Dazed and confused - what meets my needs?

[bkdamkr]

Hi all - I'm brand new and could use a little direction.

I need a do-it-all machine to care for 7 hilly acres and a small horse facility, and naturally, the budget is tight. The initial jobs are moving dirt to flatten areas, widening animal paths on sidehills, moving/placing rock in tight areas, drilling post holes, trenching 100's of feet for power & water lines, and hauling construction supplies around.

On-going tasks will be more rock & dirt moving, mowing 2 or 3 times a year, dragging the arena, moving/hauling manure compost, and lots of general (heavy) landscaping work.

I'm considering a small 4X4 tractor or a Bobcat (skid steer of some sort). The latter appeals because of the versatility and my tight spaces, but for the $6-$10K I'll spend on a decent used Bobcat, are there other obvious choices?

I'm in northern California, BTW.

Thanks,

Brian:

 

[woodlandfarms]

How slopey are your slopes? Power-Trac would be my recommend, the small ones are great in barns...

 

[bkdamkr]

Pretty hilly - see attached. The flat dirt spot in the middle of the photo is my barn pad.

 

[flusher]

Pretty hilly - see attached. The flat dirt spot in the middle of the photo is my barn pad.

Ah, the CA hills. Love those valley oaks (or are they coast oaks). Don't have many around my place in the flat part of the No. Sac Valley. Need to go north towards Redding and Mt. Shasta before you see them.

Those hills look pretty steep to me. I'd be concerned about rollover stability on any type of tractor, skid steer or other that might be otherwise suitable.

I'd consider a medium size skid steer. One of my friends uses a medium size SS (about 1500 lb lift) to move hay bales off the field and into his barn. His land is not nearly as hilly as yours.

A 2004 Bobcat S175 went for $9800 on eBay last month.
A 1993 Case 1840 sold for $6400 on eBay a few weeks ago.
Both of these SS's have at least 1500 lb load capacity.

A 4WD tractor/FEL is a possibility. With your hills, I'd look for something in the 30-40 hp pto range with the largest possible track width and lowest axle height. Take your steel tape with you when you go tractor shopping and measure these dimensions. IMHO, the ratio of track width to axle height should be at least 3.5 for rollover stability. My old 1964 MF-135 diesel orchard tractor has a 4.15 ratio (20" axle height, 83" track width to outside wall of the rear tires)

Those are 18.4-16A rears, 18.4" wide on 16" dia rims. Normal ag tractor rims are 28" dia.

Of course, you could increase rollover stability by using duals on the rear.
Here's an old 1950s Oliver 88 rigged that way.

I'd factor this option into your buying decision.

 

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

I agree those hills look real steep in places. Tractor operator beware!

That said... I've no idea what your budget is but have you considered a Ferrari/Pasquali/Antonio Cararrero type tractor? They aren't cheap but apparently work well on steep ground. Something to explore. I've no idea what dealers are around you. Otherwise wideset low slung 4wd is probably a good option.

Looking at your ground I'd be careful about starting much erosion working animal paths and such and I didn't see anyplace suitable for an arena. Are you going to try and irrigate? Or is it just domestic and animal water? That kind of ground doesn't have a lot of animal carrying capacity and can be beat up pretty fast with animals.

Good Luck! -Ed-

 

[Soundguy]

I'd be looking at a scut in the 18-24hp range, 4x4 with loader and hst trans, plus a mower and box blade and pasture drag harrow, phd.

As for the trenching.. just rent a walk behind trencher. I rented one for 120$ / day at a rental yard.. it trenches just over 3' deep and about 8-10" wide and is self propelled. With help from a friend and his nephew, we trenched in about 500' of waterline before lunch one day on my farm. got the pipe in the ground, and lef it pressurized during lunch, after lunch we backfilled it and added the faucet tops and topside valves and connections to animal fountains.. etc.

soundguy

Hi all - I'm brand new and could use a little direction.

I need a do-it-all machine to care for 7 hilly acres and a small horse facility, and naturally, the budget is tight. The initial jobs are moving dirt to flatten areas, widening animal paths on sidehills, moving/placing rock in tight areas, drilling post holes, trenching 100's of feet for power & water lines, and hauling construction supplies around.

On-going tasks will be more rock & dirt moving, mowing 2 or 3 times a year, dragging the arena, moving/hauling manure compost, and lots of general (heavy) landscaping work.

I'm considering a small 4X4 tractor or a Bobcat (skid steer of some sort). The latter appeals because of the versatility and my tight spaces, but for the $6-$10K I'll spend on a decent used Bobcat, are there other obvious choices?

I'm in northern California, BTW.

Thanks,

Brian: