New challenge

My uncle cleared thousands of acres with one and his son is still using it occasionally for clearing a deer food plot here and there. Like anything, even the new machines, be prepared to do some work to it as well as with it. I got to pull that D7 with his old 2U a few times when he got stuck in the swamps, and once in the early 70s we cut the trees off of it to get to the pony motor after a tornado dumped a pile of twisted up trees on it.

The guys I work with hate anything cable or with a clutch lever. They would rather spend 24k on a D6C with a horrible bottom than a D7 17A for 10 that has nothing wrong with it. I'd also like to get a D8 14A to customize too. Folks down here charge 150 per hour for a D5 dozer, I figure since the machines are older i can still charge 95-120 and get 2x the work done, as long as I cover fuel and put 20% back into my machine I'll be happy

If your just going to do your own work at your own pace or just play then a 17A is ok but when you go to taking stumps out the back and forth will kill your clutch arm after working all day. A power shift and hyd tractor is so much better. Ive been clearing with my 7E and was thinking how it would be with one of those new D7Es with the little forward reverse push button switch, lol , my thumb would probably get so sore from switching back and forth and then probably mess up trying to go backward or forward lol.

Yeah you got a point, but I can't afford something as nice as a power shift right now hahaha, now we got a nice D8R and D8N at work, them things will spoil you!!!

Whatever works for you then.

Dad always said the boys who grew up in the woods always arm wrestled with their left hands hahaha!