Buying Advice Newbie looking for serious assistance

[Citydude]

It sounds like you have the right attitude to do this. Digging and moving dirt is not rocket science. You will learn as you go.

With no time restraint, you can relax and enjoy the process. Buy the tool you need from a dealer that understands your tasks. Have fun!

 

[3930dave]

"The fundamental importance of TRACTOR WEIGHT eludes many tractor shoppers. Heavier tractor chassis weight is more important for most tractor operations than increased tractor horsepower. Bare tractor weight is a tractor specification easily found in sales brochures and web sites, readily comparable across tractor brands and tractor models, new and used. "

^ If you haven't worked with these classes of equipment before, it can be challenging to fully appreciate just that one paragraph of Jeff's.

From another world..... if you were going to throw a total newbie into a rugby game, who's more likely to end the game less damaged ? The fit 120# guy, or the fit 260# guy ?

Second to hands-on experience...... take the time to wade through the excavation (and repair) threads on here.

Light FELs esp. are not designed for dirt excavation, you'll see more than a few examples of damaged FELs doing heavy dirt work. Contractor neighbour retired up north of here.... before he moved, he set himself up with a really nicely overhauled older Ford backhoe - rang in something like 15k#.

You can't change the pace in a competitive rugby game..... you do have time on your side, from your description. If you read through the threads where people have successfully used smaller equipment, carefully note (or ask) how much operating experience they had going into the project.

Operator skill AND patience can compensate for lesser tools to some extent, but at some point there is a limit - you are not going to break a 50# granite rock with a tack-hammer. Pass those limits, and damage will occur, and sometimes not just to the equipment.

At this point, you don't know what you don't know..... :thumbsup: for asking. If you do go with a lighter unit, be prepared to justify to SWBO why early repairs are needed (Plan Worst, Hope Best).

I'd lean towards contracting out the heavier stuff (ask around, plenty of guys work for cash, and if you can live with somebody else's schedule, you may find a deal you can live with), and selecting a lighter unit primarily for the lighter/later maintenance tasks.

I have relatives down-east who have (almost literally) countless tractors on a multi-generation farm. When they need something heavy done, they just write a cheque for the dozer/hoe work.

Rgds, D.

 

[mike69440]

Here is my dilemma........
I want to buy a tractor for several uses. My small lot in Charlotte has had 20 trees removed. The stumps have been ground and I am bringing in 40+ yards of topsoil. I need to rake the debris and rocks out and spread the new soil. I have another lot in SC that I want to build a retirement home. It will have a daylight basement and need some limited excavation. I do want to dig footers as well as the drain field and septic system so a backhoe is important. Post construction, the tractor will be used to maintain a 400+ ft drive and maintain the natural area (approx 1/2 acre) in front of the house. My dilemma.....I look at tractors like storage and any other vehicle.....you can't have enough hp! I have reined myself in and narrowed it down to 3 units. The Kioto CK2610, the Kubota B2650 and the Mahindra 1626 seem to be good alternatives. I am sold on hydrostatic drive. I know this is like Ford Vs Chevy Vs Ram but please share anyway. I can't afford to make a mistake as this is a big investment for me!!! Thank you!

Couple reasons I'm making this recommendation.
1.) You're retired and will be looking for something to do that may bring in a little cash. (Tax write off also)
2.) Real serious farm type stuff does not look like part of the equation.
3.) These play in dirt better than any other conventional tractor.

Kubota L45, A good used unit better than any other machine for its size for universal dirt work. Just search threads for B21.B26.L39/L45/L47,M59/M62, TLB

OR
Hire out heavy work, and get a small CUT no BH or a SCUT with BH

 

[dodge man]

I will just say everything you have in mind will not be that hard to do with a small tractor except digging the basement.

 

[sccadriver]

Thanks everyone for the input. I think you have opened my eyes a bit and I need to reevaluate some of my plans. At this point, looks like it makes more sense to have the basement excavated and then I'll dig the footers. I'll still play around my current home and the lake lot and do the slab prep for the outbuilding and the septic lines etc.

