tractor use assumptions

[dhagood]

my wife and i are planning our retirement home. for my wife, retirement is perhaps 5 years away. i've been out of work for a long time, and have pretty much given up at this point. today we put an offer on a 36 acre tract of land in elbert county, colorado. we're pretty much city slickers at this point. we've lived in the denver suburbs for our entire married lives, and i am tired of the bustle, the noise, the traffic, the bad air, and all the other negatives of a major metropolitan area. this is going to be a big change for my wife and i, and we will need to change all manner of things. our vehicles, for instance, as my wife's volvo isn't going to cut it dealing with gravel roads during the spring thaw. i might even have to sell my porsche 911 on the other hand, i'll get to buy a tractor.

i have, based upon a lot of reading here at TBN and talking with tractor owning folks, made some assumptions about what is reasonable for both the tractor and the implements we'll need. the way i figure it, we'll need a box blade to create and maintain the driveway and landscape after the house has been built. we'll need a FEL to handle backfilling, other soil transportation chores, and to assist in snow removal. a boom pole/cherrypicker is necessary to help unload heavy objects and to help lift them high upon occasion. and some sort of scraper blade to handle primary snow removal tasks. in order to do all these things, a tractor of approximately 30 horsepower (for both power and weight) would seem to be the sweet spot. am i very far out of line with these assumptions?

and finally, how much use would i get out of a backhoe? this question is the reason i posted this thread here and not in the buying/pricing/comparisons forum. if a backhoe is essential, that's one thing. if a backhoe is just kinda handy to have around, i can save up backhoe tasks and rent one when i need it?

thoughts?

 

[murphy1244]

my wife and i are planning our retirement home. for my wife, retirement is perhaps 5 years away. i've been out of work for a long time, and have pretty much given up at this point. today we put an offer on a 36 acre tract of land in elbert county, colorado. we're pretty much city slickers at this point. we've lived in the denver suburbs for our entire married lives, and i am tired of the bustle, the noise, the traffic, the bad air, and all the other negatives of a major metropolitan area. this is going to be a big change for my wife and i, and we will need to change all manner of things. our vehicles, for instance, as my wife's volvo isn't going to cut it dealing with gravel roads during the spring thaw. i might even have to sell my porsche 911 on the other hand, i'll get to buy a tractor.

i have, based upon a lot of reading here at TBN and talking with tractor owning folks, made some assumptions about what is reasonable for both the tractor and the implements we'll need. the way i figure it, we'll need a box blade to create and maintain the driveway and landscape after the house has been built. we'll need a FEL to handle backfilling, other soil transportation chores, and to assist in snow removal. a boom pole/cherrypicker is necessary to help unload heavy objects and to help lift them high upon occasion. and some sort of scraper blade to handle primary snow removal tasks. in order to do all these things, a tractor of approximately 30 horsepower (for both power and weight) would seem to be the sweet spot. am i very far out of line with these assumptions?

and finally, how much use would i get out of a backhoe? this question is the reason i posted this thread here and not in the buying/pricing/comparisons forum. if a backhoe is essential, that's one thing. if a backhoe is just kinda handy to have around, i can save up backhoe tasks and rent one when i need it?

thoughts?

Forget the cherry picker and weld hooks to your bucket, Backhoes are fun and run about 8000.00. HP depends on what implements you plan to buy. Have fun looking and find a dealer that you can work with no matter what color.

 

[whistlepig]

I would love to have a backhoe but really can't justify the price. For me a backhoe would be like my post hole digger. When I got all my fence up the post hole digger now just sits in the barn. Same way with a backhoe. I think it depends on a persons needs. Some folks that use them a lot makes the cost well worthwhile. I would never get enough use out of one to make it worthwhile for me.

 

[Qapla]

Unless you are planning on a lot of digging and/or trenching a backhoe is not really needed. Like your said, you can rent one when/if needed.

In addition to the things you mentioned, you may want to think about a brush cutter/ deck mower, a tiller, plow, disk set.

 

[k0ua]

I don't have a backhoe because I would not get much use out of it with the lack of soil depth we have on a lot of the place here, Just too much rock just under the surface. But a lot of folks get a lot of good from their backhoe's and would not be without one.. I use a loader all the time, and a rotary cutter a little. I have hooks welded on to my buckets to lift things with chains. I built a little "shovel" that chains on to my bucket to dig small holes/trenches with the ease of hydraulics It is very usefull.

James K0UA

 

[whistlepig]

By far my quick attach loader is may favorite. My old and achy back thanks me for it every time I use it.

 

[LD1]

As others said, no need for the boom pole.

The BH is questionable. As is the size of the machine. What is the 36 acres like? All open fields? Woods? Old fence rows? Hilly? And what do you plan on doing with the 36 acres? Is there already a house there? Or are you going to build one? etc.

 

[GregbkH]

Backhoes are great for more than just digging and trenching especially if you have some woods and rocks. They are very handy and can help you do a lot of things by yourself.

Add a grapple and you can clean up a lot of brush, stack logs etc.

 

[ATP]

Very Cool Pics...

 

[TripleR]

Someone once wrote am excellent post to a question like this and only wish I had saved it.

When choosing a tractor, HP is only one of the many things to consider, a Kubota B3200 and L3240 are both the same HP, but not even close in features or capabilities. You need to look at weights, specs on FEL, 3PH, hydraulic flow, stability, transmission type and so on. What is needed or adequate is going to depend, as LD1 pointed out, tasks and terrain. No one can give really good, comprehensive advice without more information or at least I can't. Even then, it may need some adjustment with changing conditions. Getting your property to a point you want then maintaining it at that level is a tough balancing act.

Years ago my brother, father and I had projects going on or in the planning stages, so my dad bought a used back hoe that my brother fixed up. It has now sat in the shed for years and we now rent. For us, the money saved well exceeded money spent, so it was a good decision. Some place a high value on having one immediately available and some don't. We can have one delivered to one of our farms or go pick one up in a day or so and not have to worry about storage and have that money invested in equipment we use frequently or even better another tractor.

I am a proponent of renting for special needs. I once thought a tracked skid loader would be a great addition as we stored one for a friend for several months. We quickly ran out of things to do with it and it just sat around. We rented one for a little over a week this summer for about $1100; don't know when or if we will ever need another; same thing with a mini excavator.

For anyone new to tractors, I recommend renting one of about the size you think you will need and try it out for a weekend to get a baseline for future comparison while shopping. Many people are often intimidated by a tractor the size they need and with use, a tractor "shrinks". I once rejected a tractor suggested by my wife because I told her it was too big. Heck, I've been operating tractors for close to sixty years from 25 HP up, I "know stuff".:laughing: Well it was kind of embarrassing when it turned out to be one of our best buys.

I am sure I have overlooked something, but someone will be along to fill in the blanks.

Good luck.