I am thinking of buying a dozer and have very little idea of what size to look for. My current job will be to finish grade a job that is about 1 acre around a college building we are about to complete. I have been looking at cat d4 and deere 450 series. I would like to have a ripper but i am skeptical about the power to pull it. We have a semi so transport is no big deal. Any ideas on brand, options, and optimal hours would be great. Also, what do i look for on the under carrage and what is fair hours on the uc? Any other problem or concern areas
If it is just one job, I would rent, if more lined up consider lease. Ownership would really depend on continuing usage and overall type of work anticipated. Dozer size for finishing would depend on soil you plan to work with. It does not take much if it is all fill or soft soil. If you rent by the month you can gain experience and ideas as what works for you. Just my .02cents
Here's a good start.
great info. will a d4 pull a ripper through tough ground or frozen ground? is it big enough to do mid size jobs? i guess thats my main concern i could always go bigger if that is advisible. any models that are better than others?
I have a 1998 John Deere 650 G with 3400 hrs. We bought it used and we replaced the entire undercarraige except idlers and the bushings for the 6 way blade were it attaches to the frame. The total cost for the above work was around 7000.00 2 years ago. If I had to do it all again I would most likely spend a little more and get a dozer with the hydrostatic transmission as they are faster and in my opinion more productive. Also the modern 6 way controls allow easier finish grading. I might would consider a 700 size dozer as with the 650 you cant hit a 15 yard pile of dirt and just blow through it you have to hit the pile on the sides. The 650 with winch weighs about 10tons and is easily pulled by my tandem axle dump truck. Good luck.
Unless you have a bit of tight work to do with it I would get a 650. JD makes the best small dozers IMO. You will be fine with a ripper if the ground it to hard you can always drop a shank or 2.
I would have a look around, and like someone said I would rent if I was you if its just one job, and then maybe you could get an idea of what you need. I don't know the size of the job, but D4's, D5's, are a good start because they are small and don't take much. They pull a ripper pretty good, just depends how deep you want to go, how hard the surface is. I personal like cat, not only because I work on them, but I just like them all around compard to a john deer. I also don't know that much bout john deer, but I've done a little more on a smaller one, and just didn't seem to care too much for it. If your in the market for one, I'd check out www.catused.com they have a pretty good line up of small..or better yet just bout any kind of equipment that you'd be interested in. I hope this helped a little! Have a gooden