Buying Advice Tractor For Hilly Terrain with Video of Terrain

[Redneck in training]

Google squat or orchard tractors. They are usually low to the ground. You need a bulldozer for cutting new roads or tracks.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/.../144517-best-roughly-30hp-kubota-tractor.html
Here is a discussion about the topic.

 

[Mark Page]

FELs are not made for digging. With the breadth of your plans I would want a small track loader or dozer. When get things pretty much the way you want sell it for a tractor which will do a good job of grooming.

 

[Norcal M5]

FELs are not made for digging. With the breadth of your plans I would want a small track loader or dozer. When get things pretty much the way you want sell it for a tractor which will do a good job of grooming.

I'll second this and add that my terain is similar to yours and I really wish I had a crawler. The slope is one thing and the uneveness is yet another. The two together will surely scare the **** out of you on occasion. Tractors have a pretty high center of gravity and going out to do some work constantly involves creeping around carefully to avoid tipping over (read no fun!). When I do some work in an area where I can't tip over, I have fun.

The big problem is crawlers are expensive. Ah, when I'm rich

 

[samryoung]

hence my problem in pulling the trigger. I know that a compact track loader is the best solution but the initial cost plus the upkeep cost is what scares me from buying one.

Buying a Bobcat 190 with 2000 hours is most likely buying a bunch of headaches.

I was thinking about possibly modifying a Mahinda tractor by adding an extra set of wheels or perhaps widening the axle.

I'm in the in between zone on what to do and it's a bad place to be.

 

[Carykong]

Rent a tractor for the day or you might be able to talk your dealer into a 24 hr demo with no obligation to buy. Sounds like you just need a little trial and error to figure out your best choice.

 

[TBarD]

I was surprised by the video - looks pretty flat in Colorado terms, put that SUV in 4Wlo! Agreed that a dozer is best for putting in a road in steep terrain.

 

[Norcal M5]

Excellent idea. You can see how easy it is to roll it on it's side without having to beat up your own! I also like Sam's idea of spacers to widen out the track. I'm going to do this soon too. Should make a world of difference. I found them for reasonable cost at Kubota John Deere Compact Tractor Utility Vehicle Wheel Spacers

 

[samryoung]

Here's a better and more complete video

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-z7uwUmt70]Hills In Healdsburg - YouTube[/ame]

I think I'm going to go for a compact track loader and just deal with the cost...

 

[Redneck in training]

Look at Mitsubishi bulldozers. They are small but they are far less money than tracked loader. They are not great earth movers due to the size but I think they would cut trails just fine. In fact their small size might be an advantage. Get one with 5 way blade.

 

[Mark Page]

Hire a pro to do the rough work and then pick it up from there with a 4WD tractor. Don't buy some light weight model, get a 50 horse Utility sized machine. Be sure to get a replaceable cutting edge on your loader's bucket. Between washouts and motorcycle tires you're likely to have ruts to deal with.
I really like Redneck's Mitubishi crawler idea. It would be perfect for grading a lane pushing snow or dragging logs.
You know I think I might need one.