Buying Advice Buying advice for 8 acres

[johncanfield]

A mini-ex with a blade is versatile, grading with tracked equipment is significantly easier than anything with wheels. I like the idea of you also going with a compact track loader, stable and there's a zillion attachments available (get one with high flow auxiliaries.) Add a ~40-50 hp compact tractor and you have it covered.

 

[jeff9366]

If you are worried about stability, consider spacers for the rear wheels (Bro-Tek). I have very hilly woods with lots of of varied, unven terrain. I put 2 inch spacers on each rear wheel and they have been great. I wish I could have gone with 3 inch, but that would have put my wheels wider than the standard width offering of box blades, snow blowers, etc.

Fill your tires as well.

If you are concerned about stability purchase a tractor with ample rear axle width.

Tractors are inherently unstable operating on sloped ground. Tractor rear wheel/tire spread, sometimes adjustable, is a critical factor increasing compact tractor stability working sloped or uneven ground. Rear axle is the tractor component on which rear wheels/tires mount. A 6" to 10" wider rear axle substantially decreases tractor rollover potential. Tractor width is an approximation of rear axle width.

When considering a tractor purchase bare tractor weight first, tractor horsepower second, rear axle width third, rear wheel/tire ballast fourth.

Buy enough tractor the first time.

 

[Egon]

A smaller tractor loader & frame mounted backhoe would serve you well. Something around thirty horse power or so. It would do all the jobs listed, be able to move around the property easily and with a backhoe making a trail into the ravine could be considered. The backhoe works well on the tree stumps and levelling around them.

 

[airbiscuit]

I have reliable sub who did all excavation for the house. He charges $110/machine hour, so another option is just take the $ I would put into excavator/CTL/TLB and have him do the work. The negative is once that process is done, I don't have a machine on hand for continued work.

A smaller tractor loader & frame mounted backhoe would serve you well. Something around thirty horse power or so. It would do all the jobs listed, be able to move around the property easily and with a backhoe making a trail into the ravine could be considered. The backhoe works well on the tree stumps and levelling around them.

- 100+ tires in ravine I'd like to remove; would need brought to road (500' away) for proper disposal I would hire a HS football player for a day - attach a long cable to your tractor and have him hook the cable to the tires and skid them out like trees to a collection point
- build dam across ravine to create small bass pond (< 1 acre) Hire your subcontractor to make the dam.


From there, a 35 - 50hp CUT with a loader would do the rest except fro the stumps. For 10 stumps, you could go old school with an ax and a chain, or hire the sub to take them out. Alternatively, buy or rent a stump grinder.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

OP, for a property that small, you get get a skid loader and have a greater opportunity for side jobs if you wish.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

My view is that CTL and Mini-Ex would be ideal for the initial cleanup work, while a compact/utility tractor would suffice for maintaining. Additionally, I do have some reservations about usefulness/safety of compact tractor given the slopes.

FWIW, I was looking at the L3901, and ended up going with the MX5400, in no small part due to the fact that the MX is at 20% wider overall compared to the L3901, and significantly wider than all the models in-between (including the grand L's). Stability was a concern for me. So far so good. Of course you may be better served by a non-tractor lower center of gravity thing, which it sounds like you are considering.

 

[newbury]

<snip> For 10 stumps, you could go old school with an ax and a chain, or hire the sub to take them out. Alternatively, buy or rent a stump grinder.

Actually I think he wrote a dozen
For that number of stumps of trees 10 to 30 inches DBH in Pennsylvania I'd consider (in order of effort, cost and time required)
1. Just let them rot
2. Take out a portable drill with a big bit, drill hole and pour in potassium nitrate How to Remove a Tree Stump Painlessly — The Family Handyman
3. Rent a stump grinder
3. Hire the guy making the dam as suggested

 

[jeff9366]

I just finished building a new house on 8 acres in Southwestern PA.

The 8 acres is quite varied with about half former pasture and half wooded. The wooded part is almost entirely a ravine, and includes a creek running through the bottom. The pasture varies from flat to 20 degree slope, and the ravine is steeper (nothing I would drive a tractor on).

One time jobs:
- remove and cleanup ~dozen medium (10'+ diameter) size trees; mostly dead ash
- 1 acres is dirt needing smoothed and seeded with grass; another 2 acres has grass but is rutted and rough
- all landscaping around new house (bushes, trees, mulch, etc)
- 100+ tires in ravine I'd like to remove; would need brought to road (500' away) for proper disposal
- build dam across ravine to create small bass pond (< 1 acre)
- demolition of old 2 car garage
- trenching for electric, water lines, and drainage

Recurring work:
- gravel driveway (500') needs maintained; potentially plowed in winter
- 5 acres of mowing; I have commercial zero turn currently

I am currently considering one of the following options:
1. Buy new/used compact tractor (Kubota L or MX). Rent MiniEx as needed.

Go with a 3,700 pound to 4,200 pound bare weight tractor, such as the Kubota MX.

A 2,700 pound L-01 series Kubota L2501/33013901 is not robust enough, nor stable enough for your demanding tasks and slopes.

 

[finn1]

I have a 40 hp compact tractor, a CTL, and a mini excavator, and previously had a rubber tired skid steer.

Of those machines, the CTL would be most useful for the type of work you are proposing, with the wheeled skid steer a distant second (unless you buy a set of over the wheel tracks). The mini ex is a remarkable tool, but the small one I have wouldn’t be useful on the steep slope. I would still go for the mini ex over a tractor mounted backhoe.

The compact tractor would be at the bottom of the list. They just aren’t as rugged as dedicated construction equipment. They are more suitable for maintenance than the dirt work and tree removal in your project.

 

[joncham]

Posting an update.

I'm in process of buying a CTL (Cat 239D) from another homeowner who only put 100 hours on it. It wasn't cheap but it was a good deal for the machine given the condition and hours.

Depending on expected usage, I'll buy or rent attachments like a tiller, land plane, mower, trencher, rake, and stump bucket. That should cover almost everything I need to do.