Tell me if I'm on the right track (newbie)

[shooterdon]

Your OP said "revive" old ATV trails...that will be a lot easier than cutting new ones. I have been in your area when I was a teenager and know how rough some areas can be.

If you can, talk to the locals about what they use and suggest. A typical guy like me from northern Michigan may think he is in the boonies but he has no idea what your land it like. People will give you their best advice but it may not be suitable for your needs.

Ignore all the BS about backhoes and needing a $65k US ($90k Can) tractor until you do more investigating. It is easy to spend other peoples money.

 

[4570Man]

I'd like to see the build list for the L4760 that's above 80K. I just went through and selected almost every option I could that was on both the MX5200 and L4760. Came out to $62,272 vs. $68,733. There are entire categories of options in the build sheet for the L4760 that are not available on the MX, but saying that there's a huge gap when comparing equally optioned machines is flat out wrong.

What does an M62 cost? I know you can get a lightly used M59 for that price. That’s also in the price range of a tracked skid steer. Paying that much for the capability offered by a tractor is insane IMO.

 

[TheMadOne]

What does an M62 cost? I know you can get a lightly used M59 for that price. That痴 also in the price range of a tracked skid steer. Paying that much for the capability offered by a tractor is insane IMO.

I was proving a point, and selected literally everything the MX5200 and L4760 both had as options. I think I selected every single backhoe bucket, for instance. Reasonably specced with a loader and backhoe you're probably in the low/mid 50s for either of those tractors.

I just checked with the L4760. Loader, standard bucket, Backhoe, 12" and 24" buckets, 3 rear remotes, 3rd function, hydraulic thumb, rear weights, r4 tires. 56,045.

M62, as close as I could get to identical specs, and adding the three point linkage and drawbar on, 76,314.

 

[Milo]

In short if you see lots of continued use for a backhoe, money's not a problem, you have ample storage space, and your ground's not real rocky might as well include a backhoe.

I went back and forth about getting a backhoe and ultimately decided not for a few different reasons.

My neighbor has a MF and bought a hoe later for it and after using it a couple times it then got very little use so he sold it last year.

The soil is very rocky here and I was only looking at 25hp tractors, the OP is interested in a tractor one or two steps heavier which would do more but when digging for footers my contractors John Deere 110 TLB (whatever HP that is) couldn't get through the rock. So I figured I'll be better off hiring someone with a heavy TLB or excavator when I need hoe work.

Someone here mentioned the subframe impending round clearance, I never even thought about that.

A hoe would take up a fair amount of my relatively limited building space.

Cost, they're not cheap. When I really thought about what I'll be doing on my acreage (lots of trails to maintain, firewood, etc.) I decided a UTV might be more useful than a backhoe so that's what I bought and am really glad I did.

 

[rScotty]

We found that an Kubota M59 was good for our use. Good general purpose machine for clearing land and building things. The backhoe by itself is not nearly so useful as a backhoe with a thumb for lifting logs and picking up rocks. Actually we don't dig much with the backhoe. Sometimes a trench, posthole, or tree planting/removal. With the thumb, it get's most of it's work as a a powerful hand with a long reach for picking up heavy loads and placing them somewhere. We do a lot of rock work with it.

The optional 3pt hitch is nice to have. The heavier category II 3pt hitch opens up a lot of options. And the M59's FEL will lift and carry some serious weight.
If you are curious how the M59 gets used, there is a long, long thread at:
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...scussion-thread.html?highlight=M59+Charlesaf3
good luck,
rScotty

 

[houska]

Thanks for all the replies. This is a great community. Here's what I'm taking away so far:

1. Think about (adequate) weight as much as power and footprint.
2. Think hard about digging/backhoe applications. A small, esp. lightweight tractor with backhoe won't be able to do much, and so the $$ BH might be a waste of money. Outsource the big stuff. If lots to do myself, think about a TLB as opposed to tractor+backhoe. (Will mull over, though my initial peek at L47 vs L3901+BH77 and even L4060 or L4701+BH92 makes me feel poor; and my gut feel is that when I need 5500 lb digging force I should be renting an excavator(+operator?)
3. Add Branson to Kioti and Kubota on my list (as I said, Mahindra and RK don't have nearby dealers).

