# Anyone ever rented a bulldozer?



## Guest (Feb 10, 2008)

I have a small section of property that needs cleared out real bad. I would like to put in a small orchard in this spot. But the place is like a jungle. It's a old part of a feild that hasn't been touched in 30 years or more. It would take of year of Saturdays to get it all cleared out.(even with goats) But would like to have it cleared this spring if possible and start planting a good orchard in it. I have a few apple, peach, and cherry trees in my back yard but only for my own use. Would like a bigger orchard for income. 

So to get it in quick I'm thinking of renting a bulldozer but have no ideal of what the cost of rental would be. Anyone here have any ideals of the daily cost? I may only need it for maybe 2 days. 

I use to know how to operate a bull dozer. About 30 years ago when I first got out of high school I got a job on a road construction crew and they taught me how to operate a bull dozer. Done this for about 6 months before I decided it wasn't my calling. Haven't been on one since.


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## paul (Sep 14, 2002)

Arround here, you can hire a guy with a dozer cheaper than renting just the machine, especially if you figure the guy with the experience will do it a lot faster and better than somebody that hasn't run one in years.

If you really just want to play, think of buying one and reselling it when you're done. More hastle and you have your money tied up, but if you are careful, you'll at least break even.

homesteadpaul


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## gdwtvb (Aug 11, 2007)

Not sure about in your area, but a couple of years ago I looked into it. Several companies flat out told me no without a contractors license and alot of insurance. If I remember correctly the price was pretty high too. (six to eight hundred dollars a day??) might be cheaper to get the job hired out. Good luck.


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## sugarbush (Jul 15, 2007)

They go for about 400.00 a day here, plus fuel and delivery. I looked into renting one for a month, it was going to be 1100.00

Its cheaper to rent a dozer here than hire one. Hired dozers go for 120.00 plus and hour. 

Rentals have an hour meter on them and shut down after 8 hours. The meter can be unhooked pretty easily.


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## deaconjim (Oct 31, 2005)

Goats and electric fence work well too.


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## RedneckPete (Aug 23, 2004)

sugarbush said:


> The meter can be unhooked pretty easily.


Sounds like a good idea to me. Made a honest man's deal with the guy renting you the dozer, then screw him.

Pete


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## sugarbush (Jul 15, 2007)

I figured that there would be those on here with a moral conviction about such things. I didn't post how to unhook the meter  

I can rent a power float by the day and it never shuts down, why should a dozer be different? I can look at what I have to do and say that it can be done in 8 hrs. Then three passes from being done the machine shuts down and you are sitting there stuck. You can either unhook the meter and finish the job or call the rental place and they can drive out and reset the meter and charge you for another 8 hrs for 15 minutes of work. So who is screwing whom?


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## Up North Louie (Nov 29, 2007)

Unless you want to own a dozer, hire it done. A good operator will get you out in a fraction of the time it would take by trial and error. And the errors can be pretty spendy ones. If the operator breaks it, it is his problem. It's an eventuality he plans for.

Don


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## RedneckPete (Aug 23, 2004)

sugarbush said:


> I can rent a power float by the day and it never shuts down, why should a dozer be different? ... So who is screwing whom?


Most rental contracts specify an eight hour day. I don't know how much concrete you are finishing that you are running a power trowel for more then eight hours a day, but you must have at least 20 guys working with you to accomplish that. Bottom line is, everyone knows that a power trowel is used for a couple finishing, typically less then an hour each.

A dozer on the other hand can be used 24 hours a day, especially with multiple operators. You paid for eight hours use.

What really ticks me off is the last time I bought a tank of gas to travel to my in-laws six hours away. I'm pretty sure that I can drive six hours on a single tank of gas. When I ran out a half hour short, it wasn't due to my stupidity, but it was the fault of the guy that sold me the gas. I fixed him though. I went back at night and pumped the gas I needed out of his holding tanks. Imagine that! He didn't even sell me enough gas for me to get where I wanted to go!

