New tractor equipment and plan

   / New tractor equipment and plan #1  

lpigott

Gold Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2002
Messages
438
Location
Picayune, MS
Tractor
BX2200 NH3930 M7060
Thought I would share my plan behind purchasing my new tractor and related equipment. I have 50 acres, 15 of which are in planted pine tress that are 17 years old which I plan to remove and sell the wood from and reclaim the land. I mow about 4 acres of yard with my BX 2200 which has been awesome in this task for the last 17 years and will continue in that duty. The rest of the land is either woods or field with 100' square spaced mature pecan trees that I plan to remove also. I will be building a large shop in the future but since it will be located on land where planned pines trees presently reside, they have to go first. I also have a 90s model NH 3930 and a HD 6' rotary cutter that I use for the field maintenance plots etc. On first thought one would say to just have a logger come cut the pines. The problem with that is timber prices are too low to get anyone to do so unless you have really large tracts of land or significant amount of large, high quality trees, which I don't. Loggers leave stumps also. I have lots of trees but they are not large enough to grade above chip and saw wood which is going for $15 a ton and the rest will be pulp for $7 a ton. About the only way one can get anything from trees like that is to cut and haul them yourself. While I am still in good shape and health, I am 55 and where I live in the deep southeast, it is extremely hot and humid for most of the year so there is no way I am going to kill myself working in heat and manual labor to clear my land. I work overseas on a 28 day on and 28 day off rotation so I have half of my time off that will allow me the time to get what I want done. I also need some legitimate tax write offs and that brings me to where I am now. I will be purchasing a Kubota M7060 with a cab so I can do most of my work out of the heat which allows me to work through the sweltering summer months. I feel the M7060 will be a big overkill but yet not too big for what I plan but I would rather have more than needed than less. I will be getting a HD grapple to use to load the logs on a trailer, pile brush for burning and to clear other areas of thick woods and make trails throughout what is not cleared. I hope to push most of the trees over so I can remove the stumps as I go. For trees that can't be pushed or pulled I will be getting a FEL mounted tree shear. I will use the tree shear to also chip the pines off the stumps and then grab them and pull them to the processing and loading area it will be awesome to make trails with too. I will be getting a heavy 7' box blade, mainly for a counter weight but will work great for skidding trees with chain when needed. I also plan on getting a Lane Shark FEL mounted trail trimmer to keep up trails and mow around pond edges. Trails, roads, food plots and shooting lanes in my region grow over fast and the Lane Shark looks to be the perfect tool for easily maintaining this problem. My current rotary cutter will be used as needed and in the future I plan to add a 8' flail mower as my maintained yard area will grow significantly as the land gets reclaimed. I am also considering one of those dandy 3 pt hydraulic grapples for skidding but I will wait and see how what I have now works me too hard or not! So there you have it, I can afford this business venture without risk since I still work and I will also be able to show income form selling the trees and have the equipment to do is jobs of the same type for others as needed also. My hope is to get what I want done and not kill myself doing while getting a tax break also. Thoughts?
 
   / New tractor equipment and plan #2  
In my understanding, purchasing equipment can only be a write-off if it's for a business. I didn't see anywhere in your post where you are planning on starting a "business" and using it to write off your equipment purchases. Around here, you can't write off machinery and equipment that is used to maintain or improve your place of residence or recreational property.
 
   / New tractor equipment and plan
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Yes I will be in the business of selling pine trees. You have to pay tax on timber you sell and the means you use to get is to sell is a write off. No different than if I had cows and raised and sold them, everything used in accomplishing that is a business expense. I will also be doing the same services for other for hire, just on a more limited basis until I get my trees clears and sold.
 
   / New tractor equipment and plan #4  
Have you harvested much pine before? I have cleared quite a bit of land and see a bunch of issues you might have. First, your tractor wasn't designed to shove over trees. You will break things frequently.

I get wanting to do it yourself. How far away is the mill? You'll wear out a truck and trailer hauling wood and it sounds like your going to have quite a bit. I hired a truck driver with a prentice loader on his truck. I think he wanted $4 a ton to load and haul. Was a good deal to me. I would used the dozer to shove the trees over and get the root ball out of the ground. Then buck your stump. At this point I'd skid the trees to a landing where I would cut them into logs and slick them up and pile them. I just wanted one area that was wrecker with limbs. On bigger trees I had to dig with the track hoe but with 17 year old ones you should be in pretty good shape.

