How Much Does A Bulldozer Cost?

how much does a bulldozer cost

Bulldozers are among the most valuable pieces of construction equipment globally, thanks to their power and versatility. Beyond construction, bulldozers are also commonly used in the mining, logging, and farming industries. With so many applications for this powerful equipment, you may be wondering how much it will cost for you to purchase a bulldozer for your operations.

Today, we’re going to cover all the basics you’ll need to know as you begin to learn more about bulldozers, how much they cost, and what you should look for as you start to shop for new equipment.

Average Price of Common Bulldozer Examples

Whether you’re shopping for new or used equipment, or you’re looking for a short-term rental to use on a specific project, here’s a ballpark idea of what you can expect to spend on a bulldozer.

New Bulldozer Average Costs

Depending on the size and horsepower of a new bulldozer, the price can vary significantly. For example, a modest bulldozer in the 40-100 horsepower costs around $150,000 brand new. Meanwhile, a larger machine with 300 horsepower or more used for mining or civil engineering may cost well over a million dollars.

Used Bulldozer Average Costs

While used machines might not have all the modern features of the latest models, what they lack in polish they make up for in savings. As a rule of thumb, you’ll save at least 40% of the price of a new machine if you buy used. It’s also much easier to negotiate the price of used equipment compared to new.

You can get machines with tons of operator hours and older models for the lowest prices. But, you may want to steer clear of older dozers that need some TLC unless you have the capacity to perform the maintenance yourself.

While prices vary significantly depending on the size and power of the machine, most smaller bulldozers are available used for $30,000-75,000. Larger or newer dozers command a higher price, especially if they don’t have tons of hours on them. Depending on the model and condition, a large bulldozer can still set you back hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Bulldozer Rental Average Costs

Buying a bulldozer is a significant investment. Many businesses find that it makes more sense financially to rent equipment when needed, instead of purchasing expensive machines that they only use occasionally.

The cost of renting a bulldozer or other heavy equipment is two-fold. First, there’s the cost of the rental itself. Then, you have the cost to deliver and pick up the machine from your job site.

Depending on the size of the bulldozer you’re renting, you can expect a daily rental to cost anything from $300-$1000. Weekly rentals cost in the realm of $1,500-4,000 and monthly rentals $4,000-12,000. Beyond the equipment costs, you can expect to pay as much as $2,000 in delivery fees.

While heavy machinery rentals might seem expensive, renting is typically a wise arrangement for businesses that need to use a bulldozer once or twice a year.

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Types of Bulldozers

While all bulldozers are designed to move heavy materials, not every machine is a good fit for every job. Considering that, you’ll find several different types of bulldozers, each of which has unique strengths which make it ideal for specific jobs.

Crawler Bulldozer

A crawler is the most common type of bulldozer. These machines move on a track, similar to a tank. The track provides exceptional traction, making a crawler the ideal choice for job sites with uneven or rough terrain.

These machines are usually outfitted with a ripper, a rear-mounted device that allows the machine to easily rip up pavement or loosen packed or frozen ground. This feature helps make crawlers useful for a broader range of applications for construction, demolition, farming, and more.

Crawlers come in a variety of sizes, ranging from 40 or 50 horsepower to well over 500. Like all bulldozers, pricing is largely dependent on size. Depending on size and features, a new crawler can cost as little as $100,000, or well over a million.

Wheel Bulldozer

Wheel bulldozers are very similar to crawlers, with one crucial difference. While a crawler uses a track to move, wheel bulldozers have large tires instead.

These bulldozers have fully articulated steering, and a much tighter turning radius, making them ideal for navigating confined areas. Wheel bulldozers are also suitable for delicate grounds as they cause less damage than the tracks of a crawler.

The downside to a wheel bulldozer is that they don’t offer nearly as much traction as a crawler does. If you’re working on a site with uneven terrain, a wheel bulldozer won’t perform as well as a crawler.

The cost of a wheel bulldozer is similar to that of a crawler. However, most models fall into the medium or large category, so you won’t find smaller and more affordable models like you can when shopping for a crawler.

Depending on its size and features, you can expect a new wheel bulldozer to start around $200,000 and go up from there.

Mini Bulldozer

Mini bulldozers are essentially the same as a crawler, albeit with a much smaller footprint.

These small machines are ideal for residential jobs and other areas where it’s impractical to have a full-size dozer on site. Like a crawler, these machines use a track system to move, and they provide excellent traction.

Most mini bulldozers provide 50 horsepower or less, and their lack of power makes them impractical for larger jobs or moving weighty material. Given their diminutive form, mini bulldozers are the most affordable of the three machines.

A new mini dozer starts at around $30,000 for the smallest models, and they top out around $100,000 for a more powerful model with more features.

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Sizes of Bulldozers

The factor with the most influence over the cost of a bulldozer is its size. Read on as we look more closely at how size affects the price and what you can expect to pay for dozers in each size class.

Small Bulldozer

The least expensive option when shopping for a dozer is the smaller class of machines. This class covers mini bulldozers and smaller machines with 75 horsepower or less.

In addition to being the least expensive, small bulldozers are also the most maneuverable, making them a wise choice for use on residential jobs and anywhere that larger equipment would be impractical.

Bulldozers in this class typically cost under $100,000 new, but the larger models and those loaded with the latest features can cost closer to $200,000.

While you’ll occasionally see wheeled models, almost all small bulldozers fall into the crawler family, relying on tracks to allow the machine to move over the ground.

There’s a lot to like about smaller bulldozers, especially the price and maneuverability aspects, but they do have one major drawback. For larger jobs and applications where the machine must handle tons of weight, a small bulldozer will not have the power necessary to get the job done.

Medium Bulldozer

Medium dozers are the most popular class of machines, and they strike a balance between power and maneuverability. These dozers are the ones you see most commonly on active construction sites.

