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34 Posts
Hey everyone! I haven't posted anything in a long time, but the interest level in early/antique tractors remains. The justification to buy a piece of equipment on any priority level has been lacking. HOWEVER, that may be changing.
As it turns out, we have a handful of projects that would involve some earth moving, including grading for about 200 yards of driveway, some related driveway projects, and some landscaping projects. FULL DISCLOSURE... I'm looking for a good reason to play around with a small crawler. HA! My interest falls in post-WWII machines up to maybe late 60's (ish). I think a crawler with loader capable of "dozing" would be ideal so I could grade, but also be able to do a little demo work and general dirt and substrate transport. Primarily, though, I need to move some dirt around. No lot clearing or anything like that, but definitely some ground to move. Maybe a few small stumps that will be in my way, but no 100 year oaks to be excavated or anything like that. The ideal situation would be to have a machine that could use a blade as well as a loader bucket, but at the very least a loader that can bulldoze would be fine.
I know to accomplish the majority of my tasks it would involve renting possibly two different machines or a very capable heavy tracked skid steer/loader and for the amount of time I would need it would cost me a $2K-3K just in machine rental and that would be at the mercy of the weather, which those of you who live in the Carolinas can probably relate when I say there is no predicting it. In a nutshell, I don't like giving away money, so I would like to put that towards a small machine that I can get the job done with, enjoy owning an antique crawler and if need be pass it on later when the jobs are complete.
With all that being said, I don't know much about crawlers or dozers. My previous interests have been more in small tractors, mostly Ford N series tractors. Crawlers/Dozers that seem to fall within the scope of work would seem to be something like an Oliver OC3 or OC4, JD 420's, maybe a Case 310. But there seems to be several others that would fall within this size category from the late 40's to late 60's or early 70's that I just don't know anything about. What would be a good machine to look for that would still have parts available and not be a problem child out of the gate? Maintenance and learning a new machine is totally accepted and part of owning any vehicle or equipment, but I don't want to find myself in a piece of equipment that is challenging to maintain because parts aren't available or God forbid need to be rebuilt to even perform basic jobs. I don't need anything rare or too fancy, don't care if the paint is pretty, and I'm open to gas or diesel. I appreciate the simplicity of the early machines and would love to put one to use for a little while around our property. And OBVIOUSLY whatever I get will need to be completely functional out of the gate and ready for action so I can just maintain and enjoy it, but knowing what to look for/at would be helpful.
Thanks for reading that book! I appreciate any input you guys might have towards this facts finding mission, even if it's "you're nuts". HAHA
As it turns out, we have a handful of projects that would involve some earth moving, including grading for about 200 yards of driveway, some related driveway projects, and some landscaping projects. FULL DISCLOSURE... I'm looking for a good reason to play around with a small crawler. HA! My interest falls in post-WWII machines up to maybe late 60's (ish). I think a crawler with loader capable of "dozing" would be ideal so I could grade, but also be able to do a little demo work and general dirt and substrate transport. Primarily, though, I need to move some dirt around. No lot clearing or anything like that, but definitely some ground to move. Maybe a few small stumps that will be in my way, but no 100 year oaks to be excavated or anything like that. The ideal situation would be to have a machine that could use a blade as well as a loader bucket, but at the very least a loader that can bulldoze would be fine.
I know to accomplish the majority of my tasks it would involve renting possibly two different machines or a very capable heavy tracked skid steer/loader and for the amount of time I would need it would cost me a $2K-3K just in machine rental and that would be at the mercy of the weather, which those of you who live in the Carolinas can probably relate when I say there is no predicting it. In a nutshell, I don't like giving away money, so I would like to put that towards a small machine that I can get the job done with, enjoy owning an antique crawler and if need be pass it on later when the jobs are complete.
With all that being said, I don't know much about crawlers or dozers. My previous interests have been more in small tractors, mostly Ford N series tractors. Crawlers/Dozers that seem to fall within the scope of work would seem to be something like an Oliver OC3 or OC4, JD 420's, maybe a Case 310. But there seems to be several others that would fall within this size category from the late 40's to late 60's or early 70's that I just don't know anything about. What would be a good machine to look for that would still have parts available and not be a problem child out of the gate? Maintenance and learning a new machine is totally accepted and part of owning any vehicle or equipment, but I don't want to find myself in a piece of equipment that is challenging to maintain because parts aren't available or God forbid need to be rebuilt to even perform basic jobs. I don't need anything rare or too fancy, don't care if the paint is pretty, and I'm open to gas or diesel. I appreciate the simplicity of the early machines and would love to put one to use for a little while around our property. And OBVIOUSLY whatever I get will need to be completely functional out of the gate and ready for action so I can just maintain and enjoy it, but knowing what to look for/at would be helpful.
Thanks for reading that book! I appreciate any input you guys might have towards this facts finding mission, even if it's "you're nuts". HAHA