I would agree - buy a full sized used TLB such as Case 580 or equivalent with cab and 4 wheel drive. Try to get one that's not all used up and use it for 5 years for road building, snow plowing, foundation digging, stump removal, etc. and then sell it for what you paid. Then buy a smaller cabbed tractor with implements for all your other needs.
Yes. That's the ticket. We've had a dozen tractors & live in a rugged wild area. I watched the video - looks wonderful. A great adventure!
By now I think you have figured out that a medium size tractor with a loader added to the front and a hoe to the back is NOT the same as a real TLB (Tractor/Loader/Backhoe). You need the real thing. Yes, it costs a lot but it does a lot. It can lift a stump or a tree or roll a boulder. It has a spacious enough cab for you, a friend, plus a small dog. Heat and AC is normal. It isn't a real snow plow, but has enough power and weight to move a surprising amount of snow.
Get a used commercial TLB with a thousand hours and use it for 5 years. The Case 580, New Holland, or Deere 310 are probably the most common ones. A good used one probably won't need anything for the first 5 or ten years that you can't do yourself in the way of fixing and repair - then you can sell it and get a smaller tractor if you want.
And even if you find that perfect TLB, consider hiring a dozer & operator to do the initial road and land clearing. Trying to do everything clearing land with a smaller machince is just a lot of time and no less money. There's a reason for dozers. A dozer with a 4 way blade can shape land in a few days that would take you a year....and you couldn't do it as well.
If I were looking for such a TLB, I'd make the rounds of the maintenance depts at local churches, schools zones, and utility companies - you are looking for places that replace their older TLB type equipment with new ones based on a time/hour schedule & have regular maintenance programs.
Best of Luck, rScotty
