What would be the BEST rough terrain tractor?

tjkadar · Feb 19, 2006

I think I would use a dozer to do the initial work and then a tractor for upkeep. For land like that, I'm going with the Antonio Carraro. The motor is a Perkins diesel. No problem getting parts for it. Parts specific for the tractor are supposed to be available within 24 hours. There are a lot of FEL options, but those are in Europe. American options will be more limited.

BlackStock Vineyards, Inc. in Dahlonega, Georgia run a couple AC tractors and will be able to help you with real life experiences. I believe David Harris is the person to talk to over there.

If you want to work steeply sloping land with a tractor, an AC is, in my opinion, your best bet. They are specifically designed for that type of terrain.

IslandTractor · Feb 19, 2006

As an alternative to bulldozers and specialty tractors, how about a PowerTrac option. I can see two. The least expensive might be to get a PT425, reverse the wheels for extra stability and add a rough mower and grapple bucket. At only 25hp you're not going to be pushing trees over but with an added tree shear option you could certainly clear a lot of them and move the brush out pretty effectively. Total package could be had for less than 20K even with the tree shear, grapple, mower and transportation. Ask the guys on the PT forum for further advice.

The other high end PT option would be the 1865 with 65hp and a rough cut mower rated for 45% slopes. Grapple bucket also available for that beast. This would set you back >30Gs.

RAW · Feb 19, 2006

( Does no one make a small "crawler" any more that takes 3-PT attachments? My uncle used to own a little one that he used with a rotary cutter for hire, specializing in mowing pastures that traditional tractors couldn't go on... 
)

New Holland and Landini both make crawler type tractors. I haven't been able to find any online pricing for them though. And I wasn't sure if they'd be better at slopes or not. Clearly they have better traction, but . . . . I just haven't heard from anyone who has used them.

RAW · Feb 19, 2006

( ( What brand of motorcycle is in your picture ? )That motorcycle is a BMW. It's either a R1150GS or a R1200GS. They're pretty hardcore off road bikes with excellent street behavior. )

Yeah, I PMed the other guy who asked. It's a BMW 1150GS Adventure.

RAW · Feb 19, 2006

( As an alternative to bulldozers and specialty tractors, how about a PowerTrac option. . . . . . would be the 1865 with 65hp and a rough cut mower rated for 45% slopes. Grapple bucket also available for that beast. This would set you back >30Gs. )

Are you talking about the 1850? My concern there is the lack of ground clearance. They don't print any measurements for that model, but it looks much lower than the 1460, which has 12 inches of clearance. I'd think the 1850 would be great for the open field part, but not so good on the trails. Do you think that's accurate?

RAW · Feb 19, 2006

(
BlackStock Vineyards, Inc. in Dahlonega, Georgia run a couple AC tractors and will be able to help you with real life experiences. I believe David Harris is the person to talk to over there.
)

I'll have to look them up. That wouldn't be too far to drive to check them out either. Thanks for the info!
I sure wish I could see some FEL info for the AC tractors. That would make me feel a lot better.

IslandTractor · Feb 19, 2006

You're right, I was talking about the 1850. (Don't know why they are not consistent with their naming, as it has a 65hp engine...must be following the Kubota naming rules).

Ground clearance might be an issue but I would imagine that will be the case with most of the slope machines. It also seems a pretty expensive option. I was really thinking that a combination of hiring out some dozer work and following up with the widened PT425 plus attachments would be a nice and economical way of getting the initial work done and maintaining the property.

daTeacha · Feb 19, 2006

I don't know the name, but there was a tractor at the Ohio Power Show that was pretty much the ticket for steep slopes. It was set up so the wheels/axles would pivot with respect to the engine/tranny/seat etc. The wheels were on a steep slope but the central part of the tractor was vertical. Maybe it's one of the brands already mentioned, but if not, someone here probably knows what it is.

Highridge · Feb 19, 2006

Hello,
I believe the Power-Trac 1850 has 9" of clearance. I have a 1430 and it has the same size tires as the 1850. The 1850's dual wheels help give it it's stability but also make a kind of wide. You can take to outer wheels off and lose some stability but it will still have the low COG.

IslandTractor · Feb 19, 2006

That does sound like the PowerTrac 1850 but there are probably other machines that would meet the description as well.

PapaPerk · Feb 19, 2006

Yep...with that kinda terrain I would go with a crawler. There used to be lots of "farm" crawlers available with 3-points hitches and PTO. I am sure someone still makes one. Maybe Deere? A wheeled tractor would be a little sketchy on the terrain you have. Of course if the tractor was really wide it might work....but I would be very nervous with a loader.

daTeacha · Feb 20, 2006

A lot of bigger tractors are available with tracks instead of wheels, but I think that's for flotation, not stability on slopes.

