Jinma & Similar on Steep Woodlot

[catsco]

I've been browsing the Tractorbynet Discussions & have gotten some GREAT info. Thanks everyone!

But I need a bit of specific info.

We just purchased a seven acre building site that is steep and heavily wooded, and are going to have a 500' plus driveway cut in by "experts" with tracked excavators and dozers. I say "experts", since they have more nerve than I do to get the first 100' in to where a person could trip and fall and roll LESS than 1/2 mile as opposed to the STEEP part. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

My dilemma (been readin' the dictionary again) is: most of the lot has a slope of a minimum of 3:1, some as steep as 2:1, but the lot is NARROW (300' or less) and LONG (1500'). I'll be cutting "access" roads with a soon to be purchased 4wd Jinma/Farm Pro with FEL and backhoe. I'm pretty sure I can easily go up and down the fall line of the slope, but would I survive much work ALONG that type of slope with the Jinma which seems to have a high center of gravity?

The obvious solution would be to not have such a steep lot, but here in the front range of Colorado, land is sold by the square foot for the same price an acre cost 20 years ago. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif (Well, it seems that way!).

Thanks!
Mark H.

 

[alpha]

your dealer can adjust the rear end wider for ya and get the jinma wheel weights

 

[SPIKER]

also with the back hoe on it makes them very heavy, and backing up hills would be a must for that steep of hills.

anyhow you will have a lot of pucker factor supprizes ahead on just about ANY kind of farm tractor. remember these JINMAS were designed to run in rice paddies and as such do have some of the highest clearances which also makes lots of roll overs more likely as the CG gets raised too.

I would get abotu 1/3 fluid filled tires to help it out on lowering the CG.,.. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Mark M

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Personally, I would scratch buying the Jimna and I would opt for one of 3 machines. First choice would be Ventrac, a very very close second would be a Steiner. A third choice would be a Power Trac.

All three brands are articulated. All 3 brands have very low centers of gravity. The smaller Power Trac units do not have the weight shift feature that most of the Ventrac and Steiners have. Jimnas are tall skinny machines, they are not well suited for slopes. Even if you set the wheels to maximum width and ballast it down, you are still taking a risk that may not be worth it. I think you might be able to get a Power Trac 422 for something in the price range of a Jimna. The other two brands will cost you more. But what is your life, or at least your piece of mind worth?

Also, Jimna tractors do not have hydrostatic transmissions, when working on slopes, unless you are an experienced tractor user, I would strongly, no I would STRONGLY recommend you buy a machine that has HST not a gear machine. I have places on my property that my larger tractors simple cannot go because they will tip over which is why I am playing with Steiners and Ventracs right now to see which one I will be adding to my fleet of tractors. But I can tell you that I could have saved some money and bought the right one the first time IF ONLY I HAD KNOWN ABOUT THIS SITE several years ago!

The right tool for the job is really what you need. JMHO.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

You really need to check these out, if for no other reason than to make sure you have made an informed choice. One thing about all these units, they look funny, and most of them look small, but they are all very capable of doing anything and everything a Jimna will do, and these tractors will do it on slopes that are dangerous to operate other types of equipment on.

Steiner Tractors

Ventrac Tractors

Power Trac tractors

 

[catsco]

Thanks for advice; my wife isn't sure I need a wider rear end, though. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[catsco]

Thanks--that's probably how I'll proceed.

 

[catsco]

Bob--thanks for the info re: Steiner, etc.

I've looked into them, and see that they aren't an Ag tractor, & that WITHOUT a backhoe, the cheapest one is about $2500 MORE than a Jinma with FEL and backhoe. For the $$$ difference I could probably get offset and/or dual wheels. What do you think?

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I would seriously doubt you could get dual wheels on a Jinma, but if you could that would certainly eat into the $2500 difference pretty fast because tractor tires and wheels are not cheap.

I think you are trying to get off cheap, and while I can't blame you for that, I think you are making a big mistake becuase by ONLY looking at the $$$ you are forcing yourself to look at the wrong tool for the job. If your property is what you say it is, then you will end up with a tractor that you can't use on much of your land. . . unless you like rolling in end-over-end to the job site and then repairing it in the field. That is just my opinion, I might be very wrong.

I also think you are basically fairly new to tractoring, again I might be wrong. I consider myself fairly new to the game, having only about 10 years on these machines, and I can tell you that there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY that I would want to take a GEAR tractor on some of my hills and I am betting your hills are worse. There is one hill on my property that has a compound slope and I won't take any tractor on it, but I still have to mow it. I don't like playing with my life, maybe you do?

As for the back hoe issue, you should really look at the Power Trac, they have a mini-hoe, it might suit your needs.

As money appears to be a concern, there are lots of used Steiners out there. I would rather have a used correct tool than a new tool that I can't get out to the spot I want to work on.

Please don't misunderstand me, I think Jinmas are nice basic tractors, I am NOT saying anything bad about them. I just think, based on what you wrote, that it would be like taking a BB gun out to hunt a lion . . . you could try it, but IF you survive you'd probably regret it.


<font color="blue"> By the way, I am really not trying to offend you, but I'd hate to see you spend money on equipment that might be very dangerous to use or that you'd be unable to use. After re-reading my post I think I might have been OVERLY BLUNT and that was not my intent. </font>

 

[SPIKER]

If you're slopes are over 25 degrees and you want to do back hoe type work then maybe one of the golden dragon bull dozers would better suit you're needs they have 3 point cat 1 PTO systems and can run all 3 point equipment, (though at lower speeds) also you get a 6 way bull dozer blade and you can equip them with the back hoes that can be mounted on the jinmas. these will travers the slopes you need and cut in the road ect. digging depth of the back hoes are only about 5~6 feet but usually you woun't need that depth unless it is a major job then it would be cost effective to hire out a big job.

anyhow they can be had for about 12 grand with all the average options and will actually do less lawn damage (untill you turn) than the tractors. Back hoes frame mount under them (I think same as the jinma frame mounts. also have HYD outputs available.

check out

http://www.pumamachine.com or Ghrams place bolton power & equipment. both are in the north east areas I belive but ship and do crate sales also bolton has a sales thing where you assist them in assembly or otherway around so you get extra experiance on the equipment something that can be INVALUABLE!!

Mark M /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif