40 Acres, Steep!, 1 Mile Road; Need Advice

[GSVette]

Hi GSVette, somehow I missed you were in Spokane as well, I love this part of the country. appreciate your insight!s I to dealers as well. Have you been happy with Cascade Tractor post purchase?

Been busy at work and other items with the property this week. Getting close to purchasing and the NX series is my choice at the moment. A touch more than I hoped to spend, but looks and sounds like the right choice, plus the Branson and others we discussed. As rScotty has pointed out, I don't think I will be unhappy with any choice and am still open to buy used if the right one pops up in the next week or two. Will keep you posted!

So I didn’t buy my LS from Cascade-I still have my primary residence on the west side for a few more years. I actually got a deal I absolutely could not refuse and bought mine further south and hauled it all the way back to Spokane.

 

[rScotty]

Been busy at work and other items with the property this week. Getting close to purchasing and the NX series is my choice at the moment. A touch more than I hoped to spend, but looks and sounds like the right choice, plus the Branson and others we discussed. As rScotty has pointed out, I don't think I will be unhappy with any choice and am still open to buy used if the right one pops up in the next week or two. Will keep you posted!

Yep, it's probably time to back off and regroup. Maybe even revisit past beliefs.

Part of what makes choosing - and advising - so difficult online is that the TBNers here have lots seat time on a lots of different tractors - but trying to distill that down into anything more than general advise is tough. We keep forgetting the little things. Or at least I do. Plus keep in mind that a lot of us have had a variety of different tractors.

Here's a nice simple test when you get close to buying. And it's something to try at the next dealer that any dealer will immediately understand.
It's called, "How well can tell what the front lip of the FEL bucket is doing?"

How it works is that while going forward very slowly, try to skim off an inch of gravel or snow or anything without tearing up the surface beneath... See if you can keep that up for 20 feet or so. That's one pretty good test of something you'll be doing a lot.
You may have to stand up to do it - I often do. Or at least sort of half way stand... And so how does the tractor feel when in that position? And how controllable is it when going really slow? Can you still use the controls easily? Keep on with the test....

After trying that test, you'll probably agree that anyone not equipped with antennae and eyestalks is ever going to be able to see just what that bucket front cutting edge is really doing. So for us fairly normal-looking folk, working that bucket is always going to be about half instinct, half feel, and half guesswork.

No, I can't do that test all that well myself. Not even after 50 years and on my favorite ride. But I can do it noticibly better on some machines than others right from the first try. Which is to say that on some tractors I can use the loader bucket right from the beginning pretty well - while on others I can't seem to get the hang of it after years. And then the next guy will come along and be just exactly opposite. All I can say, is when the tractor fits, you'll know it..... but it may be the second time around...

We didn't even talk about canopy, cab, and open station tractors. I've had them all, and like most TBNers we like them all for different reasons. BTW, I'm now a canopy kind of guy. Choices like that are sort of like gears vs shuttle vs HST - there's a place for all.

And then there's the subject of seats... Since you are young and hardy, do yourself a favor and DO NOT EVER try a tractor with a Grammer air suspension seat. There, I've just saved you at least a thousand dollars. Please spend it wisely.... Or better yet, put the money into upgrading to an even heavier and more adjustable rear blade than whichever one you were about to buy.
Enjoy!
rScotty

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have never owned a skid steer, but test driving one or another, I was so impressed that I could pick up a tire (less rim) with the bucket, without picking up any dirt. I can not quite do that with my wheel loader as the bucket edge is farther away.

 

[MossRoad]

That bucket test is one of the reasons I really like my machine. I can see the bucket while sitting in the seat. No standing or leaning. Same for the forks. On my old IH2500b I had a cab and I could lean to the left and sorta look down the side of the engine compartment to sorta see part of the bucket past the left front tire. That machine also had a bucket level indicator rod, which really helped a lot, so maybe look into one of those.

On my current machine I can curl/dump the bucket and see when the bucket is sitting flat on the ground or tipping forward or curling back, then make the adjustment for what I'm doing, like tip the cutting edge up an inch, then push a pile of leaves by skidding the bucket along without tearing up the grass.

I also have a canopy that's solid steel. It is strong enough for me to step up on the rear tire, step up on the engine cover (also solid steel), then step up on the canopy. It's saved my noggin many times in the woods while harvesting firewood or blazing new trails. And it is nice to be in the shade in the summer. However, in rain and snow, it only keeps your head and upper body dry. The tops of your thighs will still get wet. It would be easy enough to adapt a golf cart type soft cab for winter or rain use.

