Rockcity's small dozer shenanigans

rockcity

rockcity

everyday is a chance to get better
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Location
Greenville, NC
Looking for a used small dozer, size D3 or comparable. Not brand loyal, just need something functional and affordable. Prefer 6 way blade and closer to Greenville the better. May would consider a tracked loader if price was right.

Budget is under $20k but closer to $10k is better. Not interested in a “mechanic special”. I’m no mechanic and have no desire to fix a dozer. For my budget I expect some considerations to be made with looks and condition but it still should be functional. Age is of no concern to me as long as it works.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
Do you need to be able to haul it? Typically you can get better deals on bigger machines, simply because most ppl can't haul them easily.
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I don’t need to haul it necessarily. It will be for personal use on my land, mostly clearing for a building, driveway, shop, pool, etc. Then used for tinkering as needed.


I did see some bigger machines for reasonable, but the cost to get them to my property outweighs any savings. Having a D7 parked out back would be nice. But it’s not as practical and costs some $ to haul in. It would probably tear up more than it would help after it’s done it’s primary role of clearing the building area.


Realistically, I don’t have a trailer that I would use with confidence to haul a dozer unless it was under 10k lbs. As much as I’d like to have one, a good sized gooseneck is not in the arsenal since I’ve never really needed it (until now :D)
 
I had a Komatsu D21 for over a decade. Best machine I ever owned. Kinda wish I hadn't sold it. 9k pounds, 40hp (which is enough, and only used 5-10 gallons of diesel in a full days work), 6 way blade, small enough to fit in all kinds of places, but just big enough to get a lot of work done. I'd buy one again in a heartbeat, and they can be found for $15k or less. I bought mine for $6200 back in 2007. Sold it for about $12k in 2019. Shoulda kept it 2 more years and sold it for $20k :rolleyes:

A D3 is a lot bigger, heavier machine, which obviously comes with some advantages and disadvantages. I'd like to have one to play around with one day.
 
jeepinmatt said:
I had a Komatsu D21 for over a decade. Best machine I ever owned. Kinda wish I hadn't sold it. 9k pounds, 40hp (which is enough, and only used 5-10 gallons of diesel in a full days work), 6 way blade, small enough to fit in all kinds of places, but just big enough to get a lot of work done. I'd buy one again in a heartbeat, and they can be found for $15k or less. I bought mine for $6200 back in 2007. Sold it for about $12k in 2019. Shoulda kept it 2 more years and sold it for $20k :rolleyes:

A D3 is a lot bigger, heavier machine, which obviously comes with some advantages and disadvantages. I'd like to have one to play around with one day.
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I did find a couple of the small Komatau’s. Found one for $13k with 3700 hours that’s at the top of my list. :)

A D3 is much heavier, but is about at the top of where I’d want to be as far as size.


And at the top of my current list is a nice little Massey Ferguson 200b. Small and nimble and I can haul it with current trailer.
 
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If it comes down to it, I can definitely haul one for you. If my trailer won't work...I've got a buddy that'll let me borrow his :D
 
Croatan_Kid said:
If it comes down to it, I can definitely haul one for you. If my trailer won't work...I've got a buddy that'll let me borrow his :D
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I appreciate that. I do have a GN ball in the bed of the F350 but don’t have the trailer to fit, just my new tag I built last year rates around d 11,000lbs.

If I can convince myself to look beyond the obsecureness of the Massey 200b, I’m probably heading to potentially pick it up next week. It weighs right at 9300lbs, which is within the limits of my trailer although at the upper end. I may call ya to see if we can work something out. :)
 
rockcity said:
I did find a couple of the small Komatau’s. Found one for $13k with 3700 hours that’s at the top of my list. :)

A D3 is much heavier, but is about at the top of where I’d want to be as far as size.


And at the top of my current list is a nice little Massey Ferguson 200b. Small and nimble and I can haul it with current trailer.
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A d3 (not talking about a next gen) is a baby, you might as well buy a skid steer if you go any smaller. With a sub 20k lb dozer you aren't going to be pushing trees or moving major amounts of dirt, for the money you're wanting to spend buy a 25k lb loader with 4 in 1 would suit you a whole lot better. Otherwise you're going to end up with a giant piece of shit dozer then buying a skid steer anyway.
 
braxton357 said:
A d3 (not talking about a next gen) is a baby, you might as well buy a skid steer if you go any smaller. With a sub 20k lb dozer you aren't going to be pushing trees or moving major amounts of dirt, for the money you're wanting to spend buy a 25k lb loader with 4 in 1 would suit you a whole lot better. Otherwise you're going to end up with a giant piece of shit dozer then buying a skid steer anyway.
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I thought about that too but a skid steer if comparable size is still twice the $$. I did see some decent tracked loaders with 4n1 buckets for reasonable price, so it’s not off the table. Just not as easy to fine grade as the 6 way blade on a dozer.

Remember, all my land is sand, so I’m not dealing with hard clay, rocks, or impacted tree root systems. I can get away with a smaller machine than folks in western NC.

I’ve been reasonably successful with my compact Kubota 2501, just need something for clearing topsoil and doing rough grading and getting the surface graded more efficiently and affordably.
 
