New 'old' guy on the hunt for knowledge and info!

[Thomas]

Welcome to TBN.
Least 40hp w/HST,Ag tires should work the best.
Best toward your up coming projects.

 

[ultrarunner]

Welcome to TBN and greetings from Olympia.

Kubota is well represented in your area as is Deere.

I own both but and had a CAT Dozer for years.

Agree to use a dozer for heavy work if you have a plan in place... for some of us the plan kind of unfolds as we are in process...

Good thing is there is no shortage of equipment operators... an excavator large enough can pluck trees and stumps and a large enough dozer with a root rake and also do a lot of work in a short time.

If I only had one tractor it would be my little BX... almost 15 years and zero issues...

That in mind there is a lot to be said for have larger tires and greater ground clearance... few regret going big is space isn't an issue as in having to muck out paddocks and stalls.

PS... I bought my Dozer for clearing and putting in fire roads... kept it long after because it was fun to have around... sold it for almost what I paid for it and averaged $300 a year in repairs and maintenance... the convenience of being able to work on my schedule AND when the conditions/weather were optimal were priceless.

 

[rScotty]

A tractor is not going to be of much use if your land is like here in N.E. where glaciers also rock strewed the geography. I built a 100'x260' riding ring with a diminutive JD 750 but I had all the fill trucked in to cover all the rocks and ground obstructions. If your land is like mine, the more rocks you attempt to rid yourself of, the more rocks will appear. Was cheaper to to buy 600 yards of fill for the riding ring than to get the appropriate equipment or even hire out the appropriate equipment to get rid of the rocks and then what do you do with the rocks once you freed them up? A full size excavator would be needed to bury them all. Just gets too complicated.

Rocks are a problem all right. I've been trying to come up with a good way to get rid of surface rocks in our corrals for 30 years now....and I still haven't figured a really good method to get rid of them. Landscape raking seems like it ought to work - and maybe it does for a tilled field.....but as you'll find out a landscape rake simply doesn't accomplish much in new ground. Basically you just generate more and more rocks and the level goes down. As you say, burying the rocks under loads of fill dirt will work for awhile, but they still migrate up. It is a solution, though....and it will work, but can be expensive. 600 yards is one huge amount of fill dirt. By the time that much fill dirt is delivered ten miles it ends up costing more than the tractor - and it still needs to be spread.

The method that has worked best for us so far is to dig hole - like for a pond - and put that dirt into a pile to dry. Then go through the pile with a rock bucket to sort dirt from rock. Rock goes into a dry ditch on the backside of the property and the dirt is used to fill the corral. Downside of this method is that it takes a lot of time, everything has to be moved several times, it requires dirt-moving machinery like Kubota's TLB line instead of their less expensive Agricultural tractors. And finally, you need enough spare land to make it work at all.

But you can get it done, and some sort of tractor is the tool you will need. We just need to figure out which one.
rScotty

 

[Sapper50]

Wow, thanx for the welcomes everyone !!!
I did this post initially as a 'newbie' post and didn't intend for it to go directly to the buying and pricing, but having been a forum moderator before for many years, the Mods make the call so here we are!

Bit more 'color' to my post and situation and as everyone had prompted, where I am in the decision cycle and what (cough cough) skills i bring to the table here at the Fort.
US Army retired, started my 2nd then 3rd career after returning from Iraq in 2004.
Was a combat and construction Engineer and paratrooper in the Army for about 2.5 decades.
Dad was a heavy diesel mechanic and welder, and that all got spread onto me and why I went into the Army as an engineer. I have been a heavy diesel mechanic and heavy equipment operator as well dozer, graders, scrapers etc, don't ask me to run a backhoe unless you want a mess. oh and I do explosives really well too (in the Army) great way to move some dirt and trees by the way !!!!
When I get the 'required' number of posts I will post a sat image of the property -= 10 acres.

Some questions you all asked...
1. Soil type. Actually when you filter out the rocks its very nice loam, in western washington if you can drop a seed in the ground it will probably grow. In its natural state it is high acid, but already done the math after a soil test for amount of lime and fertilizer to start balancing things out.
2. Rock size: Majority is smalls up to double fist. You get a mix of what I call helmet size occasionally and I have pushed, removed etc some monsters around, but they are the 1% of what you find. Mostly double fist and smaller and helmet size about 20-30%.
3. Weather. Our issue if anything is rain. We are in western washington a good hour south of Seattle. Temp changes summer to winter is only about 40 degrees or so, so a cold winter is in the 20s but normally stays in the low 40s and high 30s, summer usually 70s-80. Snow is rare but it does happen but if it does it stays a week or less then gone. Rain is what you prep for = top three things you think about and plan around (like real estate location location location) = Drainage, Drainage, Drainage, if not with horses or cattle etc you WILL have a goo mess in the winter and same with the track.
3. Drainage on the property is to die for (old construction guy = think like a rain drop on the job site) and I couldnt be more happy with the slope of the lot :thumbsup:
4. I rented a JD450 for a week and did the initial clearing and grubbing (lots of black cotton wood - well not so many now) and scotch broom - old growth 8+ feet tall and a LOT of it and its nasty stuff has to be individually pulled out (used a honda rancher and a tow strap for that) blackberries, thistles (6-8 foot tall monsters) and the normal underbrush garbage. Also staked out the initial MX track layout as well with the JD - best money spent for initial work.
5. Dirt work remaining over the next few years for pasture - three to four. I have the pasture broke into two primary sections for now. Get the horse in on the first section (fencing it off now) and leave the sod and base alone there for year one. Then I need to deep break the soil on the other areas (3 acres or so), PTO till it a time or two (or 3 or 4), level for drainage etc, then lime/fert, till again, seed and drag harrow and stay off it. Let it be for a year, then repeat in the section I have left alone this year. There are also other areas I will want to reclaim on the property in the interim for a round pen etc. Yes once the pasture is set and taken in, not a lot of work will be needed to be done, but the first few years will be intense work getting into that shape, especially with virgin dirt.
6. Dirt work for fun (MX track and trails): Initial layout is set, but now that i have run it a few laps, mods need to be made. I will be tilling the majority of it so I can groom it, but jump construction and new additions and rock raking etc will be an on going, never ending job (thats okay, I love seat time)

