I just closed on 17 acres of rolling, wooded land. I need to get in there with a tractor to clean out some areas for a road and for a building site. I would want a loader on the front and a bush hog behind. First what HP do I need and then, what would be a recommendation. Money is kinda tight and I told the wife I would try to keep it under $10,000 for all of it. Do I have a prayer in this price range??
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- Thread starter soder33
- Start date
Foghorn Leghorn
Member
Yes, that is enough money.
I live on 20 acres myself and have learned that it is better to buy too much tractor than too little.
I actually just upgraded to an Oliver 1655 from a 35hp utility tractor. The utility was just not up to the task of snow removal in Wi. The Ollie will have a big blower on the back.
I would suggest a 75 hp tractor or so, but you might get by with smaller if you don't have to contend with snow. I am in for all of about $8k including the blower, but do not have a loader. They are out there if you take your time looking.
I live on 20 acres myself and have learned that it is better to buy too much tractor than too little.
I actually just upgraded to an Oliver 1655 from a 35hp utility tractor. The utility was just not up to the task of snow removal in Wi. The Ollie will have a big blower on the back.
I would suggest a 75 hp tractor or so, but you might get by with smaller if you don't have to contend with snow. I am in for all of about $8k including the blower, but do not have a loader. They are out there if you take your time looking.
With a little work you could easily keep it under $2500 - including the brush hog. It just depends on what you want. If you want a near new New Holland TC35 with a loader and matching bush hog you'll spend $12-$14K easily. If you want an IH 300 with a trip bucket loader and an old pull behind 6' shredder you can keep it under $3000 without to much trouble. Both will mow it and give you the ability to lift and load heavy items.
Either way the 30 hp range should give you all you need for 17 acres.
Either way the 30 hp range should give you all you need for 17 acres.
Reminds me of a friend who went to a state auction and picked up a JD dozer with brush guards, hyd all way blade. All he had to do was lube and fuel it for years. That would be perfect for what you are doing. Money is tight everywhere now so there might be a few good buys out there.
4010 puller
Well-known Member
I recommend if you buy a brushhog get a 5-6' model and definately spend a little money to get one with a slip clutch and not the shear pins. It gets old stopping to change pins/bolts every 3 feet.
Ken Macfarlane
Well-known Member
Just don't think you'll be uprooting big trees with a tractor. Takes a good size dozer to knock a tree down in any reasonable amount of time. A mid or large sized excavator is much faster.
I'd clear the route of trees and brush then hire an excavator to grub it (remove stumps). Leave a good tall stump for them to yank on for the bigger trees.
I'd clear the route of trees and brush then hire an excavator to grub it (remove stumps). Leave a good tall stump for them to yank on for the bigger trees.
GeneMO
Well-known Member
- Location
- Pilot Grove, Mo.
A lot of it is going to depend on your mechanical abilities. Every weekend farmer wants the same size tractor/implements, making them more sought after and expensive.
Also the newer equipment is more trouble free and safer, but again more expensive.
But if you are forced to buy something in a certain price range, but then do not have the experience or mechanical ability to maintain it and keep it going, then it quickly turns in to an expensive piece of yard art.
I say buy little, then when that is not big enough, then you have a reason to get another tractor, then another, then another,,,,,,,,,
At least that is the excuse you give the wife!!!
Gene
Also the newer equipment is more trouble free and safer, but again more expensive.
But if you are forced to buy something in a certain price range, but then do not have the experience or mechanical ability to maintain it and keep it going, then it quickly turns in to an expensive piece of yard art.
I say buy little, then when that is not big enough, then you have a reason to get another tractor, then another, then another,,,,,,,,,
At least that is the excuse you give the wife!!!
Gene
Ive been exactly where your at.Small horse farm(18ac)My first tractor was a ford 600$3000.00.Too old,no loader,even if it did no power steering.Always tinkering with it,granted some people find that enjoyable,I dont have the time.Next tractor,Oliver 1550 with loader.Too big and still old enough to have to tinker with.Next tractor,if I even keep this place,will have a payment book thick enough to stand on and clean my gutters.
If you have 10grand cash,look for a tractor in the 30-40hp range,with loader(full hydrolics)power steering,independant PTO.You should find a real nice one in the 5-7grand price range.Now as far as the snow.I dont know if your going to be living there or just visiting the property occasionaly.I live in western New York so I know snow.Moving snow with a farm tractor,loader or back blade in my opinion sucks.So take the other 3-4grand and buy a plow truck.If its in good enough shape go ahead and put plates on it,if not just leave it there for a field truck like I do mine now.
