Buying Advice A tractor for 35 wooded acres

[EJP1234]

Thanks EJP.....I wouldn't attempt excavating for the foundation at all but was thinking that doing the clearing of the trees and brush would be a good task for me. Partly to do it in a more controlled manner (I worry about someone coming in with a big bulldozer and banging off trees I want to keep) and partly to try to save some money (and partly because would be fun and gives me an excuse to buy a tractor). In your experience, coming into a wooded lot to build a cell tower....how much time (money) would that save on a job not having to clear brush or trees?

There are so many variables to that question it's hard to answer. The terrain would be the first question, soil conditions, type of trees and size, as well as how long the drive is, grade and main clearing size.

I think you would be surprised if you really shopped around as to how cheap you could get it.

Also keep in mind, some local municipalities are serious about storm water management... Commercial or residential, contractor or owner performed clearing.... There are codes and laws to follow... Sometimes they require sediment ponds, or just silt fence.... Sometimes they won't allow certain trees to be cut down, or they allow certain trees to be cut down but mandate you plant this many more of a certain species in mandated spots....

Don't just jump in without doing all the research first. I've seen some horror stories, I have seen COO's, certificate of occupancies denied before, which means your insurance won't insure the building, which means......

Good luck!

 

[Tinstafl]

After looking at the hills and the stuff I needed to pick up, I upsized from 40HP where I started looking to 91. It was too small still to pick up the new generator that was delivered on the forks so the neighbor brought over his 150hp JD and it picked it up and put it on the pad. The generator guy was suppose to drive by with his crane truck but it was way to wet and muddy so we decided on this. I am building a house and started clearing the first field of 40 acres and cutting another 30 acres of grass. I am happy I went up a couple sizes for the stability and the extra grunt doing the work. I could have gotten most of it done with the 46HP L I was looking at but I have a small Yanmar for little stuff and this one pulls a 15 foot batwing and a grapple on the front has seen the most use. Go around and look at what you want to accomplish and a smaller unit can do it but it will take more time and effort. I am 55 and the cab was mandatory and bigger to do more with less personal work is much easier. I am not saying you have to go that big but I would problem look around 45-60 depending on frame size and manufacturer. I like that my unit is 12900 lb with filled tires and loader.

 

[Tinstafl]

Oh I hired the road construction and the foundation digging too. No way I wanted to overwork the machine for something it was not designed to do. A tractor was designed to pull and it is a utility machine but it is not a dedicated dirt digger or mover. Those are built for it and work much better. If you have some trees you want thinned see if you can selectively timber it and the guys will cut the trees and get them out and you will get paid.

 

[ripHST]

Also keep in mind, some local municipalities are serious about storm water management... Commercial or residential, contractor or owner performed clearing.... There are codes and laws to follow... Sometimes they require sediment ponds, or just silt fence.... Sometimes they won't allow certain trees to be cut down, or they allow certain trees to be cut down but mandate you plant this many more of a certain species in mandated spots....

Don't just jump in without doing all the research first. I've seen some horror stories, I have seen COO's, certificate of occupancies denied before, which means your insurance won't insure the building, which means......

Good luck!

thanks for the advice.....I started looking for info on stormwater management with the town after seeing your post and they definitely have a policy on it. So far it looks like it only applies to larger projects (developments mainly) but I need to investigate further. I'll also ask my builders about it.

 

[ripHST]

My BH comes off in less than 30 seconds if you don't count turning the tractor off and starting it again to unhook hoses. Probably 5-10 minutes to put the 3 point arms on. It's very painless.

Oh wow.....that's awesome. Is that pretty typical of most modern tractors? I'll add that to my list of questions for the dealer.

 

[TJP89]

Oh wow.....that's awesome. Is that pretty typical of most modern tractors? I'll add that to my list of questions for the dealer.

