looking for a larger tractor, more FEL capacity

[Slackdaddy]

I would suggest a rubber tired backhoe Case 580 for example.
You can get a used one for 10-20K.
My case 580 had a 6000# lift capacity on the front bucket, and the hoe could lift a 20" sea container.
A "dressed up" farm tractor will never come close to a real backhoe

 

[traktorz]

I am considering a larger tractor for more FEL capacity with a cab, A/C & heat, FEL, backhoe. That puts me in the 50-80 hp class. Foton with the Perkins turbo engine looks very attractive. Now where may I find a dealer with a good price?

The 40 hp Foton is based on a scaled down 60hp.

The 40 hp & 50 hp are almost identical, with category 1 3PH, but yet no cab.

The 60 hp & 70 hp are almost identical, both in a middle class and with a good price/performance ratio, and has a cab.

The 80 hp & 90 hp are almost identical, but quite large and hence more expensive.

For even larger tractors, I would look at YTO.

 

[Transit]

Trakorz, thanks for the reply. I think 80 hp is the largest I need to go, 60-70 hp is most likely the best fit depending on the capacity of the loader.

 

[Ken45101]

You never said what your need was, but you might consider keeping your tractor and getting a used skid steer. For digging, grading, etc. they run circles around a tractor with a loader. With the construction market in the dumps, good deals can be found.

Ken

 

[Transit]

You never said what your need was, but you might consider keeping your tractor and getting a used skid steer. For digging, grading, etc. they run circles around a tractor with a loader. With the construction market in the dumps, good deals can be found.

Ken

You didn't read post # 1 very well.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

You didn't read post # 1 very well.

Maybe Ken45101 wants to know what you are going to use a bigger loader for? There are several reasons for having a bigger loader, maybe you could let us know just what it is that you will be using it for.

 

[Transit]

Maybe Ken45101 wants to know what you are going to use a bigger loader for? There are several reasons for having a bigger loader, maybe you could let us know just what it is that you will be using it for.

I have need of a bigger loader to move big loads. My 254 can only lift 900#, an 80 hp Foton can lift 3,000+ or more #, maybe 4,000#. The backhoe reach is 7' as opposed to 9'. There are some 3 to 5 ton boulders that the 254 barely skids, 7 ton boulders are a no-go. With 400 tons of back fill to move a 254 will take forever. If i was aware of larger cabed tractors with heat and A/C i would not have gone with the 254. Getting a second construction tractor is not practical, no comfort of a cab.

 

[warhammer]

Keep your eye on the fact of the upcoming kids expenses when making other purchases.
My kids got a car each at diffferent ends of 08 as they came of driving age, one has been in college since late 08 and the other starts in a few months.
When one kid is at this age its rough but doable. When there is overlap between expenses of two kids it can be a shocker.

I agree but in my case a used broom was better than no broom. Kids start to college in 6 years and expect some kind of vehicle in 4 years.

Yes it is also a hobby learning and fixing issues. Since 1969 I have owned one new vehicle and was bored because I could not mess with it. :laughing:

New buyers keeps the dealers in business and create a supply of used inventory for the used dealers.

A new broom would sweep our bank account more than clean.

 

[Ken45101]

You didn't read post # 1 very well.

Yes, I did. It sounded like you were looking for a bigger tractor so that you could have a bigger loader. If that's the only reason, I'd still go with the ss idea until you now said you wanted to move 7 ton boulders. Now that's probably up into the realm of major construction equipment.

For digging and moving fill, a ss with tracks will run circles around a tractor with loader. With tracks on a ss, it will also pack the fill a lot better.

Ken

 

[jenkinsph]

If your project is literally around 400 tons of fill and boulders this requires a large machine but only for a short period of time. I would consider renting a Cat 426 backhoe (rather large) or Cat 420, Case 580 or Deere 410 series. This would be the cheapest way to go even if you could only use them on weekends and evenings you should be able to get the job done in a month or so. Working full time at it maybe a week or more. Alot depends on what you are needing to accomplish. If you can work full time at this and all goes well you could rent a large backhoe for a week with transportation for roughly $2000 or do the same with a two month rental for about $4500.

If you really wan't to buy a cheap new backhoe with a Perkins engine large enough to do this work look at a new Terex 760B with 4x4 cab and extendahoe. Around 2005 these were selling for about $46,000 or so but I don't know what the current price is.

With the size of the boulders you mentioned I would not consider using any of the ag tractors and backhoe attachments their simply not up to this task.