John Deere 40, 420, 430 Crawler-Dozer capabilities

[sammygunns1]

I’ll try to keep this short. I have some land that has some trails I’ve been wanting to widen, and cut some new ones. Not a huge project but requires a fair amount of dirt to be cut and moved.

What are the capabilities of the smaller John Deere crawlers with dozer blades? I’m getting mixed results from google so I figured I’d ask for some first hand experience. I’m not looking to knock over 200 year old oak trees but I will need to cut into a good bit of dirt. Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[pomester]

I possess a 40C. Dad bought it new. He mainly used it with a cut-under blade to dig nursery trees. The mechanism is basically a front end loader on the crawler. Definitely will not work for your purposes. I have seen pictures of these machines with basically dozer blades that attach to the main support for the track mechanisms. I'm sure they would push dirt. However they are not '6 way' blades and so are limited in how much they can do in rough terrain.

The machines have great traction, there was one that showed up at the local tractor pull a couple years ago which putted the sled right down the tract, albeit slowly.

Frankly, I'd think you'd be better off in several regards hiring a modern machine to do what you want.

 

[dahlin]

If you have the time they can do the job but not as fast as a 1010 or 350 but they are fun to play with I have had two 420 John Deere crawlers and one 450c if you want to get your work done fast get a 350 or 450 . and keep your wrench's handy.

 

[Jim.ME]

Those small machines can move and level a lot of dirt. They are not as fast as the 350's and 450s (I would avoid the 1010 and 2010 series as parts are getting hard to find for them). They are fun to run and work with, if the expectations are realistic.

The biggest factor in what and how much a small machine can do (without tearing itself up) resides in the seat. This is the same for machines of all brands and sizes.

Words of wisdom: "There is no such thing as a cheap crawler".

 

[Tim in New York]

Remember dad borrowing one when I was a tiny kid (early 60's) to fill a railroad ditch in the back yard. It must have worked as the fill was done and we had a level yard for our baseball field. It ended when we got big enough to hit the ball across the tracks.

 

[Mark-Ia]

Cheaper to hire it done after breakdowns with a 50 or 60 year old machine.

 

[a49deere]

For a short-term small job, which it sounds like you have, the money you spend to buy a crawler, fuel, and everything else that you should do to upkeep it, you'd be farther ahead to hire it out unless you want a toy when you're done! I have a 420, it will push like others have said but they definitely have limitations.

 

[jddrawbar]

For a short-term small job, which it sounds like you have, the money you spend to buy a crawler, fuel, and everything else that you should do to upkeep it, you'd be farther ahead to hire it out unless you want a toy when you're done! I have a 420, it will push like others have said but they definitely have limitations.

I agree, hire it done or rent one & do it yourself.

 

[moresmoke]

I have a 40C. I keep it because it was my grandfather’s and it works well to push up the burn pile with no tire worries. As I posted in another thread recently, its better than a shovel, but not by much.

I got lucky that the undercarriage had been replaced not long before Grampy sold the dairy cows. If I was shopping for something to do some work with, I would turn towards a 350/450. For an inexperienced operator, much more will get accomplished with a mini excavator in a day than a dozer. And these days, mini exs are on every rental lot.

 

[rrlund]

I was disappointed at how little I could do with a D2 Cat. I'm glad I used it before I plunked down any money. Not saying you can't do it, but it's going to be slow going. We had a neighbor who always wanted one of those small Deere dozers. He bought a 40. He didn't have it very long. He said he could move a lot more dirt with the loader on his Farmall M.

 

[Big massey]

He said he could move a lot more dirt with the loader on his Farmall M.

Maybe on dry ground in the summer. Even then I would doubt it. In wet soil or mud the little john deeres are great. I've been using a 420c all winter and spring where my front wheel assist tractor leaves deep ruts until the belly drags. The crawler stays on top.

 

[Big massey]

I’ll try to keep this short. I have some land that has some trails I’ve been wanting to widen, and cut some new ones. Not a huge project but requires a fair amount of dirt to be cut and moved.

What are the capabilities of the smaller John Deere crawlers with dozer blades? I’m getting mixed results from google so I figured I’d ask for some first hand experience. I’m not looking to knock over 200 year old oak trees but I will need to cut into a good bit of dirt. Thanks in advance for any insight.

They are fun little machines. Leveling ground and making roadways shouldn't be a problem. Mine does more than I expected but they are older, slower and no 6 way blade. I also use mine as a crawler as much as a dozer, as it has a drawbar, pto and 3 point hitch.

 

[moresmoke]

They are fun little machines. Leveling ground and making roadways shouldn't be a problem. Mine does more than I expected but they are older, slower and no 6 way blade. I also use mine as a crawler as much as a dozer, as it has a drawbar, pto and 3 point hitch.

You can have a 6 way blade, just not powered. You have to get off and adjust pins and wedges. A good operator makes up for a lot of what gets done with the 6 way.