thinking about renting a dozer.....

[JimMorrissey]

I've got to move some dirt around my property and need to do some general cut and fill....nothing too fancy (+/- 6" is fine). It won't be too big and the work will not be very particular. Mainly I'll be backfilling a retaining wall and moving the spoil from a foundation to fill that area....digging up and moving some native sod from a field. I'll have to move the earth about 500 ft.

Wondering what kind of learning curve there is with a dozer for basic usable skills....are we talking about a few hours or many weeks of use to get somewhat proficient? -I've rented excavators before and own a backhoe, so I'm generally familiar with equipment and enjoy using it. This is a perfect excuse to get to use a dozer, but if it's going to be too challenging I'll hire it out.

 

[Highbeam]

It can take a very long time to get good at making a smooth finished surface without the rollercoasters. It takes about 3 minutes to figure out how to push a blade of dirt. So long as you have another machine to smooth out the humps and to do some fine work then a dozer is a great tool for a beginner to get the big stuff done. 500 feet is quite a ways to go and generally 300 feet is the maximum productive push length for efficiency. 500 feet is getting into excavator and truck territory but with a rental machine you won't be afraid to use high track speeds so maybe it'll be fine. Be sure to figure out the float feature on the dozer blade as this feature while going backwards turns a bad grader into a decent one.

I would do it.

 

[JimMorrissey]

Thanks....That's about what I figured. You give me a bit a confidence. It's fun to watch somebody who's good with a dozer work and you can see that the learning curve is quite steep; you're not just digging a trench.

On second thought 500' is a bit of a stretch. It more likely somewhere in the 275-350' range. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[northmiss]

I would strongly support your desire to rent one. The new hydrostatic machines are very easy to control with their joysticks. One of the first things I practiced was "backdragging" or using the blade float function which can erase a lot of errors. Even if you do only a fair job you'll likely feel the experience and learning was worth it. Very few machines out there have the broad applicability of the dozer, and everyone ought to have a little seat time in one! Before I bought a dozer I'd had only 20 - 30 hours of experience using one my dad had. This proved enough to make a decent decision. The new machines are remarkably user friendly.

 

[JimMorrissey]

Now that's what I want to hear. Thanks North.

You should fill out more of your bio so we know a bit more about you. Maybe you want it that way /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[EddieWalker]

The only thing I'd add to what you've been told is to keep the dirt in a slot.

When moving dirt with a dozer, it will spill out the sides of the blade. If you move the dirt along the same path every time, you will create a slot that holds the dirt in on the sides.

What are you renting and how much is it costing you?

Eddie

 

[JimMorrissey]

Eddie,

I'll likely end up with a Dresser TD7 (16K lbs) or a D3 Cat (16K lbs). They have blades on them about 95" x 32". Both of these are available by the day for $250-275, or by the week for $800-900. They're not perfect, but they'll do the job.

Thanks for the tip about the slot, makes good sense.

 

[JJT]

How many yards of material do you need to move. A good sized loader may make more sense.

 

[Dargo]

I have well over 10,000 hours on several different types of dozers and I would really question renting a dozer if you are wanting to move dirt 500 feet. Pushing dirt is a very inefficient way of moving it. With many years of experience, I disagree in a big way that you can even efficiently move dirt 300 feet. Anyone who thinks that does not have much experience on a machine. If you have much dirt to move, you'd be much better off renting a high lift dozer and a dump truck. With a tandem axle dump, you can move about 10 yards or so each trip. It will take you several hours to push that amount of dirt 500 feet.

I have not seen what you are wanting to do, but if it involves moving much dirt that distance, a dozer with a 6 way blade is the wrong tool. Heck, with a decent sized tractor like a NH 450 (450 hp) pulling a pan, I can move 18 to 20 yards 500 feet every 4 minutes. It would take the size dozer you are talking about about 4 hours to do that.

 

[Highbeam]

Yep, there are ceratinly more efficient ways to move lots of dirt a long ways. After 300 feet (or so for crying out loud) you will notice that chasing your tail feeling. Efficiency is a relative thing and if you could always have the right tool for the job then you could always be as efficient as possible.

I wonder what one of those big ol' scrapers rents for? That would be super fun to try out.