compact TLB vs. full size TLB

[JPCjr]

I hope the manufactures of TLB are reading this.

FYI, Case called me up last year and I was part of a paid survey on TLB's
How is a new 65 HP 12,000 lb open cab 4x 4 w/ 12' BH & open cab for under $50,000? Cab would add $5K, another 5 K for those nice options like pilot control and 4 in 1 bucket

I'd like it to be about the same size as an L48, with larger front axle and 4,000 lbs additional steel. A small but HD TLB would really be nice to have. At 12,000 lbs, it would not be for mowing, but who wants to mow with an L39 or
L48 unless it is rough mowing a dry solid field.

My 18,000 Lb excavator is a push to tow with even an F450 size truck. A full size 6 wheel dump is the way to go. I should have been looking at a 10-13 ton machine, which physically is not much larger and can be towed with the same 6 wheel truck which I could use as a material hauler anyway.

and

not to hi-jack,arent they going to redesign the L48?????????????

One of the Kubota dealers I visited around Easter told me that the Kubota engineers showed up one day with a prototype of the new L??. He didn't give me much info, but he did tell me that he thought it was around 55Hp and "didn't see how it was going to come in under 10,000lbs." He also said it would probably sell for around $55k and that he was hoping they would continue producing the L48.

 

[machmeter62]

Another perfect example of how you get ripped-off for smaller equipment. You can pick up a 26,000 GVWR older Ford, IH , GM dump for less than a one ton dump. You can carry 3-4 times as much weight per trip, pay the same or less in insurance and get more work done. The registration fee is a little higher, but it's worth it. I've been through all this before, so what do I know, but it's the same discussion as above. Spend similar amounts of $$ for a piece of equipment only real difference is that one is bigger one is smaller. You need to chose the one that works best for you, but small dumps cost more per GVWR than big ones.

BUILDER: Calif. has high taxes on everything; and continue to increase them. Unless you plan on daily use of a dump truck here; a dump-truck of 26000#GVW will cost at least $1000+ for license only, which is hard to justify for my limited use now. The one ton cost $250/yr! My travel distance doesn't justify bigger either; and when needed, I tow my L-35 with it on an 10,000# GVW trailer. I wanted to buy a five yard Chev. dump with a CAT 3208 diesel, but the fixed costs killed the deal.

 

[machmeter62]

The woods on our land is mostly mature trees. I'm planning on only cutting what I absolutely have to and leaving the rest. For the driveway, most of the mature trees can stay and I'll still have plenty of room to navigate a FS TLB. There's a lot of undergrowth and smaller trees that need to come out, but most of the big ones will stay. For the house, there are a few hardwood trees that need to go, but I'm planning on saving those for wood work in the house. This is one reason I need the barn built first. As of now, it looks like the barn may be placed in a area that was attacked by southern pine beetles, so it's a matter of cleaning up and moving debris more than taking down large trees.



We've owned the property for almost a year, but I wasn't able to spend much time out there until recently. I've walked the property several times and plan on spending a lot more time there before I do anything. I'm also planning a larger home and will make use of solar systems. There really is no other homesite that will have anywhere close to the same views. It's either battle the rocks or move away from the creek. My uncle is a geologist and he suggested that the best way to find out what lays below the surface is to just start digging.



I've thought about a dump truck, but I don't think that is in the budget. We'll see as time goes on.

Did the purchase of your property require any "perk tests" for the septic system to legalize the sale? Also, are you going to an architect, designer, draftsman, or plans from a catalog when the construction starts? Because we live in EARTHQUAKE country; an architect with a structural engineering degree stamped on the plans satisfied my needs, and was worth the extra money! Also, was the property surveyed prior to the purchase? If not, an architect will need one for the elevations, and have a "topo map" made at the same time, which will save you money! The boundaries of your land are very important; there maybe easements that may haunt you also, dragging you through the courts. You mentioned a creek somewhat close to your planned building site? The county/city may want an easement there for flood control purposes, denying you a portion of that area un-buildable? Not all real estate people do all their homework, I have been to that school too! These are problems that you may have to face, and you may already know the answers? Remember when you start dealing with bureaucrats, time is on their side; and the paperwork gets lost in the suffle while your waiting on your tractor for the green light.