Pete


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## Guest (Feb 10, 2008)

I might be better off having it done. I do know of someone who does it for a living. I might see if I can trade some electrical work in return. It might be the best way to go if he needs any electrical work done.


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## Big Dave (Feb 5, 2006)

r.h. 
I had a dozer come out last year. $200 american and he cleared about an acre.The deal is to find a dozer that is close and the traveling expenses are cheap for them. Pm me I got a back hoe front end loader if that would help. I live in your area.


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## Gregg Alexander (Feb 18, 2007)

I rent a dozer around here for $250 per day and run it my self since I have the experience to do so. I rented one a few months ago for another guy and ran it for him 6 hrs charged him $50 per hr cleared brush around a old barn dug out 2 old small stock tanks , cleared 2 old fence rows all in 6 hrs 
total cost to him was $250 for dozer and $300 my labor total cost was $550. He has now built a small pasture for his goat herd, and stock tanks are near full becouse of winter rains.


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## wwubben (Oct 13, 2004)

We have a guy in our area with a really big backhoe on tracks who works for $100 an hour and he clears groves fast.I would hire a pro.


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## sugarbush (Jul 15, 2007)

The meters are on the heavy equipment for liability reasons. They cant rent you a dozer, bobcat, backhoe, whatever without one because if you run it until you are tired and fall asleep at the controls, run through a house and over a car......... they would be liable. With the meter on it and the renter disconects it and something happens they can say "it was metered at 8 hrs and he unplugged the meter." And they are no longer liable.

You can rent anything from man lifts to post hole diggers by the day without a meter.; not just power floats. That was just the example I was using.

It was the Sunbelt guy that showed me how to unplug a meter, then said that if anything happened he would deny ever showing me.

Finally if you think you are stealing by unplugging the meter and are afraid that you will go to hell or something.....then don't do it.... How hard is that


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## sugarbush (Jul 15, 2007)

wwubben said:


> We have a guy in our area with a really big backhoe on tracks who works for $100 an hour and he clears groves fast.I would hire a pro.


That is a really good rate, I wouldn't think he could put diesel in it for that price. I think you are refering to an excavator (Known as a track hoe in some parts of the country)


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## RedneckPete (Aug 23, 2004)

sugarbush said:


> The meters are on the heavy equipment for liability reasons. They cant rent you a dozer, bobcat, backhoe, whatever without one because if you run it until you are tired and fall asleep at the controls, run through a house and over a car......... they would be liable.


Absolute, pure, unadulterated nonsense. If that's the case why don't you just tell the guy that you have two operators and you want to operate the machine in shifts and would like the hour meter adjusted accordingly.

Besides that your complaint was not that the machine shut off after eight hours, but for the fact that the rental company actually had the gall to charge you for extra hours when you used more.



sugarbush said:


> Finally if you think you are stealing by unplugging the meter... ....then don't do it....


I don't think I am stealing because I don't unplug the meter. You admited you did unplug it, and did it to avoid having to pay for another eight hours. That's stealing in my books, and I suspect if you think about it, your books to.

So, by your own judgement, don't do it.

Pete


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## DQ (Aug 4, 2006)

paid an operater $500 to clear about and acre here. around here all the quotes were in a simliar price range. I second the notion that it was worth having and experience operator do it. if we had done it ourselves I think it would have taken 3-4 times as long just trying to learn to maneuver things with it.


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## sugarbush (Jul 15, 2007)

RedneckPete said:


> I don't think I am stealing because I don't unplug the meter. You admited you did unplug it,
> 
> Pete


I did??? Where???


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## Rowdy (Jul 9, 2004)

Things must be done different outside of Texas. I have rented ALOT of equipment and never seen one shut down after the rental time expires. What happens here is that the company looks at the hour meter before you rent and then after. Anything over they prorate out and charge you.

Around here a small dozer (JD 450) rents for about $300 for a ten hour day plus fuel. Where the rental yard makes their money is the hauling. Around here they are charging $3.50 a loaded mile to bring the machine out. A brush rake for the dozer rents for an extra $40 a day.

