On Jan. 17, Indiana’s Bright Star Auction held a heavy equipment auction consisting of 64 items from various consignors from across the country. The auction was held with reserve, via Bright Star’s branded edition of Bid.com known as IronRing. Offered were dozers, excavators, pieces of forestry equipment, skid loaders, trucks, wheel loaders, and more.

Bidding went into the six-figure range on four lots. The auction’s high sale, at $131,000, went to a 2021 John Deere 700L LGP Dozer with 2,253 hours. The rig was outfitted with a Deere 6.8L diesel engine, 30-inch tracks, 11-foot 6-way blade, rear-mounted winch, and a fully enclosed cab with air ride seat, A/C, heat, and radio.

Despite half the lots reaching five- and six-figure bids, not all surpassed reserve prices. Some exciting action that nonetheless failed to meet reserves included 41 bids rising as high as $350,000 on a 2019 John Deere 950K LGP dozer. The good-condition unit with just 687 hours featured a 280-hp 2240 Power Tech PSS 6068 diesel engine, 6-way blade, and enclosed cabin.

A good-condition 2020 John Deere 748L-II dual arch grapple skidder with 4,539 hours, 9-foot, 8-inch blade, cable winch, and dual pedals, received 64 bids and rose to $144,250 but was ultimately passed. A 2020 Prinoth Panther T14R Crawler Carrier with a 275-hp Caterpillar C7.1 Acert engine and hydrostatic transmission was also passed despite heavy bidding. A comparable 2019 Prinoth Panther, with 1,579 hours and similar Caterpillar C7.1 engine/hydrostatic transmission sold for $70,000.

A half dozen wheel loaders from Case, Caterpillar, Deere, and JCP were all sold. Of those, a 2019 John Deere 204L with 492 hours went highest at $52,500. It featured a 61-hp Yanmar 4TNV98 diesel engine, 3rd valve, hydrostatic, 2-speed, 4WD, 405x70R18 tires, skid steer quick attach, 7-foot bucket, and a lift capacity of 3,450 pounds. The other loaders included a non-running Caterpillar Model 920 with 2,543 hours that needed overall refurbishing, which sold for $3,300; a running-condition John Deere Model 544B with 6,931 hours that grabbed $5,500; and a good-condition Case 621B with 2,599 hours that bid to $15,000.

Seven skid steers, from names like Bobcat, Case, and New Holland, were available. All but one sold for a five-figure amount. A 2016 Bobcat T870 with 2,620 hours scored highest at $37,500. The loaded unit featured a 100-hp Bobcat Tier 4 diesel engine, 2-speed, auxiliary hydraulics, joystick controls, and was remote-ready. It was outfitted with an 84-inch bucket with bolt-on cutting edge, rated at a 3,650-lb lift capacity.

An even $30,000 won a 2016 New Holland C232 skid steer with 1972 overall hours and just 400 hours on new tracks. The good-condition, joystick-controlled machine was powered by a 74-hp FPT F5H diesel engine and sported new drive motors and pump. It was outfitted with 2-speed, high flow, and an 84-inch low-profile bucket with 3,200-lb lift capacity. Coming close at $29,000 was a 2016 Case TV380 with 3,235 hours, an 84-hp diesel engine, heavy-duty hitch, power quick attach, an 84-inch bucket, heavy-duty 48-inch forks, and 3,800-lb lift capacity.

Two knuckle-boom cranes, one a Barko Model 160B, and the other a 2016 Caterpillar 559C sold for $10,000 and $45,000 respectively. The Barko was of unknown hours, in running condition and road-ready. It showed some hydraulic leaks but had a new swing pump, air cleaner and filters. It offered a Cummins 5.9 diesel engine, continuous grapple, bucksaw hookup, and a trailer. The Caterpillar was in good condition, with 11,321 hours. It had a 174-hp Cat 6.6 ACERT diesel engine, continuous grapple, bucksaw hookups, heat/AC in the cab, and a trailer.

Three of four trucks were sold. Winning bids ranged from $6,000 for a good-running but needing TLC 1983 Mack RD688S log truck with 17,046 miles and a 350-hp Mack diesel engine to $32,500 for a 2015 Volvo VNM Dump Truck in great condition, with 152,410 miles, 355-hp Volvo D11 diesel, and 10-speed manual transmission.

Some one-off items included a 2019 Lewis DB4 poultry housekeeper with 175-cubic-foot capacity, 22-GPM hydraulic pump, 30-gallon oil reservoir, tandem axle, and dump body. It sold for $17,000. A 2016 Pitts KB41 90-inch wide, 6-bunk log trailer, with 6-foot bunks hit $19,500. Perfect for that trailer was a semi load of 400 pressure-treated 7-inch-by-8-foot fence posts that was grabbed for $3,500.

For information on upcoming Bright Star auctions, visit: brightstarauctions.com