Bulldozers or “Crawler Tractors” first appeared in the 1930’s have proven themselves over the decades for earth moving, ground clearance and demolition, the most popular and well-known brand of machine is Caterpillar (CAT).
Bulldozers with their high-powered diesel engines are crawler type tractors. Bulldozers are for far more heavy-duty work than standard tractors typically using heavy-duty tracks instead of pneumatic tyres allowing them to spread their weight far more evenly over the surface, and allowing them to go places that rubber tyres would fail. Although they run slower than the average tractor they will be far more stable on uneven ground and due to the far greater surface area they are far less likely to sink into soft surfaces.
Bulldozer tracks allow these huge machines fantastic manoeuvrability and mean they can spin on their own axis. The bulldozer relies on its weight and strength to get the job done and are seen around the world re-shaping and clearing the ground.
Usually the bulldozer will have a front blade for moving and grading the soil and moving large objects. The front blade will be able to move up and down and tilt from side to side using its hydraulic pump. A ripper blade is sometimes fitted at the rear of the machine and using its hydraulic pump is forced into the ground to tear up any obstacles in the ground that were preventing the bulldozer from moving the earth.
Bulldozers will always be used in the building, forestry and agricultural industries due to their massive power and heavy-duty tracks. Other brands include Komatsu, JCB, John Deere, Case, Terex and Fiat-Allis. The main purpose of the bulldozer will always be to either clear the ground or move the dirt.