Occupation
Garboligist
I try to get rid of mine at 7500 hours if possible. I have friends that rebuild and keep the machines up to 20,000 + hours. It all depends on what you want to spend your money on....
 

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,865
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
It depends on the model and age.

You can economically rebuild a D10 or D11 and I've seen units up to 100,000 hours.

Small dozers like a D3 up to D5 usually get up to the 10,000 area OK. You are looking at fixing major components after that.
 

ben46a

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Messages
773
Location
Waverley NS/Fort Mac AB
Anything under a D8 sized machine isn't worth keeping past 10,000 hrs. The larger the machine, the more viable full powertrain overhauls are. Even D8s aren't worth doing more than twice, but D10s and D11s are worth rebuilding up to 100,000 hours in ideal conditions.
 

D6 Merv

Senior Member
Joined
May 10, 2007
Messages
653
Location
Coromandel Peninsula. New Zealand
Occupation
Self employed bulldozing contractor with a D6D D4E
Depends how rich you are,if you can afford to buy a new D8, thats what you do. If your poor you rebuild it. Have seen plenty of D8Hs with 30000+ hrs on them.
People in different countrys have different approachs to this. TCtractors in the UK rebuilds plenty. I rebuild mine, along with lots of other people in NZ
Biggest thing is its maintence history; how has it been treated; and how much work does it have to do each year. And is other variables; clients may stipulate new machines; but do they want to pay a higher rate ??? Also depends on the style of machine. Hydrostatic dozers are a trade in machine; like diggers, nobody rebuilds them they go for new. Powershift dozer is more rebuildable. Also depends on labour costs here too obviously. For me time is usually cheap; if i can shedule a rebuild to suit which is usually winter. Machine brands play a part. As parts availability and choice is better with caterpillar than many others. ie new, classic ,pirate, 2nd hand.
And you guys in the US have your emission laws. This is something i dont; and doubt i ever will have. So that throws another spin on things too.
But rough rules of thumb to me D3-D5 10000hrs. D6/7 20000. D8 40000. bigger 60000 plus. Again depends how theyre treated, some will do more, others less.
 

OzDozer

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
2,207
Location
Perth, Western Australia.
Occupation
Semi-Retired ..
The total tractor hours are not important. What is important is the component hours. You can buy a tractor with 80,000 hrs on it, and if it has been fully overhauled with all new components, it will perform as good as a new one.
This is what you get with a Cat Certified Rebuild. Cat sales brochures from the 1940's show quite a number of the old Cats (now, "antique" Cats) with huge hours on them. One sugar cane farm in Hawaii had 5 gas Caterpillar Sixtys in the 1940's that had all done between 80,000 and 100,000 hrs.
Cat say that most components are good for 10,000 hrs under average operating conditions. That drops to 7500 hrs under severe conditions, and can go out to 17,000-18,000 hrs under moderate working conditions, with good care.
If you buy a tractor with 7500 hrs on it, then on average, 3/4 of its working life is behind it. If it has been lightly worked, stored under cover, and maintained without regard to cost, then you are probably buying a tractor that is halfway through its component life. The problem is that only a small number of owners maintain their equipment properly, without regard to cost.
Most used tractors suffer from delayed or ignored maintenance, and are usually poor buys. If you can acquire the repair history of a tractor, you're way in front.
I'd rather buy a tractor that comes with a long list of recent repair expenditure, than one with no repair expenditure history at all.
 
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oldirt

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2009
Messages
504
Location
iowa
ditto what oz just said. great thing about old cats, they were built to be rebuilt.
 

DPete

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2007
Messages
1,677
Location
Central Ca.
I bought a 6R with 8200 hours on the clock, the contractor that had it since new built golf courses and all it did was shape mounds of fill, the hours didn't scare me, dozer still tight with shims still in place. Didn't have $400K for a new one ;)
 

wosama931b

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2011
Messages
444
Location
Fayetteville, NC
Occupation
Real Estate Broker/ Ret.
What i have is an old machine that was used in demo work, if i were to purchase another, then i would look for a low hour machine that was not torn up so bad.
Also look at bending some wrenches on the cheap machines. sam.
 
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