What are your guys thoughts on a small TLB?

[IndyIan]

I've seen the BX's used in 1/4ac situations, its basically like having 2-3 guys who don't get tired, help dig a trench or wheel barrow gravel to the backyard. You're not excavating foundations with it, but it should make landscaping easier.
They fit in all sorts of places and don't tear up a small yard like a full size or even a L47 would. I guess getting one used would avoid the $50k part, and if you put on only a couple hundred hours, its probably going to be worth the same when you're done with it.

 

[ultrarunner]

If I had only one tractor TLB it would be my BX23

It has moved hundreds of yards of gravel, built trails, planted trees and slowly taken out stumps.

The beauty is The compact size was just right to dig out a crawl space and get into places only 4’ wide.

Sometimes slower is ok when the option is doing it by hand.

At the Christmas Tree farm the L3800 is a good size…

I also have a Deere 110 that is a digging machine but find I use the BX 10 hours for every 1 with the Deere 110

 

[rScotty]

Also look at the Kubota B26. The next size up from the BX and the smallest of the compact frame TLBs.
It's been in production continuously since 2007; that's impressive....
A 4000 lb basic 3 speed TLB for mid-35K $$ & without fancy electonics or emissions.
Nice.

 

[Smokeydog]

Fortunately lucked into a used Kubota B20 TLB in 1990. It was the original TLB that has a 3pt hitch that started that series. Was a game changer on the farm. Amazing where it could go and work it could do. Had many full size tractors and backhoe already to compare with.

We have down sized our farming now and chose to maintain our wooded, hillside farm in a park-like fashion for wildlife. Deer and turkey farmers now. Kubota M59 and B26 are the machines of choice now. Even though very capable, are modified to better suit our needs.

There are other tractors with loaders and backhoes attachments, the real TLB series are made much heavier , stronger and better ergonomics. For maintenance around the houses, repairing buried utilities, landscaping, the B26 is hard to beat.

Home Depot’s here rent the B26s. Be a great option to actually work with one and gain hands on experience.

Have about $50k, bought used, in both but would ask quite a bit more in today’s market. Investment that made many happy and good returns.

 

[Elemento1991]

I think it would be very helpful if the op @Elemento1991 could clarify if this is a house in a city, standard lot size to 1/4ac, or a house on something bigger. I got the impression that the house isn't on much land and I kinda doubt a full-sized TLB would fit.

The flip house we’re doing currently is in the city. The property our home is on is about 1/2 acre currently. We’re hoping to get 5-10 acres in the future. I would have a difficult time getting a full size around the space limitations of our current house and potential projects in the future. I’m also hoping to stay out of CDL territory and be able to move it with a 3/4 ton so that kind of limits me out of the full size TLB market from what I’ve saw.

 

[Elemento1991]

Also look at the Kubota B26. The next size up from the BX and the smallest of the compact frame TLBs.
It's been in production continuously since 2007; that's impressive....
A 4000 lb basic 3 speed TLB for mid-35K $$ & without fancy electonics or emissions.
Nice.

I didn’t even realize I didn’t put the model in the original post. The B26 with the hydraulic thumb like you mentioned is the Kubota TLB I was referencing the breakout force numbers from. It’s the top machine on my list I’m considering. For me I don’t think the BX would have enough ass for some of the projects im looking to do. I figured the B26 with filled tires would have enough weight to bust its way through some PA clay and rocks. Before getting serious about pulling the trigger I’ll probably rent one for one of my upcoming projects in the spring and see if I like it.

 

[ning]

I didn’t even realize I didn’t put the model in the original post. The B26 with the hydraulic thumb like you mentioned is the Kubota TLB I was referencing the breakout force numbers from. It’s the top machine on my list I’m considering. For me I don’t think the BX would have enough ass for some of the projects im looking to do. I figured the B26 with filled tires would have enough weight to bust its way through some PA clay and rocks. Before getting serious about pulling the trigger I’ll probably rent one for one of my upcoming projects in the spring and see if I like it.

Definitely rent before you buy; other considerations on smaller pieces of land is, how easy is it to move around obstacles. "B" is the biggest I'd suggest; when you get 5-10 ac I'd expect to likely get something bigger and heavier - honestly I wouldn't have that as a consideration for now as a) it's in the future sometime and b) a BX or B will still have use on a bigger piece of land and you can deal with replace or add tractor question then.

I agree that a BX-sized TLB is likely the best choice. I'd encourage not fixating on "can it do major digging jobs" because being in town you're ideally located for renting a mini-ex which is a far better digger; get a tractor to do all of the backbreaking little jobs. There's a good enough used market that you can buy a used one, and you can definitely sell a used one if you decide you really want something bigger, but once again on a smaller lot I personally wouldn't want to drive anything bigger than a bx around!

 

[Jdolson]

Hey all,

I’ve been tossing around ideas of what my first piece of machinery should be for a while. My fiance and I are currently flipping a house and we would like to do more flips following this one. What I am looking for from the machine is to do jobs around the house (Right now I don’t need for acreage but we do have goals of getting 5-10 in a few years time) some side jobs between houses, and moving material/digging/grading when needed at our future flips is the primary goal. Mini-ex/skid steer is the ultimate setup but I’m not operating strictly from my machine, I’m using it to help things move along. I like the idea of having one sitting at a housing project I can do whatever I need with even if it’s a little slower. I currently have a 7’x16’ flatbed trailer that I believe should fit it ok.

I had done a decent amount of searching and then stumbled upon Kubotas TLB series. They seem to offer similar digging forces to the small mini-exs. They have better hydraulic flow than other options I’ve found too. I like its compactness. It can lift over 1300lb on the FEL and breakout force on the hoe is almost double what some of the cheaper options like TYM and Kioti had. The con here is pricing which is upwards of $50,000. It’s a lot of cash upfront compared to just adding a backhoe attachment to a standard tractor. I will have this machine the rest of my life so spending the extra money isn’t something I am against but I want to be sure it’s worth it. Has anyone ran the Kubota TLB series. I’m wondering how much better they perform beyond the typical tractor with backhoe added. Are there any others I may have missed that I should be looking into as well?

Thanks!

I bought a massey ferguson GC1723EB 3 years ago. Best money I have ever spent. Small but mighty and was affordable. I cannot imagine life without it now. If I had of bought anything bigger I would have had to cut many trees to get it to places. This fits anywhere. Just love this machine

 

[rScotty]

I bought a massey ferguson GC1723EB 3 years ago. Best money I have ever spent. Small but mighty and was affordable. I cannot imagine life without it now. If I had of bought anything bigger I would have had to cut many trees to get it to places. This fits anywhere. Just love this machine

I love to hear stories like that. I remember when were looking that MF has a comfortable seating position on their little tractors too.
Yesterday we had a bunch of downed trees to cut up. Mostly small trunks and large limbs. Apple, willow, and pine. Using the tracto with backhoe and thumb we would clamp onto a trunk, lift it to waist level, and slice it up with the electric chain saw. A lot less work.

 

[CoyPatton]

While lots of folks are encouraging a larger hoe, consider your work environment carefully when consider full size hoes. They simply will not fit in many areas. Also consider the depth of digging you need to do—many compact hoes have a limited digging depth some as shallow as 6’.
I would suggest avoiding adding a hoe to a compact tractor—there are lots of horror stories out there where folks have broken there tractors in half using an add-on hoe as the tractor did not have the structure to handle the forced placed on its frame for the digging process. Check the weight of a compact TLB compared to a traditional compact tractor-even look at the loader and hoe weight—that difference is framing on the TLB.