MossRoad · Feb 20, 2006

As an owner of a Power Trac PT425, I'd say those slopes are too steep for that model. The tractor could climb them, but it couldn't do any work while climbing them. The limitations are the light weight and the engine's oil system is not made for angles over 20-25 degrees. It is not the right sized machine for those slopes and jobs mentioned. He'd be better off looking at their dedicated slope mowers that are meant for extreme slopes. The beauty of the Power Trac system is the quick attach. You can change unpowered implements in 15 seocnds without leaving the operator's seat. Powered implements require a trip to the front of the tractor to connect the hydraulics. That's it.

Personally, I'd look at a tracked loader instead of a tracked dozer. I looked at one several years ago. I believe it was a Deere 350 or something like that. It was a tracked loader with wider tracks and a 3Pt hitch. The loader bucket was a 4-in-1 so it could do a bit of dozing, grapple work and material hauling as well as run a brush hog, backhoe or any 3pt implement. Nice setup. I've seen several similar setups in the equipment traders websites and such.

PBinWA · Feb 20, 2006

I'll throw this out there for giggles:

Nortrac Dozer

I have a friend with one and he spends a lot of time replacing pins on the tracks, otherwise it seems to work OK.

RAW · Feb 20, 2006

I've seen those Nortracs. It's a good idea, but . . . somehow I'm guessing the quality isn't up to snuff.

BarryinMN · Feb 20, 2006

I looked at those, sold a lot to West coast landscapers because of small size. The tracks are not hardened so they constantly stretch. Owners manual says to remove a link to maintain adjustability. The Northern HQ has a setup facility for the Chinese tractors, excavators, and dozers in MN. They will let you test drive their inventory. Also had some returns with 50-100 hours selling at a discount. I saw a picture of one with a loader out front, dozer blade behind bucket and a 3pt on the back! Definitely multifunctional. They are easy to trailer at 6-7K lbs.

One good point of the smaller machine is in the worst case event of breakage, rollover or getting stuck it would take less to get the thing out.

A loader JD 350 will have a slightly higher center of gravity and less aggressive rounded grousers. The tracks are designed to spinout instead of stressing the undercarriage.

Consider making the trails significantly wider than machine width. The edges of the soil are more likely to give way than the center of built up areas. Depending on your soil type a sheepsfoot or a vibratory roller might help stabilize the new work.

weesa20 · Feb 20, 2006

I think this one wins. Found it under the construction forum.
Not exactly a tractor but I think it would work on the slopes pretty well.

web page

RAW · Feb 20, 2006

( I think this one wins. Found it under the construction forum.
Not exactly a tractor but I think it would work on the slopes pretty well.

web page )

Like that one?
You should see the Menzi Muck.

The manufacturer's site has some incredible video.

LRH · Feb 21, 2006

From past experience just getting the land where you can see it helps a lot. We have found out not turning over any more soil than needed keeps the erosion to a minnimum. The first thing I would do is get rid of some/most of the scraggly small diameter trees. We used a setup like the "right of way" folks use (An old surplused 1960's GA DOT cutter). Clear a few spots to pile bigger diameter trees and run over the rest with the huge cutter. Anything left big enough, put into pile. What is eventually left is short stubs that can be cut down a little further if the ground is not to rough or rocky. Not turning up the dirt made for a lot less mud. We have a lot of land from Atlanta north to TN and NC that looks like your non winter shots from all the tornados some of which were spawned from the hurricanes in the past 10 years, and some that look that way after the pulpwood harvesters leave. You stand back and look and don't know where to start. Back to tractors, most of the right of way tractors are New Holland's, don't know why . Cobb County Tractor north of Atlanta was setting up a few 2 weeks ago, by removing rear fenders/ROPS/tires/wheels and replacing with a heavy duty cage. Rear tires were re-capped aircraft tires and about 6' tall and 3'+ wide on a small diameter rim. The wide tires made them look very stable. The mowers looked like they could cut down light poles. The friends I mentioned above have property that backs up to an underground gas line on the east and high voltage power lines to the south and we have followed up on a few sections behind the RoW folks with my and my friends tractors with 5' and 6' brush hogs and the property looks about like Your neighbors property You pictured, although the grass is not high quality, mostly weeds/field grass. Good luck and get started while the weather is cool and no yellow jackets/wasps.

RAW · Feb 21, 2006

Good info! Thanks.

You're referring to the WoodsBoss tractors that CobbCountyTractor makes. They start with a TB series New Holland. I called a few months ago and grilled the sales guy. Problem with that super-duty cage is that it mounts where your FEL normally would. So . . . no FEL on those. But I love those aircraft tires. They make the tractor look mean! And hopefully it would perform.

Clearly, I've searched all over the internet for more info!! I'm an information junky!

Now what type of DOT cutter were you referring to?