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Crawlers, Dozers, Loaders & Backhoes Discussion Forum

temporary crawler needed

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Scott

11-26-2003 14:44:31




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We'd like to have a crawler of some kind on the farm for about a year to clean out some fence rows, remove a ditch to make a grass waterway, make some ditch crossings, and clean some pastures due to 25 years of no pasturing. I'm thinking of buying a machine, then selling when we're done. Has anyone ever done this and not lost their arse in the process? What brand, and maby vintage should I be looking for? What holds it's value?

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Deas Plant.

11-27-2003 11:50:37




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 Re: temporary crawler needed in reply to Scott, 11-26-2003 14:44:31  
Hi, Scott. There are several threads on pages 2 through 6 or 7 that cover this topic. You might like to have a read through them. My personal preference would be a 10-12 ton track loader with 4-in-1 bucket and rippers and at least a ROPS canopy if you plan on clearing any trees. As to make, I'd be looking seriously at Cat. You may pay more for it in the first place but it will hold its value as least as well as anything else on the market and you can get parts. I am particularly partial to the Cat 941's and 951's for the work you talking of. One poster here mentioned using a trackhoe and specifically mentioned digging a pond with it. I have just finished repairing the umpteenth pond that was dug by a trackhoe and leaked. Trackhoes dig holes. They DON'T compact well and they are a total dead loss in any except the most skilled hands for claying up a pond to seal it. Most trackhoe operators have the fond notion that all you to do to make a pond is dig a hole and throw the excavated around the downhill side. It is a little bit more of an art and a science than that. You can dig a very nice pond with a track loader and you can also clean out a pond better with track loader than with a 'dozer because you don't have to drive through the silt, not even around the edges of it. You simply use a little care in getting each bucketful and reverse out. Hope this helps. You have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.

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Joel Harman

11-28-2003 03:55:46




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 Re: Re: temporary crawler needed in reply to Deas Plant., 11-27-2003 11:50:37  
That would be me that builds ponds with a track hoe. That would also be me that clears land with a track hoe & thumb. My ponds don't leak - but I know how to run a track hoe. I also know how to compact the pond with the bucket. Some don't. Obviously many here don't know how to run a track hoe & would rather push trees, dirt, rocks, their mother-in-law, etc into the burn piles. So have at it. I will quit offering a track hoe with a thumb as an alternative to brute force when clearing land. I'm not taking your comments personally, but i prefer to pick things up rather than shove them along the ground. But, that is what makes the world interesting - everyone is different.

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Will

12-24-2003 14:39:30




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 Re: Re: Re: temporary crawler needed in reply to Joel Harman, 11-28-2003 03:55:46  
I have a 941 and plan on putting in pond. The area has a natural spring and plenty of year round water, but the gorund is rocky, will I need to use a track hoe in this or bring in clay from another part of the property? Any advice is always helful to a person still learning. Will



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Deas Plant.

11-28-2003 11:50:30




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 Re: Re: Re: temporary crawler needed in reply to Joel Harman, 11-28-2003 03:55:46  
Hi, Joel. I have no personal beef with anybody who doing anything any way they want. If you DO know how to construct a pond or dam with a trackhoe and NOT have it leak, you have my heartiest congratulations. You and I are in a VERY small minority as I can do it too. As for clearing with a trackhoe, if it works for you, fine. I do not say it is 'wrong' and it can't wrong if it works for you. It has also worked for me when a trackhoe was the tool I had to do the job with. However, it has also worked for me when an old angle blade Cat D7 with a cable control and NO tilt cylinder was the tool available and no major dirt in the heaps. Also, I am not suggesting that you stop offering a trackhoe as an alternative for anything, clearing, pond building or whatever. I was simply pointing out that I have had to repair or fill in a LOT of ponds and dams that have been built with a trackhoe because the majority of trackhoe operators seem not to know how to do the job properly. I do think that though, if they are going to be completely fair though, even the most die-hard Trackhoe devotee would have to admit that they are at a bit of handicap when the trees are a little more scattered and you have to walk them to the heap over some distance or when what you are clearing is very light brush. Ditto with economical construction of bigger ponds and dams. Happy trackhoe operating and sorry if I ruffled your personal feathers. That was not my intent. You have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.

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Mark from genoa

11-27-2003 08:21:20




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 Re: temporary crawler needed in reply to Scott, 11-26-2003 14:44:31  
The biggest problem I have had with old equipment is the desire to improve it. I purchases and old oliver crawler I used for some light clearing. The problem was the leaking ram and other items bothers me so I had to fix them. I broke even as I long as I ignore the time I spend repairing them.



