Wheel or crawler dozer?

You have just decided to buy a dozer. Soon your work will become easier and simpler. You will also save time, and time is money. There is only one question left: the choice between a crawler dozer and a wheel dozer. It might be the case that after long hours of searching through different offers you get lost with so many options, terminology, and capabilities of the equipment.

How to choose the right dozer, when both types can work with different materials such as soil, rubble, sand, and clay, and perform tasks such as backfilling, clearing, and sorting? What if you need help removing boulders and trees, hauling heavy equipment, and transporting materials?

If you're wondering which type of dozer drive to choose, this article will help you compare the pros and cons of both and determine which one best suits your specific requirements.

What to consider when deciding between a crawler and a wheeled dozer?

When comparing a wheeled and crawler dozer, there are several things to consider, including:
- the specific projects you will be working on,
- the size of the job site,
- the distance the dozer has to travel every day,
- the type of environment and terrain the machine will be working in,
- the types of materials you will be moving.

Both wheeled and crawler dozers come in different sizes depending on your needs and conditions. Regardless of size, they can perform similar tasks with different pushing and lifting speeds and power.

Tracked Machine Power

The tracks distribute the weight of the machine more widely than the tires. This enables them to keep heavy equipment off the ground while preventing it from sinking in difficult conditions and on surfaces such as mud, clay, and sand. This also translates into increased pushing power.

Drive wheels and machine power

The efficiency of dozers comes from the ability to convert engine power into pushing power. With wheeled dozers, the weight is only distributed between the four wheels, which means a loss of power conversion, which in turn leads to less pushing power than with crawler dozers.

For this reason, among others, a wheeled dozer is not as effective at performing work in muddy terrains as a crawler dozer.

Advantages and disadvantages of crawler dozers

Advantages:

- fuel efficiency: the less the dozer slides, the lower its fuel consumption. It makes sense for business owners to invest in something that will help save money over time,
- better machine control on difficult terrain: a track system can help a dozer prevent slipping when the ground is muddy or wet,
- ground protection: many smaller wheels mean a much wider surface in contact with the ground and this results in less unit pressure and less risk of slipping or bogging down,
- the ability to generate more tractive force due to better traction means you can do more work in less time,
- less tillage work is required, especially soil compaction might be avoided,
- machine stability: the tracked dozer is designed for high loads due to even pressure distribution.

Disadvantages:

- potential for loss of traction if loose items like plant parts are scattered on the ground,
- lower maximum speed, resulting in longer travel time from place to place,
- high friction resistance,
- high belt wear on hardened surfaces such as asphalt,
- larger unladen weight can have a negative effect on the road surface and imposes restrictions when transporting the machine to the work site,
- less stability of the machine when working across a slope,
- higher maintenance costs than wheel dozers.

Choosing between crawler dozers

The tracks help the machine move up and over various inclines or uneven surfaces. This allows you to work on a steep slope or an area that is gradually lowering - the tracks will then hold the dozer in place to prevent tipping.

There are small, medium, and large crawler dozers available on the market. The advantages of small dozers are optimized speed, versatility, and maneuverability. Medium dozers are characterized by high fuel efficiency. Besides, they can move more materials in less time.

Large dozers are the best experts in the toughest working conditions and moving the heaviest loads (at the expense of lower travel speed, of course).

Advantages and disadvantages of wheeled bulldozers

Advantages:

- versatility when it comes to the surface type: they work well on paved roads as well as dirt roads,
- ability to adjust the carrying surface by adjusting the pressure in the tires or fitting tires with increased strength,
- no need to transport with the help of another vehicle,
- higher speeds than tracked machines.

Disadvantages:

- possible soil compaction resulting in damages and higher labor costs,
- inability to significantly increase tire contact with the ground,
- adjusting tire grip to varying ground conditions is time-consuming, especially if frequent changes between different types of surfaces are required (using a tire pressure regulating device, fitting chains),
- this type of drive can increase the size of the machine, making access to certain areas more difficult.

Choosing between wheel-drive dozers

This type of heavy equipment typically operates on a smaller axle, but at the same time offers greater versatility and mobility, allowing it to make sharper turns without harming its surroundings. As a result, it can be easier to maneuver in the work zone and during transport from site to site.

Wheel dozers come in a variety of sizes and work well in land clearing and leveling and road maintenance. The choice of a particular model should be influenced by the working conditions.

Regardless of size, wheeled dozers allow for easy road transport, greater mobility, and increased production capabilities because they move faster than tracked dozers and can cover more ground in less time.

Do anti-slip chains on dozer-type vehicle wheels pass the test?

The chain is used in situations where the rope would not hold the load, such as in chain hoists. It helps increase the traction of the wheels on a dozer by increasing the friction between the dozer wheels and the rough ground.

So, chains attached to the wheels are a great solution when you don't want or can't buy a crawler drive dozer and you value the advantages of owning a wheeled dozer.

Chains attached to each wheel will allow you to drive on slippery surfaces where bare wheels would not work. So it seems that chains have the power to turn ordinary dozer wheels into something that will be comparable to a crawler drive in terms of usefulness.

When deciding to increase the frictional force in a wheeled dozer with chains, you must expect a reduction in speed and need to learn how to put the chains on. This is not an easy process, although the positive side is that it usually does not require removing wheels.

To sum up...

If your daily work is performed on a hard surface such as asphalt or paved road, and you only occasionally perform tasks conducted in more difficult conditions such as loose pavement or snow, your choice should be a dozer with wheels on which you can attach chains in case of infrequent need.

Tracked or wheeled systems - which protects the soil better?

Soil compaction by machinery is a particularly serious problem in agricultural areas. In extreme cases, the amount of compaction can reach up to 2 feet, severely affecting soil quality and negatively impacting irrigation, nutrition, and plant growth. As a consequence, a reduction in crop quantity and quality of up to 30% can be expected.

Tracked systems in dozers reduce soil compaction by approximately 63% compared to wheeled vehicles (due to the large difference in rear axle pressure between a tracked and wheeled tractor). If you compare the difference in pressure ratio between wheels and tracks of the same width, the result can really surprise you. It has been calculated that it can be as much as 330% in favor of tracks.

To limit the effects of soil compaction by machine wheels, the number of drives on the field should be reduced as much as possible, work can be limited to the necessary minimum, tire pressure can be lowered periodically, twin wheels or wide tires can be used. Tracks instead of wheels will be advisable in cases where fieldwork is crucial.

Crawler dozers vs. wheeled dozers - summary

When considering buying one machine or the other, ask yourself if you need to protect the surface of a newly paved road or if your priority is to navigate in more difficult terrain. A wheeled dozer is great for flat, hard surfaces that need little protection, such as asphalt and grass (although some manufacturers have found ways to protect the surface through tracks, producing rubber overlays or entire rubber tracks).

Crawler dozers are better for rough terrains that can damage tires or sand-type terrain where tires can get bogged down. These machines also work better on steep climbs and slippery surfaces due to increased traction resulting from a larger contact area.

Because of the size of the machines, their weight, and the tasks they must perform in the field, bulldozers use tracks with technology found in military tanks. Tracks have several distinct advantages over wheels. The first is related to the type of work bulldozers do and the environments they operate in.

Tracks help dozers stay on the ground instead of sinking into the dirt or sand. This helps to use engine power for pushing and pulling. The tracks distribute the weight of the dozer, especially around the engine itself. This allows for much more pushing power, especially when moving heavy bulk materials.

There is one major problem with wheels - they tend to collapse when the surface becomes soft, whether it is mud, sand, or even soft ground.