B26 Questions and Price Check

tdfontaine · Mar 19, 2016

Looking at purchasing a small to medium TLB to help build a house and maintain 10 wooded acres in the Colorado foothills. Construction will mainly consist of digging 2-3' deep trenches (electric, well line, septic lines, etc), digging sub slab plumbing trenches, spreading sub slab gravel, backfill/leveling/grading around foundation, spreading gravel for driveway, stump removal (mostly less than 12" pine trees), etc. Basically, I'm trying to save on excavation costs and do as much work as possible but also trying to be realistic about it. I have no expectation of doing the major excavation (foundation and septic drain field) so major parts will be contracted out.

Maintenance will consist of maintaining 550' gravel driveway, gathering firewood, chipping wood, thinning trees, snow removal, etc. In the future, would like to build a detached 2 car garage/shop and use the loader/backhoe to do most of that excavation work. Wife and kids want chickens and goats so will also need to do some work related to keeping small farm animals.

Went to the local Kubota dealer and they have a 2 year old B26 with hydraulic thumb on consignment that has 86 hours. Drove it around the lot, exercised the hoe/loader and everything seems to work good. Dealer is asking $30K (haven't haggled yet) which seems like a decent price but wanted to get some opinions about the price.

Some of the thoughts I have about the B26 are:

- The lot is in the Colorado foothills at 8700' and I'm concerned about altitude de-rating of an already small 26HP tractor.
- Size for the build/construction is small but seems about right for maintaining the property, building a 2 car shop, etc.
- Loader is 60" with 1100 lb capacity. This seems a bit small but I think it could work...would just take a bit longer.
- B26 would likely hold it's value and be easy to resell if the unit doesn't work for me.
- B26 seems like a tank and would hold up well to construction activities.
- Kubota would finance which is better for my financial situation

This turned into a long post so thanks for any help!

tdfontaine · Mar 19, 2016

Forgot to mention that 3 point attachments and cutting edge are also included in the deal...

mike69440 · Mar 19, 2016

tdfontaine said:
Looking at purchasing a small to medium TLB to help build a house and maintain 10 wooded acres in the Colorado foothills. Construction will mainly consist of digging 2-3' deep trenches (electric, well line, septic lines, etc), digging sub slab plumbing trenches, spreading sub slab gravel, backfill/leveling/grading around foundation, spreading gravel for driveway, stump removal (mostly less than 12" pine trees), etc. Basically, I'm trying to save on excavation costs and do as much work as possible but also trying to be realistic about it. I have no expectation of doing the major excavation (foundation and septic drain field) so major parts will be contracted out.

Maintenance will consist of maintaining 550' gravel driveway, gathering firewood, chipping wood, thinning trees, snow removal, etc. In the future, would like to build a detached 2 car garage/shop and use the loader/backhoe to do most of that excavation work. Wife and kids want chickens and goats so will also need to do some work related to keeping small farm animals.

Went to the local Kubota dealer and they have a 2 year old B26 with hydraulic thumb on consignment that has 86 hours. Drove it around the lot, exercised the hoe/loader and everything seems to work good. Dealer is asking $30K (haven't haggled yet) which seems like a decent price but wanted to get some opinions about the price.

Some of the thoughts I have about the B26 are:

- The lot is in the Colorado foothills at 8700' and I'm concerned about altitude de-rating of an already small 26HP tractor.
- Size for the build/construction is small but seems about right for maintaining the property, building a 2 car shop, etc.
- Loader is 60" with 1100 lb capacity. This seems a bit small but I think it could work...would just take a bit longer.
- B26 would likely hold it's value and be easy to resell if the unit doesn't work for me.
- B26 seems like a tank and would hold up well to construction activities.
- Kubota would finance which is better for my financial situation

This turned into a long post so thanks for any help!

B26 seems too small for your projects. Consider a good used L39 or L45

Altitude will kill power sad to say.

