GB26JJ
New member
Hello, all. I just bought 9ac of land in 'the country' and will soon begin building. I anticipate needing a tractor --both now, and lots more in the future-- but am a complete newbie in this field! Thanks in advance for any advice/recommendations on what to buy, when to use, etc.
NEEDS:
1. The driveway from the road to where the house will be is only ~250ft, but is VERY steep (approx 80-100' higher than road) and is currently in need of leveling, making drainage work, etc. I just had a guy come in with forrestry equipment to cut the path and it's a LOT better than before, but now there's a ton of cedar mulch left behind from his work. Before I put down rock or pave a driveway, I think this mulch should be removed, the driveway leveled, drainage cut on the sides, etc. Any size 'need' here? Any safety stuff I should be thinking about as far as what to purchase to drive up and down this steep hill?
2. The land is basically a cedar thicket...not nice cedars, either. Round, wide, ugly ones. On the 'front half' I anticipate clearing a majority of these cedars and on the 'back half' we'll probably choose a few to remove for our purposes, but keep the rest --- the deer like it back there and I'm sure my kids will like them having 'their place' back there. What size tractor is needed (and equipment?) to pull a cedar stump and drag to a pile for burning?
3. "Shredding," mowing, etc. Again, right now there's not a lot of grass-type stuff to be mowed, but I hope to change that over time. Before this site, everything was a "bush hog," but I'm beginning to understand that there's a difference in what these things do. I think up front I need it to be able to take care of some of the thick underbrush type stuff, but also would be nice to do more of a finishing type cut around the soon-to-be house and yard. Would you keep a regular push mower or riding mower for the 1ac-ish of "yard" and use the tractor only on the other area?
4. Gardening. My wife has really enjoyed small gardening here in the city, so I assume we'll do something a lot bigger next year after the move. What kind of attachment will help most here? Tiller? Discs?
BUDGET:
We've got some money in the bank that we've saved for the past 9 years for the house, but I don't want to spend it on a tractor necessarily. I've read (here and elsewhere) that OLD doesn't necessarily mean BAD with tractors, and Craigslist has several used tractors in the area. However, not knowing a thing about tractors, it makes the search difficult. Bottom line, would like to stay under $5,000 if I can do so and still be wise with the purchase.
Again, thanks for helping newbies like me out.
--Jason
NEEDS:
1. The driveway from the road to where the house will be is only ~250ft, but is VERY steep (approx 80-100' higher than road) and is currently in need of leveling, making drainage work, etc. I just had a guy come in with forrestry equipment to cut the path and it's a LOT better than before, but now there's a ton of cedar mulch left behind from his work. Before I put down rock or pave a driveway, I think this mulch should be removed, the driveway leveled, drainage cut on the sides, etc. Any size 'need' here? Any safety stuff I should be thinking about as far as what to purchase to drive up and down this steep hill?
2. The land is basically a cedar thicket...not nice cedars, either. Round, wide, ugly ones. On the 'front half' I anticipate clearing a majority of these cedars and on the 'back half' we'll probably choose a few to remove for our purposes, but keep the rest --- the deer like it back there and I'm sure my kids will like them having 'their place' back there. What size tractor is needed (and equipment?) to pull a cedar stump and drag to a pile for burning?
3. "Shredding," mowing, etc. Again, right now there's not a lot of grass-type stuff to be mowed, but I hope to change that over time. Before this site, everything was a "bush hog," but I'm beginning to understand that there's a difference in what these things do. I think up front I need it to be able to take care of some of the thick underbrush type stuff, but also would be nice to do more of a finishing type cut around the soon-to-be house and yard. Would you keep a regular push mower or riding mower for the 1ac-ish of "yard" and use the tractor only on the other area?
4. Gardening. My wife has really enjoyed small gardening here in the city, so I assume we'll do something a lot bigger next year after the move. What kind of attachment will help most here? Tiller? Discs?
BUDGET:
We've got some money in the bank that we've saved for the past 9 years for the house, but I don't want to spend it on a tractor necessarily. I've read (here and elsewhere) that OLD doesn't necessarily mean BAD with tractors, and Craigslist has several used tractors in the area. However, not knowing a thing about tractors, it makes the search difficult. Bottom line, would like to stay under $5,000 if I can do so and still be wise with the purchase.
Again, thanks for helping newbies like me out.
--Jason