Good Luck
Stan
If you have 10grand cash,look for a tractor in the 30-40hp range,with loader(full hydrolics)power steering,independant PTO.You should find a real nice one in the 5-7grand price range.Now as far as the snow.I dont know if your going to be living there or just visiting the property occasionaly.I live in western New York so I know snow.Moving snow with a farm tractor,loader or back blade in my opinion sucks.So take the other 3-4grand and buy a plow truck.If its in good enough shape go ahead and put plates on it,if not just leave it there for a field truck like I do mine now.
Good Luck
Stan
You need something big & haevy to move trees, create roadbeds, etc. now.
In 2 years, you'll be much happier with sometning small & nimble, light duty to maintain what you have.
Perhaps buy something big & a bit rugged looking now.
You could resell it for about what you bought it for in a few years.
Then get a nice small unit that likely will cost a bit more, but fit your needs better?
--->Paul
In 2 years, you'll be much happier with sometning small & nimble, light duty to maintain what you have.
Perhaps buy something big & a bit rugged looking now.
You could resell it for about what you bought it for in a few years.
Then get a nice small unit that likely will cost a bit more, but fit your needs better?
--->Paul
Rod in Forfar
Member
Nice pictures.
From the look of the site it's not too demanding for a tractor: fairly dry, not too steep, and with moderately-sized trees. My old Massey-Ferguson 35 would look after it well.
It took some work, but this winter I used it to get rid of two, 4' trees, an elm and a maple, which had died around the house. I cut the trunks up into sections my loader could lift and carried them away. Needed a 30" bar on the saw, though.
The only downside to a small tractor without a cab comes in winter. It takes a real man to blow snow from an open tractor. This year I bit the bullet and bought another, newer 35 hp, but this one with a cab.
I'd price the 35 at about $5000 with down-pressure loader and 5' bush-hog.
From the look of the site it's not too demanding for a tractor: fairly dry, not too steep, and with moderately-sized trees. My old Massey-Ferguson 35 would look after it well.
It took some work, but this winter I used it to get rid of two, 4' trees, an elm and a maple, which had died around the house. I cut the trunks up into sections my loader could lift and carried them away. Needed a 30" bar on the saw, though.
The only downside to a small tractor without a cab comes in winter. It takes a real man to blow snow from an open tractor. This year I bit the bullet and bought another, newer 35 hp, but this one with a cab.
I'd price the 35 at about $5000 with down-pressure loader and 5' bush-hog.
Get the tractor you need, with a loader and mower, probably 4wd, and since you are in the frozen north a snow blower. Something like a 50hp Kubota. 10K will be low, but you can definitely get what you need under 20. As to the trees, road, etc. No farm tractor is going to give you the quality workmanship in a decent time frame of a dozer and skid loader. But, you can rent what you need when you need it. Sure, in 10 years you can do the same work with any kind of tractor but time is also money. A week with a D5 and two to three weeks with a skid loader a few months apart will save you a fortune in repairs and time. Just plan your work flow with the dozer for tree pushing and road building to use its weight and horsepower.
Adirondack case guy
Well-known Member
Hay soder 33: 90% of the people who replied to your post have no idea!!!!!!!!! You CAN NOT push out trees and stumps with a farm tractor without distroying it!!!! The root structure on the bottom of a tree is as big as the canopy of that tree. Ken Macfarlane was right.It will take a sizable trackhoe and a bulldozer to make a road nagociable with a car. Also you will have to dig out all the organic matter off the top of the roadway and roll out Geo-Tech and cover it with suitable gravel. You are up for some real arguments with your wife. Good luck.
Kevin Schmidt
Member
Paul and the case guy are both right on...
A farm tractor will not cut the mustard for clearing ground like that, even if you buy a 125hp tractor and loader, it just won't do it. You can pull a tree with a farm tractor, but you can't pull several hundred trees and build a road with one.
Buy a decent trackloader, that will be good at moving dirt and knocking out trees, something in the 25,000 lb range or higher, anything smaller is just a toy. Make sure you buy one that runs right and has a decent undercarraige. You can just get one bought on a good day for $10,000
Get all the tree's and dirtwork done, then since you paid attention and bought a machine in 1/2 way decent shape, it won't be real hard to resell it and buy a farm tractor and loader to maintain the property
Speaking from experience, back when I was a pup I tried to help grandma do a little work with a td6 IH, what a joke. Years later I have a TD20E with a M11 cummins in it myself, that is about right for knocking out trees, still have to be careful on the big ones.
A farm tractor will not cut the mustard for clearing ground like that, even if you buy a 125hp tractor and loader, it just won't do it. You can pull a tree with a farm tractor, but you can't pull several hundred trees and build a road with one.
Buy a decent trackloader, that will be good at moving dirt and knocking out trees, something in the 25,000 lb range or higher, anything smaller is just a toy. Make sure you buy one that runs right and has a decent undercarraige. You can just get one bought on a good day for $10,000
Get all the tree's and dirtwork done, then since you paid attention and bought a machine in 1/2 way decent shape, it won't be real hard to resell it and buy a farm tractor and loader to maintain the property
Speaking from experience, back when I was a pup I tried to help grandma do a little work with a td6 IH, what a joke. Years later I have a TD20E with a M11 cummins in it myself, that is about right for knocking out trees, still have to be careful on the big ones.
