Columbia Basin, Ephrata, WA | Dozers can be VERY expensive to own and run, especially the older ones in the price range that most farmers are shopping for. Rentals can be a good deal if you can get it and run it hard for the time of the rental. The late model machines you get on rent will be way more productive than the older machines you might buy, and with no surprise costs.
I rented a Deere 450J LT (with 6 way blade and ripper attachment) this spring to clear trees from several acres and around field edges, rip some rock ground, dig up and backfill an old main line, and build a small irrigation overflow pond. I knew exactly what it was going to cost me in the end before it even showed up, it was surprisingly fast and powerful for it's size, and easy to learn to run. Everything was done in a week with time to spare.
We also rent a wheel loader for a month every spring for manure hauling, and got a mini excavator for a day to pick rocks. That's more than $200K worth of equipment used without buying it.
Edited by Ben in the Basin 11/14/2010 20:45
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Best Older Dozer For Newbie