Most medium bulldozers fall into the 100-300 horsepower range, and they have the size and power necessary to move heavy materials in almost all scenarios. You’ll come across both crawlers as well as wheeled versions in the size class, so you should have no trouble finding a machine that’s a good fit for the work you do.

Depending on specific power and features, medium bulldozers typically start at a little over $100,000. Some medium bulldozers even eclipse the $1-million mark.

Large Bulldozers

Large bulldozers are true masterpieces of engineering, and they’re the largest and most powerful class of bulldozers. Large dozers are commonly used for mining, logging, civil engineering, and massive infrastructure projects.

These machines come in both wheel and crawler varieties, and both are equally popular depending on the application they’re used for. Large bulldozers are incredibly powerful and typically have 350-horsepower or more.

As the largest and most powerful class of machines, large bulldozers are costly. Large bulldozers start at around $1 million and increase from there. It’s common for a state-of-the-art large bulldozer to command a price north of $2 million.

Bulldozer Blades

Several different blade styles are available that help tailor a bulldozer to specific functions while on the job. Below, we’ll take a closer look at the various blade types and how they affect the price of a machine.

Straight Blades (S-Blades)

Straight or S blades are the most common type of bulldozer blade, used for a broad array of applications.

These blades are the shortest available, and they have a vertical curve but no horizontal curve. This design makes S-blades an ideal choice for pushing materials, but the lack of lateral curvature makes them prone to material loss when picking up loads.

Straight blades are best suited to earthmoving tasks like ditching, grading, and backfilling. These blades can range from around $1,000 to about $40,000, depending on the brand, size, and condition.

Universal Blades (U-Blades)

A universal blade is arguably the most useful style of bulldozer blade, and it lends itself to a broad range of applications from earthmoving to material handling.

Like a straight blade, U-blades have a vertical curve. Either side of the blade also has a pronounced lateral curve, making it much easier to carry materials over distance. A U-blade is well-suited for many of the same tasks as an S-blade, but they’re much better suited for moving loose materials such as coal, wood chips, or aggregate.

The one area where they don’t perform as well as a straight blade is when it comes to pushing material. The lateral curve of the blade moves material towards the middle, which puts more stress on the machine as it pushes material forward.

U-Blades are priced similarly to S-Blades, and a replacement will run anywhere from $1,000 for small models to upwards of $45,000 for a late model U-blade for a massive dozer.

Semi-Universal (S-U Blades)

As the name entails, an S-U or semi-universal blade blends characteristics of S and U blades.

S-U blades look most similar to an S-blade, but their profile is more pronounced, and wings on either side of the blade prevent material from spilling over the sides during transportation. These blades are well-suited to the same tasks as S or U blades, but they’re not quite as good at moving granular materials as a U-blade.

A replacement S-U blade can set you back around $1,000 for a smaller machine and as much as $45,000 for a large one.

Angle Blade (A-Blade)

Angle or A-blades are similar to an S-blade, but there are no side wings to prevent material spillage.

A-blades are ideal for moving material off to the sides of a work area, as their design allows the material to fall off to either side as it’s pushed. These blades can also tilt up to 30-degrees in either direction to enable the operator to direct material more precisely.

For smaller machines, you can find an A-blade for $1,000 or less. Blades for larger equipment can run as high as $40,000.

Power, Angle, Tilt Blades (PAT Blades)

PAT Blades are the same as S-blades, with one crucial difference. Unlike an S-blade, which can only tilt or tip, PAT blades can move in virtually any direction, making them the most versatile bulldozer blade.

Depending on size, model, and condition, you can expect a PAT blade to run somewhere between $700-$25,000.

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Bulldozer Brands

CAT

John Deere

 

Bulldozer Pricing FAQs

When searching for a new piece of heavy equipment like a bulldozer, prospective buyers tend to have a few common questions. We’ve rounded up the answers below to help simplify your search for the ideal bulldozer.

Is There a “Blue Book” for Bulldozers?

Given all the variables that affect the price of used bulldozers, a standardized “blue book” has never been released. But, there are plenty of excellent resources online to help you get a handle on the worth of a piece of heavy equipment. Richie Bros is a global auctioneer that offers a wealth of information on bulldozers, including what you can expect to pay.

Where Can I Get a Good Deal on a Bulldozer?

Scoring a good deal on a bulldozer is all about doing your research and shopping around. If you can find a machine locally, that’s usually an excellent way to score a better price since transportation costs will be negligible.

Check local marketplaces and equipment dealers, but don’t be afraid to expand your search nationally, either. You’ll also want to keep seasonality in mind, as you can usually score a better deal in the winter than you can in the warmer months.

Can I Buy or Rent a Bulldozer at Home Depot?

While Home Depot doesn’t sell large equipment, it is available for rent, depending on your needs. While the store doesn’t rent large bulldozers, it’s possible to rent a skid steer or mini bulldozer from Home Depot. Keep in mind that they offer a much smaller selection than a dedicated equipment rental company does, and they tend to be a bit more expensive.

Should I Buy or Rent a Bulldozer?

Whether to rent or buy a bulldozer is primarily a matter of how often you’ll use the equipment. If you need to use a bulldozer a few times a year, renting is sure to be a much more economical option than purchasing the equipment.

Meanwhile, if you regularly use a bulldozer, you’ll be able to save money in the long run by purchasing the equipment instead of renting.

Do I Need a License for a Bulldozer?

Depending on your location and the size of the machine you’re operating, you may need a heavy machinery license to drive the bulldozer.

You may not need to be licensed to operate heavy machinery on your own property in certain states and countries. In other areas, a license is required to handle bulldozers over a specific size. Consult your local regulations to confirm whether a license is necessary.

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