Is a 110, L39, or L48 enough tractor?

[hutch4472]

First sorry for the long post, and great forum you all got going here! I think I'll stay!

I asked about this in the JD buying forum but thought I'd try to get more reply's here since its more about the tractors operation abilities.

I have 6 acres (tiny to most I know) to develop and put a home (modular) and shop (metal building) on over the next year or so. I also REALLY REALLY want a tractor (childhood dream kinda thing). Got clearance from the war department (dear wife) and working building the funds now (gonna take some saving up I know).

Here's what I'd LIKE to do:
1. Cut in a road/driveway about 2500ish feet long (rolling hills, oak woodlands, moderate amount of rocks) then base rock it. probably a few culverts to install etc...

2. Dig septic system.

3. Cut pad for modular (trailer, triplewide, trailerhouse, home built off site, whatever /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif), it will be a slab not foundation.

4. Cut pad for metal shop.

5. Cut pad for Tennis court (to keep the war department happy). Also MAYBE someday dig in a pool.

6. Install metal pipe fence around the property (auger).

7. Everything else I cant think of that I can do with a tractor around the property. Small pond, garden waterfall, sprinkler system, pull some oak stumps, etc....

8. Clear lot, pull a few stumps and skid a few logs (pine and fir), and add a few roads at a family cabin in the Sierras. SOFT dirt, about 2 acres lot.

9. Lots of tasks around the folks house (1 acre) my father tries to do himself and has trouble admitting his age makes it very tough.

10. (I've read this can be a somewhat risky endevour) I would like to "side job" with the tractor. Offering the TLB with 4-N-1 front, thumb on the hoe, tiller, box blade, auger, and forks (mainly for unloading ton pallets of wood pellets).

11. Be able to trailer the tractor with my one ton pickup on a gooseneck flatbed.

12. Have this tractor (investment) in the family for a long long time.

OK....so....I kinda have fallen for the JD 110 TLB but also think very highly of Kubota's L39 and L48. You think maybe some or many of these tasks may be too much (?) for these 8000ish pound tractors. Can they still do it? Time is one thing I do have. I know I can get a used JD310 or Case 580 sized hoe much cheaper but I really dont want to upgrade to a dump truck and heavy equipment trailer plus a Class A CDL. I have a Class B CDL now but here in CA (acctually I think it is a federal law) if the trailer is over 10k you need a Class A.
Also I prefer to buy things new and take care of them and keep them forever.

Sorry again for the life story here, sure appreciate all the knowlege on this site. Please let me know if I'm way off base here with the capabilities of these machine's.

Tom

 

[BadDog]

I do nearly all of this already (except for side-jobs, unless they're for free for friends) with my NH. I have had no serious problem doing any of this work (and more) over the past 2 years.

The only 'negative' is that my NH is a tad too light as delivered, and that is with filled rear tires. Adding 440lbs of rear wheel weights helped immensely.

Find an 'equivalent' JD and you should be good to go.

If I had the chance to do it again, and for some reason I decided to go with JD vs NH (actually I don't really care, because they're all pretty much the same aside from minor operation details and color), I would give serious consideration to the JD110 'commercial yellow) TLB. It has a lot of really nice operator features that the CUTs just don't have, it is heavier, and seems to me to be built better for my style of 'aggressive' use.

Here's the JD110.

 

[jmc]

For the long driveway, were you planning on taking off the backhoe and putting on a heavy duty grader blade? You'll need some tilt and angle to do a good job on that much drive.

John

 

[Builder]

I use my L-39 to do that type of work on a weekly basis (I build garages, additions, homes, dig footings, grade, cut driveways, etc.

Couple things you'll want to keep in mind: nothing beats a tracked dozer for cutting a driveway and nothing beats a trackhoe for digging a swim pool. Since you said you have plenty of time, you'll most likely be able to get er dun, but you might want to rent one of those two machines for those jobs.

Also- if you're concerned about going over 10K on your trailer, you'll be S-O-L with a JD110. At 8,000lbs plus the weight of your gooseneck trailer (it must be over 2,000 lbs) you'll be over 10K. L-39 weighs 7,000 lbs.

 

[mike69440]

No way that these machines have the grunt of an big old (used) industrial machine and for the work ahead of me I wish I had one. Problem is I should sell the thing to recover most of my expenditure after I do the heavy lifting, but I know myself. I would find a reason not to.

For a universal machine I picked a good one, my L-39.

Compared to the average CUT, the BH is all a 7,000 lb machine can handle. It is what it is, and this little tool is impressive. You can't just rip out a large stump like an excavator, but in an hours time I remove stumps so big I don't know what to do with them once out of the ground. I need to have a stump sale.