I like most of your plan except for using your tractor for anything besides picking up, dragging and smoothing. Rent a dozer and hire a saw hand. You will increase productivity a bunch. Don't forget your loggers tape

Brett
 
   / New tractor equipment and plan
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Have you harvested much pine before? I have cleared quite a bit of land and see a bunch of issues you might have. First, your tractor wasn't designed to shove over trees. You will break things frequently.

I get wanting to do it yourself. How far away is the mill? You'll wear out a truck and trailer hauling wood and it sounds like your going to have quite a bit. I hired a truck driver with a prentice loader on his truck. I think he wanted $4 a ton to load and haul. Was a good deal to me. I would used the dozer to shove the trees over and get the root ball out of the ground. Then buck your stump. At this point I'd skid the trees to a landing where I would cut them into logs and slick them up and pile them. I just wanted one area that was wrecker with limbs. On bigger trees I had to dig with the track hoe but with 17 year old ones you should be in pretty good shape.

I like most of your plan except for using your tractor for anything besides picking up, dragging and smoothing. Rent a dozer and hire a saw hand. You will increase productivity a bunch. Don't forget your loggers tape

Brett

No I haven't logged before but I have been around it my whole life so I know what is involved. I won't break anything, I have been running tractors my whole life, living on a farm and driving them since I was 6 years old, I know the limits. Yard to drop off the logs is only about 5 miles away. I already have a 2500HD diesel truck and a heavy equipment trailer so hauling a couple loads of logs a day or week sure won't wear them out, truck and trailer have done far worse duty. My trees are not huge and where planted in what once was a nice field with good topsoil. I originally was just going to use the tree shear to cut them off and then get a tractor mounted stump grinder to deal with the stumps. If I can push them over standing them the stumps will be easier to remove, just use the grapple to grab them and pile for burning. If the pushing over proves too difficult I will revert to plan A. I am not under the gun by having to make a living doing this and under no time constrains. I will employ my Husky saws as needed but plan to keep that as limited as possible as the goal here is to press forward with the plan and not kill myself and take all the fun out of it :) I had a dozer years back and built my long driveway and dug a pond and considered getting one for this but getting a machine large enough with a cab is expensive and then you are limited to doing just dozer stuff.
 
   / New tractor equipment and plan #6  
That's dozer work, not tractor work you're planning.

I think your "business" needs to turn a profit in three of any five consecutive years to write off your new equipment on your income taxes.

Consult a CPA before you commit to any large purchases with the intent of having the government pay for them.
 
   / New tractor equipment and plan
  • Thread Starter
#7  
That's dozer work, not tractor work you're planning.

I think your "business" needs to turn a profit in three of any five consecutive years to write off your new equipment on your income taxes.

Consult a CPA before you commit to any large purchases with the intent of having the government pay for them.

I guess you don't understand. While I want to clear the land, harvesting the pines instead of wasting them is the goal here. You can't do that with a dozer. As mentioned above, I have owned my own dozer before. I have cleared a ton of land with various tractors also. Yes I plan on turning a profit in time too and should be able to do so easily between just the trees I have and joining neighbors in the same boat want theirs gone too. My daughter and SIL are both CPAs. I am not having the government pay for crap. I pay and enormous amount of taxes each year and have no intention of doing anything that isn't 100% legit. Starting a business and building it into something I can continue once I retire from working for the man and getting a tax break all while not risking anything is the smart way to do things IMO.
 
