Buying Advice A tractor for 35 wooded acres

[jeff9366]

What you're saying is that if they're bringing a dozer or heavy excavator in to dig down for the gravel, the stumps won't be much of a bother for them and I won't realize must savings in doing it for them?

Puting in a road or long driveway is tricky. If not done with the correct forethought to drainage you will be working and spending on it constantly. Let a professional road subcontractor, who will be hired by your builder, do it.

In addition to the purchase of your grapple you will need to have additional cost hydraulic plumbing installed to operate the grapple and wood splitter with most tractor brands, including Kubota and Deere. Some upper end LS models and some upper end Kioti models depart the factory with the required hydraulic rear remotes installed.

(At age fifty you will be SO GLAD you spent for the de luxe package.)

Start a spreadsheet with the specs of tractors you are interested in.

As you are 46 now, plan your tractor purchase for your strength and endurance level at age 50.

Backhoes are undeniably cool. But I would spend money on a grapple and basic to your needs implements such as a Land Plane Grading Scraper, a Rotary Cutter/Bush Hog and a Ratchet Rake bucket attachment, first. (snow removal equipment?) You really have not demonstrated a "case" for a $7,000 Backhoe. BUT it is YOUR hard earned money. Spend and enjoy.


VIDEOS: LAND PLANE GRADING SCRAPER - YouTube

tractor grapple - YouTube

ROTARY CUTTER BUSH HOG - YouTube

ratchet rake brush clearing - YouTube

Lay pipe, lines, conduit with subsoiler on tractor - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tractor+snow+blower



PHOTOS: Ratchet Rake

 

[TJP89]

My opinion is that a backhoe would be worth investing in for your case. A lot you could do with it, and you'll like it long term. Enough so that it's not a 7K counterweight.

I think 35HP is too small. Could you get away with it, yes. Would it do your tasks, yes. But it would be a lot for 35HP. I'd bump it up to 40 or 45HP, that size tractor will handle the work much better. It's not so much the HP, but the tractor capabilities that go along with the HP increase. You have some heavy work to do and I think you would be better served by a slightly bigger tractor.

Now, the cost offset versus a bigger tractor or a backhoe is tricky. If it comes down to a bigger tractor with no BH or a smaller tractor with BH, you have a decision. You'd have to make a determination of your needs there.

I agree that road building is best left to professionals with real equipment. There is a lot that goes into even a dirt road, and if it's messed up it will plague you for years. Do it right the first time, it will cost less in the end.

Rear blade and rotary cutter are a must (loader goes without saying). Grapple is very useful. There are a million ways to rig that to bring down the cost. I would be inclined (and will if I ever get one) just to bite the bullet and pay for a good grapple and actual loader mounted third function valve.

If you want to start controversy, just ask whether you should go with HST or Gear, that's like smoking in a powder magazine

 

[newbury]

<snip>
Backhoes are undeniably cool. <snip>

And so are cabs! But I guarantee you being without a heated cab in New York moving 5 feet of snow will be a LOT cooler Downright freezing!

 

[TJP89]

And so are cabs! But I guarantee you being without a heated cab in New York moving 5 feet of snow will be a LOT cooler Downright freezing!

We should have a motto - "TBN - spending your money since 2002" (or whatever year it is)

 

[EJP1234]

I have the CK30HST with a kioti backhoe... I use it a lot on my acreage for various things...

However, I'm in construction, not residential but we do some land clearing for roads. We build cell towers...

If you get a CK35 and the backhoe and want to put a 300' road in thru roads, dig out a foundation etc etc.... You better realize your going to take forever and basically beat your machine to death. It's not really made for that type of work...

Can it do it, sure.... It's not designed for that heavy regular use.

I cut in a new 1/8th acre food plot in my woods, and I was averaging about 1-2hrs per big
Oak stump with back filling. I have a hydro thumb as well. It struggled to pick up the big stumps to remove from the holes. I eventually just flipped them over and back filled on top of them which will result in depressions when they rot.

