Bulldozers, what to look for and what to avoid when buying used

[KactusKiller]

Ok for you equipment guys I'm thinking about buying a smaller dozer to do my brush/dirt work with. I've operated alot of equipment but only spent a few hours on a dozer and never have bought one. Going to be doing some brush clearing, some erosion control and making a few ponds bigger. considering a D3 or D4. What do I need to look for as far as best machines and any prevalent issues I should look for to avoid?

[Hollywood]

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[Bowtech38]

Look at using a rental also.

[waffles]

Following

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[Kong]

What’s your budget? That’s going to help answer your question, for a D4 sized rig your going to need a solid budget to work with right now.

[Jamvo]

Check the undercarriage for life left/wear. This requires a trained eye, thickness of rollers, rails, etc. Pulling oil samples on engine oil and hydraulic oil would tell you a lot. I’d give the serial number to the cat dealer and have them look up the service history, parts history, and what repairs it’s been in for. Big ticket items are hydraulic system, under carriage, and the engine itself.

Equipment is stupid expensive right now just like everything else. I’d probably find a heavy equipment mechanic to go look at it for you. It would be worth the few hundred bucks they’d charge to look it over.

Good luck!

[gtsticker]

Depending on ow long you need it you may be way better to rent. They will repair it if it breaks. Maintenance on a dozer can break you.

[Wits_End]

Old school D3 size is going to leave you wanting far more unless you just have a few 1 acre ponds and good amount of time. It will clear small brush and minor land shaping just fine. It will struggle with trees of any size.

It's hard to write in text all the quick items to look at. An experienced owner or mechanic friend would at least run over everything with you. Can't guarantee big items such as engine or hydraulics if they look fine but you can guarantee they won't last if you see certain signs.

Typical stuff:
Ease of starting
Blowby
Excessive oil/fuel leak around engine
Hydraulic system leaks
Cylinder leak
Worn pivot joints
Pad wear
Undercarriage wear (sprockets, rollers, etc)
Tracks evenly


Pretty certain the newer you get the lesser the problems will be. Going with something newer than 2000 helps with reducing old rusty aged problems. Hours are usually not the best indicator of quality, cleanliness is.

[mrc]

I would buy a good skid steer with a 6 way blade, it will do most of what you want done. Then rent a dozer for the rest. We have a skid steer a backhoe and a dozer. I haven't used the dozer in nearly 2 years.

[justindiehl7]

I would buy a good skid steer with a 6 way blade, it will do most of what you want done. Then rent a dozer for the rest. We have a skid steer a backhoe and a dozer. I haven't used the dozer in nearly 2 years.

Terrible advice on the dozer blade on a skid. I bought a brand new 100hp deere 333g as well as a 6 way blade and it’s basically worthless, the only thing I’ve found the blade useful for is to roll clay back up on to a road. The machine does not have enough torque and ground pressure to push a blade.


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[sailor]

I would buy a good skid steer with a 6 way blade, it will do most of what you want done. Then rent a dozer for the rest. We have a skid steer a backhoe and a dozer. I haven't used the dozer in nearly 2 years.

This, IMHO..
With all the attachments, they have for these things you can pretty
much do anything.. Dozers are great. for certain jobs. But there's
a lot they can't do..

[Drycreek3189]

Old school D3 size is going to leave you wanting far more unless you just have a few 1 acre ponds and good amount of time. It will clear small brush and minor land shaping just fine. It will struggle with trees of any size.

It's hard to write in text all the quick items to look at. An experienced owner or mechanic friend would at least run over everything with you. Can't guarantee big items such as engine or hydraulics if they look fine but you can guarantee they won't last if you see certain signs.

Typical stuff:
Ease of starting
Blowby
Excessive oil/fuel leak around engine
Hydraulic system leaks
Cylinder leak
Worn pivot joints
Pad wear
Undercarriage wear (sprockets, rollers, etc)
Tracks evenly


Pretty certain the newer you get the lesser the problems will be. Going with something newer than 2000 helps with reducing old rusty aged problems. Hours are usually not the best indicator of quality, cleanliness is.

Read this and believe it. Your best bet is to rent. I’ve owned and ran this stuff all my life and I only own a backhoe. Rent a dozer.

[Darton]

Case 850K, weighing in at almost 20k lbs with a 100 horse engine! You can pull it with at one ton truck and handle everything you need! For maintenance everything is easily accessible and if you need to get into the main body the cab jacks up for access! Wouldn’t take anything for mine

[TeamAmerica]

Get one light enough to trailer it over to my place is Corsicana! Please!

[BOZ]

Terrible advice on the dozer blade on a skid. I bought a brand new 100hp deere 333g as well as a 6 way blade and it’s basically worthless, the only thing I’ve found the blade useful for is to roll clay back up on to a road. The machine does not have enough torque and ground pressure to push a blade.


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Same experience with mine, same machine as well. Ok for some little stuff but nothing like an actual dozer for any serious dirt work. Some brush may be ok, but it will get hung up on little stumps.

I would echo the suggestion of renting a dozer and seeing if that meets your specific needs, and then consider purchasing if you can justify the ownership/maintenance costs vs work productivity you desire.