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Joel Harman

11-27-2003 07:58:06




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 Re: temporary crawler needed in reply to Scott, 11-26-2003 14:44:31  
Why not buy a trackhoe with a thumb? You can dig a pond with it & clear the fence row without putting dirt in the burn pile. Probably have better resale value too.



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J Kirsch

11-27-2003 05:44:20




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 Re: temporary crawler needed in reply to Scott, 11-26-2003 14:44:31  
Scott---I've been in a similar situation. The problem is I fall in love with the machine and find that parting with it to be too difficult. I have a Case 450B with pointed end bits (cost about $100 each} on the cutting edge and found it to be very efficient at cutting out roots and pushing out stumps. I think the Case machine is a little more difficult to get used to, becsuse of the way you steer it, but once you're on to it, it's great. Good Luck but don't expect to sell your machine too soon. John in NY

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old

11-26-2003 18:46:08




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 Re: temporary crawler needed in reply to Scott, 11-26-2003 14:44:31  
Well I have had a few and most of the time it is cheaper to have someone come in and do it for you. I know its not as much fun but it costs a lot to keep one up I know I've had some and still have 2 a Cat 950 and a cletrac HG. If I where you I'd find a good tractor with front end loader and then find a set of steel wheels and use it for what you need cheaper and more in to what you really need. I have an old Ford 801 with loader and I have removed so big trees with it just wish it had steel wheels on it at times. By the way both machines I have here are for sale.

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John Van Valkenburgh

11-26-2003 16:14:22




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 Re: temporary crawler needed in reply to Scott, 11-26-2003 14:44:31  
Scott, I'm going to try and so the same thing here in NC. I'm getting 10 acres and want to eventually clear about 6 of it. Thing is that I want to be able to do it a little at a time. First clear a drive and house area, later on some pasture and perhaps a trail or two. I expect this to be over the next 3 years so renting might not be such a good deal. I've always felt that when you are renting the clock is ticking and I don't like to have to work under those restraints. I'm looking for something along the lines of a John Deere 450 or Case 450. I definitely want a 4 in 1 bucket! I've used them before on a backhoe and they are very handy when clearing brush and tree limbs. I'm hoping to find a good working unit with perhaps 50% Undercarriage for around $7000. So far I have not seen alot. They seem to be strickly bulldozer blades or are somewhere on the other side of the country. Still, I suspect that if I were to find a machine to my liking and kept it serviced (which I can do) then it should be worth pretty much the same $$ 3 years from now. I think my wife suspects that I have other motives for getting a track loader. Can't imagine why she would think that... Best of luck, John

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Bob/Ont

11-26-2003 14:58:06




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 Re: temporary crawler needed in reply to Scott, 11-26-2003 14:44:31  
Scott, older machines tend to lose less value per year. Cat are the easiest to resell but cost the most. If you could make a deal to rent then buy or walk away it would let you know if the machine was sound or not. Only cost you the rent if you wanted to get clear of it. Later Bob



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Scott

11-26-2003 18:04:40




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 Re: Re: temporary crawler needed in reply to Bob/Ont, 11-26-2003 14:58:06  
I'm thinking an older machine too, but unfortunately, I'm not accustomed to working with diesels or that heavy of equipment. I've seen a couple cable rigs arround that are big, but the first thing I thought was needed repair and resale value. Am I right thinking hydrolic? I'm wondering if a blade might be best for us. I'm working on a 125 acre farm, with about 60 of that in old pasture. About a fourth of it has bad fence that needs cleared, and about 400 yards of ditch to deal with or more. Can a pond be cleared with a blade? I'd think you'd get burried faster than you could shick a stick at it, but I've heard of it done....might have meant a drag though.

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Bob/Ont

11-26-2003 20:48:36




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 Re: Re: Re: temporary crawler needed in reply to Scott, 11-26-2003 18:04:40  
Scott I would stick to a machine the size of a D6 or smaller, better to move and easier to sell. With a bigger machine you can get a lot more machine for the dollar but a lot more trouble and expence too. You can clean out a pond but you have to cut down to the clay so you have traction. Soft silt could be a problem. I would like a dozer best but lots of people prefer a loader. The bigges enemy yout tractor has when clearing old fence rows is the wire in them. You have to keep the wire a head of the blade or it could wind into the sprocket and take out the $eal$ You need to think of the machine as an investment too. If you buy a cheap machine it's because there is little demand for it and it will be hard to get your money back out of it. Later Bob

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