ofenback
Member
hello people who know more then me! this is my first post so lemme know if this topic has been discussed before and i'l check out the other threads. i'm looking to pick up a tractor/loader/backhoe for homeowner use here in the Hudson Valley New York. I've gotta pull out ton of stumps, move big rocks, spread stone on my driveway and generally get this place in shape. The issue is that I'm basically on a hillside with about a 1/4 mile of driveway that someone said is at about an 8% grade.
my budget is about 15k and I'm leaning towards a late 80s early 90s John Deere 410, 510 or 710.
i'm specifically looking for opinions regarding HP necessary for pulling buckets of rocks up hill, dragging logs up hill and the best transmission style for it. and of course any other helpful info will be much allreciated. i've spent a few hundred hours on excavators and loaders over the years, but I still consider myself a rookie.
I was looking at a Ford 555B and read some poor reviews so I passed on it. Since then i've been told that 4 x 4 is a must, at least 100 hp, and that a geared transmission is more stable for climbing. For those reasons and a few others i'm leaning towards the JD machines.
I'm sure I'll get as many opinions as there are machines available and I'm looking forward to them. Thanks in advance and hopefully this thread can help anybody else in this situation BEFORE they buy a machine not suited to the tasks.
my budget is about 15k and I'm leaning towards a late 80s early 90s John Deere 410, 510 or 710.
i'm specifically looking for opinions regarding HP necessary for pulling buckets of rocks up hill, dragging logs up hill and the best transmission style for it. and of course any other helpful info will be much allreciated. i've spent a few hundred hours on excavators and loaders over the years, but I still consider myself a rookie.
I was looking at a Ford 555B and read some poor reviews so I passed on it. Since then i've been told that 4 x 4 is a must, at least 100 hp, and that a geared transmission is more stable for climbing. For those reasons and a few others i'm leaning towards the JD machines.
I'm sure I'll get as many opinions as there are machines available and I'm looking forward to them. Thanks in advance and hopefully this thread can help anybody else in this situation BEFORE they buy a machine not suited to the tasks.
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