Buying Advice Am I fooling myself into needing(wanting) a Scut??

[fried1765]

I also concur. Pay someone to do all of this work, then get the machine you need to take care of the lot. A SCUT with a MMM would be a great addition to the property after you have the house built.

DITTO !!! ^^^^^

 

[4570Man]

I think a scout is way too small. If you had something more like a L45 Kubota you might get something done. I had a L3240 with a BH-90 backhoe. It was too small to do any real dirt moving. I sold it and bought a John Deere 310 and it’s a world of difference. What used to take an hour it’ll do in 10 minuets.

 

[vvanders]

Yep, if you find a good company you'll also be dealing we people who do this day in and day out. If your doing foundation/spetic is something you sort of have to get right on the first go.

Advice I was told and ended up working out really well was look for the company that's too busy that they can't start until at least 3 weeks but ideally a month or more.

Thanks means they have enough work by word of mouth which is usually one of the best indicators.

 

[Kyle87]

Thanks for all the honest feedback here !! I really did not want to buy a tractor only to still need to pay for majority of the excavation to be done. Time is money certainly rings true here and I’m sure my
New wife would much rather me not spend every spare minute at the lot working with the tractor when it’s not a true necessity.

I may reevaluate and lean more towards something with a loader and mower for property maintenance and forgo the backhoe portion.

Thanks again and open to any other thoughts still!

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Well, generally speaking, most contractors that I've worked with aren't real happy with home owners trying to do the excavation work. Unless you really know what you're doing (most don't) you create more problems that have to then be fixed (read: costs more money) than if you'd just left it alone for them to do.

I would let the pro's take care of the excavation work, get the house built, and then buy whatever equipment you need, based on what's left to do with your landscaping wants, etc.

 

[Eddie1955]

Owning 2.5 acres I would definitely say yes to a scut. I have an old 2wd kubota but have a new TYM T234 on order now. Check all brands and prices, I think you will find the best bang for the buck with TYM. My tractor was 14k with MMM and Fel and if you get a quote that good you can probably use that to get the price way down on the LS. I also agree with the others telling you to hire out the big stuff because if you buy a SCUT thinking you can do those big jobs you are going to be really dissappointed. Good luck on the new place.

 

[nikerret]

Personally, I would hire the big excavator. Make sure it's someone who knows what they're doing. A know-nothing in big equipment is a recipe for disaster and added expense. A good operator probably costs more, but it's worth every penny. Think of it this way; Cheap operator may charge $50/hr to do it wrong and takes more hours to do it versus good operator charges $85/hr to do it right and takes half the time of the crappy guy. In the unlikely event you find a great operator for cheap, send him my way.

I usually will do anything with my BX, but there's no sense holding up progress elsewhere, while you fiddle with the SCUT. You could do it all with a spoon, if you had the time.

 

[jeff9366]

I may reevaluate and lean more towards something with a loader and mower for property maintenance and forgo the backhoe portion.

Thanks again and open to any other thoughts still!

The Kubota 'B' series are a little heavier, have a three range HST transmission and 12" of ground clearance. The Three Point Hitch on a 'B' series tractor is larger and easier to attach implements to than a subcompact such as the BX. Still easily fits in the garage.

VIDEO: Kubota BX Series VS. B Series - YouTube

 

[Egon]

Rent a small tractor and see if it will work for you.

 

[shooterdon]

A backhoe adds a lot of cost and for many users is a "nice to have" but a waste of money. I will never own one. In the last 6 years I have needed one twice and had a contractor do the work for about $600.