I don't want to shut down good discussion, but I think the TLB vs backhoe (vs don't bother with BH) debate is more general than me, sounds well-trodden in general, and I'll just need to mull over and try things out to figure out what it means in my situation. Meanwhile, would love further comments esp. on:

• Taking away the BH issue, does my list of priority implements (grapple; later brush hog, box blade, ...) feel right?
• For a newbie like me, is new the way to go, or used (if the right thing) is fine. Can I learn what to look for to make sure I'm not getting a lemon? Should I expect good service from a (decent) dealer or will I always be a 2nd class citizen if I didn't buy new from them? Has there been meaningful feature innovation that I would care, given my use case, if I'm 5 or 10 years "out of date?", or is it just lifespan = operating hours + maintenance.
• Anyone thinking it's silly I'm intending to buy HST given my situation?

Thanks again!

 

[TheMadOne]

Thanks for all the replies. This is a great community. Here's what I'm taking away so far:

1. Think about (adequate) weight as much as power and footprint.
2. Think hard about digging/backhoe applications. A small, esp. lightweight tractor with backhoe won't be able to do much, and so the $$ BH might be a waste of money. Outsource the big stuff. If lots to do myself, think about a TLB as opposed to tractor+backhoe. (Will mull over, though my initial peek at L47 vs L3901+BH77 and even L4060 or L4701+BH92 makes me feel poor; and my gut feel is that when I need 5500 lb digging force I should be renting an excavator(+operator?)
3. Add Branson to Kioti and Kubota on my list (as I said, Mahindra and RK don't have nearby dealers).

I don't want to shut down good discussion, but I think the TLB vs backhoe (vs don't bother with BH) debate is more general than me, sounds well-trodden in general, and I'll just need to mull over and try things out to figure out what it means in my situation. Meanwhile, would love further comments esp. on:

• Taking away the BH issue, does my list of priority implements (grapple; later brush hog, box blade, ...) feel right?
• For a newbie like me, is new the way to go, or used (if the right thing) is fine. Can I learn what to look for to make sure I'm not getting a lemon? Should I expect good service from a (decent) dealer or will I always be a 2nd class citizen if I didn't buy new from them? Has there been meaningful feature innovation that I would care, given my use case, if I'm 5 or 10 years "out of date?", or is it just lifespan = operating hours + maintenance.
• Anyone thinking it's silly I'm intending to buy HST given my situation?

Thanks again!

You ask some good questions.

Let me try to go through them in reverse order:
HST-A lot of people here, myself included, swear by it for anything but actual tillage and other field work, and it works just fine for that with cruise control added. So no, not silly at all. The "Gears or nothing" crowd will speak up, but that's what suits them, not what suits you.

It's impossible for anyone who's not your neighbor to know how your local dealer will treat you if you bring them an older tractor. If they treat you any differently than the guys who bought direct from them, find another dealer. People are still happily working away with 8Ns and Farmall Cubs. Treat a tractor right and it can easily become an heirloom.

I'd see about getting either the box blade or a land plane as part of the package with your machine, as your primary need is road maintenance.

Feel free to ask for clarification or for anything else I missed.

 

[ericm979]

The grapple's useful but not cheap. I use mine for brush and logs. It's not so useful for firewood rounds- it works but not much better than a bucket. You may have other priorities or ways of dealing with things. For example I can pick up a log or load of logs and carry them to my wood processing area, because I'm only on 20 acres. With hundreds of acres the slow travel time of a tractor would make that inefficient. So you might want to use trailer behind an ATV or UTV. Of course you still have to load the trailer...

It may (or may not) save you a bit to buy the implements with the tractor but you'll be restricted to the implements that your dealer can get.

 

[jeff9366]

• 1. For a newbie like me, is new the way to go, or used (if the right thing) is fine. Can I learn what to look for to make sure I'm not getting a lemon?
  
