Goodbye 'dozer, CK30 does it all now.

[RexB]

*sniff*

Sold the best dam l'il dozer in the world, my John Deere 350. "Pacman" cleared most of the land and trails here, dug out the big old cedar stumps, plowed and surfaced my lane and driveway, . . . it never complained and was my pal. Almost sold it a year ago but! i'd a married that machine if it was legal.

But the Kioti does all the work now. My 'ol Pacman is now in the hands of a land-clearer who takes good care of his machines but works them until they can't work anymore.

My eyes get wet just thinking about it.

Is this normal or should I see a shrink?

Loved that machine.

 

[bearhawk]

It is better to sell it to someone that will use it to it's potential. Rather than let it sit in the yard unused for years, and then you have to have it hauled away.

I wish I could take my own advice !

You did the right thing....

 

[JoelD]

Rex, Rex, REX, whhhhaaaaatttttt have you done???!!!

Kidding.

As you know, I'll be facing the same decision soon, I've also got a Deere 350B. GREAT little machine, I can actually tow around if absolutely necessary, yet have not hit a rock that I can not push with it.

Like you, my Kioti will soon displace my Dozer, I'll also miss her. Totally natural.

I think there is a genetic thing with man and machine, seriously, to some of us, machines are irresistable. Kinda like a brunnette in a bikini right?.

You'll be fine Rex, with time, you'll be fine.

And like the rest of us, in 2-5 years you'll go out and buy another 350 or maybe 450, with time and counseling you'll come to that realization, but not until you are ready.

Don't spend that money just yet.



Joel

 

[RexB]

You're right about that bearhawk, i got a beautiful (used to be anyway) SeaRay 24-footer gathering moss out by the pump house.

Rex, Rex, REX, whhhhaaaaatttttt have you done???!!!
...
I think there is a genetic thing with man and machine, seriously, to some of us, machines are irresistable. Kinda like a brunnette in a bikini right?.

You'll be fine Rex, with time, you'll be fine . . . in 2-5 years you'll go out and buy another 350 or maybe 450, with time and counseling you'll come to that realization, but not until you are ready.

Don't spend that money just yet.
Joel

LOL, even better than a brunette in a thong. The Deere never gave me a hard time.

A 450 would be grand. But the lane is the only thing that needs a dozer every few years so . . . this love affair is over.

The money, HA! some of that's already put to use. A new laptop and new digicam on order, y'know the necessities. Take the wife out to MickeyD's for dinner. Almost a new washing machine too but the transmission turned out to be a easy fix and then replaced a stripped out agitator.

You're really finally selling your love too??? The market is good over here -- got $9600, $1600 more than I paid for this 1966 JD350_ eight years ago and it only needed the scheduled upkeep and filters. The buyer knew quality when he saw it. You might get even better for your JD350B, though this one had a full ROPS, heavy winch, and big brush rake.

Money is nice to put back into the bank for once too

 

[Patches]

A wise man once told me (you've never spent money till you've put iron on the ground) . Listened to him and stayed away from crawlers, as much as we all wanted to PUSH dirt around

 

[JoelD]

To be clear Rex, I've decided to sell her two years in a row, funny how the deals never quite come together.

Patches, a man who thought he was wise once said to himself, "a man hasn't experienced life unless he's owned at least one set of tracks."

I've gotta admit tracks are addictive, it's amazing at what even these small machines can do.

There's a great video out there of a tank and a large quad track tractor locked up in a tug of war. Give and take until the tank spools up, then it's like watching a car drive down the street with tin cans tied to a string off the back. One of the comments calls it out clearly, no match when you've got 15000 lbs or so going against 50,000+ pounds.

My 30 HP Kioti weighs all-in around 5000-6000 lbs, the dozer is just over double, also a 30 hp machine.

Anyway, owning tracks is not for the faint of heart. My deere is my second. From prior experience with my old case, they can be very heavy and stubborn garden gnomes. You think it's tough getting mushrooms out of your yard, try a 50's case crawler loader with no compression and tracks that fall off, separates the men from the boys.

I just need to get the thought of a dump truck out of my head.

Joel

 

[RexB]

I hear ya', it is HARD to sell a family member. I hope the buyer takes good care of yours too. Double check your horsepower to get a better price -- mine is 42HP.

For sure, a crawler definitely needed for good clearing of woods, a 1200' road and 400' driveway. The last clearing done here was the Ice Age. This CK30 couldn't have done the same job, or I'd still be at it ten years later LOLz. But it's just right for the work needed now, praise Neptune for 4WD Low with differential lock

Kioti seriously needs it's own tractor shed, Donna is hinting to get her car back into the shop. Building a 'permitted' shop for it adds $400 to the cost for nothing gained. And I build stronger than codes require. But I'd get nailed in a few years when the ***-essor comes around. Prop taxes have already doubled in past eight years, with no new structures added.

Tractor on!

"The first production John Deere built in North America with a three-cylinder engine was the JD350 Crawler, which entered production in late December 1964 and was the eagerly awaited replacement for the previous “1010” Crawler. The new three-cylinder engine for the JD350 was available in either gasoline or diesel versions. The gasoline engine was a “square” design, with a bore and stroke of 3.86 inches, displacing 135.5-cubic inches and producing 42 horsepower at the flywheel. The diesel version shared the same bore as the gasoline engine, but employed a stroke of 4.33 inches for a displacement of 152-cubic inches, and produced the same horsepower as the gasoline engine. Both engines offered peppy performance, smoother operation, and much better cold-weather starting than the four-cylinder engines used in the “1010” Crawler."

 

[EddieWalker]

Congrats on the sell of your dozer. I'm looking forward to the day that I sell mine and no longer have to work on it. I've been lucky lately, but know it's just a matter of time until the next big repair job on it. Mine is actually too big for what I'm doing right now, but it's paid for and that makes up for allot of other short comings.

Everyone says that if you take care of your dozer, you can sell it for what you paid for it, so it's really nice to hear that you did just that!!!!!!

If I sold mine for half of what I paid for it, I'd be happy. I know that I can get more for it, and maybe even what I have into it, but for all that I've done with it, I'm way ahead financially!!!!!

Hopefully I'll soon be in a similar position, though I know it's still years away for me.

Congrats,
Eddie

 

[Highbeam]

Amazing the similarities between us Rex. I bought an international 500 dozer and cleared/sut roads with it until I replaced it with the CK30. True, you haven't lived until you've owned a set of tracks.

 

[JoelD]

highbeam, great picture, I've got a little mini-boss (daughter) myself, great to see little children exposed to the machinery. A dying bread I think.

I really like my little dozer, the machine runs great and operates great. There really is no substitute for tracks. But like Rex, my Kioti will replace the need in the long run.