I have kind of a strange question. I just bought a few hundred acres and am going to clear off a few areas for deer food plots. Maybe 20 acres in total in three separate areas. I have a small tractor to plant with but it is about useless for tillage. Instead of upsizing my tractor is there any reason not to buy a big disc for say a 75-100 hp tractor and pull it with my dozer?
Nope was done here in Australia for ever, although they were spec'd from factory with no blade. For small jobs apart from more wear and tear I don't see blade on being an issue. Pony
Many of the first "tractors" were crawlers.
Your 550 John Deere would have no problem pulling a disk. Provided it isn't too for it. A Rome disk would be a good style to use. IMHO. I watched farmer reclaim quite few acres with a John Deere Ag tractor pulling a Rome disk and he did an awesome job. It had a lot of brush on it. He made two a passes over it and then used a regular ag disk to finish it up.
The only bad point and it is easily over come is the hydraulics to lift the disk
We used an 80 hp crawler for many years to pull a chisel plough that could be a handful for a 140hp wheel tractor. Just a little slower...well, maybe a lot slower.
There are all kinds of museum pictures of them doing this in central California ever since they were invented. Even 20 years ago you would still see old steel track machines with umbrella on top discing fields or whatever they needed done, slowly.
A small crop farmer near me still uses a D4d for his cultivation work while the farms around are into rubber tracked machines. It seems he has his work done just the same as the others.
Cat had a ag line until late 70s? Direct drive and wight distribution changes to make then better for pulling IH where big in the ag crawler line I do know people who have used normal torqe converter drive crawlers found not really suited
What size is the blue front wheel assist tractor in the 1st pic.? Looking at what the disc has done, I'd see if the blue tractor would pull it. It would be faster and no wear on your undercarriage. Looks to be a decent AG disc but not a breaking disc.
They are still a prime AG tool in the Sacramento Delta region of CA. You see a few 4 wheel drive tractors but not many in perspective. It's a good idea to remove the blade if doing much field work. It's a lot easier on undercarriage. Not sure about the newer ones but the older Cats have shims in the front idler frame that you move from bottom to top for AG work. It brings the front idler up a bit and makes steering easier and adds to track conservation by less side friction while turning. It not uncommon to get 12,000 hrs. out of a set of rails on the older Cats running in that black Delta work.
The 3930 has plenty of power to pull that disc. I was using it to tend burning piles so thought I’d have some fun with the dozer.
IMHO a crawler tractor for the first cut over at least would be a good idea. Spiked tyres can be expensive to fix and time consuming to repair.
The dozer looks like a good match for those discs. If you do hook the tractor up to them, I would avoid the temptation of changing down through the gears to make it work. Wheel tractors are designed to pull moderate loads at moderate speeds and pulling heavy loads at low speed will wear the drive train out in short order. Whereas a dozer will happily plod along with a relatively heavy load for years on end.
I think the D7R and D6R with 3306 engines were the last of the offered direct drive cats. Whether they sold any though. A relation bought a new D7H direct drive back in the day. Then he bought a grey import LGP D7H direct drive from Japan. Here is a D6H direct drive. Notice the foot clutch. https://www.tradeearthmovers.com.au/detail/caterpillar-d6h-series-2-dozer-824203
I don't understand why you fellers get your nickers in a knot over power shift dozers pulling stuff like discs.I worked a d7e power shift pulling a 16 yrd scoop (pan) without any problems what so ever. It moved more dirt per hour than 12 yrd Wabco elevating scrapers and that was coming out of a hole to a stockpile.
I appreciate that input. I have always felt that the Ford pulled that disc best in low range, 2nd gear, 1300 rpm. Anything else was either to slow or abusive to the tractor. 2nd gear low range seems like the dozer don’t even know anything s back there.
Interesting point about the power shift. I actually don’t even use it. I clutch on every shift. Just doesn’t seem right to go forward to reverse without doing so.
It is not the powershift, it is the torque converter that causes a large inefficiency.
It wasn't a problem with the 7e, load in 1st, bang into 3rd then into 2nd for the climb out and over the stockpile and into 3rd for the return to cut. The trans temperature stayed in the green for the full cycle The Wabcos were powershift also and the torque converters wouldn't lock up on the haul out.