motoguy
New member
Just purchased a new home, and I'm looking for a tractor. About 5 acres, most of which is flat and wooded (but no brush). The other area is wooded, brushy, and on a steep slope (going down to a creek). In SW/Central MO, lots of rocky soil/areas. I have about a 25' cliff on one edge of the property, dropping to the creekbed, for example. I'm planning on adding a 40x60 shop, and trying to justify a tractor as a way to save some $$ on the building excavation. Excavator friend of mine quoted $8k or so for groundwork.
I'd like to do the groundwork (mostly fill, removing some stumps/trees/brush, and digging trench for foundation/retaining wall. Uses after that would be occasional trenching, hole digging, box blade work, continuing to fill/smooth areas of the lot, loader work, brush/grapple clearing, snow removal, digging gravel from creek bank, etc. No plow work that I can envision. No baler, no hay, etc. Yard/clearing/general work, not much in the farming/ground implement realm. This may be used on land of family members as well, but it'll just be more of the same, just on larger plots.
I'm currently thinking something in the high 30's-mid 40's HP range. I've heard many nightmare stories of expensive HST repairs, which had initially scared me from the HST option. These stories were mostly based on smaller garden-tractor/riding mower type units, vs larger tractors. This is something I'd like to buy and "keep forever", so I'm looking for durability. I'm very mechanically inclined, so repairs/mods/maintenance don't scare me. I went into this search thinking "I want a manual shift model", but I'm reading LOTS of selling points on HST for the type of work I want to do.
I've gone down the "new tractor fantasy", pricing models on the LS and Kubota websites. I have a few LS dealers that are "local enough", so that's a good thing. The reality, though, is that I just don't see myself justifying the purchase of a new tractor. The backhoe equipped Kubota I priced out was $45k. lol It seems like there are no shortage of older FEL equipped tractors in the $11-$18k range.
Which brings me to...the backhoe. Based on my readings, I'd want to avoid 3 point hoe attachments. Sounds like stuff starts breaking when they get used hard. That leaves me with frame mounted models. This limits my choices more when I start shopping used.
So...how "stout" is a hoe on a tractor of this size? Strong enough to dig a foundation in this (what will without doubt prove to be) rocky soil? Reasonable to think I can dig foundation/retainer wall trenches with something like this? I'll need to run power/water to the shop as well, so there are additional trenching options. Building berms, digging around tree roots, clearing gravel/sediment build up where the creek enters the lake, etc. These are all envisioned usages of the backhoe. Other items I may want "back there" would be box blade and wood splitter. No brush hogging/plowing for me.
I'm wondering if a backhoe on a unit of this size is just a waste of resources, for my intended purposes. It looks like used backhoe machines can be found in the $7k-$15k range. Heck, my family HAS an old Case 580C, but it needs a completely new engine, and lots of TLC to bring back to life (It's sat with the head off the engine for probably 10 years now, exposed to the elements). I can HAVE that thing if I want it, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort to put back together.
I'm totally new to the tractor world, but very mechanically minded. What are common issues to check on old machines? Engine smoke/knock/leaks, of course. Hydraulics/pumps are totally new to me. I noticed the (rotting) Case has lots of nicks/chips on some of the hydraulic cylinders. From my motorcycle days, I know that chips on tubes (forks) kill seals (fork tube seals), and assumed the same for tractor hydraulics. However, looking at other used examples, it seems that chipped/scratched/"blemished" chrome on cylinders is pretty common. Is it not that big of a deal on these machines?
I'm just trying to decide the best route to go. I LOVE the idea of driving away from the LS dealer with a new XR4046HC, but...I doubt I'll be able to justify that. We drive old cars and live in a nice house. If I'm not able to justify a care newer than 3-4 years, I don't think I'll be able to justify a new tractor. LOL My main reason for searching new is due to my lack of knowledge on them, which worries me about buying used.
Any advice, input, anecdotes, suggestions, etc for my situation would be greatly appreciated.
I'd like to do the groundwork (mostly fill, removing some stumps/trees/brush, and digging trench for foundation/retaining wall. Uses after that would be occasional trenching, hole digging, box blade work, continuing to fill/smooth areas of the lot, loader work, brush/grapple clearing, snow removal, digging gravel from creek bank, etc. No plow work that I can envision. No baler, no hay, etc. Yard/clearing/general work, not much in the farming/ground implement realm. This may be used on land of family members as well, but it'll just be more of the same, just on larger plots.
I'm currently thinking something in the high 30's-mid 40's HP range. I've heard many nightmare stories of expensive HST repairs, which had initially scared me from the HST option. These stories were mostly based on smaller garden-tractor/riding mower type units, vs larger tractors. This is something I'd like to buy and "keep forever", so I'm looking for durability. I'm very mechanically inclined, so repairs/mods/maintenance don't scare me. I went into this search thinking "I want a manual shift model", but I'm reading LOTS of selling points on HST for the type of work I want to do.
I've gone down the "new tractor fantasy", pricing models on the LS and Kubota websites. I have a few LS dealers that are "local enough", so that's a good thing. The reality, though, is that I just don't see myself justifying the purchase of a new tractor. The backhoe equipped Kubota I priced out was $45k. lol It seems like there are no shortage of older FEL equipped tractors in the $11-$18k range.
Which brings me to...the backhoe. Based on my readings, I'd want to avoid 3 point hoe attachments. Sounds like stuff starts breaking when they get used hard. That leaves me with frame mounted models. This limits my choices more when I start shopping used.
So...how "stout" is a hoe on a tractor of this size? Strong enough to dig a foundation in this (what will without doubt prove to be) rocky soil? Reasonable to think I can dig foundation/retainer wall trenches with something like this? I'll need to run power/water to the shop as well, so there are additional trenching options. Building berms, digging around tree roots, clearing gravel/sediment build up where the creek enters the lake, etc. These are all envisioned usages of the backhoe. Other items I may want "back there" would be box blade and wood splitter. No brush hogging/plowing for me.
I'm wondering if a backhoe on a unit of this size is just a waste of resources, for my intended purposes. It looks like used backhoe machines can be found in the $7k-$15k range. Heck, my family HAS an old Case 580C, but it needs a completely new engine, and lots of TLC to bring back to life (It's sat with the head off the engine for probably 10 years now, exposed to the elements). I can HAVE that thing if I want it, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort to put back together.
I'm totally new to the tractor world, but very mechanically minded. What are common issues to check on old machines? Engine smoke/knock/leaks, of course. Hydraulics/pumps are totally new to me. I noticed the (rotting) Case has lots of nicks/chips on some of the hydraulic cylinders. From my motorcycle days, I know that chips on tubes (forks) kill seals (fork tube seals), and assumed the same for tractor hydraulics. However, looking at other used examples, it seems that chipped/scratched/"blemished" chrome on cylinders is pretty common. Is it not that big of a deal on these machines?
I'm just trying to decide the best route to go. I LOVE the idea of driving away from the LS dealer with a new XR4046HC, but...I doubt I'll be able to justify that. We drive old cars and live in a nice house. If I'm not able to justify a care newer than 3-4 years, I don't think I'll be able to justify a new tractor. LOL My main reason for searching new is due to my lack of knowledge on them, which worries me about buying used.
Any advice, input, anecdotes, suggestions, etc for my situation would be greatly appreciated.