After having a cab tractor and having a canopy tractor, and doing the things I do in the thick woods and brush, I personally would not go back to a cab tractor just because of the glass and mirror damage that occurred so often. If you're not bashing through the forest, then a cab model would be really nice. Also, my ROPS is mounted in front of the operator, not behind the operator. So the canopy does not stick out very far in front of the ROPS, and therefore does not grab branches and shove them in your face like a rear mounted ROPS/canopy can. That's nice. However, have you as a kid ever followed anyone through the woods closely and they push a branch aside and then let it go and it whips you? That can happen with the front mounted ROPS. So you quickly learn to lean forward if you're pushing through branches.

Anyhow, all kinds and types of things to think about while in the selection process. Take your time and drive/operate as many as you can before making the final decision. :thumbsup:

 

[Jchonline]

Pugemasta, if you haven’t yet you really need to get to these dealers and test the machines out. Spend time operating them, try to picture yourself on your property doing your tasks. Use the loader (even if with no actual dirt in it). Put on an implement if they will let you. Operate the transmission, simulate loader work. Get used to the controls and layout. I am pretty sure if you do this on a number of different brands, one will speak to you.

 

[Pugemasta]

Hi all,

Thanks for the tip JCH. And I learned something new from rScotty again, thanks! I'll mention I discovered that a more distant New Holland dealer actually has a location closer to home. I checked out the Workmaster 50 there earlier this week. Looks like yet another good option, didn't feel as good operating it as the Branson, but still very nice and I would be happy with it. Im thinking either the Kioti NX5010 or Workmaster 50 at this point, just not comfortable with that Branson dealer. Working to get some firm costs with all my options and I'll make final decision.

I may well be ready to buy by the end of the year, but am concerned if I wait too long the cash back and 0% financing will expire and may or may not be continued. Anyone have any insights? Should I try to pull the trigger by years end? Or is there a reasonable expectation that new cash back and financing offers come in their place? Just inexperienced and not sure on how tractor sales work, I imagine they are very cyclical and that this is the slow season, so I should expect new offers in the new year.

Otherwise, the shopping experience has been very enjoyable. I've been well prepared to ask questions and consider options thanks to all of you :thumbsup:

 

[Jchonline]

That should be an easy ask of the dealer. They can tell you when they expire. Of course they will try to get you to do it before the years end...but push right on through and get proof of the incentive expiration. It may yet be the end of the year....but you wont know until you confirm.

Do you have LS dealer anywhere close? That NH Workmaster is very likely made by LS and rolls off the same plant line in South Korea. LS makes many Boomers and Workmasters for NH. You will just be paying more for the NH name, nothing else. Still a nice machine....just want you to know what you are paying for.

Kioti is still a great option as well.

 

[rScotty]

Hi all,

I may well be ready to buy by the end of the year, but am concerned if I wait too long the cash back and 0% financing will expire and may or may not be continued. Anyone have any insights? Should I try to pull the trigger by years end? Or is there a reasonable expectation that new cash back and financing offers come in their place? Just inexperienced and not sure on how tractor sales work, I imagine they are very cyclical and that this is the slow season, so I should expect new offers in the new year.

The original zero percent financing that we used buying our tractor in 2007 doesn't seem to exist anymore. Instead, most brands now have their own version of the original "zero percent financing" - which aren't really zero percent today....although neither is the orignal. So it has already changed.

My guess is that although low percent tractor financing isn't quite the deal it once was, some version of it seems to have become an annual and on-going part of tractor sales. Most brands now offer some variation on the original idea. It would surprise me if they discontinued it.

I certainly wouldn't use that as a reason to pull the trigger now. You are buying a tool that will be a part of your life for decades. Get what you want. When buying tools to last a long time, there's nothing cheaper than today's dollars.
rScotty

 

[ultrarunner]

When I was tasked with putting in and maintaining Fire Trails my choice was a 17k Cat D3 Dozer with ripper... did a magnificent job and maintenance was mostly back dragging the blade in float.

Ended up selling but later my brother was in need of the same kind of work and bought a Deere 350C Dozer... same work just a smaller machine.

 

[fruitcakesa]

When I was tasked with putting in and maintaining Fire Trails my choice was a 17k Cat D3 Dozer with ripper... did a magnificent job and maintenance was mostly back dragging the blade in float.

Ended up selling but later my brother was in need of the same kind of work and bought a Deere 350C Dozer... same work just a smaller machine.

In the steep, rough country where I live, a series of small dozers [JD 420, 430, 1010C and 350B] were my original and only piece of machinery for 28 years before I bought my first tractor an L4630.
They were perfect for the logging and trail building needed as we built our homestead over the years.
As age and income increased, I was able to afford the Kubota and and use it for many more tasks that the dozer was not made for or able to do.
The dozers are gone but they are definitely the go-to machine for much of the work the OP wants done.