Posted 5/18/2010 21:41 (#1205026 - in reply to #1204979) Subject: RE: 50 years and still going! (pics)
Northern Idaho
Clay-All-Over - 5/18/2010 18:16
This may be obvious to some, but why do you need to use bulldozers to farm in your region. Are 4WD not able to deal with the slopes?
We had a D6? can't remember what letter, but it looked very close to yours. 4 cyl with pup start. It split the bull gear so she went for scrap.
First of all they were never meant to be dozer cats so they are not referred to as bulldozers, but easy mistake to make.
We dont "need" them but they are useful, especially back before the 70s before good 4wd tractors came out. Tracks hold steep hillsides well and have good traction for the uphill pulls. Most farming is done with rubber now but some of the steepest hills and soft ground are difficult to farm with wheels because they slide off easier.
We actually have two wheel tractors but only use them for light work and moving equipment down the paved roads.
Although wheel tractors would work all our land just fine, we use crawlers still for various reasons.
1) they are very cheap to run and maintain and easy to work on, and part are still readily available
2) they are paid for and still have life left in them
3) they go across wet spots well and cause less soil compaction than MOST wheel tractors
4) we like them, I prefer driving one of our 70s model cats over our wheel tractors
50 years and still going! (pics)
