Dozer Komatsu D50S....any opinions/experience?

[Z24O]

any of you guys used one of these?
i know they aren't in the league of CAT(was looking for a 943/953) but this one has 2000 hours on it for AU$25,000
i am looking for a cheaper machine for farm use....cutting a road,clearing some scrub and a few trees,doing a house pad,putting in a dam
what do you reckon,worth a look?

 

[Digger992]

I hope it looks better than this ole girl...LOL

http://www.imi.or.jp/~char/200708/kenki/d50/img001.htm

I dont know how much land you have to clear or how big of a dam you need but here is my $.02 worth...

personally,for the work you have mentioned a Backhoe might be a better piece on the farm...I think a Dozer is really limited to what you might get into...Water line Sewer lines ,, footers and so on might need to be dug...The Dozer we had on our farm just sat around til 2 years ago when we finally sold it...our Backhoe gets used all the time,some jobs may take a tad bit longer but its been worth having around...

I havnt run a Kom.D-50 but i have ran a Kom. D65 EX,,I like the Cat D-6 alot better...

Good Luck friend...

 

[Z24O]

I hope it looks better than this ole girl...LOL....thats the one i'm buying!!
only joking

thanks for the advice,i would agree with you regards the versatility of the backhoe but i think the terrain and subsoil(steepish,wet clay) would limit the use of one due to traction(even the cows battle for traction )

some of the slopes are 40 degrees i reckon,it's a job walking them,do you reckon a 4wd backhoe would manage as i've never driven one,only skidsteers(they are woeful for digging in steep clay,admittedly they have small diameter tyres)

now a backscavator.....that's what i need

 

[Wulf]

D60s

Here is a better looking D60S... D50S will be the same, just a tad smaller

 

[Z24O]

yep,here she is in all her glory
guy reckons 2000 hours on her,not sure of year although komatsu ceased traxcavator production about 20 years ago i beleive

 

[hvy 1ton]

I would recommend a track loader for your work except, what are you wanting to do on these 40 degree slopes? Depending on what your goals are you might have to get an excavator to get that work done. Nothing built can use much of its tractive effort up near a 1:1 slope. Even with an excavator you will have to bench, cut a work pad in the hill, for you to be very productive. Beyond that, track loaders work really well for everything else you mentioned. Track loaders are used a lot for land clearing around here. We don't have too many small trees in this part of Kansas. Most of the house pads and basements are done with track loaders too. A 4n1, multi-purpose bucket will make any track loader more versatile and productive, try to find one if all possible. I would also look for a newer rear engine loader if you can are going to use it a lot. It will pay off in the end.

 

[Z24O]

4/1 would be good but beggars can't be choosers....not on my budget anyway
most of the uphill work would be clearing scrub/trees or dozing a track.....should be able to reverse up around the area then doze down hill through it....may even be able to cut and fill a flat pad this way if necessary?
as mentioned elsewhere,this not the best machine for anything but with a bit of patience and ingenuity it should be able to get most jobs done adequately for the 'one man band'....may be able to add a cheap excavator down the track...but i want at least one reliable machine ,not two so-so ones

any more thoughts on the old komatsu?
thx fellas

 

[Wulf]

From the pics it looks in good shape to me. Is this a direct drive /manual machine Z240?

 

[Z24O]

From the pics it looks in good shape to me. Is this a direct drive /manual machine Z240?

not sure Wulf
it has 3 forward and 3 reverse gears and a clutch....this i do know
how do you know if it's direct drive and is that a good thing?:beatsme
also i have gleaned that the single bar plates on the tracks may be good for my steep/wet clay property......presume they are not standard??

 

[DigDug]

I am no crawler loader expert. But it looks like it has grouser bars on the tracks instead of flat tracks. Looks to me like that might be more work for the tractor to turn and more ground damage. Someone may have changed the tracks? Looks like a clean machine overall. :drinkup

 

[DigDug]

oops , noticed in you last thread you knew about the grousers. Maybe they will be to your advantage. Good luck with it.

 

[Digger992]

Ole gurl looking good

not sure Wulf
it has 3 forward and 3 reverse gears and a clutch....this i do know
how do you know if it's direct drive and is that a good thing?:beatsme
also i have gleaned that the single bar plates on the tracks may be good for my steep/wet clay property......presume they are not standard??

Someone spent some money putting those on,that machine looks to be in very good shape and has probably been taken care of...

I work in a Quarry and we wear the plates down pretty fast,their not cheap to replace...you'll get some good traction out of em. what are those 2,,2.5'' ???

 

[Wulf]

not sure Wulf
it has 3 forward and 3 reverse gears and a clutch....this i do know
how do you know if it's direct drive and is that a good thing?

By direct drive I mean with a clutch. Its a good thing in that its a lot simpler than a powershift or hydrashift crawler and a great deal simpler to fix than a hydrostatic drive machine like a Komatsu D66S or CAT 943/953 etc.