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jrbarnard
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# Posted: 17 Jun 2013 07:05am
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I was going to rent a skid steer bobcat with 12" tree sheers for the 4th of July weekend and ended up not being able to due to a washed out road I need to repair first.
So, I saw an add about a 28hp John Deer tractor that was only like 170 a month. The bobcat with sheers was going to run me like 700 for 2 days.
So, was debating, why not buy something like that instead?
If I had a skid steer with sheers and a plow or something, maybe even a post hole driver, I figure I could do just about anything I needed to on the ranch.
Ideas?
Anyone have something like that they bought vs rented?
Russ
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OwenChristensen
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# Posted: 17 Jun 2013 07:10am
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A guy should have some machinery, but even then you need to rent to get the right tool for some work.
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VTweekender
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# Posted: 17 Jun 2013 07:39am - Edited by: VTweekender
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I bought an old backhoe/loader for the same money as I was going to rent for 10 days.....have to tinker with it to keep it going but I have blazed and built 250 ft of road and cleared /leveled 50x80 where my cabin will be going.....all stumps gone etc..etc.....still have the machine for next projects......but not recommended if you can't work on it yourself...
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 17 Jun 2013 07:54am
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I've wrestled with this one a bit myself. I plan to get a tractor eventually to clear snow, do grading, punch fence holes, cultivating, road grading etc. But, I hired a backhoe operator to dig my septic, and I'm about to hire him again to dig a foundation. All that cash I hand him could go toward a tractor for me.
But the tractor I would buy would have been just barely big enough to dig the septic, maybe not. And I really don't want to get a backhoe attachment if I dont have to, cause they are 3-5 thousand extra.
I doubt the Deere you are looking at had a shears attachment, and I've never seen a shears attachment for a CUT (compact utility tractor). Skidsteers have very high rate hydraulic flow and can operate a lot of attachments that CUTs can't easily handle if at all.
Maybe the best compromise is to rent a heavy machine to do the really heavy work, then buy a smaller tractor to have on site for lighter work that is more time consuming or needs to be done frequently, like grading and snow clearing.
www.tractorbynet.com has a good forum of tractor users where you can get answers to these kinds of questions from experienced tractor operators.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 17 Jun 2013 08:07am
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Cool tractor, VT. The only thing I'd say about getting a used monster like that is that they usually have a lot of hours on them from doing a lot of commercial work. So long as you just have to replace a few hydraulic lines etc. the cost of repair is not that great, but when you have to replace a tranny it's going to be expensive. When that time comes, you might consider scrapping the thing rather than fix it. So it's risky, but hey, can't complain about the road you cut and pad you cleared.
I've seen a few mid-90s Ford 545s (60hp) skip loaders with low hours on them for sale on CL that look tempting. Same price as a newer 30-35hp CUT, twice the guts.
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jrbarnard
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# Posted: 17 Jun 2013 08:41am
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yes, I would be better off with a skid steer bobcat, and a tree shear. I would do more cutting down cedars than anything else. I also would LIKE to do some roads, but nothing fancy as it is a lot of rock.
I would guess that the tree shears and maybe something to help me drive T-posts in the ground.. possibly dig holes for fence posts would accomplish 90% of what I would do.
If it had a plow/bucket on the front, eventually, I could at least be able to clear rocks etc, but not plow a major road.... which is totally fine by me.
Russ
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cabinbiscuits
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# Posted: 17 Jun 2013 08:57am
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I have a skid loader I bought from an equipment auction years ago. It's a 2001 and had about 1400 hrs on it when I got it. It is very useful around the house and camp that's for sure.
I also rent equipment on occasion. Not too long ago I got into a pissing match with my favorite rental company over a broken tooth on an excavator bucket and their not wanting to cover it under the damage waiver I paid extra for. Instead of renting a mini-ex from a rental company that doesn't want to stand behind their damage waiver I put the money toward buying my own backhoe.
Just keep in mind that you need a trailer and towing vehicle capable of moving whatever you decide to rent or buy. I work on my on equipment and as stated before that definitely helps when you buy older equipment.
