Buying a tractor - too many choices! Please point me in the right direction

[Cat_Driver]

Do yourself a favor and take a look at what Skidsteers have to offer. I fist bought a tractor " because it was the thing to do" Then I thought outside the box and started looking at Skidsteeres. GREATEST investment I ever made switching from tractor to Skidsteer.
Like you I didn't plow fields etc, mainly clean up, road grading, planting trees, digging ditch, backhoe etc. With the Skidsteer I have backhoe attachment, grappler, trencher, various buckets, boom arm, etc etc and it handles 100% of my needs, much better than when I had the tractor.

 

[noose]

Do yourself a favor and take a look at what Skidsteers have to offer. I fist bought a tractor " because it was the thing to do" Then I thought outside the box and started looking at Skidsteeres. GREATEST investment I ever made switching from tractor to Skidsteer.
Like you I didn't plow fields etc, mainly clean up, road grading, planting trees, digging ditch, backhoe etc. With the Skidsteer I have backhoe attachment, grappler, trencher, various buckets, boom arm, etc etc and it handles 100% of my needs, much better than when I had the tractor.

I was thinking the same thing just this evening... I'm assuming, however, there's no such thing as a brush hog for a skid steer, though, is there? I will have some hogging to do for sure.

 

[TomSeller]

I was thinking the same thing just this evening... I'm assuming, however, there's no such thing as a brush hog for a skid steer, though, is there? I will have some hogging to do for sure.

Oh yes there are, but get the wallet out. They are not cheap. Internet picture attached

 

[GreenheadRecycle]

Noose, you are taking a very practical approach. I can feel the excitement from your words, to separate that from practical thinking is important. The mesquite has been there for a l o n g time so it's not going anywhere. The land purchase is what you should focus on now and feel that high. This is dream time buddy. Don't let this tractor thing bring you down. It will happen. Now, where are the pics of the land??? It's a balmy -10 here this morning, I need to dream too.... Take Care.

 

[TJP89]

Skidsteers are nice and have their uses for sure, but they are expensive. By the time you pay for a skidsteer with the attachments you need (much less want) I would think you would be close to the price of new 80HP tractor. I would think that with that you could push over little trash trees like you have and then use a grapple to haul them off. JD and CIH (or CNH as they are now called) both offer high HP economy tractors that have good performance at a low price point. They both also have deluxe tractors but you can start pushing 100K pretty quick there. There are plenty of good used options in this range too, but there you have little choice in what you get and no financing. Plenty to think about for sure, but I think the jump is for the better. Most of us here have at least 1 HP per acre, and most have more.

 

[Danny C]

I aslo believe you should look at a skid steer loader. You can get good, used ones for a reasonable price like these: http://www.machinerytrader.com/list/list.aspx?Manu=DEERE&Mdltxt=323D Skid steers are more manouverable and thier atatchments run by hydraulics out in fornt of you where you can see them. Great for bush hogging as not only do you now have to worry about driving over brush an pulling hoses, but you can lift the hog and lower it down ontop of trees and bushes along with even trimming. You can get a 3 point hitch attachment if you like and they will grade as good and if not better than a tractor in less time. The main draw back is lack of travel speed, they tend to be slow getting from point "A" to "B: unless you are able to get one with a 2 speed drive.

You might even want to consider a used Backhoe like what GMan Bart did. Here's a link to another thread discussion about his backhoe purchase: http://http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/construction-equipment/319817-solid-backhoe-35k-possible-4.html

Here's a link for used backhoes: http://www.machinerytrader.com/list/list.aspx?ETID=1&catid=1046

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Noose, here's another idea. (Dang, I love spending your money.) You really need an excavator for digging out those mesquites. The way to get rid of them is to dig them up, not cut 'em off or knock 'em down. That's excavator territory.

So, how about buying the tractor that you really need for everything else, and then be on the lookout for a used mini-excavator that you could buy, clear the property and then sell it in a year or two when you're done with it. If you buy it right, you won't lose much money in the process. Money-wise, it would be like a really, really cheap long-term rental.

And a mini-excavator is MUCH faster than a backhoe. With a backhoe, you have to (1) position it, (2) lower the outriggers, (3) get out of the tractor seat and into the backhoe seat (or flip the tractor seat around), (4) dig, (5) raise the outriggers, (6) get back in the tractor seat, (7) reposition the backhoe, (8) get back in the backhoe seat, (9) lower the outriggers, etc., etc., etc.

With an excavator, you dig, move, dig, move, etc.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Duplicate post

 

[KiwiBro]

Not exactly mini but neither are the mesquites Noose may have to deal with, but I like it::thumbsup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_PTSq6Y-7I

Buy a used one, deal to all the problem mesquites, sell then buy a smaller tractor perhaps?

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Not exactly mini but neither are the mesquites Noose may have to deal with, but I like it::thumbsup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_PTSq6Y-7I

Buy a used one, deal to all the problem mesquites, sell then buy a smaller tractor perhaps?

I can't tell you how much I'd love to have one of those. If I only had a spare $150,000 or so laying around.

But thanks for reminding me of two other things I intended to mention. First, Noose would want a hydraulic thumb for the excavator. That video shows how incredibly useful they are.

Secondly, the tracks on an excavator will avoid lots of flat tires that a tractor will have trying to deal with mesquite.