What will take a civil crew 3-4says will take you months.

I love my machine, and I have 0 regrets, but just realize it's an all in one in a mini version. It's not the greatest backhoe, it's not the greatest FEL, but it also brush hogs, mows, tills etc etc... Know its limits.

Congrats on your purchase!

 

[paulfun9]

I will never be without a backhoe for my tractor. The cost of renting one would have been more than the cost of my backhoe by now and I only have this tractor for about 2 years. Others millage may vary but when I consider the cost of things like a grapple or a land plane they pail in comparison and for me are easy to obtain at anytime but getting myself to buy a backhoe a few months or even a year after the purchase of the tractor is not always the easy thing to do.

I still se many people saying that when you have the backhoe on you cant use the 3 point. This is true but it is also different from brand to brand. WIth my tractor I leave the lower arms on and simply raise them up when installing the backhoe and then when I take it off its ready for the use of the 3 point again. WIth some brands and models you have to remove the 3 point just to use the backhoe and the mounting of it is much harder. WIth the DK it takes me about 8 min to install the backhoe and remove it so its a simple easy thing to do and well worth it.

Like others have said let the big machines do the first run at the hard work and size your machine for everything else that you envision doing. Like some others I think you might be better off going with something in the 40 to 50 HP range if you can swing it.

 

[ripHST]

OP - Other than your building plans for NEXT year and a few cabins what do you figure on doing the 50 or so years AFTER?
Do you want to move trees in big pieces?
Clear the land and grow rice?
Buy a sailboat and cruise the world?

You mention driveway. If you live in the same Ithaca, New York where my daughter went to Cornell you do get a bit of snow, about 5 to 6 feet. I see you mention snow removal. How?
In addition to a backhoe you might want a snowblower.

I've about 250 yards of driveway, ranging from 8 yards wide to one paved area about 30 yards square. But it's in Mississippi. Having grown up in Northern Vermont I know what it's like to have to clear two or three feet of snow. It's worse than mowing a half acre with a manual push reel mower.

The last 5 winters here I've shoveled/plowed somewhere between zip and nada. Two snowfalls we had melted quickly. Monday it was 80 degrees here.

If your going to move trees be aware of their weight. A small tractor can probably move as much "tree" as a larger tractor, just in smaller pieces. For many people that is fine, if your cutting firewood. But if you want to MILL the lumber for dimensional wood you'll probably want trees that weigh about a ton or more. That requires a comparable lift capacity.

Let us know some more about your plans because for the most part we love to give advice. Just tread lightly when discussing how many lids on a grapple or pallets in fields.

/edit - that's worse than discussing the proper color of tractor

Yep...that's the Ithaca. How long ago was your daughter at Cornell and what department? I have (or had) many ties to the school over the years. My wife works there currently.

It's interesting (and a little depressing) how much you guys seem to think about aging as it pertains to tractors...haha, but I think I get it.....and I'm definitely one of those people that likes to buy once if I can. I agonize over purchase decisions.

Hard to say what my long term plans are....I do toss around the idea of a hobby farm or growing hops or something, but I'm not sure I bought the right land for that. I have no intention of clearing this land any more than is necessary to build a house and shop. My youngest son is almost 3 and he'll be needing some trails for dirtbikes and 4-wheelers. That and the cabin are the only definites I guess.

Snow removal is in my future....how much is up for debate. In the past three years I've used my snow blower 2-3 times....but we could get buried next year. You never know up here. A front mounted snowblower would be the perfect tool, but I worry it would sit idle too much.

You make a great point about moving wood. I probably will burn some wood in my shop....but I think I'd like to get an Alaskan mill for the cabin project(s) so moving large logs will be necessary. I definitely need to factor that in. That obviously raises questions about machine size....but I do need to navigate a forest and need to keep to some kind of budget.

 

[jeff9366]

I agonize over purchase decisions.

