# In the market for a dozer, teach me



## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Clearing fence lines and overgrown trees by the creek, need a decent sized dozer for the stumps. I really don’t know anything about dozers other than I supposedly want a 6-way blade. Won’t rack up tons of hours, figure I’ll clear what I need done, then resell it


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

Unless the cat has a ripper, a good sized track hoe with a thumb and shank is more economical/faster. Cleared lots of stumps up here. Much easier around creeks and banks too.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

carcajou said:


> Unless the cat has a ripper, a good sized track hoe with a thumb and shank is more economical/faster. Cleared lots of stumps up here. Much easier around creeks and banks too.


Spot on and cheaper maintenance. Stack, I figured there would only be one that suited you, an Allis HD 21


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Hayman1 said:


> Spot on and cheaper maintenance. Stack, I figured there would only be one that suited you, an Allis HD 21


My old AGCO field rep from North Dakota owns an HD21. It is a massive beast. There is a larger one yet, an HD41. Has to be hauled in pieces, overweight otherwise.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

carcajou said:


> Unless the cat has a ripper, a good sized track hoe with a thumb and shank is more economical/faster. Cleared lots of stumps up here. Much easier around creeks and banks too.


I guess I never thought of a track hoe. I don't know a thing about them either, can you enlighten me?


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Track hoe / excavator works wonders clearing fence lines. It's not under a ton of load and travels a lot less so chains/sprockets don't wear as fast as a dozer. There is more hose maintenance but so handy.

We rented a 15 ton JD for a winter, I think a 20 ton+ would be better in really big stumps. Up to a pretty good size tree the 15 ton could push over removing the stump in one go. Without the tree for a lever stumps were more of a challenge for it.


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## Farmerbrown2 (Sep 25, 2018)

I agree unless you are clearing grown up fields sounds like an excavator would be more handy.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Agree, trackhoe/excavator with a thumb is the tool to use. For pushing dirt, the dozer is great. Not so much for stumps and trees.


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

stack em up said:


> I guess I never thought of a track hoe. I don't know a thing about them either, can you enlighten me?


A guy can get by with a smaller sized hoe ie 200, 220) but really you won't save any money. A 270 (25 ton) sized hoe is just about right in my opinion. They are heavy enough that you can do whatever you might dream up without getting slid around much. Big enough to pack big trees to pile them and will get serious on the roots. They are usually a bargain too because they are a little bigger then contractor size. Thumb is a must have but it does not have to be hyd. Hitachi, Komatsu, Volvo, Deere, Cat all good machines but a QC attachment is real handy. Take an experienced operator along to demo the machine and he will know if its a good runner.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

If you have ever ran a backhoe, a trackhoe is nearly identical in range of motion except on tracks. An excavator makes it better, more range of movement like rotating belly and larger ones are a heckuva lot stronger.

Bulldozers are good for 2 things, pushing and pulling. I vote renting an excavator because it makes short work digging up trees. There are mulching attachments available as well.


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## Red Bank (Apr 28, 2019)

We used a trackhoe last year to clean up fence rows and field edges. I have used a trackhoe, track loader and a dozer with six way blade. I rank them in that order for speed, ease of operating, and ability to get the job done. I was not impressed with the dozer.


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## Havoc (Aug 3, 2010)

IMHO, an excavator is more versatile than a dozer. I have smaller equipment (JD350 dozer and Cat E70b excavator) mainly because they are easier for me to haul to various locations. I use the dozer to level and push dirt and that is about it. To remove stumps, I would definitely use the excavator, mine has a hydraulic thumb. You could then use the excavator to either bury or load the stumps and debris and haul to another location for disposal. Also with the excavator you could pull fence posts and in softer ground you can set fence posts. You can also remove rocks, knock down trees, set culverts, lift things into a truck, clean irrigation ditches, load dirt into a truck and install underground utilities.


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

Another vote for an excavator . . .


