i want to clear 1/2 section land, been shopping around for a suitable dozer, came across a 1977 Komatsu D75S-3 track loader. i figured it might do the job better than a dozer in pushing trees and digging stumps. My questions As i don't know a thing about komatsu,..What is the good and bad of these machines and what to pay attention to when i'm going to look at it. Is this machine capable at pushing and piling heavy bush and how does it compare with a straight dozer in this environment? Thanks
If you are considering large scale clearing, get a midrange dozer or loader for pushing piles but add to that a track excavator for the dropping of trees with root balls and removal of previously cut stumps. The tractor in question appears to be a clone from a 977 cat, if equivalent in HP should do for what you need but I would still invest in a trackhoe for stumps.
Some members here own Komatsu's trackloaders (jughead, papajohn, etc). Maybe they can speak to reliability. All yellow iron parts are expensive, but Komatsu seems to lead the pack. Before taking the plunge I'd call your local dealer and make sure they have parts for the D75S you're looking at. In clearing over 300 acres you're going to find any weak spot on any used machine you buy. If you don't work on your own stuff, you might come out $$ and time ahead buying something newer and selling in the end. Trackloader is great for clearing, but for the inexperienced it's tough to finish with. Another option like DMiller advised if your funds would permit, consider a dozer or wheeled loader to push debris/pile and an excavator with thumb for felling and grubbing. Based on my experience with a track loader is that it can take down decent sized trees quicker than a dozer. What pushed us to a trackloader was watching a neighboring landowner with a TD-20 knock over a couple of big oak trees. Took forever. If you're planning to row-crop, hay, or bushhog most of it after it's cleared and cut any ditches you'll need some sort of finishing machine. A track loader can do finish work, but wouldn't be my choice. Don't know what you're time table for doing this much land, but if you're taking your time, you'll need to clear, burn and finish as you go. Otherwise you'll be chasing your tail.
Thanks for the replies so far guys The 1/2 section i intend to clear is an unused part of my ranch and will be used for grazing. I do have the time to do the work in spring and fall and i can fix anything that might break. I own a 940 allis loader and have felled a bunch of trees with it but it lacks the grunt to tackle the thick willow clumps and the really big stuff. i thought a trackloader would be more stable and can negotiate wet spots and uneven ground better than a wheeled loader and has the weight and grunt the Allis lacks, the komatsu i got an eye on also sports a heavy grapple on the bucket so moving debris and piling wont be a problem me thinks. The excavator would be nice addition but my wallet ain't thick enough and i wasn't looking to clearcut the whole acreage but just remove what i can tackle.
The 75S is a decent sized machine for clearing work. I have operated D41s,55s,57s & 75s & always found them good in heavy work. The series 3 is an old machine ,so it's probably done a lot of work.I'd be checking & testing all the running gear & components. If you have a lot of soft ground,that thing will be an anchor if it gets stuck.
It is safe to say that goes for any cat or loader. I talked to the owner. The machine is a 77, unknown hours.good running. The undercarriage is a point of concern, it has apparently only 30 % left. It is sitting by a machinery trader,..he wants 23 grand!...i think i pass.
I have no idea what size or kind of trees your working with, done many a hundred acres worth of clearing, first and foremost spend the money on an excavator with a thumb, if you already have somewhat of a dozer, you really don't need a track loader. I have a lot of machine to take to a clearing job, the first on the list is always the excavator and chain saws, followed by the track loader, and the dozer we usually leave at home till the wood is gone. As for brands, what dealers do you have close by, and do you get along with them and do they offer a descent service and parts departments, then go from there, every area is different.
There's all kinds of trees, mature willow clumps, black and white and balsam poplar of every size, some very thick and tall, there's some patches of spruce, some regrowth from a previous logging and some mature that are up to 4' dia at the but( those and the other big timber will be logged) There's also plenty stones and big boulders spread trough out. The only dealer close by is Finning (cat), i have had no dealings with them yet.
I don't see why you can't do all this with a track loader. Why do you need an excavator when you have a track loader? You can push the tree over dig out remaining roots push to pile and grade out the remainder. People have a hard time running a track loader for finish but will use a skid steer to finish. A track loader is a big skid steer. This can all be done with a track loader and if you need to burn a pile of brush turn it around bucket down rev it up and you can push air to fuel the fire.
I own a Allis HD7G loader but it is weakening as time goes by, as well farm equipment that I can do the finish work with but will rent a trackhoe as I need for tree grubbing. Faster, cleaner, easier with a decent sized unit with a thumb. Have taken out a few large spike Honey Locust with the old Allis as a dig out/push over, takes a long time and lots of fuel, took me a few hours to drop almost a dozen with a trackhoe, half the fuel then used the Allis for cleanup, less than half the time as previous. Had I had $27k handy I would have bought a hoe unit locally that was being retired from heavy servce, would have been a great addition but I too am scraping for cash.
Bison, A 25 ton track loader with around 200 hp is one of the most affective clearing and grubbing machines available today in the hands of a man that knows what he is doing. As long as most of the clearing is on firm ground its the only machine you should need to do the job. If the trees are cut down it can work the brush out of the stumps and in to burning piles much faster than a dozer or a excavator. Then it can go back dig out the stumps and shove them in a pile or load them out or dig big deep trenches and bury them. on the way back from the stump pile you can do your rough grading. If your are clearing standing timber you should have no trouble digging three or four trees out laying them together and pushing them to in to the burning piles. Excavators defiantly have there place however moving stumps, trees and brush 100 to 200 feet to burn piles or rough grading large areas of wooded land in to a pasture or fields is not it.
Thanks for the replies folks,..i'm learning..
Chum hit the nail on the head, clearing firm ground is the track loaders domain. I've owned a little one, a deere 450c and I used it for clearing and it out worked my deere 550g dozer hands down stumping. Here is a pick of me digging out a big Catalpa stump. Oh if your komatsu is 977 category, remember that the little deere you see is 933 category. That one took about 45 minutes. Standard stumps 30 seconds to a minute. cut one side off, turn 90 degrees and get under them and roll um out, carry to where you want and go get the next one. Here watch this, this guy is slow and he has no grousers left... and still I doubt many an excavator would beat him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc_9Z7UEbKE
Tried that with my 7G, too light at 13 ton, got to looking at the vid, old tree was well past dead so he didn't have need to break root structure as I have to. The excavator I rented took two swipes to break the feeder roots, then a push with the arm up high and dropped a Honey Locust at least as large and still greened out same amount of time, Brother in Law on my crawler was working brush pack while I moved to another tree.
Maybe I miss something but that sure looks like leaves all over that tree to me? Stumpjumper thanks for the video, that looks like a cat 977L close in size to a komatsu D75s-3. Both in the 25 ton 200hp range. As the video shows it is very capable of taking down this size timber then pushing it away with no additional equipment necessary. As it should be that is the way I like to do it!