ripHST
Silver Member
Hi all,
A couple of things to start: first is to acknowledge those that welcomed me when I posted my "new to the forum" message a few weeks back. They gave me some great things to think about as I started researching my first tractor purchase...second is a general observation about the forum, I'm new to tractors in my adult life but not new to forums and I've got to say that I'm really impressed by the folks here. I'm a motorcycle enthusiast and am a member of many motorcycle forums and while most of the folks there are great and are very knowledgeable, you always get some trolls and generally ill tempered folks just waiting to cause trouble. I've seen none of that here. Just very nice folks imparting their knowledge while be respectful of differing opinions. I'm not blowing smoke...it's really very different here...at least so far.
My needs have changed slightly since that first post. I had my eye on 11ish acres at the time and didn't end up getting that. Since then I found another lot and am under contract on that (closing in May) so it should be where I end up. It's 35 wooded acres, but with (4) connected ponds through the middle of it totaling about 6 acres I'd judge. It's mostly hardwood, but with a few small groves of pines here and there. One challenge I see now is the water basically splits the land in two and it may end up being difficult to get a tractor into the back half during the spring when it's most wet. We'll see, but I'm not too worried about that. My plan is to build on this land next year and use the next 12 months or so to finish a remodel on my current house and do as much site prep on the land as I can before I build the new house.
Okay...the point of the whole thing, the tractor. I need something to help clear land for a driveway and build site and do as much of the driveway excavation as I can. The driveway will probably be 2-300 feet I would guess. I may also dig trenches for the power line and drainage. There's a bit of an understory of brush and saplings in some areas that would also need to be dealt with. Long term, I'll need something to deal with deadfall and possibly firewood, snow removal and gravel driveway maintenance. Longer term...I hope to build a couple of guest cabins on the property and will need some ATV trails for the little guy as he gets older.
I haven't driven anything yet, so I still have to do that, but I figured I'd ask some questions before I do so I'm at least somewhat educated before I walk in there. I've got a Kubota/New Holland dealer and a John Deere dealer within about 10 minutes, a Kioti dealer about 20 minutes away and an LS dealer and a M-F dealer each about 30 minutes away. Anything else is probably too far unless they had something really compelling to consider (I think there's a Yanmar and Mahindra dealer on the other side of the lake, maybe TYM, not sure).
This post is getting long so I'll skip to where I ended up to give you an idea of where I think I need to be..........I'm gravitating toward the LS (XG3037H, XR3037H or XR3135H) or Kioti CK3510H. I've visited both of these dealers and the JD dealer. All nice guys I could see myself doing business with. I haven't gotten quotes yet, but based on list price, I probably wouldn't go green, but I'll reserve further judgement/decisions until I get some real numbers and/or drive them. I'll visit the Kubota/NH dealer and the M-F dealer soon, but with what I've seen so far, it would probably be one of the tractors I mentioned above. We'll see. When I left the LS dealer I thought, that's the one (didn't have that feeling from the JD)....then I went to the Kioti dealer and thought, well maybe that's the one. This is going to be tough. The LS seems to be slightly better in all areas versus the Kioti (and all others) on paper, but the Kioti dealer is a little closer and they've got some good incentives right now (free loader, as with LS, but also some extra rebates and $1000 off a BH). I'll have to get a quote before I decide obviously.
Configuration.....other than the loader which is a no-brainer, I'll probably need a blade of some kind for grading and reading all these threads has convinced me I HAVE to have a grapple (but I'm looking for solutions that are less costly for doing what I have to do so let me know what you think) . The big question is whether I should consider a backhoe or not. I'm sure I'll be able to use it, and renting an excavator would be a PITA IMO...but that's a pretty expensive add-on, right? I guess I could just rent, just doesn't seem right to buy a nice tractor and then rent a piece of equipment, but the math probably says I should rent. What do folks who considered this think now that they've made their decision?
Okay, so what should I be looking for when I drive these things? I've already noticed the Kioti has a nice placement of the joystick...I can't remember how the LS tractor was set up. The Kioti didn't have split brakes, not sure how much that will be an issue for me. I saw a video on YouTube comparing the Kubota loader movement compared to another "lesser" brand and showing how much smoother the movements were when combining actions...that was pretty compelling, but not sure I have the skill to take advantage of such refinery. Basically.....I'm looking for input from you guys on stuff that you won't find on paper and may be difficult for a noob like me to notice in a relatively brief demo.....but any and all advice is gratefully accepted.
Wow...that got long....sorry. I've had this stuff rattling around in my head for a few weeks. If you've read this far...much appreciated.
