Help with purchasing a homesteading machine.

[trinculo]

Hello,

I'm getting ready to homestead 60 acre of land in Western North NC. I'm digging the basement for a house and have about 8 feet of cut and fill for a 40 x 60 Pole barn as well as tree clearing, A bit of road grading, septic, well lines and general clean up. After getting some bids for just the house excavation I've decided to purchase a piece of equipment and do most of the work myself. I have about a $15K budget to purchase equipment and have narrowed my choices down to a few pieces (types)of equipment that all fit in my budget. After the major building push (2-4 years) I may keep the machine around for farm chores or sell for a small excavator. I currently have a kubota L3240 with an FEL, box blade, root rake, bush hog, etc. that will also be available to do what it can do but i understand it's a loader and not a digger. Any help would

1. Track loader (seems to be the best fit for my budget) Have been steered toward deere over cat due to part pricing. Here are a couple I'm looking at.
a. 1998 JD 455G with 6000 hrs, GP bucket and a backhoe attachment. This machine is about two hours from me and looks clean from the pictures (i.e. fresh coat of paint and is alleged to be in good shape with no blow by, leaks. UC is reported to be ~65%.

b. 1993 JD 455D with 4 n 1 bucket that is local. This machine looks worn and rusty from the pictures but has supposedly had a new engine and transmission rebuilt by the local deere dealer with accompanying service records. UC is reported to be 80%+ with a list of new part installed, tracks, sprockets, etc. All repairs were done a few years ago with less than 300 hrs since the work was done.

My feeling is that a 4 n 1 bucket would be much more useful than a backhoe on a track loader.

2. Backhoe (4wd)
a. Case 580 Super K turbo backhoe. 4x4, factory forks, 4 in 1 bucket, cab, extendahoe, 2 lever control platinum backhoe. Machine looks in good shape by photos on CL, hours unknown at this point.

b.Caterpillar 416B Backhoe No details yet.

I have a local friend who just retired from the grading business and his recommendation is to get a backhoe over a track loader based on repair cost of UC, speed of movement and resale ability. How much muscle would i loose between a backhoe and a similar hp track loader?

3 Smaller excavator.
I just missed a CAT 307 that had been rolled and the cab destroyed and was replaced by a heavy steel cage. It went for $15K but I haven't seen many 10K lb + machines for less than $20k which is out of my price range. I have a lead on a taka MB50 for <$10k but it has 5000+hrs. that size seems on the cusp of too small. Ultimately i realize a 12-20K lb machine would be the most versatile machine to do what I want, I just think they are out of my price range for something that isn't in need of major repairs. Tha last thing I want to do is spend $15k on a machine only to find out it needs thousands in repair.

thanks in advance for everyones guidance.

derek

 

[jeff9366]

Geez, for one basement I would get a solid Tooth Bar for the FEL bucket and have at it.

Is your Box Blade heavy enough to do good work?

Maybe all you need is a small dumping trailer to haul spoil.

 

[trinculo]

There is quite a bit of dirt to be moved. 8-10' deep of cut across 60' for the pole barn. Lots of trees up to 24" poplar, maples and oaks. Also have a hilltop that I want to level about 4' down. I think I would trash the FEL on the tractor. I do have a very heavy duty box blade with ripper shanks that does a very good job. I also have a 12' x 6' 10,000 lb dump trailer and an f350 4wd dually to pull it with.

I need something I can dig stumps with or at least dig and push the trees over. WAY more than I'd do with a CUT.

 

[Bengineer]

What about rental? That way, you could get a tracked loader or excavator for the basement, tracked dozer for the major land shaping, mini excavator for the septic and so on, while saving your CUT for the small jobs & later maintenance.

 

[oosik]

I lived in "rural" Alaska from 1960 thru 1982. There were a lot of Chechakos that proved up on their homesteads in the early '60. The equipment of choice was always an old D8 or D9 Cat crawler tractor. There was no digging in the ground for basements or septic systems - heck, there was no running water, except in the nearby stream or perhaps in a lake, if one was close. No electricity, no running water - - the outhouse was close by, if you were lucky. The meat house was high - the wood shed was low and life was grand. How I miss those days.

 

[tkappeler]

Although far from an expert and only experiencing what we went through when we built our home, I would suggest something along the lines of a crawler tractor, maybe not as big as a D8 but a smaller would do quite well. Rent other types of equipment for other specific tasks.

 

[RDrancher]

What about rental? That way, you could get a tracked loader or excavator for the basement, tracked dozer for the major land shaping, mini excavator for the septic and so on, while saving your CUT for the small jobs & later maintenance.

This ^ is the best idea so far. 15k can buy a lot of rental time with just the right piece of equipment for each task. No repairs either.