Magnatrac mini dozers

[Ellis Kinney]

Has anyone had any experience with these mini dozers. I have 55 acres with house and barns and they look like they might be useful for small landscaping and pushing out small stumps. Ellis
 

[jm.]

I have never thought of them as much more than a toy. sure not going to be much on stumps. Might be a good play thing.
 

[Frank (N.Mi.)]

I have an old one. They are useless for pushing stumps. Having said that they ARE a fun toy:) Mine has a backhoe on it and I have used that for landscaping projects. I does save me a bunch of work there....
 

[Wile E]

I looked into getting one of these years ago, but the warranty was only for 1 year.
These machines look like toys as the others have said, but if you had to do a lot of grading and didnt want to pay for a week of dozer work at $50 per hour then it might be worth having.
 

[DiyDave]

If you are thinking of buying new, I wouldn't do it again. But those were better times, when I bought my Magnatrac 5000. I have the all hydraulic version, with the 6 way PAT blade, 3 point hitch and PTO. 25 HP kohler engine.

As far as pushing out trees, not very big ones, maybe 2-3". Don't cut off at ground level, or you won't have a lever to work it out with. What mine excels at is tight spaces and drainage ditches. It don't move real fast, 2 MPH regular speed, 3 MPH overdrive. When I bought mine, the ASV RC30 rubbertrack loader hadn't come out yet.

Price, speed, track type, and HP considerations plus the # of attachments for the ASV, make it the better choice. I still Like the struck better, but it takes so long to do anything with, it gets a lot less use than it used to. It will still go on impossibly steep slopes, and push a full blade of dirt, just like a big cat!
 

[Randy Corlew]

My experience with Mini Crawlers is pretty good. I started with a Lennox Kitty Track 600 - 6HP! It was an attempt by Lennox Furnace Co to make a garden tractor in a furnace plant. Interesting project. Overhauled it and sold it.
Next project was a MT-1800 Struck Magnatrac loader/backhoe. 16HP. Overhauled it and learned a lot. Slow but did some work. Machine was a little small with the single chain track to support the backhoe. Putting a load on it in low gear with the weight on it it could break the chain which I did.
I now have moved up to the MH-5000 and what a difference. Loader is very powerful! The 25 HP engine is a big improvement. With added weight it really hooks up. Loader/backhoe is very useful and the power helps. It is slow but can work in tight areas and has more power than any compact utility can deliver in the same hp range. Used prices are attractive. Pretty easy to work on. Support from Struck is great.
A 25 HP compact cannot do the work, will not lift the weight, cannot climb the same grade and cannot work in the same tight spaces. Down sides of the Struck 5000, Slow, fuel tank too small, tears up the grass unless you are careful, going up a grade - breakover is hard to get used too.

 

[d beatty]

These machine look like they would great for cleaning snow off driveway. The only thing I would do is get a larger bucket made of aluminum.
 

[DiyDave]

Yep, that one looks a lot like my MH5000. First thing I modified, was to remove the 2 gallon gas tank, and put one from a Skag walk behind lawnmower on it. New one holds almost 5 gallons, in the same space!
 

[Randy Corlew]

I already got a new 60 inch loader bucket made from steel - I am curious why you said aluminum? The steel is stronger, a lot cheaper and the crawler has the power to lift as much as a lot bigger regular tractor with 40 hp.
Also the bucket I got with mine has ripper teeth and I have to be careful on the drive.
Another thing I have to do is make shoes. The grousers are marking my driveway.
 

[d beatty]

I would go with aluminum and a 80 inch bucket with a steel cutting edge just for snow.I would use the standard steel bucket for moving dirt. Lighter bucket weight means I can lift more snow. For you driveway see if they make rubber grousers for it I know they make them for larger crawlers.
 

[DiyDave]

If I were using mine on asphalt, I would find some rubber conveyor material, and use that as the grouser. To drill the holes, make a steel jig, and freeze the rubber before drilling. The bolts will pull into the rubber, and countersink themselves.
 

[Randy Corlew]

Just a comment to add on what the MH 5000 will do. Compaired with a mid range 43HP Kubota 4x4.
Pulling power was about the same but when put together I could pull him backwards. Mine does have a lot of steel plate added into the front weight compartment and the weight box in the back is full. So my traction is better with the tracks and grousers.
Lifting force is about the same but he can lift higher than my Struck can. However I can get over 7 ft with a flat bucket.
I can also get into a lot smaller places.
Bottom line: There is a place for both. Tires are faster and smoother.
 

[Randy Corlew]

This is an MT-1800 Struck that my son and I rebuilt. 16hp 6 inch tracks and a 4 speed transmission. This tractor is a lot lighter than the 5000 and a lot less power to the ground. Undercarrage is a lot less strong. The tracks are single row chain. If you weigh down an 1800 and put it in low it can pull the track chain in two. Loader would lift about 600 lbs. Orig. bucket was too small so I found a 48 inch and mounted that. Worked pretty well overall just had to give it time and be carefull with it. SLOW!!! Easy to use and much better than a shovel!!!!

 

[Randy Corlew]

This is a Lennox Kitty Trac 600 just for the discussion and to show they made some real small crawlers. This one would push snow barely and it did have a small mower deck and only 6hp. It was fun to get it running and to play with it but this is one that you can only play with. 2 men could pick it up and put it in the back of a pick up truck. Bottom line anything smaller than a MT-1800 is not going to do much real work. I wouldn't suggest an MT-1800 because of the single chain track. MT-2000 with the 9.5 in track is much better and the 3000 is a step above the 2000 and on and on.
 

[Randy Corlew]

Picture of the Lennox Kitty Track 600.