Newbie looking for help

[GarageSmoker]

I have been reading these forums off and on for a while and since I am getting close to getting serious about this tractor thing, I registered today. I am asking you experiened owners/users for some guidence in a few areas, from which tractor, to which implements, to suggestions on how to approach a project.

We purchased four 5 acre parcels in Dade City, Florida a couple of years ago with the intention of building on 1 of them and having the other 3 available for the kids to build on in the future. We are 3 weeks away from moving so it is time to get serious about our parcel.

We will be renting a house near the land and need to get it ready for building within 60 days since my lease is for a year and the first builder we talked to said to plan for 9 months counting permitting etc. The land is typical Florida land, loose sandy soil that is fairly easy to work with. It has been both a pine tree farm (sice cut down), and a citrus grove (since froze and cut down) in it's history. There are a few oaks on our parcel and the 4th parcel is almost totally wooded.

There are some pine stumps (mostly rotted from what I can tell) and at least one sour orange tree that will have to be removed. There are also a few tall galvanized sprinkler pipes from the old grove days which are either still up or pushed down from previous clearing attempts. From walking the land I can see that there will be some leveling that needs to be done as well but nothing that is too serious. Each parcel is about 300 X 900 and our piece rises gently from the street level up to about the half way point where it levels out for the remainder. It also gently slops from one side to the other. It, and the next 2 parcels, are totally overgrown with wild vegatation and there is at least 1 large pile of previously cut or knocked over trees on my parcel.

So that is the current situation. I am thinking that the time constraint of getting ready for construction forces me to consider contracting out at least a large part of clearing our parcel. Since I will only have nights and weekend available I am not sure I can learn what I am doing quick enough to take on that project myself. What are your thoughts on that?

Even if I contract out part or all, I still have the other parcels to deal with. So what implements do I need? I know I need a bush hog, and I am sure I will need the front end loader (tooth bar??) but what will I need for really removing the vegatation and grading out the land in preperation for lawns and other planting? Box blade? Tillers? A combination of things?

I am totally lost on tire selection. No matter how much I read here on that subject I cannot arrive at any conclusions. And adding ballast to them. Obviously it doesn't freeze here but if it's needed to help stabilize the tractor should I ask for it? I really need help in this area. I have a lot of clearing to do but some day I hope to be in a maintenance (mowing) and project mode. Is there one tire selection which will serve me well for both?

The Kubota 3010 sounds like a good selection for what I will be doing. Probably the HST since my wife would like to learn how to use it as well and I intend to put the boys to work on their parcels when they visit. No sense in having everyone have to learn shifing as well as everything else. Thoughts on this choice as well as what might be better and what is comparable in JD and NH.

That should be enough to get this started. Thanks a lot in advance. Looking forward to a lot of discussions on this and other subjects in the future. I am going to try to attach a picture of the raw land.

Happy Mother's Day to all your women;

GS

 

[GarageSmoker]

Let's try that pic again.

GS

 

[GarageSmoker]

That was easy. Another.

GS

 

[GarageSmoker]

And 1 more.

GS

 

[Boondox]

GS -- I have an L3010 and am quite happy with it, but don't feel comfortable recommending it given your situation. You're talking about dishing out a lot of cash for needs that will change dramatically when the construction phase is over. The tractor you need for clearing and leveling land is different than the tractor you need for light mowing. Have you considered contracting out the heavy stuff -- or renting a beast of a tractor/dozer -- then getting a little BX-22 type tractor for the maintenance later?

Pete

 

[GarageSmoker]

Actually I have considered that and a few things drive me towards buying.

1. The cost to hire it out will pay for a good portion of the tractor and I'll still have the tractor when done.

2. There are other parcels in the "neighborhood" which will need clearing. Money opportunity for my cigar hobby??

3. We have a road that all of us owners are responsible for maintaining. As I get better at this I think I can help with that.

4. Boats cost as much or more and require more maintenance.

GS

 

[Boondox]

The reason I asked that question was because as much as I love my L3010, I think all that clearing (given your time constraints and limited availability) might call for something bigger...like an L3710. But an L3710 is way overkill for a mower. Now that you threw road maintenance into the equation, it makes more sense.

The tires are another issue. I'm a firm believer in ags for max traction. In your case, though, I think R4s would be a better all around choice. And if traction became an issue while you were doing the heavy work I'd add a set of double ring chains for as long as they were needed.

I really got a chuckle out of your boat comment. When trying to convince my wife that we needed a tractor, no argument worked until I told her to think of it as my land yacht. Having grown up in a sailing family, that was an analogy she could understand!

Best of luck to you!

Pete

 

[Paul_in_CT]

GS....I dont think a 3010 is a bad choice. I agree with pete on the R4 for tires. As far as ballasting them I think that will come down to your preference. Not alot of hills in Fl. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif No offense here but are you the kind of guy that just gets on and goes full bore or do you figure out how to tackle the task the mount up? /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif If 1st senario is you then ballast wouldnt hurt. I start out thinking but somehow end up full bore at times. Probably because I plan too many projects for too little time /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif As far as attachments I think the box blade with scarifiers will loosen up and level out the florida sand (oops I mean soil) just fine. It seems that most of your clearing is briars,talll grass and some brush the bushog will handle that. As far as the stumps go I have a backhoe and dig them out (still a slow process) but a rented (or contracted) stump grinder will do wonders. Especially if you clear out around them then hire someone.
Trying to balance future maintenace tractor with your current needs is alittle harder. The good thing about compact tractors is (if maintained) the hold there value very well. You could probably buy the 3010 use it for a year or 2 and then sell it. The depreciation would probably be close to what it would cost to rent/hire all the stuff . But with your own tractor you can work anytime.