While I realize the LGP track is designed for less ground pressure, I was wondering what the effectiveness of the LGP track is in our environment - we have a small ranch of a 0" to 12" topsoil with mostly soft limestone rock at or various depths below the surface. The rock is mostly very small to some watermelon size (or larger.) Is this a bad environment for wider tracks? The particular dozer I have my eye on is a 19,000 pound Komatsu (no ripper unfortunately) which I think will have plenty of weight to push rock. I want to make a nice path around our fence line by pushing rock out of the way and maybe make a small tank. Thanks for helping out the newbie :notworthy John Texas hill country
In general, lgp and rock are not a good mix. Lgp's are nice, in fact job savers, when working in very soft conditions. I have done some pasture clearing where I was moving sandstone boulders that were 4'x4' plus. For that I used my deere 450c trackloader, and it did well for me. My advice is to rent a machine like it, or simular machine in size and see how it handles.
Hi John, The LGP machines are fantastic in swampy areas,but not good as an all round farm tool.Excessive track wear will result on hard ground. I would think your machine is a Jap import.You often find the D21 & D31s used in rental fleets over there.They get sold off at low hours,which may be why your machine shows low hours. A new paint job can be used to tidy up a dozer,or to hide nasty stuff like rust. Check the undercarriage for corrosion,esp. the bolt heads. If you are going to do any excavation,I think a scarifier is needed. The apex track shoes won't give enough grip to dig virgin dirt,or load up the blade.I even wonder how it would pull a rear-mounted scarifier through the clay. Jim
Hi guys, This particular dozer is a Komatsu D39P-1. I was/am not looking for an LGP or one naked on the rear-end but if the price is right, I might bite and make do with what I get. Trying to find a nice machine with rippers seems to be really difficult in my price range. Our ground here is not all rock fortunately. One primary task of the dozer (other than fence-line clearing) would be to push prickly pear cactus (think you guys down under have pear!) from under the trees out into the open where I can spray with a herbicide. Cheers - John
John, You might find the dealer is willing to put standard plates on it for you,esp. if he imports undercarriage. We get a lot of ex-Japan apex machines imported here too....the new owners pay good $$$ for a dozer that can only do half the stuff they require. Nothing more frustrating than trying to push dirt & having the dozer sit & spin. The 39 will be OK for pushing light scrub & loose rubbish around,but you could do same with a 580 Case or Bobcat. I used to clean up demolition sites with a Mitsubishi BD2 on apex plates.You couldn't get a nicer finish.It was also excellent in reclaiming boggy ground....would almost walk on water. But as soon as I needed to push a small tree,it was useless. And the undercarriage wear is very costly & regular. Good luck, Jim