Buying an old dozer

[joebarness]

I've purchased 4 mostly wooded acres in central Arkansas. I will be having a house built in the Fall. The house will be about 300 feet from the road. So, I'll need to grade and spread gravel for a 350' driveway (300' already clear of trees) and clear a spot @100' x 100' for the house. Would it be worth it for me to buy an older dozer for about 5 or 6 thousand dollars? Or can I get all that done a lot cheaper.
Thanks

 

[ScottAR]

I'd hire out the heavy stuff. Buying an older dozer in that price range is almost a crapshoot for those without dozer experience and sometimes even with experience. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Unless your cutting through a hill or somthing, A medium size tractor can grade a place for a drive and certainly spread gravel.

Fill out your profile as the more information you provide will net you more effective advice.

 

[ocaj11]

I have to agree with Scott. If you already have a tractor with a front end loader and box blade, you can spread the gravel that way. If not, I would spend my money on a medium sized tractor and hire the 100 x 100 clearing work. If you don't have a tractor yet, you will want one in the future.

If you must purchase a dozer, I would look for a smaller dozer in good shape for around 10K - 13K, use it to get your land in order, and then sell it. You should be able to do all that and not lose much money.

 

[BarryinMN]

Buying a dozer will get you requests from relatives, friends and friends of relatives to do work with it. I stopped at a tire shop taking it home & the owner ran out asking how much I would charge for some landscaping work /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif I didn't know how it worked yet /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Tractors are more practical but a dozer will quickly change the face of your land /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I have a JD350 40HP with a quik tach backhoe, rebuilt @ $10K /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Alan L.]

Around here a gravel road would be about $4 a foot turnkey. The pad would only be a few hundred$. I'd get a bid on the job before entering a crapshoot with a dozer purchase.

 

[MMM]

$5-$6K will get you junk in most instances. If you do decide to get one, pay a heavy mechanic to look at it first. Many a contractor has gone under from undercarrige woes. Repairs can be more than machine can be sold for, so they sell to unsuspecting homeowners when dozer is on it's last leg (or track).

 

[have_blue]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If you must purchase a dozer, I would look for a smaller dozer in good shape for around 10K - 13K, use it to get your land in order, and then sell it. You should be able to do all that and not lose much money. )</font>

Great advice.

I know a fellow who does that around here with dozers, TLB's, trucks, and heavy implements. He says he usually breaks even or even makes a buck. Of course, he has a lot of contacts and patiently waits for the right deal. He says a dozer in good shape is one of the best risks you can take. Biggest risk is not wanting to part with it when the big work is done. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[EddieWalker]

For the amount you want to spend, you will buy junk. It will cost you twice that amount to fix whats wrong with it, depending on availablity of parts. If somebodys is selling a dozer that cheap, you know it's got issues.

Hire the pros on this one. They will get it right the first time, and be done with it before you can even get started.

Building roads aint rocket science, but understanding dirt and what it takes to stay where you want it does require some skills. Your not just hireing somebody to drive a tractor, your hireing that piece of machinery to be in working order and an experienced operator who can create drainage and compaction quickly and gurantee that it will be right.

One thing to remember when hiring operators, is to keep you own hour log if you contract the work by the hour. Let them know you are keeping track also, otherwise, you'll get some creative padding on the hours. I don't pay for down time when the tractor gets a flat because the tires are bald. Things like that. I also don't pay for lunch breaks. If they take off for two hours, then I'm not paying for it.

You have to let them know this beforehand, or you will have issues when the bill arrives.

 

[Soundguy]

I agree... around here.. unless you are doing heavy clearing.. tractors and box blades make house pads ( roller too ).

A 5000$ dozer is gonna be like buying a 100$ used car....

Soundguy

 

[Highbeam]

I bought a 10k$ dozer for very similar but larger scale reasons. The dozer is a 45 HP and weighs 10000 lbs, the cheaper dozers just weren't good enough. There is a huge drop in quality when you fall below 10,000$ but the good news is that the dozer won't depreciate unless you break it so whatever you spend you should be able to get it back.

It takes a long time to get good at operating the dozer. The smaller machines like I have require some finesse to make things go your way. I have enjoyed every minute of it.

I have come to the realization that a logger can do the roadwork, clearing, and homesite smoothing for the value of the removed timber in those areas from my wooded lot. I have spent a year clearing and have made plenty of progress but I am at a point of needing permits and a schedule has forced me to find a quicker route. My dozer will soon be for sale.

Once I became somewhat proficient at dozer operation, I found I could clear off several hundred feet of driveable road in a day. The key issue is that this road clearing involved pushing the debris aside and no large stump removal.

Your description is 300 feet of road and a 0.25 acre pad. A hired dozer (equipment?) operator should get this done in 2 days at a cost in my area of less than 2000 bucks. If you want him to collect and dispose of the debris than expect to pay more. I think you will find that your time and eqipment breakage risk is worth the 2000$.

My trick for avoiding favors with the dozer is to tell them that they have to move it. Most people have no idea how to move a bulldozer.