Buying Advice Do I NEED or WANT a tractor?

[jeff9366]

Since our house is on the hill side, there is a dirt ditch behind the house. This needs to be excavated every 1-2 years to prevent water from running onto/into the house.

For minor ditch maintenance a <$400 Ratchet Rake bucket attachment will be more than adequate, perhaps better than a Backhoe for this particular task. Put the Ratchet Rake on a Ventrac bucket.

 

[Carhartt Cowboy]

You don't NEED a tractor. People have existed for thousands of years without a tractor, or a computer. A basic 30 to 50 HP tractor, 4WD, w/ FEL, pallet forks, 3pt, drawbar will make many things much easier.....

Yeah, and most families had 6-12 kids. So.....you either need a tractor or start with the babies......

 

[paulfun9]

Need or want? Maybe a little of both! Who cares if you want a tractor buy one, we only live once and I go with the philosophy to enjoy what we can when we can!

WHats best for your needs might be a dozer for the main work then a tractor afterwards. Operation and cost of a dozer could be a little more than many are ready for so it might be wise to make a plan of what you want and hire it out then do the finish work with your own machine.

Get the backhoe! They are a great tool to have and especially good if your like some of us who constantly come up with new Ideas to make things different. I am currently taking away a bank and using the fill created to level an other part of the property. Problem is if I had to try and use a ratchet rake or even a tooth bar to break down the steep shale bank it would end in frustration and require a bigger machine to be rented or hired As is its just a matter of time when I feel like working on it I do so and don't have to plan a trip to the rental shop to pick up a machine and then forced to doo as much as possible in a day and then a trip back to the rental shop.

 

[jeff9366]

Personally, from my experience with a Ratchet Rake, I think it would peel shale loose "no sweat". A Ratchet Rake moves and consolidates broken concrete pads and broken asphalt with ease.

Of course you cannot dig or fill and FEL bucket with a Ratchet Rake attached to the bucket. It must be removed to dig in any form. Removal requires about five minutes.

 

[timrf79]

I looked at the Ventrac, but there are no prices. Also there is no dealer anywhere close by.
Reading in the forum dealer vicinity is an important factor.
It seems the Ventrac does not offer a 3 way hitch with PTO, which seems to severely limit the usability.

Due to slope I am set on 4WD.
I need to do some spot measurements on the slope, it may not be as extreme as I perceive it

 

[jeff9366]

The Ventrac PTO is in the front. Ventracs are 4-WD. I am not going to spoon feed you on dealers. Ventracs are competitively priced with upper level Kubotas. I am not anti-Kubota. I have bought two new ones. But, man, it is easy to get hurt, or disabled on a tractor on slopes. And non-level ground is a major point in your opening post.

Have the local Kubota dealer visit your kingdom and opine on your conditions.

 

[Carhartt Cowboy]

Due to slope I am set on 4WD.

4WD is always good if you can swing it. The extra traction lets the HP and weight you have do more work in any condition.

 

[k0ua]

Here is a little perspective. After owning 2 tractors for several years, I moved to Branson, Mo. It was mostly wooded, and hardly and quite steep. No flat ground except what I have made. I had sold my tractor when I moved, thinking I would not be able to operate a tractor here at all. I was wrong. I craved another tractor in short order. So I bought one, a gear drive Kubota B7500 with loader.

I soon wanted a Hydrostat equipped tractor and after a few years traded for a larger L3400 with hydrostatic transmission and loader. I made a a lot of "flat ground" with it. purchased a lot of fill and shaved down a lot of things. I didn't have much use for a back hoe around here, as there is limestone shelf rock about 18 inches down at most. I can did all I am going to be able to dig with the loader and my home made shove attachment. Very handy.

Recomendations:. Get a hydro equipped tractor with loader. Depending on what you want to do with it an how heavy loads you want to lift, something from 25 to 40 horsepower frame size. I would hold off on the back hoe, but you may have lots of uses for one. You will have to figure that out for yourself. Just how much digging in the dirt do you need to do. If lots, and you actually have dirt to dig in, then get one by all means. If you can't think of several digging jobs.. then save the 7000.

I am not a fan of mid mount mowers on a 25hp and up size tractor. I have a riding lawn mower for that. When I mowed larger fields, I had a 3pt rear mower and it worked great. Every newby thinks they want a mid mount mower, because that is what they are used to using. Turns shorter to trim around bushes etc.. Yep, and also a big PITA to take on and off, ruins your ground clearance with it on for loader work, and a MMM is more expensive.
Each to his own, but I am thumbs down on MMM on tractors. At least they don't fit what I do.

I am really thumbs up on grapples and forks on the front end. So getting a tractor equipped form the get go with Skid Steer Quick Attach was a no brainer for me on my current tractor. I know the pain of not having it and have to add it later..I also recommend getting at least one rear hydraulic remote connection.

You are going to want to move logs, stumps and rocks.. gotta have a good grapple.. in my opinion Everything Attachment's makes some fine grapples for the money. Made right here in the USA and shipped free to most places.

A canopy is a great addition to keep your skull cooler. You might need some place to store you new toy to keep it looking nice and help guard against theft. So bottom line, yes you can operate a tractor safely on hilly ground, BUT you must take it slow and cautious , keep you load low next to the ground, don't travel with the load up high. Always go slow, watch out for holes or high spots, go slow, did I mention go slow?.. Hydrostat is your friend, it helps you go slow and maintain complete control for many operations. How slow can you go?... watch

video.

 

[Gary Fowler]

You only mentioned one project for a backhoe and a Kubota BX25 would be about as much tractor as you could get in that spot and a BX is not going to be much good at making trails in a forest. So for that little ditch project, a rental excavator might be what you will need and even that might be too large. No photos so I am assuming there is a fence or other obstruction in the way so you may even have to resort to hand digging- Tractors or any other equipment cant do everything needed.
As for your uses for a backhoe, everyone has different needs. I have put nearly 400 hours on my B26 since I got it in 2011. My 2010 LS has about 100 hours most of which I put on prior to getting my B26. My backhoe get regular use and has never left the tractor. I use it to dig ditches (just finished putting in about 65 feet of ditching for a 50 amp RV power connection), use it for planting trees, shrubs etc., digging up each years supply of new large rocks (rarely use a shovel anymore), haul dirt with the FEL while using the backhoe for counterweight, dig up unwanted saplings, use the hoe with hydraulic thumb to pick up rocks, limbs, even whole trees-- did I mention that I don't lift things by hand much anymore.
Your use may vary, but at my age, I wont be without my TLB as long as I can operate a tractor.

 

[Garandman]

We bought 12 acres in NH and it sounds like you could use a tractor for the same reason we did: to improve the value of the property.

Had it 11 months, 63 hours on it as of today.