Looking for a farm dozer

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
Im looking for a farm dozer that can be hauled on a goosneck trailer. It would be used for clearing bush , trees and some ditch work. Would a crawler loader with a 4in1 bucket,a straight blade or 6 way blade be best. I was thinking about a John Deere 350/450 or a Case 350/450 or even a Cat. Thanks for the help first time operator and buyer looking for some advice.
 
Two different animals, crawler loader and a dozer with 6 way P.A.T. (power angle tilt) though a 4 in one bucket is a handy tool to have on the front, not so handy for fine grading.

I have posted in detail about important things to look for on a crawler here more than once, you may be able to do a search for an older post of mine. It may be of help along with all the other comments about same, there are some in here that know the mechanical aspects of these well beyond me, probably forgot more than I'll ever know LOL !

One thing that I try to emphasize is undercarriage condition, percentage of wear etc. You can see some things and suspect same on an undercarriage, but you need to measure each component and do the math comparing against what new specifications were for the tractor to calculate the actual percentage worn, never buy into a verbal on that, its just not worth it.

An experienced equipment mechanic, crawler mechanic etc, would be worth paying to help find the right tractor in the condition that is acceptable for the price being asked. You should be looking at several different things on these, should be able to demo it up to operating temperature if at all possible.


I like D3's and D4's spanning many years, older ones now that I ran when new, all performed well for a variety of tasks, you should assess your needs and use that to decide what suits your purpose. D3 is a nice smaller grading tractor, I've ran plenty of those, also light enough to transport, and I have seen on occasion some of the early ones in nice shape that I'd have no problem owning and using.

350 and 450 JD's are certainly small grading tractors, that you can easily hall, easier to work on, being small, as well as undercarriage replacement costs being less, not the most powerful, but they do perform just fine. I've run most brands this size and some may stand out better than others, but condition, parts support, really are the key factors in making a good purchase that will serve you well.

Are you working in the woods, if so, a stout R.O.P.S, limb risers and brush cage might be in order. Do you need to move materials, clamp onto logs or similar, crawler loader with 4 in one may be in order. If you are building roads, and need to fine grade, 6way would be best.

Hopefully some help, you'll get more comments I am sure.
 
I have both, and both have their place, but all told the dozer with the 6way is used a lot more than the crawler loader. The crawler loader is much nicer bor brushing and grubbing stumps, but a dozer with a root rake will do almost as well.

Now not to hijak the post, but what is everyones opinion on hauling a small 350 and especially 450 behind a pickup truck. even a one ton dually I believe its way too much weight. My loader goes 11000 empty plus 3000 for the trailer. I don't even like hauling it behind the small dump.

Always believed just because it will pull it doesn't mean you should. It's stopping it that matters and electric brakes all depend on one little wire.
 
Much depends on the condition of what you buy. Parts are getting scarce for even popular crawlers like Deere 350s. For a bigger 6 ton crawler (including blade) it's hard to beat an AC HD5 as a "farm dozer" that is built with easily found generic parts IF you can get along with a hand-clutch.

I needed a crawler small enough to trailer with my Ford F250 and got a Case 310G. 188 diesel, no steering clutches to worry about, 6 way blade, and all the undercarriage parts available. All gear drive, no steering clutches, a popular engine, etc. I recently bought new rollers for $80 each (from Korea of all places).

If you get serious about a Deere - especially a 350 - you'd better look VERY close. I come across many that are basically runing good but "beyond repair" in any cost-effective way. They tend to get loose where the trans case meets the reverser case and both cases and main shafts get ruined.

I was a Deere mechanic for many years, but my choice for an older crawler would favor a Case due to parts availability and simplicity. Or if bigger and newer - a CAT.

By the way, I've got a 1960 Deere 1010 crawler loader and love it. But - if the engine or the reverser ever lets go - I'd probably NOT fix it. Too pricey.
 
Yes, I agree. My "little" Deere 1010 crawler-loader weights 11,800 lbs. and my trailer weights 3300 lbs. empty. I can pull it with my Ford F250 diesel on flat roads but I only do it for short runs. On the other hand, I can pull my Case 310G 6-way dozer and I feel OK on flat roads. Not a very big machine though.
 
My need, except maybe your "ditch work" is similar. After owning a small Deere that I spent more time repairing than using, I bought a 16,000 lb Cat loader (933) that was closer to the size I needed. It worked great for a lot of years and now lives in Peru, with the trailer.

Currently running a 23,000 lb rubbertire Cat, which I wouldn"t want to tow. No problem roading it when I need to get it somewhere. 4-in-1 is great, and prices on older industrial loaders are far below crawlers here. It is perfect for me, after I added teeth to the bucket and a widow-maker canopy.

Good luck.
 
My 81 F350 dually must be one heck of a beast because I had no problems hauling around a JD450 dozer for a guy and a case 450 loader of my own and JD310a TLB or Ford 555B tlb.

Anyhow I wonder if you would be more suited with a tractor loader backhoe ? Way more usefull and alot less maintenance.
 
if you already have the trailer and tow vehicle you should size what you buy to that capacity--however if you only tow a few miles locally then a bit overload can be tolerated.
I have both kind of machines and for general grading and clearing 12 inch and under trees i find my 15000 lb cat 6 way dozer is the machine of my choice,
 
What do you guys think about John Deere and Case dozers in small sizes. I have read some and it sound like a Case is better. How much does a case 350,450 or 550 weigh?
 
I forget actual weight, but those are smaller, lighter and sometimes thats just the right size for a lot of types of work. I have ran 450 Case, but a long time ago, never spent a lot of time on it, but one outfit I worked for had several brands in their fleet, and it was interesting to me as an operator, to try each one out when it was on the job I was assigned, a couple of us operators would volunteer to switch from machines we were assigned, so we were good on anything they owned. I do recall the 850 case much better, say late 80s vintage, aside from the small steering levers on a pedestal, just something to get used to, from pushing off fill, grading and or cutting, I liked the 850 Case. This outfit had 2 identical 850's easy haul on a tandem tag trailer,(8 wheel)with air brakes, I would assume, but have never hauled the 450, even lighter, would seem a one ton properly equipped with appropriate trailer, should be ok to move one, don't quote me, numbers don't lie, but my long winded talk may LOL !!! (not intentional - stand to be corrected)

I would agree with JD Maris on the 350's and 450's, I've run those and a 1010, condition is important, Case seems to be the better bet, parts availability and operation costs associated, seems their older crawlers have decent parts support, or it appeared that way.
 
As with any machine I would make sure undercarriage is good. I would look for JD 350 or 450c and 450-650g models. I suppose case would be ok, not sure to tell u which model might be a good one as far as series (how new). Dresser TD 7,8, or 9 might be ok also.
 
don't rule out a Dresser well made machine also Komatsu another good machine I have a Case 310G crawler that has made roads cleared brush and knocked over trees that a John Deere skid steer with twice the HP couldn't touch
 
14,000 lb on a gooseneck with brakes is not a problem for a 1 ton. As for electric brakes, if you get a decent controller and do you checks before leaving it tells you if you are disconnected/shorted/grounded and you can judge the brake response physically too.

I'm not talking about early 80's 1 tons here but modern ones with good brakes.
 
Hey VAtom, wouldn't have a couple of bolt on teeth adapters for that ol Cat 933 would you? I'm looking for 2 to replace the ones that snapped off my '58 Cat 933. Any idea of a boneyard that migh have one or two? Thanks. Dave
 

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