Easiest dozer to work on

I have have been happy and had very good luck with John Deere. I have run the older 350's B's & C's, 450C's, 650G, and a newer 450H. The 450H is a very nice dozer, but it comes with a very hefty price tag. I rented a 650G for about 5 days a fews years back and it performed well for me. The 350C's or D's and 450C's/D's are an excellent tractor for a land owner. I've found that the 350'S are a great machine for their size and power and a big advantage for me is that I can tow with a bumper mount trailer and a 1-ton. I found that the 450's are a bit heavy for that set up in the mountains. With the 350's I have built many ponds, cleared many acres of brush, and put in many miles of roads. If you have clearing to do then a dozer with rippers will help you out because you can get out the roots and destroy them. The 350's are not the best tractor to move dirt any distance. Usually when I dig a pond I use the dozer to grade and use a loader to move the dirt. I suppose if I only had one tractor to use to dig a pond then I would want a bigger dozer. I think the JD450 is almost twice the tractor of a 350 but just like everything, they both have their place. A 350 will deal with the trees you mention. I have had my 1982 350C since about 83 and have yet to have any major problems. Sometimes it gets run 10 hours a day, sometimes 1 hour a week and there has been a couple winters where it didn't run for months. Any tractor repairs can be costly and it's hard to say what will break at any given time. There have been repair questions on here about the 350's, but all I can say is they have been good for me. I use them for what they are intended for and save the stump and rock digging for the hoe. Again they have their place, I also think the 350's are a easy dozer to learn on and use as well as the maintenance. With all that being said, I can't really compare to others in this size because I havn't used others. There have been guys on here that said they sold their Deere for a case and I've also heard the Case being sold for a Deere. I guess it's personal choice. I would try to find a dozer for sale by someone I know or know of. You should be able to find a clean Deere 350C for around $10-12K. There are many other dozers out there, but like I said I have really only been around Deere. I'm sure some other fellas have some good input and opinions. If ya leave your e-mail I'll send ya a couple of pics. Good luck. -Mark

I have a 1950 Cat D6-8U that will pretty much do what you want. The D6s are about a mid-size machine and parts are readily available most of the time. I have had the steering clutches out of mine without too much problem. The clutch and transmission can be removed without removing the engine. All said, I think the Cats are fairly easy to work on but new parts can be pricey. There are certainly other brands that will do what you want. Be sure to get a canopy if you're working with trees though (mine doesn't have one). I paid $6000 for it. Hope this helps.

Tommy