Difference Between Motor Grader and Bulldozer

Generally, a wide variety of equipment are used at the road and building construction site depending on the job to be performed. These equipment help in completing various tasks on the right time, thus, putting an end to project delays. While some equipment may look different but perform similar functions but some may be very different on both the grounds. Whatever is the case, it is very important to have basic understanding of the various equipment that you are planning to use at the jobsite. You need to know that what tasks are performed by different equipment as this can help you to choose the best fit for your tasks.

For example, bulldozers and motor graders are very different piece of equipment and there is no similarity in their appearance but there is still some overlap (although very small) between their function. And for a newbie in the business, it might look like any of the two can be employed for a given task, which is absolutely a wrong notion as what motor graders can do precisely, bulldozers can’t. Hence, it is important to know which one to choose depending on the requirement.

What is a bulldozer?

Also called as dozers or crawlers, bulldozers are powerful equipment which are largely employed for shifting huge amount of dirt, sand or debris on jobsites where there is wide open spaces. They are also used for rough grading and grinding rocks. Bulldozers are generally found on jobsites including general construction, road work and other types of infrastructure sites, mining, farms and forestry.

Bulldozers come in two variants i.e., with tyres and tracks. The tracked bulldozers are ideal for moving over rough and off-road landscapes. Operated via a four-wheel drive system with articulated steering and an articulated blade, wheeled bulldozer is the second type of bulldozer.

Bulldozers generally come up with two key components i.e., a blade and ripper.

1. Blade: Used to push materials, blade is the large metal plate which is attached to the front of the bulldozer. It is used to push large quantities of material such as soil, rubble and sand.

2. Ripper: Shaped like claw, ripper is found on the back of the bulldozer and is used to rip, break and loosen compacted material for easy removal.

What is a motor grader?

Also called as road grader or grader, motor graders are multi-purpose equipment and basically used to level or smoothen out an area. They have a long wheel base that can span short depression or humps. Typically, motor graders possess a centrally located blade (which sits between the vehicle’s front and rear axles) that can be angled to cast out on either side. Motor graders come with various attachments to perform multiple tasks.

Typically, graders are used to perform jobs including...

1. Creating base layer for paved roads

2. Setting the foundation for the base of large building projects

3. Creating inclines

4. For making drainage ditches

5. Removing snow and debris

Motor graders are majorly used in road construction and maintenance which includes public roads as well as roads on mining and construction sites.

Bulldozer and Grader: What’s the Difference?

There are some key differences between bulldozers and motor graders. You should know as to which one to use when. Let’s look at the major differences between them...

For rough grading purposes, bulldozers are the best. Typically, bulldozers does not have the capability and precise control for achieving fine grade which is not the case with the motor graders. Further, bulldozers’ tracks provide an exceptional ground holding capability and mobility on rough surfaces. Since, the tracks of the bulldozers are wide, this helps them in distributing its weight over a large area and this decreases ground pressure. This also helps the bulldozer to move across sandy and muddy terrain. It is due to these reasons that bulldozers are best suited for jobs at construction, mining, land clearing, road building and infrastructure development and forestry projects.

On the other hand, motor graders are best suited for large projects which need detail and precision. Motor graders come handy when working in open areas. Motor graders are majorly used for finish grading, shaping, ditching, mixing, spreading, side-casting, levelling, crowning and creating inclined surfaces. Motor graders can even be used to move small amount of materials like dirt etc., but they cannot move large or heavy loads unlike the bulldozers. This is majorly due to the physical size and the blade location of motor grader which makes it unsuitable for moving heavy materials.

Buying motor graders

So, depending on the need, type of work and jobsite, the equipment should be chosen. Bulldozers and graders are manufactured by many companies worldwide. Talking particularly about motor graders in India and indigenous manufacturers, then Mahindra Construction Equipment (MCE) tops the list. MCE offers two variants of motor graders i.e., RoadMaster G75 and RoadMaster G90 which are best suited for Indian needs and jobsites.

RoadMaster G75 offers affordable, un-compromised and mechanisation for grading best suited for small and medium roads in India and is an ideal grading machine for spreading and grading of earthwork in PMGSY & rural roadwork across the nation. It is also best suited for the maintenance of earth and gravel roads in India. On the other hand, RoadMaster G90 is a Simply Optimal machine apt for slightly bigger projects like state highways and national highway expansion projects, railways, flyovers etc.

In a nutshell

Both bulldozers and motor graders have different functionality and are not a replica of each other. So, it is necessary to understand the two equipment well and use them as per the need.