Project Clean Sweep

[jshbryan]

Well, I have purchased a dozer to run my self on our place. It was a near divorce experience, but I think we are over the hump.

Anyhow, we own 154 acres about 65 miles north-west of Fort Worth. All but 39 are used for wheat production. However, that 39 acres is an absolute mess. As you can see from the attached pics, it is covered with mesquite and catus. There are also some large Hackberry trees.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/OrangeMach/005-1.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/OrangeMach/003-1.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/OrangeMach/004-1.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/OrangeMach/002-1.jpg

I have looked into several alternatives to rid the property of these to plants that have overtaken the place. Chemical alternatives, firewood cutters and the list goes on. Sraying these plants as thick as they are and as many as I have would cost a small fortune. The woodcutters only get interested if the wood is already dead and all but one leave a 1.5' stump. Not for me.

I will use this machine to clear all mesquites and cactus and smaller hackberry trees.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/OrangeMach/001-2.jpg

Anyways, follow along, it should be an experience as I have never owned or operated a dozer.

BTW: I had it unloaded as far from the house as they could get until I learn how to maneuver this thing .

It will be several days before any updates as I need to change all of the fluids and filters. I also need to build a grill gaurd to protect the resorvoir.

 

[sr160009]

Congats on the the dozer and being able to stay married , can't wait to see your progess. A friend of mine had a bunch of mesquite trees on his place and he had to kill the off first because they keep coming back. He used remendy (not sure how it is spelled) and sprayed them. That killed them dead and has not had any come back since. I think you can get it a TSC.

 

[jshbryan]

I plan on using the dozer/grubber to get as many as possible. Then whatever comes up will get a drink of remedy. As many as I have now and as large as they are, I would need tanker trucks to keep me in supply. Besides, once they did die I would still have to have a dozer come out and push them all up to be burned.

 

[schmism]

looks like you could use a root rake

eddie picked one up for his project, seemed he really liked it.... ill let him comment on his use and or link his thread... (was that the lake tread... i cant remember)

 

[jshbryan]

Okay. I got all of the fluids and filters changed yesterday and greased every fitting I could find. So yesterday evening I fired it up and gave it a try.

Now I have never owned or operated a dozer of any type, so this whole project is a complete learning process for me. Although I only pushed down about 20 trees, I seemed to learn something on each one.

My current method is 1st gear with about 1/2 or slightly more throttle. Once I get close to the tree I drop the blade and upon contact and the tree starting to push over, raise the blade.

As you can see from the pics below, I need lot's of practice and guidance. The first few trees were the worse and my wife is wondering if I am trying to make a lake. Look at the pics ad offer any operating advice you may have. BTW, this is only a 2-way blade (other than the manual blade adjustments.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/OrangeMach/001-3.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/OrangeMach/002-2.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/OrangeMach/004-2.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/OrangeMach/003-2.jpg


An hour later this is where I ended up . I did not get pics of th dozer stuck as I was trying to find a way to get it out before it rained last night. Fortunately, my father-in-law has a 200hp, 4X4 Case ag tractor. I really did not think it would pull me out, but it was my only "free" option. However, to my amazement it pulled me right out albeit with the front end about a foot off th ground. Below are pictures of the swamp that I did not see/plan for .

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/OrangeMach/005-2.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/OrangeMach/006.jpg

 

[BTDT]

Congratulations on the dozer. You the man!
The way I see it, score is as follows:
jshbryan--1
dozer-----1
swamp----1
trees & cactus--0

 

[EddieWalker]

Jason,

Congrats on the dozer!! Can you share some details about it? What size and mode of Cat is it? What year? How much and where did you buy it?

I looked at a 1969 Cat D-7 that looked allot like your monster a few years ago in Sunnyvale. It had a terrible water leak and some other issues with starting it, so I passed.

There's a couple things to remember when taking out trees. You can take out bigger trees when the ground is wetter with less effort. Dry ground holds them allot tighter.

Do not hit the trees at any speed. This will only destroy the dozer and might snap the tree off above the ground. Nothing good can come from hitting them at speed.

I come up on a tree very slowly with my blade all the way up. Then I very slowly push on it. Most trees will go over easy enough with just that. If not, then I back up and lower the blade to the bottom of the tree. I push and lift at the same time. The blade will slide up the tree some, but usually it will bite in and get a hold. Lifting and pushing will get most of the more stubborn ones out.

If you have a big one, or one that just wont lay over, tilt your blade and start cutting the roots. usually you only have to go down about two feet. Push and see if it will go over. If not, pile up the dirt from cutting the roots and build a ramp on one side of the tree. It will come out with enough digging and a tall enough ramp. This is when it's time consuming to take out trees and where I usually go and get the backhoe. Since you don't have a backhoe, you'll have to keep moving dirt.

The root rake is very helpful for pushing the trees to the burn pile. It's worthless for taking out the bigger trees as it gets in the way, and you can snap off your mounting pins or plates. I lost my mounting plates this way.

The hard part is moving the trees to the burn pile. They like to roll up under the blade. The root rake stops this as it's on the ground and the trees ride up on it. Pushing dirt is also a big part of moving trees with a dozer. With just the blade, you can end up with several yards of dirt in your birn pile really fast. Sometimes after a day of my dad moving trees, we'll have 20 or 30 yards of dirt!!! With the rake, he's allot better, but even then, he has his problems. hahaha

Never run over the down trees with your tracks. In fact, never run over anythying other then dirt with your tracks. The trackes don't grab very well on hard surfaces and the entire dozer will chang it's balance EXTREMELY fast. The dozer will flip you around and even through you out of the seat.

Small branches and saplings will find a way through any opening you have. There is no way to protect everything, so just laugh when it happens. It's one of those gurantees.

In fact, owning a dozer means lots of wrenching time. Just expect it to happen and don't get overwhelmed fixing it. Everything is easy enough to do with some planning. Never rely on a mechanic to come out and help, they are way too busy to mess with you and your machine.

The biggest difference between a pro and an amature is how fast they can work. If you keep your speed down, you'll have plenty of time to think through what you are doing. Everytime I see somebody having trouble on a dozer, it's because they are going way too fast. Once I get the speed down, thier ability increases dramatically.

Thanks for the pics, I'm looking forward to seeing more of them and following along on your adventure!!

Eddie

 

[jshbryan]

Eddie,

See attached thread for dozer details.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/buying-pricing-comparisons/98538-bulldozer.html

 

[jshbryan]

looks like you could use a root rake

eddie picked one up for his project, seemed he really liked it.... ill let him comment on his use and or link his thread... (was that the lake tread... i cant remember)

Man that is nice setup. Wonder if the dozer comes with the purchase of the rake

 

[sandman2234]

Isn't there another member who found a root rack while clearing some remote parts of his property? Maybe you and him can get together on price/shipping if he wants to part with it.
David from jax