I now have 3 pieces of equipment.
My first is a 1984 Kubota
B7200
Laugh if you want, but this tractor has paid back many times over.
It has done a lot of landscaping, and increased property value at least 6 times what I have in the tractor. The
B7200 does a lot of work that I am too old to still do with a wheelbarrow and shovel.
I have a Kubota
L39 TLB. The
L39 is not quite enough machine, and I have only 17 Acres of rough N.H. land. I have the
L39 beefed up a bit and have hung another 1,100 lbs of iron on the tire rims and loader frame. Depending on implement, the operating weight ranges 8,300 to 8,700 lbs. What a difference adding 13% more weight makes! Stability with the slightly wider track and extra weight inspires confidence. The
L39 pushes into a pile much better with weight.
I have made a nice set of forks for the
L39 and have a nice man-lift platform. Ill post photo’s in the next few weeks.
I am killing my L-39 trying to clean up after the dozers and excavators. The L-39 is a HD landscaper, not an earthmover. I am limited to picking up a ton or so with its front rock grapple. It has a mighty hoe for its size, but taking over an hour to pull a large stump is ridiculous when working acres, not a few stumps in backyards.
If you have 110 acres, the
L39 is too small. Think full size backhoe like a used Case or Terex or at least a
L48.
I just purchased a reasonably nice 1997 PC75UU-2E
I was warned about the limit safety switches on the boom by the dealer where the unit is stored awaiting a new hydraulic thumb. I was told to leave them in off position. The offset boom also has pin wear problems, but the machine has seen a lot of grease.
PC75's are one speed machines that only have about 9000 lbs drawbar pull so they do not dozer as well as the new ones like a KX80 or a PC78.
The older cabs are made for Asian build. I made the mistake of sitting in a new PC78US and a KX80 at a construction show.
For example, consider a 1997 Tacoma pickup vs. a 2007. Small truck cabs have been resized for bigger fatter people
This was a private sale.
I am having the Komatsu dealer install a pin on bucket hydraulic thumb.
Still I think I got a good well kept machine. For near 5000 hours the pins are not real bad.
If fact this PC75UU-2E is in better condition than a rental would have been with 1500-2000 hours.
I would have gotten something like a Kubota KX-161 or a PC 58, PC 60 or Hitachi, but they are as much or more money.
The PC75UU2-E ought to be enough machine to work our property once the heavy rock & earth moving is more or less covered. I am getting a custom sized pin on hydraulic thumb 42" x 14" wide from USA Attachments. I can't see spending +$5,000 for a progressive linkage model, but did want a thumb that pivots on the bucket pin.
My best guess at weight is 18,000- 17,800 lbs with the thumb.
I would have loved a KX-80 or CAT 307/308 or any of the many other nice newer machines, etc but I would have to run it as a business.
The PC75 does not have to be worked real hard, as long as I am not in a rush.
Each machine I have moves up about 2.25-3 times more capacity than the one below it, so I have reasonable coverage before I have to pick up a shovel for the little stuff or hire that big CAT.
