Classifieds spotlight: Top dozer picks for every budget

To most, dozers might be classified as a “one-trick pony”, with their main task being pushing mounds of dirt around and nothing much else.

In reality, dozers are incredibly versatile machines capable of a range of tasks including spreading material, rip the ground up, clear land and more. As such, it can be used across a number of different industries including mining, construction, forestry and agriculture.

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Where there are massive 80-tonne mining spec dozers with larger than life blades used in quarries or mines to move huge amounts of material, there are also more compact ones to suit operations such as farms and smaller jobsites.

Here we’ve compiled a list of five dozers ranging from 12 tonnes up to 27 tonnes that will suit different budgets and needs.

2013 Komatsu D85EX-15EO Dozer

Location: QLD

Condition: Used

Hours: 2232

Operating weight: 28 tonnes

Price: $425,000 (drive away)

Komatsu has been a leading name in construction and mining machinery and its dozers are quite simply, top notch.

The company was one of the first on the market to adopt intelligent machine control on its dozers, which takes the hard work out of a dozing operation and improves efficiency on-site. The iMC involves built in GPS systems and a network of sensors to deliver a semi-automated operation requiring little input from the operator.

The technology controls blade elevation and tilt according to target design data, using industry standard design data software and systems.

This machine for sale might not come with all the bells and whistles but still offers a robust unit ready for work. It comes with an angle blade with twin tilt rippers. It has only done 2232 hours and is in excellent condition.

2016 Caterpillar D6K XL

Location: QLD

Condition: Used

Hours: 1914

Operating weight: 12.8 tonnes

Price: $235,000 (excluding government charges)

I once heard from an industry veteran who’ve worked with dozers his entire life that nothing beats a Caterpillar dozer. And he has driven plenty of dozers in his career spanning different brands.

Caterpillar is synonymous with quality construction machinery and no one in the industry can dispute that. I’ve personally operated a rather old school Cat dozer that might not have a lot of creature comforts in the cab and is a little rough around the edges, considering its age and hours of work, but its ability to still handle material with ease is astounding. Its stability on all sorts of terrain is another commendable trait, considering the environment it might work in such as quarries and forests.

This 2016 Caterpillar D6K XL for sale has done just 1914 hours of work and features an air-conditioned ROPS cabin, upgraded blade hungry board, and a heavy-duty root rake.

It has a new decal kit, new cutting edges, sweeps (with roof plates), side and rear screens and new rippers fitted to it recently.

2020 Shantui DH16J2

Location: NSW

Condition: New

Hours: 3

Operating weight: 17 tonnes

Price: $349,000 (excluding government charges)

Chinese manufacturer, Shantui, has emerged to become the largest producer of bulldozers in the world in terms of number of units, followed by Caterpillar.

In fact, the company is known as the king of bulldozers in China, holding a 40 per cent domestic market share in 2006.

Shantui literally means mountain pushing in Mandarin, which is an exceptionally fitting name for a dozer brand. Over the years, the company has built an increasing presence all around the world, having established over 80 sales offices across the globe in Africa, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and more.

Here we have a brand new 17-tonne Shantui dozer for sale, that the seller said is “equivalent to a Caterpillar D6N”. Some of its features include an angle tilt blade, rippers, air conditioned ROPS and FOPS cab, Tier-4 compliant 6.7-litre turbo intercooled engine offering an output of 231hp, a Cummins 2 year engine warranty, hydrostatic drive, reverse camera and more.

A new dozer for that price point is a pretty good buy, won't you agree?

2006 Dressta TD15M

Location: TAS

Condition: Used

Hours: 6725

Operating weight: 20 tonnes

Price: $195,000 (excluding government charges)

Dressta is another manufacturer specialising in dozers, hailing from Poland. Its products are also built in Poland in a factory that also manufactures a range of heavy-duty machinery including military equipment.

In 2012, Dressta was acquired by Chinese company, Liugong, and has since changed its name to Liugong Dressta Machinery.

Dressta’s range includes mining or landfill dozers as well as pipe layers.

This 2006 Dressta TD15M dozer for sale has been used in forestry applications and come with a 6-way blade, rippers and forestry guarding.

It’s done 6725 hours but is still in good condition and had its track gear, including rollers, replaced around 1200 hours ago.

1997 Liebherr 742B

Location: NSW

Condition: Used

Hours: 13,000

Operating weight: 26 tonnes

Price: $100,000 (excluding government charges)

Liebherr is a leading name in the heavy industry space, offering a wide range of products from cranes to dozers and even refrigerators and flight control systems.

This Liebherr dozer might be over 20 years old, but looks to have been maintained well and is ready to go straight to work.

It comes complete with a ripper and a pusher blade.

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