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## Wethay (Jul 17, 2015)

If you're going to skid logs on steep ground get a dozer. They can push, pull and handle steep ground. Undercarriage is expensive when it needs "a set of tires". 6 way blades won't take the abuse, like catching a stump with the corner, that a straight blade or tilt will. Around here you see armored (guards everywhere, heavy belly pans, wire cage on back and sides of an OROPs) cats with a winch on back and a single cylinder tilt blade on the front set up for logging. A pin on brush rake for clean up.


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

I have watched several excavator operators stump land, if their is a couple feet of stump above ground they would grab it and pull up while rocking it around, pluck it right out of the ground, then throw it around to remove the dirt, fill the hole and move or just rotate to the next one..

A dozer makes a big mess and needs a lot of work to smooth things out later..

Around here a mid sized can be rented for around 750 a week and they transport it...


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Yes that ability to drop the stump or shake it to get dirt out makes for much cleaner burn piles too.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

If your fence rows are anything like mine, an excavator gets extra points.

My fence rows seem to also contain rocks that have grown & reproduced over the years.  Seems an excavator can bury those stones (and their relatives) deeper/quicker than a dozer by far.

Now, after you have removed/buried the stuff, a dozer would be handy to level. I good operator can level with an excavator, but a dozer shines at this task better. Havoc, has a good setup, IMHO.

Larry


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## dvcochran (Oct 1, 2017)

I will add this to all the excellent posts;

Unless you have a Ton of fence row to clear you are better off paying someone in the excvation business to do the work (no not me, I'm an engineer).

A dozer or excavator require a considerable amount of maintenence even if they do not break down, which they surely will. And they are Not cheap to maintain and keep fed. There were days I used $300 in fuel, and this was back when offroad diesel was less that $1.30/gl. I am sure the larger machines use Way more than this.

I used to have a D5 for the same reason you want one. As others have said it would usually do OK on standing trees but it can get real sketchy pushing a big tree. We had a lot of land cleared with a feller/buncher which does not leave much stump. It took way too long to dig out the bigger stumps. I ended up hiring an excavator and operator to dig and I pushed.

There are just lots and lots of moving, mechanical and hydraulic parts. Something is going to fail even with the best of operators.

As others have also said, stumps and six way blades do not play nicely together. That is not what a six way is intended for.


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## danwi (Mar 6, 2015)

Another vote for excavator seems like your farm is big enough they have a ton of uses clearing fence lines, cleaning ditches, fixing tile. They work well for getting equipment unstuck you can just chain to the bucket and pull nice and steady and you can dig out a little if needed. We have a few guys around here that have their own. One bought a real big one at an auction one time had it hauled to his farm now he just drive it where ever he needs it because his land all connects. They even use it to clean their manure pit now because they cant get in the pit with bigger spreaders to get the solids. Another person has a smaller one which is very handy but sometimes they wish it was a little bigger for some jobs.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Oh good point on manure, we had one in fixing water lines one day while I was spreading manure. He said he had an extra hour, cleaned out the sheds and pens in no time and loaded me over the fence every time I swung by. Fastest that job has ever been done.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

And an excavator with a thumb on it can be used to feed round bales. Just swing right over and drop it in the feeder....


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

PaMike said:


> And an excavator with a thumb on it can be used to feed round bales. Just swing right over and drop it in the feeder....


Now that is a good idea.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Seems like a fast way to stack.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

BWfarms said:


> Now that is a good idea.


So back before I had a tracked skidsteer and my feeding area was nothing but a big mud hole I used to feed with a wheeled skidsteer at a round bale feeder. What a mess. Big ruts,getting stuck halfway to the feeder with a bale on the front. Huge mess. Then one night I am going to feed in the dark and the starter goes out on the skidsteer. So here I am, its dark, cold and muddy. I got cows fussing cause they are hungry and a broke down skidsteer. That's when I realized I have a 6k lb mini ex sitting in the barn. I use the hoe to roll the bale onto the top of the backfill blade. I then lift the backfill blade to lift one end of the bale up while pinching and lifting the other end with the hoe. I can then track up to the feeder. Once there I can use the thumb to pinch the bale and lift it up into the feeder. Works pretty slick in a pinch.