Gary Fowler · Mar 20, 2016

You can do a lot with a B26, much more than I ever thought possible. I cant say how much power you will loose but my B26 has much more power than it needs, it runs out of traction before engine stalls in most instances. As for backhoe work, engine power is not the issue. I don't think you would require a larger hoe to do your foundations, sewer lines etc. I have used mine to trench in more than 500 feet of water line (I don't need to go the depth that you would need to though) in some very hard and rocky soil here in Arkansas. While it isn't as fast as a commercial or possibly a L39 or L45, I don't think you need a $60K backhoe for homeowner use. I like mine just for the size as it can get into some tight spots. The previous owner pulled a 5 foot bush hog behind it so engine power is quite good. The only negative I can think of is the tread width, it is fairly narrow and the tires cant be adjusted any wider without adding spacers. I don't know if that is a real negative to you or not but it might need to be considered seeing as you are in mountainous country.
I bought my 2009 when it had 60 or so hours on it and 2 years old for $20k which was a very good deal because it cost nearly $30K new. I would look at new costs and compare but I think you are looking at $35-40K new for that unit. Mine came with a hydraulic thumb, trencher bucket and a 12" which is about as much bucket as it can handle in my hard ground. Softer soils might handle an 18" OK though.

I think the 3 PH arms are over $1000 option also, so you might haggle a bit and get another thousand off but that is likely a pretty good deal now. Inflation is surely boosting the initial price of that machine up from what it was in 2009.

Carl_NH · Mar 20, 2016

Hi TD,

Your projects mirrored mine 15 years ago when I got the B21 (precursor to B26) did the foundation for the barn, spread 500 plus yards of dirt, built 100's of feet of rock walls, reclaimed some old forest but had the major excavation done (36" stumps). It does everything a bigger machine will do but takes a bit more time.

With 12" trees you will be ok digging these stumps, and with the Hyd thumb that's a great addition to pick and hold logs too, place rocks etc. The QA bucket is a nice addition, but I suggest getting a set of pallet forks (instead of a discount ask them to through them in the price maybe) or a grapple would be great too for brush.

As far as power loss I cant answer that, but unless you plan a lot of PTO work you probably wont notice it for normal BH and loader work - I rarely run over 2000 RPM. You might test this out at the dealer and see for your self.

The other aspect is the height - the b26 will just get under a 8' garage door - the bigger machines will need a 9' door or more. The 30K price is about right and it should have had the 50 hr service done so next is due at 300 which is a few years off, so adding QA pallet forks or a grapple (about $3K+) would be a good addition given you are financing it.

Good Luck!

Carl

2ndhalf · Mar 20, 2016

Excavating costs are the cheapest part of the build and I would only want a professional doing it because it is also a very important part of the build. I would hire that done and just get a tractor for the other projects you listed. JMO

Carl_NH · Mar 20, 2016

2ndHalf,

I believe the OP and I stated we use or intend to use professionals for the "heavy work" which is what I did for the big stuff. For basic foundations, like additions and footer work or trenching for water/sewer lines the B26 or my machine are fine, but no way would I do large stump removal or a house foundation using these machines.

Carl

powerstroke444e · Mar 20, 2016

I think a B26 would be a great choice but I am a little biased. I have done water lines foundations footers graves field tiles and cleaned up alot of trees with it. I will say the loader will handle more than most in its size.

this was from this weekend

tdfontaine · Mar 21, 2016

Thanks for all the replies...especially from fellow B26 owners! Sounds like the B26 will work pretty good for my situation. Plus, resale would be good if it doesn't work out or I decide to sell after the build.

To clear up any confusion, major excavation will be hired out to a local, well respected owner/operator who has a very large tracked excavator. He could do all the work quickly, but the costs quickly add up......trenching alone is $20/foot. His prices are fair considering his costs and time. I need at least 450 of trenching so that alone is $9K. He'll do the big stuff and I'll do the smaller stuff (like trenching).

powerstroke - wish I could burn slash/brush piles! I've already taken down about 70 trees and have some big slash piles. Wildfire is such a big concern out here that I'm not willing to risk it. The local fire department requires a waiver to be signed that says anyone burning slash/brush pays for all related costs to fire fighting should the fire get out of control and they have to respond. All of a sudden, a PTO wood chipper doesn't seem very expensive!

Gary Fowler · Mar 21, 2016

Good luck with your purchase, I am sure you will be very happy with the B26. Mine does almost all the work around my house now. MY 70 HP LS just sets in the shed, so much so that the battery was dead when I went to crank it this morning to do some tiller work which is about all it does now. I should sell it but it is handy to have around should I sink the B26 which come to think of it is the last time I used the LS last summer when digging out the pond and got the B26 down in some muck that I couldn't move it out of with the backhoe.