Buying Advice Debating buying an Avant 528 loader

[anomad]

What's proprietary about them?

I guess with an adapter plate you could hook up to just about anything.

 

[2manyrocks]

The issue with adapter plates is you might have to have them fabricated and then they add weight that reduces the net lifting capacity of the loader. Plus, you can get into some issues trying to figure out the angles needed to make the adapters work right with implements that weren't designed for that OEM lift system.

 

[4570Man]

I guess with an adapter plate you could hook up to just about anything.

That wouldn’t be my first choice especially if I was buying a new machine. If you had hydraulic locking pins which I’d definitely want an adapter takes away that ability. It also cost you lift capacity both from added weight and moving the load farther away.

 

[rScotty]

It sounds like you want a backyard do everything machine.... I'd get myself a brand new Kubota B26 TLB. They are sort of like a tractor but made for light construction instead of light ag. Kubota has made the same TLB, since 2007, so by now they should have it right. They aren't common, your dealer ay not have one on the floor. It's half the weight and price of the Avant, and has similar power but with a much lower center of gravity for better stability. Optional 3pt and thumb.

 

[Fixastuff]

Seems like better bang for the buck cutting out the middle man - with no dealers. The Avant with no implements is $49k and the Power-Trac 1445 is $35k. However, shipping to Hawaii would eat all of that savings up and then some. It cost $13k to ship a container here from the PNW - self packed. Thanks for the suggestion though - it's a good one.

After reading about power tracs on this forum for quite a while, to compare them to Avant is kinda laughable to me.

 

[Hay Dude]

I sold my house and my Kioti DK40SE along with it. Moved to a smaller property (sloping 2 acres) and got older along the way. I'm planning landscaping and an orchard. I'd like advice on what the Avant 528 can and can't (or shouldn't) do. I would get a 4 in 1 bucket, forks, auger, and flail mower. These seem like the basics. I need to cut paths into the rocky hillside, dig holes for trees, remove "islands" of grass to be replaced with good soil for landscaping, put in a metal stake fence, move lots of dirt (bark, compost, etc), mow the orchard, and remove felled trees.

I know I may need to rent equipment for things the Avant doesn't do well. I'd just like to know what that is up front.

The first question is around leveling paths on the hill. Currently, the ground is a mixture of rocky volcanic soil and shredded bark. I want to level 6-7 foot wide paths that are a foot or so sloped from upper to lower point. Is doing this with the Avant 4-in-1 bucket advisable, or should I hire someone to come in with the "right" equipment?

Part of the property is covered in thick grass with hard packed rocky soil underneath. We need to remove sections of it, bring in new soil and get it ready for trees and shrubs. Can the Avant 4-in-1 bucket cut through the grass and soil - either as a bucket or with its jaws?

Both the above tasks seem more like a dozer or excavator type task. On my Kioti, I had a backhoe for digging tasks. Can a 4-in-1 bucket handle anything like this?

About 1/2 acre that is currently grass will end up as orchard. Will a flail mower "mow" the rough grass and be appropriate on the Avant for the task of weaving around trees? Right now we hire guys with zero turn mowers to mow the mostly empty lawn area.

I'm hoping the Avant is stable enough and has the traction to get around the hills. I'm curious how it compares to the stability of my old Kioti with filled tires. Are they similar? After we get the paths in, it shouldn't have any issues.

It's a $70k investment with implements - which includes a premium for my remote location. It's not quite equivalent to what I paid for the Kioti with all its implements ($55k in 2014). The Avant is far less powerful and the implements are far less capable as well, but its nimbleness will (hopefully) allow me to get around the whole property where a tractor couldn't. Plus it won't destroy the existing grass. I need something to handle the tasks of rural living, and am hoping this has the right combination of capabilities instead of the wrong set of compromises.

Thoughts?

After reading your thread, I was wondering if you could find something like this? I would love to have this for tree work. Tracks would give you traction. Kubota Diesel. Backhoe. Bucket has 3rd function. This one sold in a week for ~$15,000 which even used, seems like a steal.

Newer version:

 

[KenBike]

Was looking at the mini loader market my self two years ago and decide on a stand on mini track loader.
Started with Dingo 1000 but it was a covid built machine and it showed.
Currently running a BobCat MT 1000 wide track and love it. Have a grapple, forks, bucket, Harley Rake, landplane, and auger. It would not be great for mowing but would is great for everything. Low ground pressure and really does not tear up the lawn at my Ohio farm, not sure hoe it would be on your ground.

 

[Rustic Ratbag]

I sold my house and my Kioti DK40SE along with it. Moved to a smaller property (sloping 2 acres) and got older along the way. I'm planning landscaping and an orchard. I'd like advice on what the Avant 528 can and can't (or shouldn't) do. I would get a 4 in 1 bucket, forks, auger, and flail mower. These seem like the basics. I need to cut paths into the rocky hillside, dig holes for trees, remove "islands" of grass to be replaced with good soil for landscaping, put in a metal stake fence, move lots of dirt (bark, compost, etc), mow the orchard, and remove felled trees.

