New to the tractor world, need advice on used tractors.

[TnTJake]

I have recently bought an acre of land on one of the lakes. It is heavily wooded, slopes about 14 foot from one corner to the other, and has large rocks. I am currently working on clearing the land and getting ready to build a shop, then a cabin. I have been renting a Kubota L3600 to grade the drive and install culvert but I am realizing that the grade work is going to take much longer than I originally expected. Therefore I have convinced the wife I need to buy a tractor and possibly sell it :wink: when we are finished. The problem is she wanted me to stay around $6000.

I have been looking around and reading about tractors. I have found a kubota 7100d with a loader for $3000, but I just feel like it is probably too small to grade with, especially with some of the large rocks 200 - 400 lbs. I went to a local dealer who mostly sells Branson tractors but also deals in refurbished Yanmars. However the Yanmars are still more than I wanted to spend, $9500 for a 2310D with new loader, or almost $11000 for a 2310D with a brand new loader.

I have also been looking at a Yanmar F15 from a private seller, the problem is I can't find much info on this tractor, especially price and he just wants and offer made. It has 1200 hours on it and no ROPS, so I'm sure it is imported but I wonder if the hours are original or a refurb with reset hours.

I am also looking at a Shibaura SD2600 and a Mitsubishi D2000 from private sellers both asking $6000, however I really worry about being able to get parts for these and they are only 2wd.

What are your suggestions? Do any of these sound like they are a decent deal? Do you think the small Kubota would work? How much is the Yanmar F15 worth?

I appreciate any help or suggestions.

 

[jeff9366]

Do not buy, do not operate, any tractor on sloped land without a ROPS.

You must have 4-WD or you will have limited or nonexistent brakes moving downhill.

If you are going to sell the tractor after the land is cleared why not have a $12,000 budget?

 

[TnTJake]

I appreciate your response, $ 6000 is because we won't need financing for that amount. The land is a gradual slope of 14 ft over the acre from corner to corner

Does anyone know about parts availability for the Mitsubishi D2000 or Shibaura SD2600.

How about Y15 value.

 

[prof fate]

if you moving dirt to any great degree go rent a bobcat or back hoe or excavator for a week or 2 and spend every hour possible during that time doing the work.

'Real' dirt moving equipment is night and day different from a utility tractor.

I have a 35hp 3300lb tractor and have used small excavators and bobcats in the past - NO comparison AT ALL!

Like wheel barrow vs dump truck kind of difference.

 

[Tractorable]

The tasks/descriptions of “heavily wooded”, “large rocks”, “clear the land”, “grade the drive”, and “install a culvert” are not typically accomplished by small tractors.

Rent the heavy equipment to get he major work done, then buy a small tractor to maintain the property.

 

[TnTJake]

I have used a 30 hp tractor to grade for the drive and install the culvert, it wasn't the easiest, could a skid steer work faster, probably, I did also use a mini excavator to dig up the tree stumps in the area of the driveway and will for the shop and cabin area. I plan on using a stump grinder for the trees in the yard. The problem is I am trying to do this as cheap as possible. I don't want to rent an excavator and skid steer for a couple weeks for 1000 per week, besides that I work I can't take off and run them for a week or two. I have to do this on my days off and between rain storms. I realize that it isn't the best option, heck the best option (not funnest) is to have someone else who has a full sized dozer and excavator do it.

 

[prof fate]

While we all do it -it's usually a lot more efficient to pay to have it done. Unless you enjoy/want the experience of doing it.

You can restore a car - but it will take 40k and 2 or more years. You could go out and buy one already done for 30k and enjoy it for those 2 years (or more).

You can spend $20k on a tractor and implements, rent, etc and spend the next year, or 2 of your weekends working on the property. OR spend $15k and let someone else do it in a week or 2 and it's done.

Debate we're having now is 12 acres of horse pasture..we can rent it out for soybeans and get $400, and not have to brush hog it. OR we can brush hog it 3 to 5 times a year (time, fuel). OR we can hay it - and not have to spend $4k on hay..BUT we need $1500 plus in hay equipment, repair/maintain that gear, time to hay, and need a storage building/something. I hate mowing it for no reason..with the hay we'd get something for our efforts. BUT with 3 cuttings, plus 3 rakings and 3 bailings that's 9 trips 'round the field, so time/fuel is more than we're spending now. The savings on the hay will take at elast a year, maybe 2, to be realized.

Nobody round here will hay for splits/pay per bale. And if we had a hay storage building we could buy hay at auctions cheaper than we could likely grow it anyway...so building may be the best option and see where it goes.

There is no one answer for everyone or their situation. And sometimes it's not about pure economics. - just ask the girlfriend...about her 5 horses...it's not about the money.

 

[TomIre]

My take? Let's face it, for most of us there is no way to justify our tractor purchase much beyond the fact we enjoy caring for, maintaining, improving, etc our land. Pretty much every post with a question along these lines gets a response of "better to rent" yet I assume all the responses are written by tractor owners!

 

[/pine]

Slow down and take a deep breath while dissecting all the "experienced" advice...

The only thing I will advise is keep shopping until your absolute demands and your budget find a prospect...don't be afraid of making minor compromises...

A little, low HP tractor with comparable attachments can do the exact same work bigger, more powerful tractors can do...they just take longer...

My ultimate advice is shop until you find what you're looking for... it's out there...!

Good Luck...

 

[TnTJake]

Prof fate that is the thing, I do want to do it myself, I am very handy, and though I don't do construction anymore I have been involved in many aspects of construction when I was younger. To be honest, I doubt I will end up selling the tractor when I am done with this project, there will always be more to do. I hear you that it isn't always about the money. The fact is, I enjoy and get great pleasure out of doing for myself, and quite honestly while it is usually not near as efficient as a professional, it is usually cheaper and actually done better. TomIre, I didn't want to say it because I didn't want it taken the wrong way, but I was wondering "what do you do with your tractor then." /pine the funny thing is i think I may have found the one, though it is a little more than I wanted to spend, it is a Kubota L2350 with 4wd with 834 hours, loader and box blade, asking $8200. I am going to look at it tomorrow. I guess Ill have to scrape up a little more.

Thank you all for your input, I do take heed, and I actually almost gave up on getting a tractor and went with renting a skid steer, however I think buying the tractor is what I am going to do. The time it takes is of no consequence, I plan on retiring to this house and use it as a lake house until then, but I am not going to move there until at least the kids are gone, that's another 8 years.