<font color="blue">John, please don't hold back. An "engagement" and then a marriage is in the offing. It's speak now or for ever hold your peace time. </font>
Forever hold my peace? Yikes, what a horrible thought
that is! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Well, marriage
is a serious undertaking. Even Paris Hilton had the good sense to realize that she'd better call off her engagement, knowing full well that she didn't have six months to devote to a marriage. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif [Dave Letterman, 2005]
OK, here it is - the good, the bad, and the ugly. I just re-read MarkV's post, and man was that good. It addressed very nicely what I consider to be one of the core issues here - how much loader capacity do you need to accomodate a grapple that's up to the task at hand. A decent grapple is going to weight 750-800 lbs., so to me, that lets out a lot of machines. This gets to the heart of the "a smaller tractor will do everything a larger tractor will do, it'll just take longer" philosophy - one that I feel is fatally flawed. The smaller tractor will never, ever pick up what the larger tractor will, assuming indivisible objects. (I don't mean a 3130 with a 723 loader vs. a 3830 with a 723 loader; I mean (for example) a B3030 with a 402 loader or a CK20 with an 120 loader versus a 3830 with a 723 loader. (Holy "dramatic foreshadowing" Batman).
Here's what I was going to post last time, before thinking better of it, and saying that I was going to keep it to myself:
<font color="blue"> That said, I'm probably about to get in trouble again right now. As I was abusing my machine, I had a lot of time to think about those d*** manzanitas, and what machine I would recommend.
I have a machine and attachments in mind, but the setup I have in mind would run about $5K more than the $25K budget. It would have been: a good used L3830HST with 723 loader, Bradco brush grapple, backhoe subframe, a used Bradco or Woods backhoe and a box blade.
First, it would be HST, given the terrain. That leads me to Kubota, as it did when I was researching my own tractor purchase, because I am convinced that Kubota makes the most reliable HST transmission, and I find mine to also be incredibly smooth, and very easy to operate all day thanks to the "Feather Step" system.
Next, it would have a loader capable of handling a full-sized grapple like the Bradco, Anbo, Piranha or equivalent. These grapples weigh around 800 lbs., so that leads to the 723 or 853 loader. I'd get tarred and feathered and run out of here on a rail if I recommended a 4330 or up to get the 853 loader (plus even I think it's overkill), so that leaves the 3130, 3430 or 3830. I don't think the 3130 has quite enough power for its weight even without a backhoe, so that leaves the 3430 and 3830. The 3830 is significantly wider, has a little longer wheelbase, a little more ground clearance, and takes bigger tires than the 3430, so that's the machine I would recommend. </font>
OK, so why a Kubota? Because I think they have the most reliable hydro in the industry, period. Others might well disagree, but I don't think it can be disproven. At the risk of providing anecdotal evidence, which I loathe, here nonetheless is a thread that made me sit up and take notice:
CK20 HST tranny issues. Dirty pool? I sure hope not. Threads on Kubota hydro failures are very rare, although there was a recent one concerning a
BX23 hydro failure that I attribute to cold weather and the failure to use SUDT fluid. All in all, I firmly believe that Kubota hydros cannot be beat; that's why I have one.
In the interest of being "fair and balanced" (god I hate that phrase, reminds me too much of those weasels at Fox News), here's a thread about a CK20 with backhoe that shows trees no mercy:
Felling a tree with a backhoe. Most impressive, and let me say once again that I agree wholeheartedly that 20 diesel HP can do a LOT.
However, I refer back to MarkV's excellent observations about stability of the "larger" tractors on slopes such as those you have to deal with, and reiterate the point about loader capacity.
OK, that's about it. I know it's a budget buster, but I guess the question might well be - what has to "give" - the budget, or the functionality of the machine? In my defense, I resubmit my "First Law of Tractor ($$) Dynamics".
OK, I'm slipping into my well-worn, but very functional flame-retardant jumpsuit. Let the fun begin!
Nice knowing y'all,
John