Which is best way to clear land?

cowboydoc · Mar 28, 2001

Well IF I can force myself to build another house we may be doing the same thing. I may move up to the 113 acre parcel place. Due to a fantastic deal on some buckskin and palomino mares I'm going to start doing more breeding. What I want to do is build an 80x140 steel indoor arean with ten stalls, breeding spacae, office, and roping arena. Then build a 150x300 outdoor with an enclosed roundpen. Put paddocks off to the end of side of it, etc. That part I don't mind doing but I really don't want to build another house and after getting some bids to have one built I really don't want to do that either. So I may just build the arena and building this year and stay where I am for now. That being the case we could all three compare notes this summer!!!

Billc · Mar 29, 2001

My best friend Rich,

I think your building plans are geat! I know where there is some land RIGHT NEXT TO US!!!! What a great place to build an indoor arena! Oh, and to show you that I would have no ill feelings to you as a neighbor, I'll come over and visit your arena.......err......you about every day!

No need to thank me. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bill Cook

cowboydoc · Mar 29, 2001

Sounds great Bill!! Does that mean that I can count on you to help build it all /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif? Seriously though if I build it myself I can probably do it all for around $40,000. With these mares that I just got and what their babies have sold for the last five years I should pay for it in 2 years. That's why I'm justifying doing it, at least to the wife anyway!!!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

dmccarty · Mar 29, 2001

Del,

How much did it cost to rent the track hoe and how long did the lease last?

I thought about going this route last year before I got the tractor. One of my big concerns was learning how to run the machine. I did not want to spend thousands of dollars on a rental and spend most of my time learning how to operate the thing. After running my JD48 backhoe I think I could transition to a larger machine very easily as long as the control were the same. I did a little bit of research on the web and at the farm show and discovered that some of the newer machines have a switch that allow the controls to be set to different systems. So I figure I could rent a machine and actually get my money out of the lease if the controls are familiar.

Thanks....
Dan McCarty

Anonymous Poster · Mar 29, 2001

It was about $700 for 2 days for 16 tach hours. At my use rate it took 24 hours of use to get 16 tach hours on it. I ran it 12 hours a day. When I was sitting in my chair watching the telly I went to reach for something my hand tried to move the invisible controls on the chair to turn me sideways! The controls weren't the same but after an hour or so I was able to dig stumps and holes OK. I began reciting the movements out loud for awhile as I was going to do them then to myself and was able to get in the groove for it.

I dug up about 180 or so big stumps, dug a 330 foot ditch, heck a CANAL!, Dug 3 ponds pushed over trees had a blast. Each of the stumps was about 2 feet across, some 4 feet, with my Ford you multiply the stump diameter by about 3 and have to go out that far to be able to break the roots, the excavator had no problem right next to the stumps breaking anything off, or just scooping them out as easy as I dig up just dirt!

Rates are lower of course the longer you rent one. The yard I used and most of the independents have been bought by United Rentals, a nationwide company. They are big time, most of their equipment is under 2 years old, the excavator I rented had under 100 hours on it! The plastic was still on the seat.

Oh and back to the different methods, if you are burning it yourself later, a dozer with one of those stingers on the back (some mount on blade) can split the stump into pieces while it is in the ground, that way it will burn MUCH MUCH faster, and the pieces of even a big stump can be handled by all of our toy construction equipment!

del

scruffy · Mar 29, 2001

Saw this out on ebay...maybe along this route would be a thought:
Backhoe ~902 Liebherr~ Rubber tire Excavator
Item #574419264
Item located in: Other Vehicles:Miscellaneous
Currently $3,800.00(reserve not yet met)

Time left 5 days, 0 hour +

Started Mar-27-01 20:38:23 PST
Ends Apr-03-01 21:38:23 PDT

Seller (rating) michelletrenary@aol.com (32)
(View seller's feedback)
(View seller's other auctions)
(Ask seller a question)

High bid roadhog@planetc.com (23)

# of bids 21 (bid history)
Location Hastings, Mn
Country/Region USA/Minneapolis-St. Paul

dmccarty · Apr 2, 2001

Del,

Thanks for the info.

What was the make and model on the execavator?

Did they deliver and pickup?

Depending on the equipment I was getting quotes up to $3,000 for a large backhoe for 30 days. I never thought
about running an excavator. Now I would! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

What kind of insurance did you have? I would hate to break something and have to pay for it! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Thanks...
Dan McCarty