 

[JimRB]

Are you mentally able to face the same task for a month? Some tasks that take an operator on a crawler loader a day might take weeks with a little tractor. A little tractor is one that weighs less than 4,000 pounds. I get bored out of my mind mowing all day. I spent I think two days dragging dirt out of the way to level my barn site using a little tractor and a 5 or 6 foot box blade. I gather digging with little backhoes is also a slow deal. A real excavator has a bucket with a capacity in yards, not a few feet capacity plus a big swing so it can move the waste out of the way. But if you have the time and the persistence to plug away day after day.

Another thing that is good to know is the soil. When we dug out our house and our barn we did not hit any big rocks at all. The house is a daylight basement where the operator had to dig in 5 feet and then push that waste back up against the new foundation. Some friends 15 miles away hit what we call ironstone where they were building. Nothing the big crawler loader could not handle after the blasting crew reduced the granite to small 5 foot boulders that weighed tons each. We do have some of that ironstone granite poking up in the pasture. I have no idea how big the chunks are that are slowly heaving up. I guess they are small as they have been heaving up the past 20 years. I do need to get out there with a digging/tamping tool to see if they will pry up. If they do not pry up then I need to hammer drill holes and wedge to break them up. Annoying to hit them with the brush cutter. I did get one up a few years ago and it was a small one that was just a few hundred pounds. Online it says a cubic foot of granite will weigh about 175 pounds a cubic foot. Get any 3-4 foot granite boulders and a little tractor is going to work hard to move it. That said I have work my little 2 wheel drive tractor hard with no backhoe removing stumps and moving dirt.

 

[searcyfarms]

in my ever so humble failures and follies and waste of time/money over the years I would forgo all of this, hire it done and spend the money on my home/shop - spend your money on the mower/snow removal machine once you get moved in to maintain things with.

what you are thinking about is professional work and will be done in short order with the right equip and cause you way less stress to say the least due to lack of knowledge/skill/experience etc......not to mention a possible accident or damaging equipment - again just my thoughts from my failures

 

[finn1]

A skid steer and mini excavator would be better tools than a compact tractor for your projects. The tractor is great for maintenance work, but it’s too light and fragile for general construction and dirt work.

I sold my skid steer when I bought my tractor, and regret it.

Alternatively, look for a used TLB. Sell it when your construction projects are completed and then buy the CUT of your choice for maintenance projects.

 

[Tennsawdust]

Thanks everyone for the input. I think you have opened my eyes a bit and I need to reevaluate some of my plans. At this point, looks like it makes more sense to have the basement excavated and then I'll dig the footers. I'll still play around my current home and the lake lot and do the slab prep for the outbuilding and the septic lines etc.

I think that is a good plan. It sounds like you would really like to have a small tractor for use around the house and you have several projects that it could be useful for, including long term estate maintenance. Doing the basement excavation yourself would require that you buy a larger used machine, or hire it out. Someone with industrial grade equipment could knock that project out in a few hours and allow you to get on with the parts you can do yourself. It isn't uncommon to see sub-compact tractors available used that have very low hours on them so don't get stuck on just what you can buy new. Good luck with all the projects and more so with the life transition.

 

[dodge man]

I once told someone I could dig a basement with my BX. I would have to dig a ramp to get in and out of it and it might take me a month to do a job someone with a large excavator could do in a day or two. An example, a 1200 sq ft house 8 feet deep would be about 350 cubic yards of dirt to be removed if its 8 feet deep. The end loader bucket on a BX might hold 1/5 of a cubic yard, maybe a little less. That would mean about 1800 bucket loads of dirt to be able to dig the basement with a BX end loader. How big is the back hoe bucket on a BX. Would 20 buckets equal a cubic yard? If so that would mean digging 7000 times to get your basement dug, my guess it would actually take quite a bit more. There is little doubt it could be done, but who wants to spend weeks on a BX digging a hole.