I don't know anything about dozers but saw this on Facebook so figured I would share. It's listed in a farm equipment group I'm in so I couldn't post a direct link.

Screenshot_20221113-104349.png
 
Haha, me too. But according to @braxton357 you basically can't even pull a wet noodle out of a cats ass with something like that. ;)
 
I did find an old 1959 JD 1010. It’s old and smaller, but price is right and operates like it should. Weighs about 7,000 lbs, so manageable with my truck and trailer. Just worried it’s still just a little smaller than I’d need.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Haha, me too. But according to @braxton357 you basically can't even pull a wet noodle out of a cats ass with something like that. ;)
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3K lbs more drawbar pull than an svl95 when it was brand new 30 years ago and a ragged out used for a rake sloppy blade--nah I'm good. Please buy it though and post the 30 minute vid of trying to push a 16" pine over.
 
Fwiw…my experience with older machines is they work great (as long as you can quell your anxiety ) until they don’t.

You are buying a bomb with a lit fuse - the question is how long is the fuse. Unfortunately you won’t know until it goes boom.

There isn’t parts support for most older shit and a bad transmission or hydraulic pump means you now have a multi ton yard ornament that isn’t movable easily without another even bigger piece of equipment .
 
Ron said:
Fwiw…my experience with older machines is they work great (as long as you can quell your anxiety ) until they don’t.

You are buying a bomb with a lit fuse - the question is how long is the fuse. Unfortunately you won’t know until it goes boom.

There isn’t parts support for most older shit and a bad transmission or hydraulic pump means you now have a multi ton yard ornament that isn’t movable easily without another even bigger piece of equipment .
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True, but I also don’t have $125k for a new one.

If it gets me through site clearing and grading for my house, then I’m $ ahead considering the cheapest I’ve see so far is ~$35k. So if I can spend half that and do it myself, then hopefully I save some $ and have a piece of equipment afterwards.
 
rockcity said:
True, but I also don’t have $125k for a new one.

If it gets me through site clearing and grading for my house, then I’m $ ahead considering the cheapest I’ve see so far is ~$35k. So if I can spend half that and do it myself, then hopefully I save some $ and have a piece of equipment afterwards.
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I understand, and as you know I made the same decision. And was literally worried for a year.
Counter is - when you spend $15k, get half done. THe machine shits the bed. It cost you $3k to get someone to come haul it off and then you STILL have to pay the man to do your grading.
 
Ron said:
I understand, and as you know I made the same decision. And was literally worried for a year.
Counter is - when you spend $15k, get half done. THe machine shits the bed. It cost you $3k to get someone to come haul it off and then you STILL have to pay the man to do your grading.
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Low risk, low reward. High risk, high reward. :)


Lucky for me I’m not using it as a livelihood and will probably put 200 hours on it in the next few years.
 
Buying a piece of equipment to save money was the exact reason I bought my 85 F-800 dump truck. Got to haul fill dirt about a 1/4 mile from one section of our land to the spot where I'm going to build my shop.
 
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untchabl said:
Buying a piece of equipment to save money was the exact reason I bought my 85 F-700 dump truck. Got to haul fill dirt about a 1/4 mile from one section of our land to the spot where I'm going to build my shop.
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Me too. I picked up an 86 F350 dump truck with the 6.9 diesel. It’s already paid for itself and it comes in very handy when doing construction demolition. Roll off dumpsters are not cheap to rent, so I can save $ with this.

And I overload it with 13’ pine logs where the bump stops are riding on the axle and have no worries with it. Hauls it great and as long as I don’t get it stuck on my land or run out of fuel, I’m good. (Both have happened recently).

So, time to add to the arsenal.
I already have the 2501, just picked up a Ford 9n for box blade work, and am picking up another small garden tractor from my aunt in NY over Christmas.

So, time to fire up the sawmill and get to milling and building to house everything. Need the dozer to clear the land. :)
 
If you're happy with a 6.9 F350 dump truck and Ford 9n for dragging a box scrape, ANY name brand dozer will be enough power for you :D
 
jeepinmatt said:
If you're happy with a 6.9 F350 dump truck and Ford 9n for dragging a box scrape, ANY name brand dozer will be enough power for you :D
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It’s what I can afford and it works. I’m not necessarily “happy” with it but it certainly is better than having nothing. :)

The 9n is so I don’t have to take off the backhoe from the 2501 every time I want to drag the driveway or yard, or run a chipper, or run the bush hog, etc. It’s certainly not a primary tractor. :D
 
rockcity said:
It’s what I can afford and it works. I’m not necessarily “happy” with it but it certainly is better than having nothing. :)
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This. So much so! I've been through quite a bit of equipment in my life. Some people such as @braxton357 have been through a lot more, but most people have been through a lot less. When you get a piece of equipment that does what you need it to do, and it's reliable, and you like using it, it makes the work more enjoyable. My Komatsu D21 was like that. And my Morbark Eager Beever 290 chipper was like that (which ironically I sold to Braxton, and replaced it with a bigger one that I highly disliked, and I've tried to buy that 290 back from him a dozen times :D). Sometimes you don't need the biggest and best, just something that beats the hell out of a shovel or a mule is enough to make a man happy. I envy @ghost with his joyful glee about his 8N Ford project.
 
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