What I would really love to do is find one of those cranes like off an old truss delivery truck. That would work real slick for moving and setting bales in a feeder.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

I'm siderailing this a bit... @PaMike, this is why I'm getting ready to build fenceline hay feeders. No more muck and mire. The panels will be portable as well. Unhook them to use elsewhere when needed.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

BWfarms said:


> I'm siderailing this a bit... @PaMike, this is why I'm getting ready to build fenceline hay feeders. No more muck and mire. The panels will be portable as well. Unhook them to use elsewhere when needed.


Yup, I kind of did the same thing. I build a "peninsula" out into the field with a feeder at the end. I can then store bales in the fenced out peninsula and never get my skidsteer/tractor/mini actually in the manure. I've been doing it this way for probably 5 years now. Wish I would have done it this way 15 years ago..


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## chevytaHOE5674 (Mar 14, 2015)

I went to bale unrolling out on pasture. No feeders, no manure, if I get mud I move to another area. Best decision I ever made.


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## Green Fields (Jul 25, 2014)

We had a contractor here on and off the past couple years, removed hundreds of trees some very large and also leveled off a large area for a riding arena on a side hill all with a JD excavator. With the trees they always pushed them over first before cutting them to get the stump out. He also stacked a lot of boulders with it and the thing is that excavator didn't even have a thumb. I have pushed out a lot of trees with JD450 loader and CAT D6 dozer but I would have to vote for an excavator. Wish I had one. I mean the dozer and loader work good as long as the trees aren't that big. Also liked the way the excavator was able to strip away all the branches.


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## aggienjaneer (Jun 12, 2020)

As someone who's been around a lot of heavy equipment I would suggest a stump grinder (hire someone with a good size one on tracks not a skid steer), next choice excavator (hire someone with experience even though they're not that hard, you'll save not trying to learn on a big machine), and I agree with the others a push blade is much better, you'll rue the day with a 6 way blade (and again, if you know nothing, your better off with someone who has experience and is good based on the costs of learning). Youtube can even be your friend in learning to operate heavy equipment if you choose to do the work on your own, Komatsu actually has some good videos for learning novices.


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

Over the years I’ve bought a D6H LGP dozer and a Cat 320C excavator to clear land here on the farm. An excavator with a thumb (I have a mechanical/stiff arm) Is best for cleaning up trees. Trees can be grubbed up and piled or windrowed to the side as you move along. Much more versatile. A dozer works but it takes longer and you end up with a lot more dirt removed and in your burn pile. Big stumps you will work all around it getting dug up and end up with a big hole. On smaller trees, a dozer tends to just shear em off at ground level. With an excavator and thumb you can pull those small ones out, give it a couple shakes and swing it onto a pile in just about one motion. I’m also of the opinion that a 6 way blade dozer is not a good idea for grubbing trees. A tractor with a C frame and hydraulic tilt is best. When you put that blades end bit into a tree and push you wanna be pushing on something solid. The C frame and trunnion mounted on the side of a tractor. With a 6 way blade your pushing against a hydraulic cylinder. Have to watch you p’s and q’s then.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

slowzuki said:


> Seems like a fast way to stack.


May I ask why someone would choose to stack rd bales OUTSIDE similar to shown in video?


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## Aaroncboo (Sep 21, 2014)

Possibly a windbreak but I'd of never thought about an excavator like that. Pretty cool


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## PaulN (Mar 4, 2014)

I wonder that too,Jim. There would be an incredible amount of spoilage.


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## chevytaHOE5674 (Mar 14, 2015)

Go someplace dry like most of Wyoming, Idaho, eastern Washington and Oregon where they get like 6 inches of yearly rainfall and they can stack round bales like that with no concern of moisture related loses.


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