   / New tractor equipment and plan #8  
No I haven't logged before but I have been around it my whole life so I know what is involved. I won't break anything, I have been running tractors my whole life, living on a farm and driving them since I was 6 years old, I know the limits. Yard to drop off the logs is only about 5 miles away. I already have a 2500HD diesel truck and a heavy equipment trailer so hauling a couple loads of logs a day or week sure won't wear them out, truck and trailer have done far worse duty. My trees are not huge and where planted in what once was a nice field with good topsoil. I originally was just going to use the tree shear to cut them off and then get a tractor mounted stump grinder to deal with the stumps. If I can push them over standing them the stumps will be easier to remove, just use the grapple to grab them and pile for burning. If the pushing over proves too difficult I will revert to plan A. I am not under the gun by having to make a living doing this and under no time constrains. I will employ my Husky saws as needed but plan to keep that as limited as possible as the goal here is to press forward with the plan and not kill myself and take all the fun out of it :) I had a dozer years back and built my long driveway and dug a pond and considered getting one for this but getting a machine large enough with a cab is expensive and then you are limited to doing just dozer stuff.

I think you're going to trash your nice new tractor. My dad is doing work similar to what you describe on his land with a similar cabbed tractor. Total carnage so far is into the 4-digit range - something like 3 or 4 grand. This includes damage to his loader mounts and damage to his air conditioning system. Also, his tractor looks like it has been through a hard life. Dad is 79 years old and has been operating tractors and equipment for basically his entire life, so he's no rookie. Tractors are not made to work in brush with broken limbs, fallen trees, etc.

If I were determined to undertake this project, I would buy or rent a cabbed excavator of 12-14k lbs with a thumb. I'd dig up the bases, push the trees over and stack the stems after cutting the root ball and limbing. Then, I'd use a tractor or even the excavator to load the trailer. In my experience with land clearing and such, an excavator is a great tool to remove trees and move them around. Greater dexterity and the ability to pick and place material.

When you do make a final decision, please post pics and progress information so we all can learn along with you.
 
   / New tractor equipment and plan #9  
Sounds like if your careful operating your machinery your good to go. Per your information hiring it done will gain you little if anything. By doing it yourself if you break even or even loose a tiny bit of money your still way ahead due to tax write offs.

No mention of plans for the pecan trees removed and sale of the wood ? BBQ and wood workers bound to provide a bit of market.
 
   / New tractor equipment and plan
  • Thread Starter
#10  
I think you're going to trash your nice new tractor. My dad is doing work similar to what you describe on his land with a similar cabbed tractor. Total carnage so far is into the 4-digit range - something like 3 or 4 grand. This includes damage to his loader mounts and damage to his air conditioning system. Also, his tractor looks like it has been through a hard life. Dad is 79 years old and has been operating tractors and equipment for basically his entire life, so he's no rookie. Tractors are not made to work in brush with broken limbs, fallen trees, etc.

If I were determined to undertake this project, I would buy or rent a cabbed excavator of 12-14k lbs with a thumb. I'd dig up the bases, push the trees over and stack the stems after cutting the root ball and limbing. Then, I'd use a tractor or even the excavator to load the trailer. In my experience with land clearing and such, an excavator is a great tool to remove trees and move them around. Greater dexterity and the ability to pick and place material.

When you do make a final decision, please post pics and progress information so we all can learn along with you.

I have very seen so much negativity and doubting Thomas's in my life, lol! Trust me I WILL NOT trash my nice new tractor! The pines are planted in straight rows starting from an open field. I will take my time and always have the tractor working on the clear and open side. This is not going to be a typical logging operation where you are driving in the woods and around hanging limbs and brush. When I do make trails in the woods the same will apply, I won't go charging in but rather switch between the Lane Shark and tree shear as needed and use the bush hog and grapple too. I understand that many may think I am going to wreck my tractor as you do not know me and my level skill at operating machinery. I have many 1000s of hours experience on tractors, dozers BH and other stuff doing just about anything you could imagine and have never broken one. The reason for the cab is to let me work whenever I want and also to force me to go slow and not jepordize myself or the tractor. I plan on the tractor being nice just as nice and shiny once I am done as when I start. I will have insurance also, in the unlikely chance I break a glass of something, and also liability insurance for coverage when I am working for hire on someone else property. Yes I could hire all this done but what fun is that and then I would have no good reason to buy a nice new trator and toys to go with it and be out money to boot. I also have the old trusty 3930 in case I have need of getting in the jungle. I will keep this thread updated as things progress for sure and probably do a Youtube channel with video coverage to boot.
 
 
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