I know I may need to rent equipment for things the Avant doesn't do well. I'd just like to know what that is up front.

The first question is around leveling paths on the hill. Currently, the ground is a mixture of rocky volcanic soil and shredded bark. I want to level 6-7 foot wide paths that are a foot or so sloped from upper to lower point. Is doing this with the Avant 4-in-1 bucket advisable, or should I hire someone to come in with the "right" equipment?

Part of the property is covered in thick grass with hard packed rocky soil underneath. We need to remove sections of it, bring in new soil and get it ready for trees and shrubs. Can the Avant 4-in-1 bucket cut through the grass and soil - either as a bucket or with its jaws?

Both the above tasks seem more like a dozer or excavator type task. On my Kioti, I had a backhoe for digging tasks. Can a 4-in-1 bucket handle anything like this?

About 1/2 acre that is currently grass will end up as orchard. Will a flail mower "mow" the rough grass and be appropriate on the Avant for the task of weaving around trees? Right now we hire guys with zero turn mowers to mow the mostly empty lawn area.

I'm hoping the Avant is stable enough and has the traction to get around the hills. I'm curious how it compares to the stability of my old Kioti with filled tires. Are they similar? After we get the paths in, it shouldn't have any issues.

It's a $70k investment with implements - which includes a premium for my remote location. It's not quite equivalent to what I paid for the Kioti with all its implements ($55k in 2014). The Avant is far less powerful and the implements are far less capable as well, but its nimbleness will (hopefully) allow me to get around the whole property where a tractor couldn't. Plus it won't destroy the existing grass. I need something to handle the tasks of rural living, and am hoping this has the right combination of capabilities instead of the wrong set of compromises.

Thoughts?

When I retired from some 50 years of farming (I live in the West Midlands, UK) I moved to a small place which was steep and partly wooded. I was looking for gear for mowing paddocks and also to get into the woods for firewood, and general maintenance of a large garden, so it had to be able to lift and carry stuff.

I bought a small MultiOne pivot steer, very similar to the Avant. On paper it looked ideal, with a similar range of attachments. But I soon found that in the woods, the centre pivot steering made turning uphill feel very unstable and if you happened to run one of the uphill wheels over a stump it felt very nasty.
Back on my old farm many fields were very steep which made me extra aware of the dangers even after many years experience. I had had a few dodgy events with an old Inter 574 before I made a 25 cwt concrete weight for the rear which was essential, especially for big bale handling with the FEL, even with a heavier 4wd Case 90.

So the MultiOne went and I bought an Iseki TXGS24 hydro transmission sub-compact, which I found much more suitable. For a start the choice of the cat 1 implements is far greater whereas the dedicated MultiOne stuff was very pricey. (In the UK good used compacts are almost impossible to source. I bought it new, and the deal included the FEL thrown in at no extra.) It’s very well built with a nice torquey engine, and a 500kg-plus rear link capacity and 350 kg or so at the bucket pins. It’s very handy in confined spaces and comes with plenty of hydraulic outlets on the back end; it can even take a 5ft mid mounted mower. It’s kitted out as a big tractor but in a very small package.

But because it is very small and light (700kg or so on its own) it really isn’t stable at all for ANY foreloader work, nor will it have any traction, on the level or on a slope, without rear ballast.
Another drawback to subcompacts is that they are small! Anybody of normal size will find it cramped; wearing work boots your foot can easily cover both forward and reverse transmission pedals at once.
Overall though it’s much more suitable for my needs, and much better value. So please think twice about small pivot steer loaders!

 

[spindlewood]

After reading your thread, I was wondering if you could find something like this? I would love to have this for tree work. Tracks would give you traction. Kubota Diesel. Backhoe. Bucket has 3rd function. This one sold in a week for ~$15,000 which even used, seems like a steal.

Newer version:

I'd love one of those. No Ditch Witch dealers on our Hawaiian island, however.

But I soon found that in the woods, the centre pivot steering made turning uphill feel very unstable and if you happened to run one of the uphill wheels over a stump it felt very nasty.

Thanks for this and it is what I'm concerned about. So you're probably confirming to look in a different direction.

Was looking at the mini loader market my self two years ago and decide on a stand on mini track loader.
Started with Dingo 1000 but it was a covid built machine and it showed.
Currently running a BobCat MT 1000 wide track and love it. Have a grapple, forks, bucket, Harley Rake, landplane, and auger. It would not be great for mowing but would is great for everything. Low ground pressure and really does not tear up the lawn at my Ohio farm, not sure hoe it would be on your ground.

I've been talking with the Bobcat dealer and the MT120 was mentioned as an option. Thanks for replying. Do you have any hills and would you recommend working on a decent slope?