Backhoe or Dozer

[doall]

according to your terrain. A trackhoe is great for big trees alone, but if your smaller trees say 10-20 year old trees are so thick you can't see through them a track hoe would take forever in that. and if your trees get as large as our oaks say some over 10ft in diameter; I don't think I would want to tackle that with a backhoe and possibly have it fall the wrong way or spin on you as it goes down. dozer first, then excavator. like someone else said then sell and get a backhoe if you want. But I would hire it out for $100 per hour.

 

[40Kchicks]

I found a backhoe to be slow and have rather disappointing performance after using excavators for awhile. I agree they are a great multipurpose machines but they don稚 compare to an excavators speed and power. Excavators are easy to find used and will move anything you need moved. I would love to have one. If you have never ran one rent one for a week and you will be amazed at what you can get done. Actually you could rent all your equipment options and decide which one works best. This might feel like throwing money away but and informed decision is worth a lot.

 

[JoelD]

If you are planning to purchase (which I'd never do again with a tracked machine of any kind) you need to consider your ability to wrench the machine.

Tracked machines, from my experience, are time bombs waiting to go off, those things are incredibly difficult to work on for the average Joe, everything weighs a ton and you need huge tools, pry bars, etc.

As others have suggested, you'd be amazed at the amount of work you can get done with an excavator.

Whatever you decide, I'd rent, no doubt, before ever considering to purchase. Your are guaranteed the machine will work perfectly and you can go as big as you need.

I've rented a 25K machine for $500 delivered for a weekend with 10-12 hours use, including fuel.

I've done it twice and run out of work for it both times.

CAT 311, what an amazing machine.

Joel

 

[AKfish]

Rent (or hire) an ASV 100 with a FECON mulcher head! It will "eat" EVERYTHING on your land up to about 10" diameter!

Rent an excavator for the big trees.

Get a new grapple for your tractor to clean up the shredded mess that the FECON left behind and work the ground to reveg everything.

AKfish

 

[jfh0jfh]

I agree with Eddie Walker.

Our (long-abandoned) 160-acre farm needed a lot of work when we bought it. I researched backhoes & dozers; rented/ borrowed each .... and bought a full-size backhoe.

I got by with that (and its replacements) until a few years ago when I bought a dozer. I did hire some final grading 15 years ago; I now do that myself.

But the dozer is more laginappe - really just for for fine work - and so if I had to, I could get by without it.

Most of what I seem to do is move dirt. A dozer can't do that (although a friend gets by w/ an FEL tractor & dozer).

Also consider maintenance. A dozer IMO is a nightmare. A backhoe is a tractor with extra hydraulics. The dozer I have now came from a friend who bought it new. It's my 2nd. Without all of the maintenance records and the known history, I'd have never bought a 2nd one.

A dozer for me is like the old joke about boats: the 2nd happiest day is when you buy it; the happiest is when you sell it. (I've owned boats too).

I haven't commented on track-hoes/ excavators. Wonderful machines but too specialized for my purposes.

 

[jfh0jfh]

Your comment on safety is a good one. In the last 10 years I know of the following (local) deaths in tree-removal: trackhoe (1); backhoe on rubber (2); dozer (2); tractor (1); truck (1); chainsaw (several).

I like my backhoe for larger trees: dig out one side, push over. But I wouldn't tackle anything like a 10' tree with any available (to me) machine.

according to your terrain. A trackhoe is great for big trees alone, but if your smaller trees say 10-20 year old trees are so thick you can't see through them a track hoe would take forever in that. and if your trees get as large as our oaks say some over 10ft in diameter; I don't think I would want to tackle that with a backhoe and possibly have it fall the wrong way or spin on you as it goes down. dozer first, then excavator. like someone else said then sell and get a backhoe if you want. But I would hire it out for $100 per hour.

 

[doall]

the 10 ft. was for effect. probably none over about 6, but thats too big for me too.

 

[Pete Judd]

Out here on the PNW logging country, we call them exavators "shovels" all have thumbs, and can grab on to a large doug fir stump and wiggle it out then toss them to remove the soil from the roots before burning (dirt don't burn). When I cleared my homesite, It was a lot cheaper to rent or hire someone else to do it than buy the the stuff. A trained operator can do a lot more in an couple of hrs. than you can do in a day. I used to have a small crawler tractor, it took a toll on the lawn, and If I need a backhoe, I just rent it for a day. However I just bought a small Yanmar and am looking for a backhoe just to save what is left of my back.

 

[D7E]

I think eddie summed it up !