I own a big piece of hunting land and we like to do everything ourselves. We need a dozer to maintain 6 miles of trails, clear brushy areas, and push some boulders around. We also need to tear up stumps that are generally less than 13" wide, most being 8". So I
Sorry, I hit the enter key and posted prematurely. It happens. Let me continue.... So I think a dozer around the 450H/D3C size is a good compromise between power and my budget which is around 22-26k. I looked at a dozer the other day that was asking 22k OBO but he said he would go less. It has a cab so it's a good price but when I looked at it, it had all sorts of problems. I'm trying to understand if I should bother with it. Here are the problems. UC was shot. The bushings were worn completely thru to where I can see the pins. Grousers were probably 15mm, no bends, just worn. Sprockets were pointy and worn. It started right up and the engine sounded strong. It had very minimal blow by. The left hydraulic cylinder was dripping badly and there was a puddle on the C frame underneath. The machine could barely lift itself up when I tested the hydraulics by pushing down the blade. It shook and struggled to push the nose up in the air. It eventually got there. Driving the machine felt like shaking baby syndrome. I don't know if that was something else, or just the terrible chains and bushing. The belly pans had lots of gunk around them. The indicators for transmission fluid and hydraulic fluid were empty. So the machine needed both. Everything else worked fine, electronics, gauges, lights, raidio, AC, etc. All good. I am willing to invest up to 10k in this machine, but I'm worried it may be to screwed up to mess with. What do you guys think?
Sounds like he ran the machine without ever fixing or maintaining anything. It may be a lot of work to get it into good working condition. There may be other more serious issues show up. Unless you can't find anything else in that price range I would stay away from it.
With your budget you could buy a nice TD8E, fix it up and have money left over.
Yeah, that machine sounds like lots of use and no love. I would keep looking for other machines. Its one thing to find a dozer with a worn out undercarriage, but everything else is well maintained. Sounds like 10k wouldn't be enough to fix it up properly.
As others have said, that machine is best left alone. You should be able to pick up a open cab bare back machine for no more than 16 if you look around, and have it be in nice operating condition as well.
I am a big lover of Deere dozers but this one is going to break the bank. You can't go wrong with a 450H and it will be one of the easiest dozers to operate but these newer hydrostatic machines are more expensive to work on especially if they are not properly maintained. With your budget and job needs I'd be looking for a Deere 450G or like wilko said a TD8G. Both great machines that you could pick up in good shape for less money.
What would you say you do more of, road maintaining or tree removal / boulder moving? You sound like you need something that is pretty versatile. My gut reaction to your post was: "This guy needs a nice 953" - https://www.rbauction.com/1987-caterpillar-953?invId=8000103&id=ar It is not ideal for doing a lot of road maintaining however which is where your dozer idea is coming from and I get that. Not to mention...caterpillar yellow...you have a chance of getting some of your money back out of the thing if you decide to go a different direction, an area those Deer machines have a problem with. Anyhow, that bucket cat is great in the trees, good for moving rock around, and it can get you by working on the road after you learn how to use it. :my2c
Thanks for the reinforcement. It was such a nice "looking" dozer with the cab and exterior that I was tempted to take a chance. I moved on. Too many problems to be concerned about. I appreciate the input. I'm onto a 2001 with 2000hrs. In great condition for 25k.
That's better! I bought a 2000 450G w/3000 hrs., 5 gang ripper, full sweeps, ROPS, 6-way, w/root rake for 18K...immediately had to replace rails/sprockets because it was on it's first set...$21K--- It's a sweetie now; the deals are out there!
I cant understand why people post here that already the answer to their deer question,Dont Buy.
I've worked for Deere, I've worked for CAT, the only difference was the hat. All things being equal, I much prefer Deere's smaller dozers and their excavators to CAT's machines. Mind you I haven't had much exposure to either for the last ten years, so it's old news.