Tractor Sizing Compact TLB for cutting trails into a sloped hillside?

[finn1]

A machine designed to do everything does nothing particularly well. Do you drive screws with a hammer?

Any track machine has a major week point...its track. Quick to wear, expensive to fix. When working on slopes you have no where to turn around. So that means LOTS of driving around, 50% of the time with nothing in the bucket. Yes you can turn in one spot, but that grinds up the track super quick. Any TLB means you will be digging with the backhoe, drive out, drive back, scoop/level and repeat. A SCUT TLB means you will be doing that every 4-6 feet.

If you want to save money hire an experienced operator with machine. Then buy a SCUT to cut your grass, clean up the garden, ...if you need a very expensive powered hand shovel buy a backhoe attachment for the SCUT.

Track wear hasn稚 impeded sales of either mini excavators or CTLs. Manufacturers can barely give away rubber tired skid steers in many places. Everyone wants a CTL.

Yes , tracks are maintenance items that should be budgeted for, but 1400 hours isn稚 unheard of.

It would take years to put that many hours on a personal use machine. Furthermore, there wouldn稚 be much turning around with a mini. The house rotates, and backfilling is easy. A lot of the leveling is done with the bucket, with trimming done with the blade.

It痴 hard to describe the productivity of a mini to someone who痴 dead set on a backhoe attachment, though. Amazing machines.

 

[dfkrug]

A machine designed to do everything does nothing particularly well. Do you drive screws with a hammer?

A better comparison might be: do you drive screws with a hand screwdriver, now that you have a Li-ion impact screwgun?

Any CUT is going to be a compromise, even your M59TLB. A Swiss Army Knife of tools, compact utility tractors are the tool to buy when you want only one machine. And that little BX is going to fit into some places your big tractor is not.

 

[4570Man]

A better comparison might be: do you drive screws with a hand screwdriver, now that you have a Li-ion impact screwgun?

Any CUT is going to be a compromise, even your M59TLB. A Swiss Army Knife of tools, compact utility tractors are the tool to buy when you want only one machine. And that little BX is going to fit into some places your big tractor is not.

There’s a few times that where the mini is the only tool for the job but a M59 will beat a similar sized mini by itself 95 percent of the time. A mini really isn’t a by itself tool. It has to have a loader machine working with it. Even then with all the time you wasted getting both machines there the M59 would have a big lead.

 

[dragoneggs]

Then buy a SCUT to cut your grass, clean up the garden, ...if you need a very expensive powered hand shovel buy a backhoe attachment for the SCUT.

I think that all depends on the tasks at hand on one's property. I have made several long trenches for water lines, power, drainage, etc on my property with my little BH along with digging out stumps, planting trees/plants, digging a pond, diversion ditches and some sloped trails. I wouldn't have done hardly any of it with a hand shovel, maybe a hole for a plant to two.

Not arguing that it is a bit of a luxury vs. renting, but if you have the projects, it is extremely useful. I also don't have the time to rent and get a job done in quick order. Having it available anytime is great.

 

[Code54]

I have cut a bunch of trails along the steep hills in WV and found the mini ex is 10X better than a TLB for that task. I have a KX91 mini, and we have a BX25 and MX5100. After seeing your photos rent a mini for the week and knock it out. Have a small TLB for upkeep and other tasks down the road. I have cut across some stupid steep stuff and when you start, build a level base and keep working forward across the slope. Dig from the high side and dump on the low side, press the dirt down tight with eh bucket, even/level with front blade and move forward and repeat. You can get moving at a pretty good rate as you get better operating the machine and you are always working on a solid platform.

 

[otlski]

I have a trails through steep terrain. Whatever method you use to establish the trail, I would make it minimum a width and a half of whatever wheeled vehicle you intend to use on it regularly. In this way you can control ruts by driving down the middle one time, off to the right the next, then off to the left after that. It also keeps the pucker factor down by having the extra maneuvering room.

 

[Code54]

I have a trails through steep terrain. Whatever method you use to establish the trail, I would make it minimum a width and a half of whatever wheeled vehicle you intend to use on it regularly. In this way you can control ruts by driving down the middle one time, off to the right the next, then off to the left after that. It also keeps the pucker factor down by having the extra maneuvering room.

Good advice!

 

[dfkrug]

There’s a few times that where the mini is the only tool for the job but a M59 will beat a similar sized mini by itself 95 percent of the time. A mini really isn’t a by itself tool. It has to have a loader machine working with it. Even then with all the time you wasted getting both machines there the M59 would have a big lead.

As I said, a CUT is one machine that does a lot of different jobs, and none of them as good a special-purpose tool. Nothing digs like an excavator, nothing loads like an articulated wheel-loader, nothing moves dirt like a dump truck, etc.

 

[agiardin]

Thanks for all of the feedback. It was especially helpful to hear from the folks who have done similar work before.

I think I'll probably end up getting some quotes to hire it out, and if that's too expensive I'll try renting a mini excavator from the local yard and see how that goes, to decide on whether I want to buy one or if maybe it will make sense to continue renting and finish the job.

 

[dragoneggs]

Thanks for all of the feedback. It was especially helpful to hear from the folks who have done similar work before.

I think I'll probably end up getting some quotes to hire it out, and if that's too expensive I'll try renting a mini excavator from the local yard and see how that goes, to decide on whether I want to buy one or if maybe it will make sense to continue renting and finish the job.

If you know where you want your paths, yeah get a quote or three. They can rough it in and you can pretty them up and get some experience with your TLB rather than starting from scratch. A box blade might be in your future as well.