I have 55 acres that I plan on building a shop house on. It is grown up with brush and young trees. There are some bigger trees. Most of them are 8” and under and they vary in species. i want about 20-25 acres of it cleared. I had a guy bring his 80s model D6D out and he cleared part of it for me but then his dozer broke down and he won’t be able to finish it. There are other local companies who could finish it for me but I got to thinking to myself, if I bought my own machine I could do it all myself and then sell the machine when I’m done and get most of my money back. Where I plan on building it is relatively level but it could use alittle work as far as moving some dirt around. What would the best machine be that I could buy for around 15-20k? It doesn’t matter to me if it has an enclosed cab or not. Just something that I could buy and use for about a couple months and then sell and get most of my money back. I have other miscellaneous things on the property like some old cars and junk and such that I need to move around with it too so that’s another reason I want a machine for myself. I will attach a picture of the property below and draw a square around of what I am wanting cleared.
In my opinion, you won’t find a machine with your budget that is big enough to do what you want in the timeframe that you want it done in. I’ve been searching for over a year on a dozer somewhere around a D3 in size with about the same budget. I’ve found nothing that is worth my time or money and mostly what I am seeing that is even within my budget is in the 1970s or 80s if I’m lucky. I’m not saying there isn’t a deal out there but I also don’t want to spend 15k and have to dump another 10k in it to fix it either. I am completely on board with your thought…. I actually had the same plan with my backhoe. I have 19 acres and I’m preparing a house site, built a pond, etc. My plan was to use it and then sell it once all that stuff was done. However now that I have it, my plans have changed as I want to keep it. Realistically speaking I think you need to double your budget and look for something that isn’t going to take you 20 years to clear the land you want. 20-25 acres is a lot of land to clear with a dozer blade that is 6 feet wide. Just my 2c.
It's false economy to think you can buy an older machine for maybe a couple years work and then sell it and get your money back. It is possible but the majority of the time you've had to do a bunch of repairs that you'll never recoup the costs. You may be better ahead to hire it out or maybe rent a newer machine. The other thing is an experienced operator will make it look easy. You can't just hop on a dozer or other machine and be an instant operator. It takes a lot of hours even month's or years to get proficient.
Realistically, you are only going to clear an acre or 2 for building. Unfortunately we are missing a lot of information here. Do you have an access or will you also be building a driveway? Are we talking a pad area or a foundation? Are all the stump going and if so how far or how deep? I would be thinking about a large excavator over a dozer as you probably aren’t talking about a huge area. Problem is if it’s a long driveway or long site, you probably could use a dozer for a lot of it. If you are serious about clearing 20 to 25 acres a D5 dozer would be the ticket, albeit a little slow. What would you do with all the spoils?
If you tear up your machine pushing dirt its all your fault. Trees just want to kill you.
If you were wanting a machine to keep and use for the next 20yrs that is one thing, but just something to use for a few months and resell is another. In your situation I’d either hire it done or rent the equipment. The advantage to renting is you can get exactly what you need, use it and send it back. Rent an excavator to do the clearing and rough work, send it back and rent either a dozer or CTL to clean up and do the finish work.
I will only clean an acre or two for building yes, but other than that I have 20 or so acres I want cleared as well. Yes I will have to build a driveway. It will be a concrete pad area that I need to prep. All spoils will be burned.
I'll also add this, IF you are absolutely set on buying a used machine, running it for a few months to a few years and reselling it there are only three scenarios where this works out: 1)You're lucky, 2) You're good, 3)You have plenty of money to spend (and sometimes it takes a combination of all three.) First off I'm sure you will read stories on here or elsewhere on the internet of someone buying a machine for $15K running it for a few years, completing their projects and selling it for what they have it in. This rarely happens in the real world for a novice equipment purchaser/mechanic/operator, but if you're a gambling man you might get lucky. Second, the guys that can 'sometimes' pull it off are the ones who know equipment inside and out, can do 100% of their own repairs and are good careful operators. There's still a bit of luck involved, even someone with a lot of experience can miss things when purchasing a used machine. You don't really know what you have till you get it in the shop and start working on it. Lastly is having enough money to spend on good low hour, newer equipment. For equipment like you are wanting that would be starting in the $60-80k range. You can usually find something ~5yrs old with fairly low hours and have it be pretty reliable/low risk. As long as you buy it right and the market doesn't take a turn while you own it, you can often recoup most of your investment (assuming you don't run it into the ground or put a ton of hours on it.) IF all that sounds reasonable to you and you are willing to take a big risk, IMO a track loader would be the best machine for the job. They are a very versatile machine and capable of doing your clearing, road building and flat work. Also they tend to have a lower resale value than a dozer or excavator, so you might find one with some life left in it for $20k if you really shop around. Ideally something like a 953 Cat, but that's going to be hard to find in your price range. Next choice would be one of the smaller track loaders from Cat, Deere, or Case. Buy the biggest/nicest one that fits your budget, ideally something 20,000-25,000lbs+
Track loader would fit the bill. If you could bump your budget to $30K you could possibly find a 953 A or B model in decent shape. 953's for sale The new ones have gotten expensive. $300K + for a 953..
