iSeekplant › Dozer Hire

What is a Dozer?

Dozers are valuable pieces of equipment in construction and earthmoving projects across Australia, and we have many dozer hire suppliers throughout Australia for all.

Technically, bulldozers are continuous tracked tractors or 'crawlers' – but nowadays, you can get powerful machines that are wheeled or tracked, depending on the surfaces you're working with, and what quantities you need to move. Fitted with a substantial metal blade, dozers are capable of moving large amounts of materials, aggregates or soil, and are commonly used in quarries, mines, civil roadworks and farming applications.

Able to negotiate a wide variety of surfaces, dozer hire suppliers have dozers available for hire through iSeekplant in heavy duty 4-wheel drive systems with articulated steering, standard tracks or extra wide low ground pressure (LGP) or swamp tracks, ideal for sandy or muddy areas. Whatever variety you need, we've got it on iSeekplant’s Australia-wide hire database.

Which Dozer Blade Should You Use?

A dozer blade is used to clear and push materials like sand, rocks and soil, and can also hep compact and shave uneven ground. They’re particularly helpful in projects requiring the removal of large amounts of earth, and dozer hire suppliers can help you choose the best blade for your next project. The dozer blade was actually around before the dozer machine was, and was once pulled by two mules and used to fill gullies and holes. These days, dozer blades are operated with hydraulics and different blades can be used depending on the specifications of the project.

Dozer hire suppliers have a range of blades available, and choosing the ideal blade for your project requirements is important. For fine grading type applications, a short S-blade is best, which has no lateral curve or side wings. If you need to move larger amounts each run, a U-blade is probably ideal, taller and much more curved than the S-blade. U-blades also have large side wings to further increase their maximum capacity. S-U blades are also available, which are usually used for moving rocks - they have a combination of the attributes of the S and U varieties, with some lateral curvature and small side wings. It’s possible to sharpen the bottom edge of the blade, so dozers can be put to work on jobs like cutting tree stumps, and the ripper at the back of the dozer can be single or multi shank, depending on the type of job you need done.

The different types of dozers

What is a Swamp Dozer?

A swamp dozer is the perfect dozer to hire when you need to operate in wet, muddy or generally difficult terrain. Swamp dozers are fitted with extra wide tracks known as swamp tracks or LGP (low ground pressure) tracks which provide a larger surface area, reducing the odds that the swamp dozer will get bogged in the wet or muddy terrain. Swamp dozers are the best suited machine for pushing large quantities of dirt and other materials in difficult conditions where other dozers would face challenges. If you expect the conditions you will be operating in could be wet and muddy you should consider the benefits of hiring a swamp dozer. iSeekplant has a full range of swamp dozers available for hire including D3 Swamp Dozers, D4 Swamp Dozers, D5 Swamp Dozers, D6 Swamp Dozers, D7 and up Swamp Dozers. Swamp dozers can be hired both with an operator (wet hire) and without an operator (dry hire).

What is a Tracked Dozer?

A continuous tracked dozer (also called a crawler dozer) is a type of dozer which is propelled by a set of steel or rubber tracks rather than wheels. A track dozer is able to traverse safely over ground that’s moist or slippery, like mud, snow, or rich soil. The tracks give the crawler dozer excellent ground-holding capability and mobility through very rough terrain. The wide tracks help distribute the bulldozer's weight to spread evenly (decreasing ground pressure), meaning greater stability than a wheeled dozer and preventing it from sinking in sandy or muddy ground. The treads on the tracked dozer's metal plates are damage resistant and very hardy, especially when being compared to the rubber wheels of a wheeled dozer. However, the treads of a tracked dozer can damage pavements and other surfaces which is something that needs to be taken into account based on the environment the dozer will be in. However, rubber pads can be installed for safe use on paved surfaces. If you're searching for a tracked dozer to hire for your next project, run a search on iSeekplant today and get in touch with our many trustworthy plant hire suppliers. Sizes of tracked dozers for hire range from D3, D4, D5, D6, D7, D8, D9, D10, D11 and Drott.

What is a Wheeled Dozer?

While a wheeled dozer (or rubber tyred dozer) can be limited in the types of environments it can be used in (if the site has soft ground where bogging is likely a tracked dozer would be better suited), it provides the major benefit of being significantly faster and more maneuverable than a tracked dozer. Wheel dozers can reach 36km/h which is around three times faster than a typical tracked dozer. This speed and maneuverability can mean hiring a wheeled dozer can be more economical than a tracked dozer over large distances. The grade level of the site also impacts the dozers productivity, as the grade level goes up the productivity of a wheeled dozer drops while a tracked dozer remains the same due to greater traction. A wheeled dozers blade capacity is typically 30% less than a tracked dozer, however, if the pushing distance is greater than 200m the benefits of a larger blade diminish. Need to hire a wheeled dozer for a construction, mining or road work job? iSeekplant has stacks of reliable plant hire suppliers listed throughout Australia - run a quick search today!

Image Credit: Force Equipment

What are Common Dozer Hire Rates?

If you need help choosing dozer hire suppliers, get in touch with our expert team via email or call 1300 691 912, and we'll use our industry experience to find you the best value rates, reliable equipment to hire – anywhere in Australia.