If you've got wooded land that is rolling and you want to build a road and make a level building site you need to hire someone with a dozer. A farm tractor with a loader will not get the job done. The day will come when you will need a loader tractor but that will be for maintenance and snow removal and other small jobs.
Brian(MN)
Brian(MN)
buickanddeere
Well-known Member
Something with a factory alternator. 12V electric. Three point hitch. SCV outlet.Live pto.Live hydraulics. Wet brakes are good. Rops is good.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
I'd say it's way better to hire an experienced operator with at least a D5 size Cat or a track excavator to do the major clearing. I highly doubt a good 25,000#+ track loader could be found for $10,000 that didn't need any work. Even if you did find one, if you don't have a lot of experience running one, you will get frustrated and could very easily receive injuries. Tree's and bush can be very unpredictable when clearing them. An experienced operator will make a world of difference and do a better job in a fraction of the time it will take you. I've cleared a bunch of bush and tree's with a Cat 931B loader. I was able to push any tree down that I wanted but an experienced operator on a bigger Cat would have done the job a lot faster and I wouldn't have had to spend thousands on the machine and repairs. Some jobs are just better hired out and actually save you money in the long run. Dave
Traditional Farmer
Well-known Member
- Location
- Virginia
On that small of a piece of land you'd be way ahead hiring the heavy work done and then buying a tractor to put in grass and maintain the place.
Mark - IN.
Well-known Member
Well, AG tractors with front end loaders don't make good construction equipment. The front ends aren't made for that. I know where there's a Case 580 setting that has a sign in the window that says, "$7,900", but it also has a back hoe and taking that off to put a bushog on, well, not fun. Build a road on 17 acres? Yeah, I guess it could with time.
Maybe what you oughta do is combine two things. One, pick yourself up 30-35 HP tractor, if you're going to be tilling, and a model that can be serviced locally, or have parts nearby. Know what I mean? Who's your nearest dealer that can support your tractor? And secondly, pay someone that can come in with a dozer, not a big one but maybe a 450 series and cut that road or driveway for you. There's a lot of folks out of work that need work, construction is one of them, maybe you could get a guy for about $100 an hour. A day would cost you say...$1,000 or so? Realistically, after you cut your road or driveway, will you be needing a construction piece of equipment? Rent a guy for a day, and then buy an AG tractor for AG type work.
Good luck
Mark
Maybe what you oughta do is combine two things. One, pick yourself up 30-35 HP tractor, if you're going to be tilling, and a model that can be serviced locally, or have parts nearby. Know what I mean? Who's your nearest dealer that can support your tractor? And secondly, pay someone that can come in with a dozer, not a big one but maybe a 450 series and cut that road or driveway for you. There's a lot of folks out of work that need work, construction is one of them, maybe you could get a guy for about $100 an hour. A day would cost you say...$1,000 or so? Realistically, after you cut your road or driveway, will you be needing a construction piece of equipment? Rent a guy for a day, and then buy an AG tractor for AG type work.
Good luck
Mark
Thanks for the comments. I like the idea of hiring out the heavy work and getting an AG tractor between 30 and 50 HP. That should handle the maintenance end of things. You guys have some great ideas. There are some farm auctions coming up and I saw a few tractors that will fit the bill, just hope they don't go for rediculous prices.
(quoted from post at 09:50:27 06/22/10) Thanks for the comments. I like the idea of hiring out the heavy work and getting an AG tractor between 30 and 50 HP. That should handle the maintenance end of things. You guys have some great ideas. There are some farm auctions coming up and I saw a few tractors that will fit the bill, just hope they don't go for rediculous prices.
I agree with some of the others: don't buy a small AG tractor for construction work. I bought raw land like you 6 years ago. First purchase was an older Ford TLB (after I buried the pickup to its axles in mud a couple of times). TLB cost was under $10k. It's paid for itself in just putting in a gravel driveway and pulling stumps. Second purchase was a brand new DR Brush Mower (around $2k). It's great for getting to the brush in the woods and making trails and I even cut the smaller (1-2 acre) meadows by hand couple of times a year. Not as fast as a brush hog, but on a nice day, I don't mind the exercise and just being out in the fields. Next will be a small Ag tractor (30-50 hp) with a brush hog. ($3-4k) but I've found I don't NEED it on my 50+ acre parcel yet.
If you're going to be doing your own work, I'd recommend the backhoe first. It will be invaluable in prepping a site and helping with the building. A dozer would be nice for driveway and prep work but the TLB worked just fine for me and is much more flexible.
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