Our paperwork got lost in the bureaucracy! When I made a phone call about the building permit; I was told to go ahead and dig the foundation only! The permits will be ready to pick up next week. WRONG!! They decided the future driveway paralleling a creek may need to be "riprapped" before any construction, including the foundation. This was going to cost me an additional $25,000 before I even started!! The county's justification was the property is going from agricultural to residential use and a soils study was necessary? Give me a break; the old road was there since 1947 with no erosion?! After getting legal help in the fall of the year to settle the issue at my expense; the winter rains came and destroyed all my work!! We started all over again the following spring. I hope you don't have to face any of these problems; but building your first home will take you through a "learning curve." This is for your awareness only! I'm not trying to be negative; just avoid the pitfalls.

 

[JPCjr]

Did the purchase of your property require any "perk tests" for the septic system to legalize the sale?

No, it wasn't required but the seller had the perk test done anyway. Also, my fiancee is an environmental consultant/soil scientist, and she tells me we're good to go there.

Also, are you going to an architect, designer, draftsman, or plans from a catalog when the construction starts? Because we live in EARTHQUAKE country; an architect with a structural engineering degree stamped on the plans satisfied my needs, and was worth the extra money!

No, I'm doing all of the architect work, designing, and drafting myself. With today's software, this is actually pretty easy. I guess it helps that I have plenty of experience with various CAD programs also.

The guy who sold us the property is a well respected architect, and he agreed to review my final plans.

The county was, up until recently, a very rural county. Building permits weren't even required until around the mid 80's, I think. As far as I can tell, the county will approve my plans unless something looks questionable, and then they'll request a PE approval.

Also, was the property surveyed prior to the purchase? If not, an architect will need one for the elevations, and have a "topo map" made at the same time, which will save you money! The boundaries of your land are very important; there maybe easements that may haunt you also, dragging you through the courts.

Yes, the property was surveyed and the boundaries are clearly marked, but I don't think elevation data was ever acquired. Sometime in the next month or two, I'll rent a GPS unit to acquire the property elevation data. While I'm there, I'll also get the coordinates a few of the really large trees and rocks. The design software I have will allow me to input this data and it will re-create the terrain profile. Then I'll determine the exact location of the barn, septic system, house, and driveway. Before I do any work to the land, I'll have a 3D model of the entire property.

You mentioned a creek somewhat close to your planned building site? The county/city may want an easement there for flood control purposes, denying you a portion of that area un-buildable?

Yes, the house will overlook the creek. But the home site is up on a hill, well above the flood plane. I think the rocks are going to be my biggest challange. If the county and/or rocks give me too much trouble, we'll just move the house back a little.

Not all real estate people do all their homework, I have been to that school too! These are problems that you may have to face, and you may already know the answers? Remember when you start dealing with bureaucrats, time is on their side; and the paperwork gets lost in the suffle while your waiting on your tractor for the green light.

Our paperwork got lost in the bureaucracy! When I made a phone call about the building permit; I was told to go ahead and dig the foundation only! The permits will be ready to pick up next week. WRONG!! They decided the future driveway paralleling a creek may need to be "riprapped" before any construction, including the foundation. This was going to cost me an additional $25,000 before I even started!! The county's justification was the property is going from agricultural to residential use and a soils study was necessary? Give me a break; the old road was there since 1947 with no erosion?! After getting legal help in the fall of the year to settle the issue at my expense; the winter rains came and destroyed all my work!! We started all over again the following spring. I hope you don't have to face any of these problems; but building your first home will take you through a "learning curve." This is for your awareness only! I'm not trying to be negative; just avoid the pitfalls.

That doesn't sound like fun. I hope I don't have anything like that happen either, but it probably will. I will make sure that I have the necessary permits before I start any work. I know if I don't, they'll just be out to get me for the rest of the project. I learned the hard way that before any work is started, a simple meeting with an inspector at the job site will go a long way.

