Buying Advice To buy a tractor or not?

[dave1949]

Sounds like a good plan. I think dropping the back hoe is probably a good choice. For what you plan, cutting trees off at ground level and leave the roots and stump will be fine, no need really to dig them up. That takes a lot of power or a lot of time for stumps of any size.

After more descriptions of your project challenges, I think the piranha cutting edge and a grapple are going to be your most useful tools. Cut off/root up with the piranha and gather and haul away with the grapple. The grapple needs a third-function hydraulics setup on the FEL, and you would want the quick attach FEL option to make it easy to swap between the bucket and grapple.

If you can burn in your area, I would sure consider piling up the honeysuckle, roses, junk trees, branches, etc. and burning them this winter. Watch out for burning poison ivy though. If you make piles that aren't too large, cover them with a tarp this fall, wait for a couple inches of snow cover, remove the tarp and burn.

Another possibility is hauling it to a municipal composting facility, but that requires a truck or trailer and probably many trips.

 

[PSUTundra]

A few more thoughts after a night of sleep/thinking:
- Piranha or Ratchet Rake?
- With the large number of ash trees that will need to be taken care of is it foolish to rule out the BH? Just looked at the grass areas and at least 30 trees in there are ash so stumps eventually need to come out. I still think once a year excavator rental will work but in 10 years I could have owned that.
- Is the RC needed up front or between the aggressive tooth bar, chemicals, and some work can the RC come when needed for maintenance.
- The wife is worried I am going to be working in the woods for the rest of my life, any wisdom on how to discuss this? Her idea is hire it out, I say no way too much money and for that I can have a tractor!

 

[k0ua]

Don't hire it out.. What I have seen is well doable by you. Heck if you were my neighbor I would bring the Kioti over and help you. What you have looks like fun to me. I cannot comment on either the Pirhana or the Ratchet Rake, but the guys that have either of them seem to like them. I think the Rotary Cutter can come a little later, once you get the bad stuff gone, you will want to cut the regrowth. But if the backhoe is just to take out the stumps and once that is done, I am thinking rental of the MiniEX. $6000 will buy lots of other toys to keep the land in shape, and lots of rental time.. up to you, but that is my thoughts.

james K0UA

 

[Creamer]

I agree with no BH if it is just for stumps. They will rot out in not many years. A few stumpeater organisms will help the process along but within 3 years after it is dead it will be rotten enough for you to roll what is left out and level it out. Digging is just way to much work. If you take them all down at one time you can probably find someone with a stump grinder to take them out quickly. Cost is very reasonable if you have a bunch.

I agree with k0ua - it looks like a fun challenge and something you can be proud of when you are done.

The grapple would be real handy though!

 

[dave1949]

A few more thoughts after a night of sleep/thinking:
- Piranha or Ratchet Rake?
- With the large number of ash trees that will need to be taken care of is it foolish to rule out the BH? Just looked at the grass areas and at least 30 trees in there are ash so stumps eventually need to come out. I still think once a year excavator rental will work but in 10 years I could have owned that.
- Is the RC needed up front or between the aggressive tooth bar, chemicals, and some work can the RC come when needed for maintenance.
- The wife is worried I am going to be working in the woods for the rest of my life, any wisdom on how to discuss this? Her idea is hire it out, I say no way too much money and for that I can have a tractor!

Well, one way to look at it is, what equipment do you need when the clearing is done with? I would say at that point you need at minimum a tractor like a B3030 with a FEL and rotary cutter for maintaining the woodsy area. That is a sort of equipment baseline.

You will spend a lot of time in the woods :laughing:, but it can be at times of your choosing and on your schedule. It's been that way for years now and five more won't hurt anything.

You would probably pay somewhere in the $150 - $200 per hour range to hire the work out to someone with the right equipment. A 40 hour week @ $175/hr is $7000. Its impossible for me to guess how many hours a good worker would need, but two weeks worth should get you a long, long ways. So, that option can have a price put on it easily if you get an estimate or two, which you ought to do anyways even if you think it is more likely you will do it yourself. You can break that hired-out work down into yearly segments, but that will probably cost more overall.

Once you put a hard $ number on it, and consider the time and effort you will put into it, marital bliss, and pain and suffering :laughing:, it should make your decision easier. Without the right equipment that is going to be a miserable job, especially in summer down in that jungle with no air and lots of bugs. So, if you decide to do it yourself, don't minimize what it will take to do it with a smile.

 

[PSUTundra]

So I went to the Deere dealer this weekend as well as returned to the Mahindra dealer. I was unimpressed by the Deere dealer and their machines for the money (he put together a quick quote so he might have priced it high). I also had the Mahindra dealer price out a 3016HST as I think the size over the Max 28XL might be a benefit. I have also been to the Kubota dealer and overall like them but feel I am getting more machine for the money in a Mahindra.

Back to a question I do not think I have a good answer for: anyone have experience with the dealers in this area (north of Philadelphia, PA) and want to recommend one?

 

[Carl_NH]

Back to a question I do not think I have a good answer for: anyone have experience with the dealers in this area (north of Philadelphia, PA) and want to recommend one?

No, but you have Messick's covering most of central PA with Kubota and more brands, and it appears you have several local dealers to buy from.

While most of us like to buy local if possible, honestly, the quality and reliability of all the machines today, which dealer you buy from is more of a financial decision. Now, that said many here rely upon the dealer for regular service, parts and support, and this IS critical if you are a commercial operation that runs a 1000-2000 hours a year.

 

[Carl_NH]

Dbl post

 

[Don87]

The Mahindra 3016 would be a better choice for you than the MAX 28(IMHO). But as Carl said, give Messick's a call: Messick's | Dealer for New Holland, Case IH, Kubota, Cub Cadet and More | Online Parts, Sales & Service.
as the B3030 compares nicely in specs to the Mahindra.

The Piranha toothbar, or the ratchet rake would work good for you, but the toothbar would be better suited if you were to purchase The Thunb for a grapple on your bucket: Thumb grapple 36"

Make brush piles, don't burn......it's housing for rabbits. Properly placed they will be out of sight.

As far as the stumps, you can use 'stump rot': http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=stump rot&page=1&rh=i:aps,k:stump rot , or just chip out the top and keep water in it. cutting a hole with a chainsaw, and planting flowers in it works also: http://www.interiorholic.com/outdoors/landscaping/3-ways-to-decorate-old-tree-stumps-in-garden/

 

[PSUTundra]

Thought I would give a long overdue update. Finally placed a deposit on the Mahindra 3016 HST R4 FEL.

Talked to a number of dealers and Wallace Tractor and Equipment in Jefferson Township, PA just seemed to care the most. They also had a good equipment trailer, so the package really seemed like everything I wanted. They are also 15 minutes from my in-laws and they checked out with the family reputation.

I am currently recovering from surgery and will pickup the tractor as soon as the doctor clears me for heavy work again. At that point I get to start the fun "new tractor" thread, with pictures! :cool2: