Tractor Sizing Have a half mile of gravel road to repair and maintain

[TheMadOne]

Thanks for your help. I have been watching Craigslist but there haven't been any standouts. Think the loader would be useful, but traction to do the road work is essential. But 4wd sounds like higher maintenance. Is 4wd widely available on older tractors or industrial tractors? Are the industrial / non-pto tractors significantly cheaper. I fully agree that I don't want a gray market machine or anything to increase maintenance.

4X4 isn't available on any but the smallest tractors in your price range. There are exceptions to every rule, of course. Industrial tractors aren't cheaper per say, but usually have less hours on them due to them not being used for the full range of tasks that a regular tractor with a PTO would be.

Skimming Craigslist there's an Allis Chalmers 6060 in Philadelphia TN with a loader and rear blade for 6k.

Allis Chalmers Tractor

That looks like a pretty good deal, to me. Higher horsepower(50 drawbar 60 PTO 63 engine), good weight, on the newer side of things that you could afford. Only catch is that Allis doesn't exist anymore.(kinda, I think Briggs and Straton own the rights now). Comes with a loader and a back blade for getting started. I'm sure others will chime in with their opinions.

 

[MESSMAKER]

You can have someone do it for probably $250-300. A tractor and box blade and 3 or 4 hours will make a huge difference. Dozier or grader would work as well. A grader blade on a tractor will not work very well.

 

[newby in tenn]

You can have someone do it for probably $250-300. A tractor and box blade and 3 or 4 hours will make a huge difference. Dozier or grader would work as well. A grader blade on a tractor will not work very well.

If I can hire it doe for that kind of money that may the best way to go. Then can get a smaller tractor to do the maintenance. Thanks for the help

 

[newby in tenn]

Thanks for your help. You are very generous to review Craigslist and provide all the information and guidance that you do.

 

[arrow]

Thanks for your help. I don't mean to start a fight. I can see both perspectives. 5030 has resources to have a high powered tractor and needs it to accomplish all he has to do And you choose not to spend the money for the larger machine and taking the extra time/challenge and accept that there may be higher maintenance costs.

No fight. Just differences of opinion from one's own experiences. I enjoy sitting on a tractor. Not 5030's cup of tea. If I had to till 200 acres on a regular basis, I'd probably think like him.

 

[brasco426]

I guess I'm one of those odd people out east, that enjoys spending time on my tractor zoning out from people that suck lol. One of my toys is a tractor, I'm just a regular back east guy lol

 

[teg]

Ditto, I can't get enough seat time in a tractor. Maybe I should get a smaller one??? :confused3: The OP has said several times about budget restrictions... In his very first post he said, "And the budget is very lean." In my opinion, big is not always better...:2cents:

 

[varmint]

Having dealt with about 750' of stone/gravel lane repairs for 15 years, with a 19hp Kubota B8200 and a 5' rear blade, I sort of know what is involved. No problem in moving gravel or crushed stone around with such a rig, filling ruts and cuts, but I imagine the OP will need to "fix" the cause of the lane's damage, probably water run-off, or at least find ways to keep it from washing out in the future- otherwise, it will require grading after every storm.
A smallish 4 wheel drive tractor, with a loader and rear blade, can then keep the lane maintained. Our lane ran downhill between trees, so stormwater runoff was a challenge to control.
Hydro is nice, but for a small budget, gear will work. He should be able to find something usable for $7000 or so.

 

[paulfun9]

Right now the ruts are halfway across the road in high rain flow runoff areas in a couple of areas. There is some undeveloped area I could get dirt from. In the one road area there are 6 inch gullies along the road and the road bed is below the adjacent ground level. Thanks for the help

Before you spend any money get someone who knows what they are doing to take a look at everything. You might need to do some work for drainage and change some of the existing drainage system both on the road and beside it to keep from having to keep going back and fixing yet more ruts.

The job can be done with smaller equipment but will take more time and patients.

The Industrial tractors that are mentioned could be 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive depending on how old they are. They are usually very stout machines no matter how many wheels drive them and were basically designed for the tasks you have in mind. All those tractors that the township and municipalities use are what most people think about when they talk industrial tractors. Usually a bit heavy and most will come with a loader and backhoe. Many will look very used but pay close attention to the working parts and ignore the cosmetics and you will find one that is cheep but very usable. They will usually be on the heavy side and traction will be good compared to other 2 or 4 wheel drive units of similar size. Be aware that some of them are very heavy and you will need to be able to haul it or pay someone else to. Find a good buy on one and don't beat it to death and you will be able to get your money back when your done

 

[newby in tenn]

I guess I'm one of those odd people out east, that enjoys spending time on my tractor zoning out from people that suck lol. One of my toys is a tractor, I'm just a regular back east guy lol

I can invest some time in repair then maintaining shouldn't take long. The Allis Chalmers 6060 I looked at today looked like too much machine. I am thinking 25-30 hp is about where I should be. Thanks for the help.