40-45 HP Kioti/Bobcat/NH decision

[b737drvr]

I have been working with a sales rep there at ABI since December sometime. He calls or e-mails every few weeks...I keep putting him off since I didn't have a tractor yet. I told him that I was planning on making a decision on a tractor this week, and now that that is done, it is time to make the decision on the TR3...they seem like great tools, but man, they sure proud of 'em! Nearly $4000 dollars for their 6.5' model seems pretty steep, but they say it's the best, and I halfway believe them!

 

[IslandTractor]

I have been working with a sales rep there at ABI since December sometime. He calls or e-mails every few weeks...I keep putting him off since I didn't have a tractor yet. I told him that I was planning on making a decision on a tractor this week, and now that that is done, it is time to make the decision on the TR3...they seem like great tools, but man, they sure proud of 'em! Nearly $4000 dollars for their 6.5' model seems pretty steep, but they say it's the best, and I halfway believe them!

If you are just going to use it for driveway maintenance I believe some of the other purpose built implements are considerably less expensive. The TR3 comes to it's own if you are also doing land clearing of light brush or replanting lawn or things like that. Remember, a lot of people just use box blades or rear blades to maintain driveways so specialized tools are not critical. Even ABI sells a nice looking road grader for $1200. DR also sells something equivalent too and I've had good luck with their "semi pro" equipment over the years.

 

[Gittyup]

Congrats on the DK40. Smart choice.

I have a friend that has the TR3. It is a very nice piece of equipment. He likes it, but only uses it on rare occasion in his excavation business.

For strictly road maintenance, you've already purchased a scraper blade; add a used rake and a boxblade (maybe less than $1000 in total cost) and you'll have all that you will need. Plus, you'll find other uses for them too. That way you save the 3 grand or so to be used for other toys.

I find the rake is the perfect tool for grooming a stone drive. I don't have any errosion; so I use the rake to groom and clean up engroaching vegetation and that's about all I need. The boxblade could be used to rebuild your road if it gets rutted up, followed by a good raking. Ditch with the scraper, level/resurface with the box, and groom with the rake.

 

[b737drvr]

Yeah, honestly that is sort of what I am thinking. I have been told that somebody in our church has a box blade (that I could possibly borrow) to see how it would work on our very badly rutted and pot-holed driveway. I don't think the road has seen any maintenance in about three years, and it is just killing the suspension on our vehicles. I wasn't sure if the grader blade would be enough. I hope I won't have to add a bunch of additional gravel, but that remains to be seen. I should start watching craigslist or something for box blades I guess. As far as the cheaper ABI attachment, the dealer has me convinced that the TR3 is the cat's meow...and of course he dog's the heck outta DR...says their power grader doesn't even come close to doing the job of the TR3...I am a sucker for smooth (slick) salesmen...

 

[IslandTractor]

The TR3 is overkill for driveway maintenance. I'm pretty sure the grader is all you would need (look at their video) at least once the road is in basically decent condition. A boxblade should be able to fix the road if the grader alone is inadequate but the grader video makes it look like it will do pretty much any repairs short of washout etc.

Edit: I see that Everything Attachments dot com has a King Kutter grader for 900 plus change including delivery within 1000 miles of NC. Not bad.

 

[Gittyup]

If you've got problems with a bad road, could your $3K be better spent resurfacing it correctly? Fix any drainage issues with your scraper and add strategic culverts. Then collect what stone you have to one side. Lay down some geotextile and put your stone back over the top. You may have to add some stone depending on how much you have and what condition the road is in. If the road is built correctly with good drainage and crowing, it'll last a long long time before you have to deal with pot holes and rutting.

I swear by the geotex. It really keeps your stone above the dirt. I have a very steep stone road that curves, then flattens out. The flat area was real wet all the time before I built the road. I put in 2 culverts, contoured the road and ditches so that water quickly runs to these. This combined with the geotex, I have no washout, no soft spots. It hasn't been in place very long (~1 year), but so far it looks as good today as it did when the stone was first put down. Stone truck driver swore that I'd never keep that gravel on the steep grade. So far no movement even through many gully-washer type rains.

 

[b737drvr]

Now that is a great idea! I am not familiar w/ geotex or where to get it, but I do think I should look at a better road solution rather than constantly battling a muddy, pot holed road. I will look into something later this week.

 

[Gittyup]

You can buy geotex from landscaping contractors. Or you can order via the internet. It's sold under various trade names. It's not cheap, but is well worth it to save from constant repairs and rebuying gravel every few years. I bought a 300 foot roll, 12' wide. It was $1 a foot ($300). But, if you don't have good water management, nothing is going to last. I had my road almost finished. But, there was one spot where water still collected. I knew it would not hold up. So, I bit the bullet and dug up the road and added another culvert. Problem now solved. After days and days of rain, it's solid as if it hadn't rained in weeks.