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jrbarnard
Member
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# Posted: 17 Jun 2013 09:06am
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Nod.. I can work on anything, just give me some box end wrenches and a feeler guage and I am good to go.. heh. Rebuilt a C-6 tranny once by myself, not not afraid of all that.
I have a dual axle 12ft trailer, so should be able to carry something not too small.
Plan to get a storage container for the ranch and lock it all up in there, if I do it.
Thanks!
Russ
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Dillio187
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# Posted: 17 Jun 2013 10:57am
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I'm in the same boat. I desperately need something to do some work around my land, but don't want to shell out a bunch of money for something that will sit idle 27 days of the month.
If anyone knows of anything in my neck of the woods for sale or for hire reasonably priced (east central MN), holler please!
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creeky
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# Posted: 17 Jun 2013 11:03am
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I bought a massey ferg tractor new. a subcompact 24 hp TLB (tractor loader backhoe). heading into year 4 have just over 350 hrs on it.
I built a 900 ft laneway. Plowed the topsoil with a 1937 "genius 8", rolled back the soil, put down road tarp, had trucks come in with broken rock which I hauled and spread with the tractor... soil was too soft to have them pour. Now I can get anything in and out of the property at any time of the year!
I dug a 100 ft ditch in an afternoon.
I have plowed and mowed fields, hauled water, dug post holes, carried trees/bales/dirt/manure/rocks and everything else you can imagine.
I got pallet forks for the fel and almost never take them off. But I rarely use the back hoe. the fel is a lot more powerful than I thought it would be. that goes for the whole tractor.
Highly recommended. and don't get into "well a 35-50 hp is just a few thousand more." a buddy of mine did that. he got his tractor the year before i did. I used my extra money for a bush hog, post hole auger, snow blower and have lower operating costs to boot. $20 bucks worth of diesel goes a long way with the smaller engine.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 18 Jun 2013 07:46am
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Larger the unit, the less maneuverable it is in tight spaces. Sometimes higher HP and weight are a liability.
Here's another dilemma- all the grading, post hole, cultivating and minor excavating tasks I need to do can easily be done with a 25-30 HP diesel unit. But, when there is 3-4 feet of snow on my 1/2 mile of road to the highway, that tractor is too small. It will do it but it will take forever. So, do I get the 40-50HP unit, knowing I'll only need it rarely, or live with the smaller unit and suffer through the few deep snows? tough choice.
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jrbarnard
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# Posted: 18 Jun 2013 08:04am
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I am just not sure what size is the smallest bobcat or whatever I can get that will do a 12"-ish tree shear, maybe a 10".
Also would LIKE a post hole digger....so I can eventually do my own fence.
R
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creeky
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# Posted: 18 Jun 2013 09:46am - Edited by: creeky
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bldginsp. I bought a used Meteor snowblower and it blows snow off the back of my 24 hp tractor like a champ. I did a video of one of the bigger snow storms just after I got it. Jump to 1:11 to see the beasty in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8790LtwJfEY&feature=youtu.be
now the snow was only 18 to 24" deep. I did a deeper run later in the season with heavier snow and I had to keep it in low for sure. But two hours to blow a 900 ft lane ain't to bad. Sure beats using the fel.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 18 Jun 2013 10:13am
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creeky- snowthrowers are great in dry conditions and when you reliably have deep snow. Where I am is just around the snow line, so the snow is wet a lot of the time. Also there is usually not a lot of snow, and when you just have a foot or so it's a lot faster to clear with a blade or loader. I asked my backhoe operator about blowers in our area, he said no one uses them cause there is not enough snow.
But for the few times, I'd like to have one. A rear mounted thrower is less expensive, but you have to drive backwards to operate it, not so good for 1/2 mile of road. Front mount blowers are a lot more expensive cause you have to have a mid mount PTO and a special mounting bracket up front. So I'm back to the original question- do I spend a lot of money for just a few times in ten years, or suffer through the hard spots.
Compromise would be to find a rear mount like your Meteor and put up with looking over my shoulder for hours to operate it.
