Buying my first tractor

[ericmb]

I’m thinking about buying a tractor to build homes with. The homes will primarily be slab homes with a possibility of a walkout basement.

In the past I’ve rented or borrowed skid steers for the work and I’m thinking of buying my own equipment. My wife and I live in a small city on a lot and we’re looking at buying 5 acres or more in a few years. That’s where the tractor comes in.

I was thinking a tractor with a loader and backhoe would meet the requirements of home building and we would add a mower deck in the future.

What advice would you have on the type of tractor to purchase? I was thinking between 35-40hp but I’m not sure if 25hp would work as well. If I can use the tractor for all but digging out a basement it’s not the end of the world. Most slabs around here require a 12” bucket and 30” deep or so. I would be building homes on lots, not acreage if that matters.

 

[4570Man]

Are you talking about building your house or multiple houses? If multiple ditch the tractor idea and get a skid steer and mini excavator.

 

[jeff9366]

What you are considering is not tractor work.

You need a heavy skid steer or heavy compact track loader.

In addition you may need a mini-excavator.



The bucket on a skid steer butts up against the skid steer frame, so you are pushing with the whole machine.

The bucket on a tractor is on the end of long, whips, relatively weak arms. You cannot dig effectively with a tractor bucket. Nor can you lift much, relative to a skid steer.

Skid steers have powerful hydraulic pumps, specified for continuous use.

Tractors have weak hydraulic pumps, only for intermittent use.

 

[ericmb]

A skid steer would be preferred, I don’t disagree, especially if I was building multiple houses a year. I should have clarified that I’m looking at building one house a year and while I know that a tractor would be clunky, would I be able to do trench work and landscaping with it? The tractor would be the tool of choice for maintaining acreage, it would be a double win if trenching and loader work could be done with it as well.

 

[duffer]

If you only build 1 home a year, you could probably get by with a tractor and front loader. I would strongly suggest renting an excavator (mini or otherwise) to dig footings and trenches needed.

With 5 acres, you'll need a tractor for mowing, clearing, and other misc stuff. Probably more than you know. A 25 hp tractor won't cut it for what you're describing, unless you want to "live" on it. Mine is 38 hp and does everything I ask of it. 35-45 hp will allow you to do most anything you need. Except fall 100' trees.

 

[3gunr]

Slab home with a walkout basement ? I agree with duffer on tractor size.

 

[JCoastie]

To really answer the question, as you've rented skid steers for the job, next time rent a tractor and see how well it works before diving in and making the purchase.

 

[Egon]

A skid steer would be preferred, I don’t disagree, especially if I was building multiple houses a year. I should have clarified that I’m looking at building one house a year and while I know that a tractor would be clunky, would I be able to do trench work and landscaping with it? The tractor would be the tool of choice for maintaining acreage, it would be a double win if trenching and loader work could be done with it as well.

For one home a year the 25HP tractor with frame mounted backhoe and mower will work. Your biggest concern would be rock and lift height if material must be hauled away. You will also have to move material around on site for which it would work well. It would be very suitable for landscaping. Trench work can be done also. It’s best if trench depth be about dipper depth for ease of operation.

A tractor similar to a JD 4200 would be ideal.

 

[sea2summit]

Essential Craftsman on Youtube is one of my favorites and he is a contractor. He's got an older Kubota w/backhoe he brings out for applicable jobs mostly site prep like brush hogging, filling a ditch to drive trucks access, minor landscaping, etc. I've never seen him use his tractor for actually doing the heavy lifting of foundation work/house building, he contracts a lot of that work out and he's a very accomplished operator himself. I'd follow his example.

 

[jeff9366]

What advice would you have on the type of tractor to purchase? I was thinking 35-40hp but I wonder if 25hp would work?

The most efficient way to shop for tractors is to first identify potential tractor applications, then, through consulataton, establish bare tractor weight necessary to safely accomplish your applications. Tractor dealers, experienced tractor owners and TractorByNet.com are sources for weight recommendations.

Bare tractor weight is a fundamental tractor specification easily found in sales brochures and web sites, readily comparable across tractor brands and tractor models, new and used. Shop your weight range within tractor brands. Budget will eliminate some choices.

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. A 6" to 10" wider rear axle substantially decreases tractor rollover potential.

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


For construction work the minimum suitable tractor will weigh 3,500 to 4,000 pounds bare weight and have 66" wide for stability under load. This is a high sales volume tractor segment. Every producer makes several 3,500 to 4,000 pound bare weight models. One tractor series meeting these specs is the Kubota MX series:

VIDEOS: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kubota+mx+series+tractor