  2. Should I expect good service from a (decent) dealer or will I always be a 2nd class citizen if I didn't buy new from them?
  
  3. Has there been meaningful feature innovation that I would care, given my use case, if I'm 5 or 10 years "out of date?", or is it just lifespan = operating hours + maintenance.

1. VIDEOS (2): How To Evaluate A Used Tractor - YouTube

So you want to TRADE UP for a new Tractor? - TMT - YouTube


2. Warranty service is marginally profitable for dealers. Suppliers are tight on reimbursements, probably because some dealers have attempted to load up on parts at supplier's expense.

Regular service is a profit center. My Florida Kubota dealer charges $75/hours for mechanic time, which is low relative to NE and West Coast. I speculate mechanic is paid $25/hours with all fringe benefits. You should be welcome for service.

Everyone wants service at once in the Spring. I am a good customer and I have to wait three weeks for routine maintenance in the Spring.

3. Ever greater Loader lift capacity and "independent" PTOs on most tractors.

A desirable used tractor would be: one owner/operator not used by multiple employees,
inside stored so rubber is good and rodents have not been at the wiring, has maintenance records for tractor.

Consider if $US 1,000 heavy duty SSQA pallet forks would be adequate for your needs in lieu of a grapple and its attendant plumbing.

 

[rScotty]

IMeanwhile, would love further comments esp. on:

• Taking away the BH issue, does my list of priority implements (grapple; later brush hog, box blade, ...) feel right?
• For a newbie like me, is new the way to go, or used (if the right thing) is fine. Can I learn what to look for to make sure I'm not getting a lemon? Should I expect good service from a (decent) dealer or will I always be a 2nd class citizen if I didn't buy new from them? Has there been meaningful feature innovation that I would care, given my use case, if I'm 5 or 10 years "out of date?", or is it just lifespan = operating hours + maintenance.
• Anyone thinking it's silly I'm intending to buy HST given my situation?

Thanks again!

I would order the implements differently. I would give priority to a standard front bucket but with with SSQA. That way you can quickly switch to a number of different attachments. For example, I find a long tine rock bucket particularly useful for loading brush, rocks, and firewood....so I swap back and forth with the standard FEL bucket. But that's just me; I have rocky ground and you may not.

The grapple I would put as optional unless you have a LOT of brush to deal with. Same with a brush hog. You can borrow a lot of implements if you have tractor neighbors. Std. rules apply...

Instead of a box blade I prefer a straight blade but with removeable "end caps". In fact, that is the implement I'd put serious money into finding a good one. The quality of back blades varies enormously with price. Good ones cost and are worth it, in my opinion. The end caps on the rear blade allow you to do most of the same work as a box blade, but a straight blade with adjustments for angle and offset will allow you to move dirt and snow off at an angle. A box blade does nothing for snow that a front bucket can't do better.

Dealers?? I don't know how you get along with dealers but personality will probably make more of a difference than whether you buy from them. I would encourage you to learn to do your own maintenance and simple repairs. Treat it as a hobby?

If you are not doing plowing and large scale Agriculture work, then HST is best. It is common even on very large construction machines. That's from me...and I'm an old gear head guy. I've had several of each transmission type and prefer HST. Particularly in snow.

What you didn't ask but should think about:
If you have more than 10 or 20 acres, you are going to end up with two (or more) tractors. If you look at any TBNer signature we all did..
One smaller for chores around the house, and one larger to cover greater distances with greater loads. But either will do the other's job at least somewhat well. So keep your eyes open. I'd get the smaller/medium size one first, but It doesn't really matter - when you see a good buy on either one and it is the one you just feel is right - then go for it. And not before. If you aren't in love with a machine it will never be your buddy, and if you are you will learn to deal with its faults.

Good machines do come up. Do not close off that avenue, especially if you have a mechanical friend to help.

And try not to fall in love with any tractor unless it has power steering and a loader/bucket combo that works for you while you are sitting comfortably in the seat. You'll know that when you try it.. Some just fit right.
rScotty