The last dozer service I worked for, we charged $80 an hour, with at least four hours being charged for any job. There are a couple guys in this area that are charging $40 an hour, but they have tiny worn out machines. Several people are charging and getting $100 an hour for D6s.

A backhoe rents for $200 for a ten hour day plus fuel, can be pulled by a 3/4 ton truck (saves hauling) and the back bucket is great for reaching around trees to rake out brush. It is slower than a dozer of course, but can be cheaper depending on what you are doing.


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## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

Rowdy,
That's the way equipment is rented out here (NY) by several different companies. Everyone I have ever dealt with has been more than fair when it comes to the hours. 

Another thought about doing your own excavation of any type, make sure you call to be sure you don't hit a utility cable or line.


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## fantasymaker (Aug 28, 2005)

What Rowdy said;;;even the prices!


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

What the heck.....Just call the rental place and ask what their daily rate plus delivery is and any restrictions on hours +8. Next call a local dozer operator and get hourly/delivery rates (around here it's typically $100.00 delivery and $65.00/hr for anything below a D-8) and his estimated number of hours for the job. Take his estimated hours and DOUBLE them to accomodate your learning curve. I mention learning curve because to dozers of today are different enough from your experience it will be like you never climbed on one before. The joystick controls and articulated blades of today are MUCH more user friendly that the old manual clutches and steering brakes of yesteryear. If you finish "early" I'm certain you will have come up with some more "uses" for it during your clearing to eat up the remaining hours. If the cost is even close, I say GO FOR IT!!! Never pass up the opportunity to play in the dirt with the big toys!!!! I should also mention that I doubt my wife would EVER agree to turn me loose on our place with a dozer so any activity of that sort would have to be planned carefully to coincide with her being at work and with temperatures warm enough for "outside sleeping" as when she finds out what I've done, I'm probably bunking with the dogs for a bit LOL. 
I was always told the 8hr shut down was to give you some extra incentive to climb down off the thing and check the fluids. Most rentals are used by (PC term coming) "learners" and as such they tend to be a little rougher on hydraulics and such. My experience is those rental dozers leak hydraulic oil like sieves and running one low (if you are not experienced enough to identify the slowed performance) can really do an expensive number on those machines....Edit: I've rented small dozers at work and I've only encountered one that was equipped with an 8hr shut off. The delivery guy (going through his safety/operation spiel) explained the reason and stated that all you have to do is turn the key off and then restart the engine. I have used a rental from one place where the charges were based on a 12hr workday (24hrs on the meter was charged as two days) the other place I rent from is based on calendar days only and the meter is just for their preventative/routine maintenance schedules.


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## EDDIE BUCK (Jul 17, 2005)

Find an operator close by who owns a dozier. He'll do it cheaper than what they charge for rent. I was going to rent one and found someone who did the job for one third of what the rent would have been. Eddie


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## Guest (Feb 10, 2008)

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'll definitely check out rental prices and dozer work prices before I decide what to do. I was just wanting a figure price to go on so I can know what to expect. 

Rh. in Oklahoma


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

To lease a large machine the local sources require at least a 2 week commitment. For anything weighing above 30,000 lbs. the rate will be above $2000 plus insurance for the 2 weeks. The leasing company does not care whether it rains and you cannot use the machine or not. The fee is for the 2 weeks. The going rate for hiring such a machine with operator is $125 per hour. A good owner/operator can do a better job and in far less time than most using the lease approach and operating the machine themselves. I own a Cat 955L traxcavator for my own use and cost of ownership is rather high. An oil change is $140, fuel per day is in excess of $120. Parts are terribly high. Maintenance/repairs last year on my part time use machine exceeded $4000. I know first hand that for a small task and using an inexperienced operator it is best to hire the task. The unknown risks, personal and financial, with a leased/rented machine are too great.


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## Rowdy (Jul 9, 2004)

OkieDavid said:


> the other place I rent from is based on calendar days only and the meter is just for their preventative/routine maintenance schedules.



