Used Construction TLB vs. smaller, newer 'farm' models (Kubota B3350, Kioti CK3010)

[tman1020]

The John Deere 110 is a cool machine but honestly unless you're planning on doing continued extremely heavy duty work with it don't know if it's necessary. It does seem built very well and would probably last without question. I have run one A few times and it did a fine job A bit underpowered I thought but nonetheless a nice heavy duty machine and if you're planning on getting a backhoe for sure it's not a bad option. The backhoe definitely seems better then the ad on options for compact tractors.
However I think there are plenty of machines out there that will handle your rock bucket just fine and are of great quality. Bobcat marketed a version of the kioti CK line of tractors for years as a commercial machine. I currently have one and would have no qualms about doing the tasks that you have mentioned and I feel it does them all quite well. If you feel the heavier duty commercial grade TLB is best for you then by all means get that one or you will always regret it. Personally I prefer to have a little smaller machine because I feel it is a little more versatile for my uses. It's easier to get into smaller yards for me but yet still capable of getting The larger jobs done with just a little more time. Nothing more than my opinion. Hope it helps.

 

[Industrial Toys]

A JD 110 is NOT a construction grade machine. It has a nice hoe and loader, but is a 4000 series (green) tractor. Same engine, tranny and rear drive train. The bigger machines, 210, 310 and so forth are construction league machines.

I almost bought a 110 until I found this out. Nice machine, just not really what it appears.

 

[feetup69]

All, Thanks so much for your excellent feedback. Your comments sound exactly like the thoughts going through my head, I probably can't go totally wrong with either choice (and I am also considering the B26, which could fit the bill as well). The ratio of heavy chores to light chores in any given year is going to probably be something like 10%-15% at most. This sways me to a smaller more versatile machine that will fill the bill for most of what I need to do, and will probably be more enjoyable to use. While a used B26 or L39, can probably do it all, it will be a bit more difficult to do the mowing around the house and deck, since the loader doesn't come off (but I can probably manage okay as long as I am super careful). OTOH, With those 2 machines, I would never need to rent an excavator, which I would probably rent for about 4 weekends a year. At roughly $380 per day rental, the rental budget could be anywhere from $1000 to $3000 a year, depending on what I'm able to make time for in a given year, till all the big projects are done. (I have a young family, commute a long way to work, so weekend projects happen, but slowly). The L39 and JD110 are great, and have about a hundred hours operating time on the latter, but probably a bit overkill for 2 acres of property for just general chores, which is why I do keep coming back to the idea of a nice compact machine such as the Kubota B3350, Kioti CK3010, which for the same price as a much older and houred TLB, I can get one maybe 1-2 years old, and I've even seen 2 of these w/ a cab (not a requirement of course, and no backhoe). I also like the idea of being in a more versatile machine for the majority of what I'll use (again debatable..), but I like that I can remove the loader on the CUT's when I don't need it (i.e. for mowing), and it will be easier to deal with various 3pt attachments w/o having to remove the hoe on the back end. When I do need to dig, it will be on occasion, and I can easily rent something small but race breed for digging, I imagine after I broke up the soil and maybe bundled a few digging jobs around the place together, then the CUT machines can easily deal with the material handling from there. I do plan to get a toothed rock bucket which should help with that.

Not exactly an easy choice, there will be plenty of times that the TLB's would be very handy, and can certainly do the other jobs too, even mowing carefully w/ the non-detachable loader. I'll take a look out there to consider the B26 as well, it is smaller, but one tough little machine based on what I can see. I can even rent one of these, they have them at one of my local Home Depo's, so I could always try before I buy with that particular machine to see if it feels like it would be enough. I was even considering making the rock-bucket purchase beforehand and trying it on that machine just to see how it feels on that size machine. I have to determine if I can size the rock bucket to work with the majority of machines I would consider (i.e. can a b26 handle a 60" or maybe even 66" rock bucket, which will work best on all machines except the JD110, which would probably better fit a 72" bucket). Thanks again for all the opinions.

 

[roadhunter]

The John Deere 110 is a cool machine but honestly unless you're planning on doing continued extremely heavy duty work with it don't know if it's necessary. It does seem built very well and would probably last without question. I have run one A few times and it did a fine job A bit underpowered I thought but nonetheless a nice heavy duty machine and if you're planning on getting a backhoe for sure it's not a bad option. The backhoe definitely seems better then the ad on options for compact tractors.
However I think there are plenty of machines out there that will handle your rock bucket just fine and are of great quality. Bobcat marketed a version of the kioti CK line of tractors for years as a commercial machine. I currently have one and would have no qualms about doing the tasks that you have mentioned and I feel it does them all quite well. If you feel the heavier duty commercial grade TLB is best for you then by all means get that one or you will always regret it. Personally I prefer to have a little smaller machine because I feel it is a little more versatile for my uses. It's easier to get into smaller yards for me but yet still capable of getting The larger jobs done with just a little more time. Nothing more than my opinion. Hope it helps.

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As a person who owned a bobcat tractor I can tell you with 100% certainty it is not a construction grade machine comparable to other bobcat equipment in quality and construction which is one of the reasons the line was dropped.