10 hilly/mountainous acres

[mattbatson]

Just an opinion from someone with similar property in N. Georgia. Spend a couple of thousand and bring in someone with a dozer to cut your road and install proper ditches. Other wise I am afraid you are going to see a good deal of erosion. That grade could be handled with stone if the road bed is built properly. Paving can get real expensive.

MarkV

Thanks for the advice.

I have a working knowledge of what drainage ditches designs need to be, how to build them, etc.

I've cut a new driveway with rental excavater/skidsteer years ago in canton, and learned a lot from that. It was a steep enough drive that you needed 4wd everytime you wanted to drive up it

I agree that I will need an excavator attachment if I decide to go the skidsteer route, and I do know they are more expensive too.

And yes, having a boxblade ability will be important...although, I bet you could get one of those for a skidsteer too? I dont know, I'll have to look...

I guess one of the really important factors to consider in this comparison/decision for me is how each respective machine handles inclines?

Are skidsteers THAT much better on inclines...or is the difference not really all that significant?

Thanks again everyone for the input

 

[mattbatson]

thoughts as well. or get tractor. you have a lot of ditches to put in, culverts to put in, stump removal. being able to box blade, and use rear blade to maintain roads and fix ditches as needed. along with snow removal.

skid steers are nice little units. and keep center of gravity low, plus have a roll cage. so if you do go rolling down the hill you have some protection. but price of skid steer vs tractor, with same like implements, i would suspect you would end up with a bigger tractor with more "weight" and more "horse power" going tractor route.

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determined what you want to do. do you want a "muscle of machine" to do all the work yourself and get the major large stuff out of the way, and then once done sell the large machine, and go with more of a smaller machine for just general upkeep?

going this route myself, with a used 555c TLB (tractor loader backhoe) bigger machine than what i really need, but makes moving and digging much faster. once done with big things. will sell for a smaller size tractor.

I'm pretty determined to do all the work myself :drool:

The people around there want a lot of money for dirt work...plus, I can kinda take my time at this point.
I dont need to rush anything from here on out, and it will be pretty much fun as much as work. I can pick away at it.

Now, that said, I still dont want to try and tackle this with such a small tractor as my b1750...a 1000lb tractor with 20hp, means an excavater attachment will have little power or reach...and would be a lesson in frustration more than anything,

As it said, it is either a bigger tractor, or a skidsteer (and then it would be deciding wheeled or tracked )...

ha ha, the research is almost as much fun as the buying

 

[mattbatson]

My Wife and I have 30 acres. 15 acres are somewhat hilly, not very steep. 10 acres are mostly flat meadow and 5 acres are wooded. I have a Kubota L4400 -4WD with FEL, tooth bar, box blade, rotary mower plus 2 utility trailers and a heavier trailer. I have a trailer made from the bed of a full size Dodge pickup that I use all the time with a 3-point trailer hitch on my tractor. If you can locate or make one of these utility trailers, you will discover that it will prove to be an invaluable asset. Yanceyville is in the Piedmont area of NC - about 35 miles west of Durham. The following website will provide you with info and specs in regards to tractors TractorData.com - information on all makes and models of tractors The forums here are TBN contain much info to assist you in many areas such as tractors, implements; etc. Best wishes.

I will look into a trailer like that! Seems like they would have good ground clearance too...
I'm on tractor data all the time, for sure lots of good info on there.
I'm wondering how steep parts of your land are, and how you handle it with your tractor?

I've read elsewhere that you can go up some pretty steep grades by backing up and using the fel as an assist with it just slightly dragging on the ground...to keep you from tipping...

 

[creekbend]

I will look into a trailer like that! Seems like they would have good ground clearance too...
I'm on tractor data all the time, for sure lots of good info on there.
I'm wondering how steep parts of your land are, and how you handle it with your tractor?

I've read elsewhere that you can go up some pretty steep grades by backing up and using the fel as an assist with it just slightly dragging on the ground...to keep you from tipping...

