Bulldozer Rental in North Florida

The machine: John Deere 550K LGP

The 550K is a finish-grade dozer equipped with a 6-way PAT blade. That’s a power-angle-tilt blade with full hydraulic control, it angles left and right, tilts for drainage pitch, and raises and lowers with precision that a standard straight blade can’t match. This is the blade that lets you go from rough-cleared ground to a graded, usable surface in a single machine.

The LGP (Low Ground Pressure) undercarriage distributes the machine’s weight across wider tracks, which matters on the sandy, soft soils common throughout North Florida. Less ground pressure means less rutting, less compaction damage, and better performance on properties where the soil hasn’t been disturbed before.

View the 550K LGP on our rental storefront →

The root rake, and why it changes the job

The 550K’s root rake is a pin-on attachment that mounts in place of the standard blade. It rakes through cleared ground, pulling roots, stumps (within the machine’s capability), and buried debris to the surface while letting soil fall through the tooth spacing. You end up with cleaner ground in fewer passes than picking material out by hand or with a grapple.

Where the root rake shines is coverage. On larger tracts, multi-acre clearing jobs where a compact track loader with a grapple would take days to work through the debris field, the dozer covers the same ground much faster. The tradeoff is precision. The wider tooth spacing on the dozer rake lets larger debris pass through compared to a CTL grapple, and the machine itself is less nimble in tight quarters. On open or already-cleared ground with room to work, the dozer is the faster tool. Around standing timber or structures that require careful navigation, a CTL is the better choice.

The rake pins on and off with basic hand tools. Once raking is complete, the operator removes the rake and the PAT blade is ready for finish grading, leveling the property, establishing drainage pitch, and creating a smooth, buildable surface. Two phases of work from one machine in one rental.

View the 550K rake attachment →

The 8-inch rule: when the dozer is not the right tool

The 550K’s 6-way PAT blade is a hydraulically controlled finish-grading system. It’s built for precision, not for brawling with large-diameter stumps. Pushing against stumps larger than about 8 inches in diameter puts serious stress on the hydraulic cylinders, hoses, and valve body that control the blade’s angle and tilt functions. That’s not wear-and-tear. It’s a risk of real damage to the machine.

When stump diameters on your property exceed 8 inches, we’ll steer you toward an excavator instead. An excavator grabs the stump with a hydraulic thumb, rocks it loose, and lifts the entire root ball out of the ground, a completely different approach that doesn’t put blade hydraulics at risk. The sizing follows the same stem-diameter logic we use across our excavator fleet, from the 3.5-ton mini up to the 21-ton 210G.

This isn’t a sales pitch to upsell you into a bigger machine. It’s equipment protection. If your stumps are under 8 inches and the property has already been cleared of standing timber, the 550K with the root rake is the right tool and will outperform an excavator on the raking and grading phases. If the stumps are larger, the excavator handles the extraction and the dozer can come in afterward for the finish work, or the excavator handles the entire job on its own.

We sort this out on the phone before anything gets scheduled. Tell us about the stumps, and we’ll tell you which machine fits.

When to use the dozer vs. a compact track loader

Both machines can rake roots and grade a property. The decision between them depends on the property, the desired outcome, and what the ground looks like when you start.

Use the 550K dozer when:

The property has already been cleared of standing timber and you’re working open ground. The area is large enough that coverage speed matters more than maneuverability. You want to rake the root and debris field clean and then finish-grade the surface in the same rental. The PAT blade gives you grading precision that a CTL bucket can’t match on a final pass.

Use a compact track loader when:

There’s standing timber on the property that needs to be worked around. The lot is tight, residential scale with fences, structures, or trees you want to keep. You need to pick up, carry, and pile debris rather than rake it to the edges. The CTL’s grapple grabs individual pieces and carries them to a pile or loads them into a trailer, the dozer rake pushes material in one direction.

Use both when:

The job is large-scale clearing on a multi-acre tract. A CTL or excavator handles the initial clearing and stump removal, and the dozer comes in afterward for the root raking and finish grading. This is the most efficient workflow on properties over a few acres with mature timber.

There’s no hard acreage cutoff. A dozer can work a single acre productively if the ground is open and the job is root raking and grading. And a CTL can handle five acres if the operator is willing to put in the hours. The question is which machine gets you to the finished product faster given what your property actually looks like today.

Common dozer projects across North Florida

Root raking after lot clearing – The number one rental. After timber has been cut and removed, the root rake passes through the property pulling roots, small stumps, and buried debris to the surface. The site goes from rough-cleared to raked-clean in a lot less time than working the same area with a grapple.

Finish grading for building pads – Once the property is raked, the PAT blade grades the surface flat, establishes drainage slope, and creates a pad ready for construction. The 6-way blade lets the operator angle and tilt in a single pass, no going back and forth to correct pitch.

Driveway and road base grading – Establishing a level, compacted base for limerock or gravel driveways on rural properties. The PAT blade’s tilt function lets you crown the center for water runoff, a detail that makes a driveway last years longer.

Post-timber-harvest land conversion – Pine tracts that have been harvested and need to be converted to pasture, a homesite, or another use. The root rake clears the slash and root debris, and the blade grades the surface for the next phase.

Pasture establishment and reclamation – Clearing brush-encroached pasture back to usable grazing land. The dozer covers large areas quickly on open ground where a CTL would be slower.

Planning to burn brush piles on-site? Proof of insurance coverage is required before any rental involving on-site burning can proceed. This is a firm requirement. Let us know during your initial call so we can handle it before scheduling.

Delivery and rental details

Delivery only. The 550K is delivered to your job site on our equipment hauler. We bring it, you work it, we pick it up when the job is done. Delivery pricing depends on distance from our Starke yard, call for a quote to your specific property.

We deliver throughout Bradford, Clay, Union, Alachua, Baker, and Putnam counties, covering Starke, Keystone Heights, Lake Butler, Middleburg, Macclenny, Waldo, Hawthorne, Melrose, Interlachen, and surrounding communities.

Rental periods – Daily and weekly rentals available, plus our 4-for-2 option (four days for the price of two). Root raking and grading jobs on larger properties typically run 2–5 days depending on acreage and ground conditions. We’ll help you estimate duration based on what you describe.

Operator experience – We rent the 550K to both experienced operators and property owners tackling a project themselves. If you haven’t run a dozer before, we walk you through the controls, the PAT blade functions, and the rake attachment at delivery. The 550K is a responsive machine, the learning curve is manageable for someone who’s comfortable on equipment.

Why rent from T.E.S.

One machine, two phases. The pin-on rake and the PAT blade give you root raking and finish grading from a single machine. No second rental, no second delivery, no second mobilization cost.

Honest routing. If your stumps are over 8 inches, we’ll tell you the dozer isn’t the right tool and steer you toward an excavator that handles the extraction safely. We’d rather lose a dozer rental than damage equipment or set you up with a machine that can’t do the job.

Owner-operated. Every call goes to Zeb. The recommendation, the delivery, and the support call if something comes up on-site, all one person.

“I cannot recommend T.E.S. Rentals enough. The machine was in like-new condition, clean, and ran perfectly without a single issue. It’s rare to find a rental place that keeps their gear this clean and well maintained.”

Joe J.