The strong for a CUT Loader will just barely pick a rock up that should not fit in the bucket. The bucket is big for the size of the tractor at 6 ft and the loader has good lifting power, but the curl and breakout force is naturally weaker than I would like because of the way the 4 bar linkage leverage pins are set-up. When new, the pressures were set low, making this even worse. For a given about of cylinder movement, you get a lot of bucket swing. The L48 and JD-110 are stronger in this regard.

The L39 is decent on fuel and generally is powerful enough, except it struggles pushing into a heavy pile and up steep hills. 50 hp would sure be nice.

I pulled out two rocks this weekend with the BH and rolled them with the BH and rolled them with the bucket. I estimate they weighed 2,500 to 3,000 lbs. (Or more) I then lifted them up a few feet on a rock pile.

These rocks, had they rolled off the rock pile were bid enough to wreck the L39, even with my reinforced and enlarged grill guard. I couldn't get the bucket down and back up fast enough! Just scary.

The small TLB tractors can used the 3 pt hitch and PTO implements of any similar size CUT making them dual purpose for heavy duty landscaping as well as farm work.

However they are not construction machines and I fear beating to death my tractor. Then again I have beat on my little B7200 and it is still useable.

If you have a lot of mud or really big rocks, you will be better off hiring out the real heavy stuff, but even hiring out, the work you can do with these types of machines will pay for their cost.

 

[Builder]

I know what you mean. I sold my Ford 555 4x4 and it could do 3 x the work in 1/2 the time. I looked at all 3 models and although I usually always end up with the bigger (size) model, I went home with the smallest one. It came down to the $4,000 + in savings compared to the others and i wanted to buy more equipment, so the savings really sold me and I don't think i have all that much less tractor.

 

[hutch4472]

BadDog: Thanks for the insight,

I also realisticly see myself just doing my own work and free stuff for friends and family. As much as I would like to also work it for side jobs to help with payments I can see how that could easily turn into headaches.

Glad you hear you have done and are doing similar projects with a simiular machine. I would sure hate to make this investment and then have to tell the wife "I need to hire a much bigger machine. Although I know that can still happen for a few of the projects and there are many other reasons I want a tractor for. Thanks again. Tom

 

[hutch4472]

jmc:

For the driveway I plan on using what ever works I suppose. I plan on purchasing a hydralic tilt heavy box blade, and heavy straight blade so far, the more I read on here the more I learn how to spend my money though. Any advise on other implements? Thanks, Tom

 

[hutch4472]

L39Builder: thanks for sharing the knowledge,

Ya I have the time for sure (well within reason I guess I dont want to spend a thousand hours on just the road/driveway). Ya, we have a D6C at work that I operate for fun sometimes, I know nothing compares to big heavy tracked machines except bigger heavier tracked machines but I want something I can move around with little hastle and reasonably low cost, plus something I can repair and maintain. I have ALOT of tools, HOWEVER, almost none of which would allow me to do repairs on a heavy tracked type machine.

I'm glad to here you are doing alot of similar projects I hope to do with a similar machine. Nice to know I'm not just dreaming of its possibilities.

I am also realizing I AM dreaming about being totally LEGAL in towing a 110 (especially if I have the tires filled) with a gooseneck. The BigTex GN's Im looking at are 3975lbs for the low profile between the wheels deck and just under 6000lbs for the over the wheels flat deck. Yikes! Not sure what I'm going to do about this obsticle, maybe look into what I need to upgrade from a Class B CDL to Class A I guess???

Anyhow thanks for your time. Tom

 

[hutch4472]

mike69440, Thanks for the imput

Ya I know what you mean about compairing these smaller units to the big stuff. I put 100 hours or so on a OLD JD410 hoe at one of our remote fire stations in the deep woods. It is only 2wd also but man can that thing push, dig, tear, pop limbs of huge trees, etc...it also weighs a BUNCH, but obviously weight and power go hand and hand.

Glad to here you are able to accomplish alot of work with the L39. Did you try the L48 and 110 when you were shopping around? What made you go with the L39? I can see how when you start pushing big piles uphill you can start starving for horsepower quickly. Funny how no matter what we have we always want more huh? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

WOW those are some HEAVY rocks you are dislodging! I love the fact that you can remove the use the 3pt. And wow all those implements to drain the bank account!!

I am banking on your thinking as far as the work they can do will help pay themselves off (hehe keep the justification comming!!). /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thanks a bunch for your time, Tom