15 acres- somewhat hilly, not very steep; 10 acres- mostly flat meadow; 5 acres wooded. I use my box bade for ballast and my rear tires have ballast. Please be careful and alert when transversing hilly or steep terrain when the conditions are wet and muddy.Be sure to use a lower gear suitable to handle the conditions. Another word of advice? Please don't change gears while climbing or descending hilly and steep terrain. This may cause you to lose control of your tractor. BTW, I leave my FEL on most of the time because I usually find a use for it when I am working. The tooth bar is also an asset. Just remember to take your time and consider the conditions before undertaking any task with your equipment. Best wishes. Stay safe.

 

[Gittyup]

Kioti ck45 HST. Heavy. Excellent loader lift. Great hydraulics......wear your seatbelt!

 

[boggen]

I'm pretty determined to do all the work myself :drool:

The people around there want a lot of money for dirt work...plus, I can kinda take my time at this point.
I dont need to rush anything from here on out, and it will be pretty much fun as much as work. I can pick away at it.

Now, that said, I still dont want to try and tackle this with such a small tractor as my b1750...a 1000lb tractor with 20hp, means an excavater attachment will have little power or reach...and would be a lesson in frustration more than anything,

As it said, it is either a bigger tractor, or a skidsteer (and then it would be deciding wheeled or tracked )...

ha ha, the research is almost as much fun as the buying

it would be nice to have a skid steer if i lived in the city or the day job was working on folks yards that lived in the city, there small, light weight making them easy to trailer. and good amount of attachments. but costlier.

with that said. i doubt i will own a skid steer. as much as i would like one just to play in. i would prefer tractor myself.

as for filpping / rolling. we all have are butt clinching episodes, of ok that is to steep of a hill to work on. never ran a skid steer around the 80 acres here or any were else, it has always been a tractor.

for me, i have to many sticks and wash outs, and mud holes that can come up. and having tractor with FEL and then bush on back is a life saver when getting unstuck, and snagging falling limbs down in the grass.

when backing down around lakes with bush hog on, the FEL comes in pretty handy to get my rear tires back up on solid ground, because when i tried to stop i kept on sliding down into the lake.

areas were i need to get, the larger tractor can get into. granted if i was in the city, i would be in trouble with such a large tractor. the only exception, is i want to dig a small trench in my shed, and 555c TLB is way to big to do anything *cries* a well, i can hand dig that short length trench, and let the 555c TLB dig the couple hundred feet of trench outside of the shed for me with ease.

shed i have is large enough to house the tractors. but not enough room with all the junk in it at moment. that can be a "stopper" for some folks. and not having enough garage clearance height.

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getting back to tipping over. i think if i really wanted to, i could flip any skid steer or tractor over pretty quickly on flat ground. i think it is more about experience and judging your own fear factor of how far you want to push things.

on other thing to remember skid steers do not have "high gears" for like driving on roads. vs a tractor. your grandpa with a walker may be passing you. as you move stuff around the property with a skid steer. vs a tractor. do not get me wrong, some of the bigger skid steer machines, can get a moving pretty good. for me with an easy mile length of driveway to cross. skid steer just did not cut it. your smaller acreage it may be ok, that it takes a couple minutes longer to get around entire property.

 

[mattbatson]

thanks again for all the advice :thumbsup:

hadnt thought about how slow those skidsteers are if you have a ways to go...certainly something to consider.

it does sound like maybe a tractor at this point...decisions decisions

 

[mattbatson]

Okay, old thread, but thought I would give updates...

Rented a B21 for a week and used it all over my property.

I was amazed at how well it handled the hilly terrain. It felt more stable than the skidsteer if you can believe it. I think part of that is the longer wheelbase.

And yes, having a backhoe saved my butt one time when i got stuck in a little mud hole. I was able to pull myself out, uphill no less, with the hoe. And it was really easy to boot.