A couple of things to start: first is to acknowledge those that welcomed me when I posted my "new to the forum" message a few weeks back. They gave me some great things to think about as I started researching my first tractor purchase...second is a general observation about the forum, I'm new to tractors in my adult life but not new to forums and I've got to say that I'm really impressed by the folks here. I'm a motorcycle enthusiast and am a member of many motorcycle forums and while most of the folks there are great and are very knowledgeable, you always get some trolls and generally ill tempered folks just waiting to cause trouble. I've seen none of that here. Just very nice folks imparting their knowledge while be respectful of differing opinions. I'm not blowing smoke...it's really very different here...at least so far.
My needs have changed slightly since that first post. I had my eye on 11ish acres at the time and didn't end up getting that. Since then I found another lot and am under contract on that (closing in May) so it should be where I end up. It's 35 wooded acres, but with (4) connected ponds through the middle of it totaling about 6 acres I'd judge. It's mostly hardwood, but with a few small groves of pines here and there. One challenge I see now is the water basically splits the land in two and it may end up being difficult to get a tractor into the back half during the spring when it's most wet. We'll see, but I'm not too worried about that. My plan is to build on this land next year and use the next 12 months or so to finish a remodel on my current house and do as much site prep on the land as I can before I build the new house.
Okay...the point of the whole thing, the tractor. I need something to help clear land for a driveway and build site and do as much of the driveway excavation as I can. The driveway will probably be 2-300 feet I would guess. I may also dig trenches for the power line and drainage. There's a bit of an understory of brush and saplings in some areas that would also need to be dealt with. Long term, I'll need something to deal with deadfall and possibly firewood, snow removal and gravel driveway maintenance. Longer term...I hope to build a couple of guest cabins on the property and will need some ATV trails for the little guy as he gets older.
I haven't driven anything yet, so I still have to do that, but I figured I'd ask some questions before I do so I'm at least somewhat educated before I walk in there. I've got a Kubota/New Holland dealer and a John Deere dealer within about 10 minutes, a Kioti dealer about 20 minutes away and an LS dealer and a M-F dealer each about 30 minutes away. Anything else is probably too far unless they had something really compelling to consider (I think there's a Yanmar and Mahindra dealer on the other side of the lake, maybe TYM, not sure).
This post is getting long so I'll skip to where I ended up to give you an idea of where I think I need to be..........I'm gravitating toward the LS (XG3037H, XR3037H or XR3135H) or Kioti CK3510H. I've visited both of these dealers and the JD dealer. All nice guys I could see myself doing business with. I haven't gotten quotes yet, but based on list price, I probably wouldn't go green, but I'll reserve further judgement/decisions until I get some real numbers and/or drive them. I'll visit the Kubota/NH dealer and the M-F dealer soon, but with what I've seen so far, it would probably be one of the tractors I mentioned above. We'll see. When I left the LS dealer I thought, that's the one (didn't have that feeling from the JD)....then I went to the Kioti dealer and thought, well maybe that's the one. This is going to be tough. The LS seems to be slightly better in all areas versus the Kioti (and all others) on paper, but the Kioti dealer is a little closer and they've got some good incentives right now (free loader, as with LS, but also some extra rebates and $1000 off a BH). I'll have to get a quote before I decide obviously.
Configuration.....other than the loader which is a no-brainer, I'll probably need a blade of some kind for grading and reading all these threads has convinced me I HAVE to have a grapple (but I'm looking for solutions that are less costly for doing what I have to do so let me know what you think) . The big question is whether I should consider a backhoe or not. I'm sure I'll be able to use it, and renting an excavator would be a PITA IMO...but that's a pretty expensive add-on, right? I guess I could just rent, just doesn't seem right to buy a nice tractor and then rent a piece of equipment, but the math probably says I should rent. What do folks who considered this think now that they've made their decision?
Okay, so what should I be looking for when I drive these things? I've already noticed the Kioti has a nice placement of the joystick...I can't remember how the LS tractor was set up. The Kioti didn't have split brakes, not sure how much that will be an issue for me. I saw a video on YouTube comparing the Kubota loader movement compared to another "lesser" brand and showing how much smoother the movements were when combining actions...that was pretty compelling, but not sure I have the skill to take advantage of such refinery. Basically.....I'm looking for input from you guys on stuff that you won't find on paper and may be difficult for a noob like me to notice in a relatively brief demo.....but any and all advice is gratefully accepted.
Wow...that got long....sorry. I've had this stuff rattling around in my head for a few weeks. If you've read this far...much appreciated.