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creeky
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# Posted: 18 Jun 2013 03:23pm
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you'd be surprised at how fast the meteor is. but ya. if the snow isn't too deep, a plow wins everytime. Neil, the guy around here who does folks driveways has a plow on the front of his tractor and a snowblower on the back. dang showoff.
In Ontario we can get heavy snowfalls and I know a buddy who talks about the year that all the plow companies were calling him to do driveways for them because they couldn't do anything ... some overtime dollars were spent that week.
For myself, I sit sideways on the tractor and it's not as bad as I thought. it's way faster then using the loader. plus it looks cool. lol.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 18 Jun 2013 10:33pm
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I like the idea of a tractor with a blade up front and a blower on the rear, creeky. I also saw a tractor attachment company that makes a hydraulic blade for up front and a wing blade on the side of the tractor. Clears a good 8-9 feet in one pass. There are more toys out there than anyone can afford.....
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cabinbiscuits
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2013 12:00am
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bldginsp- In my case when I bought my skid loader we did not own our camp land. I bought a mid-size skid loader
(A Bobcat 763 to be exact). I have said several times over the years since we got the land that if we had the land at the time I would have purchased a large skid loader like an 863 which would have more power and capacity. Our land is steep mountain with tons of rock and I run over the tire steel tracks on it.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2013 11:21am
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i occasionally get attachment fever and head to the stores. a hydraulic blade for the front of my tractor. can you hear the fever in my voice.
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Martian
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2013 12:20pm
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Buy vs rent? Well, one of my customers just sold his skid-loader. It was bought new two years ago, and he sold it for $500 less than he paid for it!
It was sold to help offset the cost of a compact tractor with all the same attachments he had for the skid loader (posthole digger, bucket, and forks), plus a mower deck. He can add a backhoe if necessary. His wife was scared to operate the skid loader, but will drive the small tractor. That, alone, would make it a good deal! 
Tom
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:21pm
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Biscuits- I've researched tractors for some time now, and I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say they wish they'd gotten a different tractor. Bigger, smaller, 4wd, whatever. My neighbor has a 50 hp Perkins trencher, a nasty beast, which he uses to clear one mile of snow with the blade. He got a skid steer snow thrower to attach to it for deep snow, but the hydraulic flow rate on the trencher is wrong for the blower so it doesn't work. So he wants to trade it in on a skid steer, but I can't see him stump jumping on the skid steer when he wants to do off road work. You have clearanceroblems on yours?
Martian- the tractor manufacturers always show pictures of pretty young women driving their compact tractors, smiling of course. They are trying to market to the husband wife team and they want her to know they are easy to drive. Hydrostatics are very easy to drive, clutch driven gear drive tractors are not. I'd like to see the high heeled ladies where I work in a tractor seat. Hah!
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creeky
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# Posted: 20 Jun 2013 11:03am
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if you get a small tractor 4wd is essential. when you have a load in the bucket (sorry) the front wheel drive means you actually go where the wheels are pointed.
and hydrostatic rules. even at full rpm using a bush hog or blower or ... no neck snapping when you change direction/gears.
plus a small tractor, while no speed demon, is quite a bit quicker than a skid loader. though a skid will obviously have a lot more lift, push, pull power.
yesterday: cleaned up 12 waterlogged straw bales, five at one go was my record. try that by hand. finished a new garden I plowed last week. fetched 50 gallons of water for the laundry ...
a million uses.  attracting women hasn't proven to be one of them.
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cabinbiscuits
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# Posted: 20 Jun 2013 07:10pm
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bldginsp- The bottom of mine and I presume probably all of them is a smooth steel plate so it slides over whatever is too high for it to clear (within reason). Like I said before though I have over the tire steel tracks for mine which make it a totally different machine with them on. Mine has gone many a places with the tracks that it would never would have gone without them.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 21 Jun 2013 11:15am
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I heard about one guy who supposedly flipped his skid when he accidentally backed one wheel against a tree and it went straight up the trunk. LOL
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