MaineJMW
New member
I actually joined the forum a couple of years ago as I started planning my tractor purchase. Thanks to all of the great information here, I had a pretty good idea of what I needed/wanted and was just letting the time pass until the finances were right. Of course plans are there to be changed and what I considered to be a very good deal came up on a used 2006 Kubota B7800 with an LA402 loader with 430 hours on it, so I bought it. It also came with a Land Pride RCR1542 rotary cutter. The B7800 is a bit smaller than I would have chosen, but I'm thinking it will do 80% of what I want at less than half the cost of what I would have purchased new. Plus, I can always trade up:thumbsup:
My property is 12 acres and mostly wooded (primarily softwood with some hardwood) and some wetlands. The lawn area is relatively small with lots of trees and shrubs so I mow it with a push mower. I have about a 1/2 to 3/4 acre clearing planted with clover that requires cutting a couple times per season. I burn wood and plan to harvest all of my firewood (2+ cords per season) from my land. There is also a large amount of downed wood and brush throughout. Our access road is gravel, but is maintained by a road association, and my driveway is stone dust so requires little maintenance.
My primary tasks are:
1. Woods - thinning small undergrowth, cleaning up downed wood and brush, and harvesting firewood. I plan to chip most of the small stuff. For now, I plan on using rental chippers as I don't own one. Part of this will be cutting trails where necessary. I also have 30 or so large "popple" trees to take down before they fall down. They are a mix of big tooth Aspen and quaking Aspen. Even though they're not ideal, my neighbors use them for firewood, so I'm going to give that a try.
2. Yard - various landscaping projects -- moving large rocks, regrading some lawn areas, building walkways and patios. These involve lots of material to be moved around.
3. Snow removal - I currently use a walk-behind snowblower, but it takes a while. I'll be experimenting this winter with using the loader for at least part of the snow removal. There may be a snowblower attachment in my future.
4. Other - bush hogging and maintaining the clearing. It's a great place to see wildlife.
Thanks to everyone who contributes for all of the information and entertainment. Now that I have my first post out of the way, hopefully I'll have something useful to contribute as well.
Jon
My property is 12 acres and mostly wooded (primarily softwood with some hardwood) and some wetlands. The lawn area is relatively small with lots of trees and shrubs so I mow it with a push mower. I have about a 1/2 to 3/4 acre clearing planted with clover that requires cutting a couple times per season. I burn wood and plan to harvest all of my firewood (2+ cords per season) from my land. There is also a large amount of downed wood and brush throughout. Our access road is gravel, but is maintained by a road association, and my driveway is stone dust so requires little maintenance.
My primary tasks are:
1. Woods - thinning small undergrowth, cleaning up downed wood and brush, and harvesting firewood. I plan to chip most of the small stuff. For now, I plan on using rental chippers as I don't own one. Part of this will be cutting trails where necessary. I also have 30 or so large "popple" trees to take down before they fall down. They are a mix of big tooth Aspen and quaking Aspen. Even though they're not ideal, my neighbors use them for firewood, so I'm going to give that a try.
2. Yard - various landscaping projects -- moving large rocks, regrading some lawn areas, building walkways and patios. These involve lots of material to be moved around.
3. Snow removal - I currently use a walk-behind snowblower, but it takes a while. I'll be experimenting this winter with using the loader for at least part of the snow removal. There may be a snowblower attachment in my future.
4. Other - bush hogging and maintaining the clearing. It's a great place to see wildlife.
Thanks to everyone who contributes for all of the information and entertainment. Now that I have my first post out of the way, hopefully I'll have something useful to contribute as well.
Jon