Yeah, most BH should come off in a minute, and on in about 5, if you have it set up right and know what you're doing. You should be able to switch between 3PTH and BH like switching 3PTH implements.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Let me add that lots of projects that need doing wont get done if you have to go rent a backhoe and trailer it to your property and back. There is nothing like having a backhoe on your property and ready to go for those 5 minute to one hour jobs. I would still have rocks that I would be mowing around if I had to rent a hoe to get them out. Having the BH available whenever you have an hour or so to dedicate to a chore makes that chore gone and the next one up for attention.
My pretty much dedicated TLB has been worth every penny of the $20500 that I paid for it used with 68 hours on the clock. So far the backhoe has never been off but then I do have my P7010 for other chores and the heavy lifting needed now and then. I know that most of the things I have done with it would not have been done OR would have had to have called in a contractor to do at very high cost (minimum 4 hours for any heavy equipment around here). Even without calculation of the 4 hour minimum, a commercial backhoe is going to run $70+ per hour so that x 450= $31,500 of use I have avoided so I am already $11,000 up on the cost and I still have my tractor as opposed to just having the work completed.

With 35 acres, I am sure you will find uses for a backhoe in the next 10 years to justify the cost. I have put over 450 hours on my TLB in 5 years of ownership and all of it without removing the hoe. You may want to look at the Kubota lineup of TLB starting with the B26 up thru the M59 although I doubt you would need a M59 but a L39 might be in the running if you can find a used one, new would be too expensive to justify with even a B26 being almost $40K when priced with a hydraulic thumb. I really like the 4 post falling object (FOPS) protection that they have over the standard CUT of only having a ROPS without any protection from falling limbs when operating in the woods.

 

[DaveNJ]

My 2 cents: I recently took over maintaining approximately 33 acres, mostly wooded, with a 3 acre overgrown pasture. There was a veneer cut in the woods taking out the large walnuts and oaks about 12 years ago and the pasture hasn't been maintained since then. As a result of the break in the forest canopy, the forest understory is infested with invasive multiflora rose and Russian olive. The pasture was mostly multifloria rose. We're looking to build a house on part of the property but that excavation will be done by others or with rented equipment. What I needed was a tractor for all around maintenence and reclamation.

I was also tired of years of big old tractors beating up my now 60 year old body. I ended up buying a new LS 2025 H with loader and backhoe as well as a small 4 ft brush hog, box blade and a rachet rake. I have visions of a snowblower in the future. I know this is heresy to the bigger is better crowd but some of my observations are:
1. For woods maintenance, smaller is more maneuverable and causes less damage. The loader/backhoe combo is ideal for ripping out medium sized stuff and assisting in cutting up firewood. You can maneuver around stumps and leave them alone.
2. Cabs are useless in the woods unless you intend to knock them all down.
3. The most useful combination for attacking invasive brush while in close quarters is a SMALL tractor with a rachet rake and a SMALL brush hog. (that rachet rake is **** on multiflora rose).
4. If you are mowing less than 5 acres of pasture once a year, you don't need a 100 hp tractor with batwing mowers. A 4 or 5 ft brushhog will do fine.
5. Creating a driveway is not a tractor job. Maintaining it is easy with a SMALL one.
6. Small tractors and implements are way cheaper and can get the same job done with a little more time.
7. My small LS fits easily on my 8K trailer and is no problem towing with a 1500 pickup anywhere I want.
8. If you're running a commercial firewood operation, you need the loader capacity a 40 or 50 plus hp utility tractor offers or a skid steer. If you're bringing wood out of the forest
for your own use a SMALL one works great.

I've used big farm tractors and commercial utility tractors in operations where a small cut would never work out. I think they work fine in maintaining a less than 40 acre property that is essentially residential.

 

[paulfun9]

Oh wow.....that's awesome. Is that pretty typical of most modern tractors? I'll add that to my list of questions for the dealer.

Be watchful of the claims. My friend with his JD gets pissed every time he sees me change from backhoe to 3 point because I don't have to take off or reinstall the 3 point arms. He also claims that getting his back on is not as easy as they claim and depending on the model tractor from JD using the rear HYD for the backhoe for anything besides the backhoe requires you pay even more money when you buy it.
I don't even shut off my tractor when installing or taking off the backhoe. With a proper rear remote compared to a Power Beyond there is no need to do anything other than turn the remote off.

 

[sea2summit]

Be watchful of the claims. My friend with his JD gets pissed every time he sees me change from backhoe to 3 point because I don't have to take off or reinstall the 3 point arms. He also claims that getting his back on is not as easy as they claim and depending on the model tractor from JD using the rear HYD for the backhoe for anything besides the backhoe requires you pay even more money when you buy it.
I don't even shut off my tractor when installing or taking off the backhoe. With a proper rear remote compared to a Power Beyond there is no need to do anything other than turn the remote off.

Not talking about a JD...