When I was growing up we had a yard in the area that was like that, except if you rented it right before closing time you got the machine until Monday, 8AM for the price of one day. My father would spend a month or two lining up a bunch of work, the we'd rent a backhoe on Friday. His boss would let him borrow a dump truck, and the two of us would put 30-35 hours on the hoe in two days making money. Come monday he'd go back to work tired, and I'd go back to school beat up and tired from bouncing around all weekend making money.

Sadly (and probably because of my dad and me  ) that yard has high prices, worn out equipment, and only offer an eight hour day on their rentals now.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Rowdy said:


> Things must be done different outside of Texas. I have rented ALOT of equipment and never seen one shut down after the rental time expires. What happens here is that the company looks at the hour meter before you rent and then after. Anything over they prorate out and charge you.


Ditto...

and the longer you rent one, the cheaper it is.

I've done both... rented and hired a dozer/trackhoe... My 'connection' for cheap dozer hoe work passed on a few years ago... I was able to save 30$/hr off the going rate, for a D7 and large trackhoe... saved even more if you consider I ran it three or four 'extra hours' a day... and the owner and operator knew what I was doing. The owner was a friend and neighbor, and had no intention of screwing me, or I him...

Rent, or Hire, but thou shalt not borrow!!!! If you borrow it, you're responsibile for repairs. And something relatively minor can be a thousand bucks. During one of my hires, some hoses snapped, a pump burned out, and some blade bearing whatchamajiggers busted... the oil replacement alone was over a hundred bucks, the hoses and pumps were outrageous... If I'd'a borrowed it, which I could have, I'd'a been out several extra thousand bucks.

Skip the goats... until you've got the brush/trees removed... the goats would leave the woody part of the trees standing like ghosts... remove everything from the grove, then put the goats on it, and they'll keep the sprouts under control... at least that's my opinion...


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## PlowGirl (Nov 16, 2005)

r.h. in okla. said:


> Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'll definitely check out rental prices and dozer work prices before I decide what to do. I was just wanting a figure price to go on so I can know what to expect.
> 
> Rh. in Oklahoma


Something else to consider as well. Most owner/operators will come out to your place and give you a free estimate for the total job. Don't be impressed with hourly rates as generally, the cheaper hourly rates are really small machines and will take longer and actually end up costing more to do the job than a larger dozer at a higher hourly rate. 

Where in OK are ya'll? I might be able to recommend one or two companies. Or, you could call a couple of general building contractors and ask for their recommendations.


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## Guest (Feb 11, 2008)

I'm located in Southern Delaware county. I already know a couple of people who do dozer work and like I said one I might be able to trade some electrical work for his dozer work. If he needs anything done that is. 

I was over looking at it this afternoon and considering if I should just clear cut it and run a few goats over it for a couple of years instead. But that would just put me a couple more years behind on the orchard. But in the past I've made some good money on goats too.


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## auctioneer (Sep 11, 2006)

PlowGirl said:


> Don't be impressed with hourly rates as generally, the cheaper hourly rates are really small machines and will take longer and actually end up costing more to do the job than a larger dozer at a higher hourly rate.


Very good advice!

Also beware of owner/operators changing decals on their machine to charge a higher rate for a smaller machine. Yes, I've seen that done. People unfamiliar with heavy equipment will never know they were cheated.


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## blufford (Nov 23, 2004)

sugarbush said:


> They go for about 400.00 a day here, plus fuel and delivery. I looked into renting one for a month, it was going to be 1100.00
> 
> Its cheaper to rent a dozer here than hire one. Hired dozers go for 120.00 plus and hour.
> 
> Rentals have an hour meter on them and shut down after 8 hours. The meter can be unhooked pretty easily.



You mean 11,000 dolars a month, right?


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## Rowdy (Jul 9, 2004)

blufford said:


> You mean 11,000 dolars a month, right?