Regardless, with that much acreage, you will need some type of machine to do up keep. When you say clear, do you mean pasture clear, golf course clear? A decent sized skid steer would do most of it, with a little time. The implements will get expensive though. Rent something big or pay for the stumps and heavy dirt work.
Every tree out there will try to kill you. All it takes is the wrong move with the right tree. Assuming you live through any mistakes made, how good is your insurance? Sometimes it is worth paying to have work done - it can be cheaper in the long run. We don't know your skill set with operations.
A couple issues with renting is you may need contractors insurance and the rental outfit may not rent equipment to inexperienced operators.
Has anyone mentioned an old giant excavator? I hear giant excavators are popular with homeowners. The older, the better. Homeowners buying old giant excavators? Wonder what the world will be like when everyone is a construction equipment operator, HVAC repairman, computer repairman, hardwood floor installer, brain surgeon, dentist, landscaper, politician-oops forgot everyone already is that, chef, well driller, college professor, lawyer, pilot... HeavyEquipmentForums
just find a midsized contractor and let them do it and sit back have beer and let the machine breaking is on them,,,, buy a descent machine and get started and you smoke a pump and you will be looking at 10 to 20 thousand to fix, lose the motor more money, lose the rotex bearing more money... hopefully breaks down where you putting flower bed now you have yard art
I watched a neighboring property get clear cut of 33 acres of trees that were probably in the 50-90 foot tall range, by what I presume was a very experienced excavator operator and a big excavator, in a week or two. It was impressive but also more sad because I liked the forest that was there, now its farm field. He also had an experienced dozer operator out there for what felt like a month cleaning everything up. Just anecdotal info for you. The guy that owns the field also has unlimited money.
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Sounds like you could get a D6d cheap and it’s already there so no transport fees. The problem with buying cheap machinery capable of doing that job is that it’s a big gamble to get one that will do the job without breaking down. You could probably get an old Backhoe loader around your budget but it would take time and patience to get the job done. A skid steer at that price would struggle with the 8 inch trees. If you have lots of time and energy it could do it though.
You could do some kind of mixed purchase with rental in mind, but it sounds like you need to clear, build a pad, dig footings, prep for concrete prep, water line, sewer or septic lines and so forth. So unless you go with a backhoe, no one machine is likely to do all you need. Honestly, I would get some bids from local contractors, take that information and see what the costs are to make it turn key and decide. Without knowing the cost of having it done professionally, it makes choices like this even more speculative.
I was /am in a similar situation as you. I bought a dirt cheap 955L. I can do everything I want with it. However, I will reiterate what others have said. First, as a novice with no formal training you can get yourself hurt in a hurry. I have been lucky a couple times, and certainly have had myself pucker up multiple times. Second, the purchase price is just a start. Upkeep on an old "unknown" machine can be big. One blown hose and you are out $180 for the hose, and $400 for hydraulic fluid. Even a PM is $1000 even if you do it yourself. Considering the 955L is currently starting at $18000 and I've seen them up to $30000, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't jump in at that price. I have put alot of work in my machine to make it reliable, and now I feel pretty confident with it. But even without counting my time, I have spent thousands over the past 4 years - new wiring harness, gauges, hoses, cylinder rebuilds, etc Good luck to you.
Well said.
I'm not sure it's always bad to fix up an older machine. It depends what's wrong for sure but the price of new equipment is astronomical and most wouldn't be able to work on it. Older equipment you at least have a chance.
My first backhoe was a Cat 416 brand spanking new because the place I was working at in my 20’s was encouraging certain employees to buy new equipment and lease it to his company because his credit was compromised. His wife took over the business and she has done well. He made my payments even after I stopped working for him, till it was paid off and I went and recovered my then 7 years old machine with 2500 hours and it was in great shape. It was 77k even back then, it had all the bells. I used that hoe 10 years later to help build my permanent house in Tennessee on to me, big acreage. Well the house and marriage lasted 10 more years and I towed that machine back when I moved back to NH. Owning new equipment is for people that work them for money, or are too rich to care. I wouldn’t or couldn’t consider a new machine or even newer, unless it was making me money. Unless you are moving dirt for a living, you’re never going to have everything you need for all there is to be done. That leaves rental, or making the machine work, no matter the job. I have had multiple people tell me over the years that a backhoe, is the best all purpose machine a homeowner can have. I think they are all correct but a mini ex would be my 2nd choice. What happens if you have to move a fair amount though? Think we should just accept it’s just like bikes, you never have enough seats for one ass.
Track loader. Cat 953 or 963 find one that they let you use and test for at least 1 hour of hard digging and pushing. If it does not get hot, have blow by, smoke or show other signs like driving off to one side or not responding correctly to operator inputs. Go for it.