Hi folks I have been lurking for a couple of weeks here. Here is what I'm looking at that needs tractor help. I have 3.75 acres North of Houston in the forest. It has about 1 acre of pasture that will eventually be lawn. There is a house, pool and barn but the house will double in size and a shop will be built.
Probably 2.5 acres is forested with deciduous trees and a few pines. There was intense jungle under the tree canopy so thick you could not walk through it. It took me 45 minutes with a machete and loppers to reach the back of the property by the creek. Then I hired a guy with a Bobcat skid and hydro axe at $100/hour to reduce the jungle to tiny bits on the forest floor. It looks like we were carpet bombed but I am so excited that I can walk my property. There are over a dozen large pines that died in the drought 5 years ago and are down or tall stumps. The skid moved them around to get the the jungle but they still need to be cut into size and dragged to the burn pile. Then I need to keep the jungle from growing back. I'm thinking box blade and front loader to clean up and level the ground, then a rotary cutter to keep it at bay. I also need a finish mower for the grass. Other needs besides leveling is lifting. I will use the FEL to help manage the forest and lift stuff in the barn and shop with QA forks. I will be a new tractor owner but drove forklifts extensively as a high school job including a big JD across town to unload boxcars of shingles. I can wrench on diesels and gassers, just put a 38R turbo on my 7.3 powerstroke. That being said I'd like to get a tractor that does not need much other than maintenance. My property is mostly packed sand that is highly tolerant of heavy trucks. The skid steer and trailer, plus my 8k lb Excursion don't tear up the pasture even when wet. I have about 8' of elevation change from one end to the other so mostly flat except for the creek bed. I am not considering BX but larger B and standard L series. I know I could do the tractor work with a BX or B but I want more lift from the FEL and the forest is not tight now that the hydro axe went ape on it. I could probably buy outright $12k worth of tractor but that gets nowhere unless I get real lucky on a buy. Thinking financing 0% a L2501 with HST FEL Box blade and brush hog. I'll look for a finish mower second hand since so many are going ZTM. I don't need a separate tractor for mowing, just a push mower in addition to the Rear finish mower. I have lots of trenching to do to run power and water lines as well as stump removal. I think I'll rent a trencher and an excavator for those jobs but will use the tractor for landscaping,maintenance, forest and fence work. Sorry for the long stream of consciousness intro but wanted to let y'all know what I'll be doing with the low gear orange beast.
Dunbar (real name)
Probably 2.5 acres is forested with deciduous trees and a few pines. There was intense jungle under the tree canopy so thick you could not walk through it. It took me 45 minutes with a machete and loppers to reach the back of the property by the creek. Then I hired a guy with a Bobcat skid and hydro axe at $100/hour to reduce the jungle to tiny bits on the forest floor. It looks like we were carpet bombed but I am so excited that I can walk my property. There are over a dozen large pines that died in the drought 5 years ago and are down or tall stumps. The skid moved them around to get the the jungle but they still need to be cut into size and dragged to the burn pile. Then I need to keep the jungle from growing back. I'm thinking box blade and front loader to clean up and level the ground, then a rotary cutter to keep it at bay. I also need a finish mower for the grass. Other needs besides leveling is lifting. I will use the FEL to help manage the forest and lift stuff in the barn and shop with QA forks. I will be a new tractor owner but drove forklifts extensively as a high school job including a big JD across town to unload boxcars of shingles. I can wrench on diesels and gassers, just put a 38R turbo on my 7.3 powerstroke. That being said I'd like to get a tractor that does not need much other than maintenance. My property is mostly packed sand that is highly tolerant of heavy trucks. The skid steer and trailer, plus my 8k lb Excursion don't tear up the pasture even when wet. I have about 8' of elevation change from one end to the other so mostly flat except for the creek bed. I am not considering BX but larger B and standard L series. I know I could do the tractor work with a BX or B but I want more lift from the FEL and the forest is not tight now that the hydro axe went ape on it. I could probably buy outright $12k worth of tractor but that gets nowhere unless I get real lucky on a buy. Thinking financing 0% a L2501 with HST FEL Box blade and brush hog. I'll look for a finish mower second hand since so many are going ZTM. I don't need a separate tractor for mowing, just a push mower in addition to the Rear finish mower. I have lots of trenching to do to run power and water lines as well as stump removal. I think I'll rent a trencher and an excavator for those jobs but will use the tractor for landscaping,maintenance, forest and fence work. Sorry for the long stream of consciousness intro but wanted to let y'all know what I'll be doing with the low gear orange beast.
Dunbar (real name)