I probably will burn some wood in my shop....but I think I'd like to get an Alaskan mill for the cabin project(s) so moving large logs will be necessary. I definitely need to factor that in. That obviously raises questions about machine size....but I do need to navigate a forest and need to keep to some kind of budget.

We agonize over your purchase decisions too.

Consider an off-road trailer designed to self-load logs, such as a Canadian produced MUTS. A light tractor or my 16-horsepower Kubota RTV500/HST can handle same, loaded. My trailer is an older, single axle model, now discontinued.

MUTS is the gold standard of all-terrain trailers. When you call MUTS, Larry Edwards, the owner/designer answers the telephone. Excellent service. MUTS now has a U.S.A. warehouse.

LINKS (2): muts atv trailer - YouTube

MUTS - Multi-Use Trailer System for your ATV, Quad and 4 Wheeler
- Welcome

Photo #5 Tractor Three-Point-Hitch adaptor for pulling trailers and attaching chains used to elevate and skid logs.

 

[newbury]

Yep...that's the Ithaca. How long ago was your daughter at Cornell and what department? I have (or had) many ties to the school over the years. My wife works there currently.

Well TECHNICALLY she is still at Cornell, she's presenting her PHD thesis (Department of Communication) this summer and is a "dorm mother" at their facility in Washington, DC.

<snip>
Snow removal is in my future....how much is up for debate. In the past three years I've used my snow blower 2-3 times....but we could get buried next year. You never know up here. A front mounted snowblower would be the perfect tool, but I worry it would sit idle too much.

Might want a blade then.

You make a great point about moving wood. I probably will burn some wood in my shop....but I think I'd like to get an Alaskan mill for the cabin project(s) so moving large logs will be necessary. I definitely need to factor that in. That obviously raises questions about machine size....but I do need to navigate a forest and need to keep to some kind of budget.

Alaskan mills are nice. I've got two. I bought one for regular price then I bought the second for $450, but the guy threw in an almost new 120CC Stihl w/ bar, chain, and boxes.

Try and get a tractor that will lift a ton, at least on the 3 point, if not on the FEL.

 

[ripHST]

Hey all.....great stuff. A flood of info...thanks guys.

Thanks for the pics and links jeff, arrow and newbury. That helps a lot. I've still got a lot to learn and this is helping me piece it together.

I hear what everyone is saying about leaving the driveway to the pros....and that was kind of my plan anyway but I was hoping to cut down the build costs by putting in some sweat equity now, but it sounds like I may want to just clear the way for the equipment (brush and trees) and leave the stumps and ground work for the big boys. Seems right....but you realize it takes away a big part of my advantage in getting a tractor purchase through "committee".

So maybe you guys can talk to me about size....of few of you have mentioned that I may need something bigger than I originally thought. I'm worried about going too big and having a rough time getting through the woods. How big a concern should that be? Keeping in mind that I'm the careful type and don't want to be scarring trees that I don't intend to remove. I can tell you that it doesn't have a lot of huge trees on it and there are a lot of really small trees spread throughout, so I think I can probably clear some decent sized lanes. Cost is the other factor....I don't have a real firm budget in mind yet, but I was thinking $20-25k should probably be my cap. After hearing your comments about going bigger, I decided to take a look at the used market again (there was literally nothing there a couple of weeks ago) and it looks like there are some tractors popping up now in that price range...must be people are moving to newer and bigger tractors. I saw a DK50 for under $20k...200ish hours maybe. Can't remember. Thoughts on used machines and size within that budget? How many hours is too many? What's the "100k mile" mark for hours on a tractor?

I'm still torn on the BH thing. The overwhelming majority says go for it, but jeff makes a strong argument against. I see his point....it's a lot of money to pay for a handful of jobs if much of that work can be covered by other implements. I think it comes down to what the cost of rental is on an excavator and how easily I can remove it to free up the 3pt hitch when I need it. Right now I think I'd shy away from it unless it was a killer deal or the rental of an excavator ends up being too high.