The phrase "bulldozer" comes from an amalgamation of

the words 'bull' and 'dose'. The first word implies power,
while the latter indicates a will to force something to
happen. The first proper bulldozer in history was
produced in 1923 by farmer James Cummings and
draftsman J. E. Mcleod. But this was used for farming
purposes only. Bulldozers saw construction uses by the
1940?s.

What are Bulldozers?

Bulldozers, or dozers, in short, are essentially tractors
with a large blade mounted in front of them. The tractor
helps push the blade around the ground. Perpendicular
to the ground, the blade is a thick plate of metal, wider
than the tractor behind it and sometimes even half as
tall. Sometimes the dozers come equipped with a claw-
like device attached in the rear called a ripper to loosen
up the ground before pushing it around.

Mobility
The vehicles are generally mounted on tracks, which
gives them excellent ground traction and mobility on
rough unstable terrain. Some versions of bulldozers
come with extra-wide "swamp tracks" to handle soft
ground. Though in uneven terrain, the use of wheeled
bulldozers is common too. These dozers are mounted
on four articulated hydraulics-operated large rubber
wheels, which gives the vehicle the ability to work on
uneven terrain and also much better speed than the
tracked versions. The engines of bulldozers need to be
very high-powered since they need to create a huge
amount of energy to push heavy objects. Also, the same
engine needs to power the often-used hydraulics
system. Depending on tasks the engines of dozers can
vary from 70 to 1000 horsepower.
Blade
The blades mounted in front of the vehicle can vary
depending upon their uses. These are:

S-blade: a straight heavy metal plate, short,

without any wings. Used mostly for fine grading tasks.
U-blade: Universal blades are tall and curved, and
have large wings on the sides to carry more material.
These are the most commonly fitted blades.
SU-blade: A semi-universal blade is smaller and
shorter than the u-blades but still have some curvature.
Coming with or without side wings, these are used for
pushing rocks and similar matter.
Dozer blades can be fitted straight in front of the vehicle,
or they can be mounted in an angle. Some dozers have
hydraulic pushers which can change the angle of the
blade while they work, adding extra flexibility to the
machine.

Types of Bulldozers

Crawler Dozer

Also referred to as a track bulldozer, a crawler dozer is a

hard and powerful machine mounted on tracks. Used
mostly for pushing objects and soil on comparatively soft
surfaces, these are common not only in construction but
also in farming. Large versions of these are capable of
loosening and moving very hard terrain.

Wheeled Dozer
Useful where mobility is needed more than power, these
dozers come mounted on four wheels instead of tracks.
Driven by a 4-wheel-drive system these vehicles have a
hydraulic, articulated steering system. The blade is
mounted forward of the articulation joint and is
hydraulically actuated. Because of their capability of
handling hard but uneven areas you can use these in
rocky construction sites. Also because of their mobility
and little to no damage to roads, most urban areas see
wheeled dozers in action. However, due to their low
traction with the ground, these are not too good at
pushing or scraping.

Mini Dozer

These small bulldozers are vastly more agile than any of

the other types of dozer due to their small size and
compact builds. Mostly seen in civil building sites, these
dozers come handy in performing quick, light soil or
debris-moving jobs. Because of their tiny size,
sometimes a mini dozer is also called a calfdozer
instead of a bulldozer.

Loader Tractors

When a large volume bucket replaces the front blade

and hydraulically operated machinery assist in lifting and
tilting the bucket, the dozer effectively becomes a truck
loader. It is used mostly for scooping up earth or debris
from the ground and directly transferring it to a carrier.
Wheeled loaders are very common in civic duties.
Modifications in Bulldozers
A bulldozer is a very configurable machine and can be
retrofitted for various purposes. Changing the blade
angle or type is fairly common, as well as changing the
ripper type and even replacing it with a scarper and
loader bucket with an articulated arm. Converting it into
a loader is also another option, as described above.
While not exactly bulldozers, snow plows work with the
same idea too.

In military uses, the bulldozer can be fitted with mounted

arms, armor plates and grilles to give it some protection
from small arms or other light combat hazards. In a
pinch, military tanks or other tracked mobile weapons
platforms can be fitted with a frontal blade to turn them
into ad-hoc bulldozers. In especially hazardous
conditions, dozers can be fitted with a remote control
apparatus to have them work unmanned.

The world's largest dozer is the Acco Super Bulldozer. It

is an 183-ton behemoth driven by twin 675hp engines,
has a 23 feet by 9 feet blade and a 10 feet tall ripper.
Unfortunately, the giant dozer while eminently capable
has yet to see any actual work.