I can get a D5 here for about $5,000 for an entire month. I cannot remember how much for a D6, but it was alot closer to $6,000. 
I was once offered the chance to do the construction and backfill on rig locations southwest of where I live. Depending on the location I can do a couple a day, and they go for $2500-$5000 a location. Could pay off the dozer rent pretty quick. But trying to locate someone to move the dozer when I needed it moved (almost every day) and working around my fulltime job, I was not able to do it.


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## RosewoodfarmVA (Oct 5, 2005)

Buy one! 

I just got a good used Trackloader (like a bulldozer but with a bucket instead of blade, more versatile than a dozer because you can carry stuff and load trucks, etc.) for $6,000. No major problems, needs new battery, and a filter changed, as well as a few minor hyd. fluid leaks which I probably won't fix. I needed to do some clearing and cleaning up around fields, and could have easily spent $6,000 paying someone to do it for me, so I just went on and bought the thing. Keep an eye out and you can get a good deal. I figure by the time I pay someone to move it, and put the new batt. and filters/fluid, I'll have about $7,000 in it.

This one's a 1978 Intl. 250. 53,000 lbs, 180 hp. Everything works great, not sluggish or smoking. Funny thing is, the scrap value by weight is $4,000! So I can clear what I want, and either keep it for future use, sell it, or take it in for scrap. Either way I get my money back! 

Rental around here runs about $1,000 a week, plus $300 delivery. A dozer man charges $1,000 an acre to clear. So if I clear more than 6 acres with this, I have paid it off. I figure if I do all the clearing I want, it will probably be about 40-50 acres. Not that I'm gonna do it all at once, but that's my objective.


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## fantasymaker (Aug 28, 2005)

It would be rare to clear that 40 acres with that type machine with out some major repairs. Whats your plan for then? Fix or repair?


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## RosewoodfarmVA (Oct 5, 2005)

fantasymaker said:


> It would be rare to clear that 40 acres with that type machine with out some major repairs. Whats your plan for then? Fix or repair?



I don't plan to do it all at one time. But I will do repairs as needed, to keep it in running order. My point was that with a farm, and all the small projects and cleanups that are needed occasionally, I would spend more money renting a machine/hiring the job out, every time I need something done, or else I can buy the thing, pay needed repairs, and when I'm done I'll still have a machine that I can sell IF I choose not to keep it. 

For that 40 acres that I would like to clear (in the next few years) I would pay $40,000 or more to hire it out. Or I could buy the machine for $7,000 (including delivery and filter changes), put maybe $5,000 in fuel, maybe $5,000 in parts over the years, and still have a $6,000 valued machine.

7000 + 5000 + 5000 = 17,000 - 6,000 value = total project cost of 11,000 vs 40,000. Make sense? Or keep the machine and project cost is now 17000. Either way I win. 

I'll probably keep it to use for after-storm cleanup, battling woods encroachment around fields, clearing new land, building ponds for irrigation, preparing cutover for replanting, etc. Many uses for a trackloader on a farm. This one's big enough to topple 30" + diameter trees, and when I went to look at it, he pulled up a freshly cut stump that was 30" diameter, cut low, and had to be dug up. Three scoops around it, grab with the bucket, and up it comes! He toted that pickup-sized rootball all around, to show how much power it still had. He also showed a pond, and 30 acres he cleared with it recently. So I have no doubt that it's in good condition. But as with any equipment, maintenance and repairs "come with the territory" and should be expected if you choose to buy one for yourself. Rent one and they pay for all that, but really you do through high priced rental.

There's no perfect solution, but for our situation I would rather own than rent. We had 6 acres of lowground cleared several years ago, and hired it out. $6,000 later, I realized that I could have bought a machine, done it myself, and had the machine paid for!


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## fantasymaker (Aug 28, 2005)

Good points. Although for all round farm use I think Id rather have a backhoe. Some like the clearing job a trackhoe does and I can see your points on the track loader but I see a lot more versatility in a backhoe. Of course for you and your projects the trackloader might be just the ticket.
A good point in your posts that is subtle and others may have missed is that a lot larger machine wont cost much more than a small one and usually can do far more per time unit and at nearly the same cost per time unit.


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