Where I am now in Tractor.
Having a bit of stick and seat time in heavy junk (just not ag tractors) and seeing that the vast majority of work will be dirt related (bucket, box blade, middle-buster, PTO tiller etc) I wanted to find a balance of enough HP but not a monster I wouldn't/couldnt use.
I settled on a target of around 50 HP, but once I test drive and get feedback from all you wonderful and knowledgable folks that can be modified.
Dealer location I only need for major component failure and initially under the warranty of the rig. Yes I will do all other repairs, services and component swap but if the PTO or axle or trans takes a dump and its under warranty then the dealer gets to do the dance. Bottom line, I don't see the tractor leaving the property unless its a major failure.
What I am 'looking at hard' now? All these dealers are within an hour or less of the Fort.

• Massey Ferguson 2706E HST
• Mahindra 2555 HST
• Kubota MX4800-5200 HST
• Kioti NX5510 / NX6010 (both with HST)

Bucket (will get a tooth bar)
PTO Tiller
Drag blade
Looking hard at the York landscape rakes with blade and scarifier set up for the 'rock' harvesting that I know will NEVER end :laughing: (thoughts/comments options?)
The previous owner of the home/property built a nice shop (with heat etc) so the tractor will live inside when not working.

So.....there...the novel and screen play of what I am trying to learn from everyone here and where I am headed and the 'workload' in front of the rig once it is here at the Fort.

Thank you all again for the welcomes and awesome questions !!!

Scott

 

[ultrarunner]

I second the tooth bar... made my little Kubota into a Samurai being able to really get a lot done.

Many here like the Ratchet Rake... I have one for the Deere but have not used it.

 

[arrow]

600 yards is one huge amount of fill dirt. By the time that much fill dirt is delivered ten miles it ends up costing more than the tractor - and it still needs to be spread.

.


rScotty

In my case, all the fill were tailings from processed gravel, loam, etc. There was a giant pile in the construction yard. I asked the guy what he wanted per yard. He said "10 bucks". I said "make it 5 and I'll take it all".
So for 3K I made the field one 20 yd pile at a time. I then topped it with stuff conducive to horses feet. ( like cotton dipped in safflower oil for the petulant beasts. ) Went faster than I thought. Took 5 days to do.

The op doesn't seem to have the rocks as I pictured. Mine went from chest size to volkswagon size. Easier to simply cover them up as some places were 5' deep. The sizes he mentions are able to be handled with a tractor. The tailings themselves I used had rocks the size he mentioned. I'd use them as a base then get top fill.

 

[rScotty]

I would start at the Kubota dealer - hopefully it is a large dealership. If not, it's still worth a trip to Kubota because the model range is wider for the under 70 HP crowd.

50 hp...yes....at least. Tires are personal preference for your soil. Here we use industrial rather than ag or turf tread. HST is simply wonderful.

Your basic choice will be whether to go with an Ag tractor having a Cat II 3pt hitch and PTO standard to which you then add the loader and possibly a 3pt backhoe for digging.... Or the other way to go is with with Kubota's TLB line which is designed especially to operate a frame-mounted loader and backhoe. But loader bucket and entire backhoe are pinned on and quick attach. So are quickly removeable when you want prefer to use a the Cat II 3pt hitch and clutched PTO.

The difference in AG VS TLB is one of balance and visibility, the TLB is more stable and you sit up higher, with more hydraulic options and many more gears. At first that sounds perfect, but although more powerful it comes at 50% greater initial cost and restricts you to Kubota since nobody else makes anything to compare with their L47 or M59. Also, their TLB does not offer a cab, only the standard heavy canopy. However, their TLBs consistently get top marks. Very good machines.

I agree that you do NOT want a full size TLB. I have one, and it probably sees 10% of the work while the Kubota M59 is right there all day long lifting and carrying, putting and placing.

The backhoe and thumb combo on the Kubota see more use as a precision crane and load carrying device than for digging.
rScotty

 

[Tractorable]

What I am 'looking at hard' now? All these dealers are within an hour or less of the Fort.

• Massey Ferguson 2706E HST
• Mahindra 2555 HST
• Kubota MX4800-5200 HST
• Kioti NX5510 / NX6010 (both with HST)

• 
  
  Add the Yanmar YY347/359 to your list as well. Yanmar builds great Diesel engines and tractors too, and they build the whole tractor from the wheels up. There's a dealer near Tacoma.

 

[airbiscuit]

The bucket teeth is a really good idea. 50hp is a good size as long as that fits your budget. My first two choices would be the Kubota and Kioti. Which models just "feel" the best to you when you do your test drives?