Dirt Moving I need a tractor - looking for suggestions

[flusher]

Ok, so I've been lurking on this site for a few months trying to gather up some information on what kind of tractor I should buy. I bought an acre lot last summer and am planning on building on it this spring and I want to do the excavation/grading myself.

Now I have no experience with tractors and attachments and what I would need to do the job, so I'm looking for some help from you guys who are in the know. Here is the situation:

First, I need to put in a driveway about 80 feet long dropping about 20 feet vertically and on a 10% horizontal grade. I'm thinking I will excavate the high side of the driveway about 2-3 feet in places with the driveway being about 15 feet wide.

Second, I need to level the building site which is about a 60' x 40' area that I cleared last fall. It has a pretty even grade of about 20%, so I'm looking of excavating the high side about 5 feet.

The land isn't rocky, but I will involve digging up hundreds of roots of small saplings with the occasional larger tree root. I am in no hurry and would rather buy a smaller tractor that can do the job instead of getting a more expensive larger tractor that probably would be more efficient.

I'm not sure what attachments would do the job. Thanks for any suggestions!

What's your budget for the tractor? For the implements?

 

[csholler]

If your not in a hurry then I say have fun with it. I agree that if the ground is very hard all, you may have to have at least a backhoe for excavating. A backhoe attachment will go a long way for breaking up dirt and dealing with the tree roots. It is completely possible with a small tractor and a backhoe attachment. It just depends on the amount of time you have to put in the project. So Enjoy!

 

[banjodunn]

G'day if you are not in a hurry for a tractor as such and seeing you have got alot of earthworks to do for a start why not a cheap loader/backhoe ( the industrial type) far better suited to what you need to do for a start and then after all the heavy work is done it is a good trade on a new smaller machine


Jon

 

[Ford tractor]

Unless you are going to buy an inexpensive larger tractor to do the initial dirt work then sell it for a smaller one to maintain the property, I don't see it working out. Now, if you hire a dozer to rough the road in and the pad for the house, then use a small tractor to finish it up, that might make sense. Then again, you can work at it for months and spend lots of hours and fuel only to need to hire a pro to fix it. Its very easy to bugger up grade work and real hard to get it right.

 

[DaBlue357]

Thanks for the replies... this really helps me decide.

I do have all the time I need to get it done and I want to build as much equity in this house as I can, so I'm leaning towards doing it myself.

Right now I have my eye on the Kubota BX25 but I'm worried as many of you have pointed out that it just doesn't have the power to do the job. Time I have, but I don't want to try to take out an elephant with a pea shooter.

But then again many of you have had success doing exactly this...

I think I'll price out the work for the heavy lifting and if its reasonable it might be worth it and finish the job with a BX25 type of tractor.

I appreciate the help guys...

 

[bp fick]

Get that mountain moved by hiring a dozer. Done. Five feet?!?!? Please!!!
Otherwise, you're moving the beach using a teaspoon.

Then, your tractor decision will be based on your remaining chores and will come into focus so much better. There will still be lots and lots of work to do after the dozer is done, but you'll be well suited to deal with it.

You know what is the right thing to do here. Enjoy your new place and your tractor shopping.

 

[Baby Grand]

1) Figure out what model you think might get the work done in a reasonable time.
2) See what the same model goes for, used, with a few hundred hours on it.
3) 1-2-(taxes+maintenance) = approximate cost if you buy the machine, do the work then sell it.
My father in law did this frequently and turned 30 acres of trashy, damp second grown woodland into a beautiful setting for his house, complete with 2 big ponds over a period of 5 or 6 years.
4) Are you excavating a full basement or just a pad? If digging deep, drill a few bore holes to make sure you're not sitting on top of ledge.
5) Will you have town sewer or septic? If sewer, plan accordingly = perc test.

 

[Ford tractor]

5) Will you have town sewer or septic? If sewer, plan accordingly = perc test.

??

Perc test is only needed if septic tank will be used. At least around here...

 

[Baby Grand]

??

Perc test is only needed if septic tank will be used. At least around here...

Doh! I see I got that backwards - should have read if septic then perc test.

 

[miramadar]

Get that mountain moved by hiring a dozer. Done. Five feet?!?!? Please!!!
Otherwise, you're moving the beach using a teaspoon.

If there isn't bedrock, 5 feet isn't that hard with a medium-sized tractor and box blade. I took the grade down around my house about 3 feet this summer with no real problem at all. If I had the scarifiers fully down the whole time, I really could have dug down. I didn't hit bedrock.

As an earlier poster mentioned, getting some sort of core sample done is necessary if you're going to dig down 5'. If you hit bedrock, your tractor isn't going to do the job...but neither is a dozer. You'll have to get a jackhammer to bust it up.