And I didn't view any of your comments as negative. I appreciate all of the comments I get. The more input I have the better. I'd rather learn from someone elses experiences than make the same mistake myself.

 

[mike69440]

My story falls somewhere between Mackmeter62's and JCPjr's.

I won't even bother going into the details, but I've spent maybe $15,000 and been delayed about 6 months to comply with everything the wetland laws to the local electric company's requirement that exceed the NEC.

My only advice is to approach the people you have to deal with in a co-operative and non-adversarial manner. They have the power and can make you life miserable. Things go a lot smoother and faster if you are compliant and if you work with the rules, rather than fight them. The rules tend to get a little flexible also as they are subject to the enforcer’s interpretation.

If you live in a real intolerant liberal moon-bat area, your going to have a rough time.

 

[capt_met]

jcp,
maybe it would be time to look at a comprimise in size. i run a bobcat B300 tlb. i do much of the same work you are looking to do as a bussiness. it isn't as fast as full size but it is head and shoulders above the l48-110s in ability. for under thirty you should have no trouble finding one and have money left over for a root grapple, box blade, bush hog and for a little more a tree shear. it is definitly worth consideration. especially if you are not going to be moving it around. there are some old threads on this forum about the earthforce tlb's. these are the same as the IR/bobcat tlbs. they also have one that comes in around 55 HP.
good luck in your search.

 

[curtisfarmer]

When I hear the new L48 is going to be about $55K, way too much, the current L48 is about $39.9K and makes me wonder if the improvements will be worth it. $55K is alot compared to what you can buy for that, I can do so much with my current L48 that if the improvents where only minor, such as 3,000 lbs. lift and 7,000 breakout force, i don't seee the value of the new L48 being $55K. As for the Bobcat b300, the tires looked way to small for me, I mow fields and dig trenchs at the same job sites, the bobcat tires where tiny and all the same size. I don't know the specs, but don't remember them being so impressive. 3pt. htch is a must have for me, and industrial power to boot. When I look at the grand L40s and the BH90, I think way over priced for what it can do compared to L48. The BH90 is 1/2 the machine. Saw a JCB on a trailer going by the other day, looked like the bobcat b300 but with bigger tires, seemed like more than 10K lbs. and no 3pt hitch. Looked beefy though. I am concerned about the new HST and all the electrical gadjets that come with it.....I like my L48 just the way it is. I am getting another machine soon, have been waiting for the new L whatever.....but at $55k.....Yikes!

 

[Builder]

My guess is that it's going to have an air conditioned enclosed cab, like a full size machine, except it will follow Kubota tradition and be a well-built, albeit 3/4 scale size of a full-size machine.

I think Kubota could do real well selling a 12,000lb 4x4 hoe w/ enclosed cab, X-hoe, 7' FEL w/ 4K lift capacity. I'd doubt it'll have 3 pt capability as the hoe will be too big to take off.

With the increased towing capacity of today's diesel pickups, it might fit the market correctly. Problem might be marketing, I think we're in the makings of a big recession. Might be better-off postponed until the economy shapes up

 

[jfh0jfh]

I have both: a JD 4310 4x4 w/ loader & backhoe; a full-size JD backhoe (which I just sold). I've had a full-aize hoe for 15+ years; I'm in the process of buying a newer one, probably 4x4 w/ ext-hoe.

The 4310 is great in town for utility work. I also sometimes use a Kubota L-48(?) backhoe. Again, great for utility.

But on the farm, for any real digging or clearing, a full-size backhoe is the way to go. It was the 1st tool I bought when we purchased a farm and I use it for everything. I have a Case dozer also but the backhoe remains the best utility tool.

 

[JPCjr]

Hey, thanks for bringing my thread back to life capt_met. I've looked at some of the smaller backhoes, but around here there are probably 10 to 20 full size backhoes to every midsize backhoe. I think I can get a better deal on a full size. Also, I think I may need the extra size to move some of the rocks at the home site.

I am curious to see what the new kubota L?? looks like, but I don't really see that as a good option for me.