First Tractor Purchase Coming up

[heavymetal]

Hi everybody, I have looked at the other posts, done a decent amount of research, etc on which Kubota to get to fit my needs. It heavily depends on what's going on and my situation might be different than the next guy who might be mowing and maintaining pasture. So figured I better just ask that might have a similar situation or who has run these machines. I haven't run one for routine maintenance like this, so ask the people who might have.

What I will be doing is maintaining my business property. So a tractor with a couple of implements and with a loader is needed. 45-50% of my 5 acres will be graded gravel roads so need the ability to tune those up, add gravel, regrade, etc. So grading scraper is needed for sure. Roughly over the next 2-5 years I will be adding anywhere from 500-1500 4" steel bollards, so an auger is needed to help with that. Some lifting of pallets of building materials but not too much of that its only when I will be expanding that will occur so maybe once a year for the next few years. Decent amount of snow plowing in January and February. There will be Zero mowing, I don't have grass at all. That pretty much sums it up. So a lot of gravel and grading, decent amount of post holes, and snow plowing. I am personally leaning towards the 2601 or 2501. My kubota dealer is awesome but doesn't have really anything until maybe 2 weeks from now, but wouldn't mind looking in a good direction now or what to look for or any help at all would be immensely appreciated. The only machines they do have is some that I find way too big for what I have going on I think. So any advice would be great. Thanks.

 

[skeets]

Just MHO, you might look at the 50 series like the 2650 either cab or open station. I think that would cover just about anything you have planed,

 

[BAP]

How heavy are the steel bollard and the pallets you need to lift? That will dictate the size of tractor you need more than the driveway maintenance. Any of the B series will do a good job with spreading and maintaining gravel driveway, but might not have enough lift for your pallets.

 

[groomerbuck]

So basically you have 2.5 acres of gravel roads to maintain? If thats the case id be looking into a skid steer. I know they are tons more money, but if your main reason for a piece of equipment is to maintain that much stone, a tractor imo is not the best option.

 

[skeets]

What are you running there a travelers rest. camp grounds kinda thing?

 

[heavymetal]

It is not a travelers rest area but a rapidly growing storage unit facility.

It will be roughly 2.5 acres of gravel depending on how I expand the facility. That is about the best I can give. I haven't fully expanded yet. That is the best guess as of right now. All i know for sure is Bigger units=more gravel drive, Smaller units=less gravel drive. I was thinking skid steer but price tag definitely scared me like no other.

My bollards will be maybe 5' long total, 1/8 inch steel/ 11gauge, so the auger to bury it in the ground maybe 2 feet then fill a bit with concrete. Basically enough of a barrier to know you hit something instead of my buildings. So they won't be that heavy to lift. The pallets will be anywhere from 100-800 pounds of building materials/scrap and won't be lifted that high just enough to organize it around the site. Anything bigger than that I have an equipment rental place with way bigger stuff that lifted thousands of pounds no problem.

 

[PaulL]

For what you describe pretty much any Kubota will do it. The question is how much time you have, and how much money you have. More money and less time = bigger tractor. Less money and plenty of time - get a BX.

What sort of implement do you want to level the gravel with - a land plane, or something more sophisticated like this: https://www.everythingattachments.c...Scarifier-Rippers-p/eta-land-leveler-ws-2.htm

Ultimately tractor size controls implement width. A BX would pull a 5', a B probably a 6', a small L maybe a 7'. You probably lose a foot in overlap - so a B will be 5/4 as fast (about 25% faster), an L 6/4 as fast (about 50% faster). Then there's moving the gravel with the bucket - the B and L have quite a bit larger buckets. But if the truck that drops it off can spread it somewhat for you, then that's less of a big deal.

The bollards sound like you'd just stack fewer on a pallet if you wanted a smaller tractor.

The auger is much better on a B or bigger machine - the BX is limited in 3pt hitch range (it's a low tractor, so the distance from all the way up to all the way down isn't much). Having said that, sounds like you're only trying to dig 2', probably a BX would do that if you really wanted it to.

 

[Jchonline]

Without a doubt, a Skid Steer is the best option. A snow pusher, pallet forks, and a grading scraper or maybe even get by with a bucket. It is amazing what one can do with a SS, a bucket, and some experience.

Is the property fairly flat (ie not hilly)?

Have you considered maneuverability? SS is much more maneuverable than a tractor. Much quicker to turn around as well. The hydraulic auger will run circles around anything you can get on a B series tractor. You can also easily rent one for a SS.

If you just have to have a second choice machine then I agree a B series is an ok choice. Have fun pushing snow across 2 acres with it. Based on what you are describing you will have nowhere to blow the snow, and you cant push it to the side (ie a road) so you have to push it straight into piles. If you have some other arrangement then it might get better.

Kubota has great 0 interest financing over 4 years on SS, AND you can write off 100% of the purchase in the first year with the new tax code for heavy equipment business purchases.

Definitely look into it more, but to me it sounds like a wheeled SS is the way to go.

 

[heavymetal]

I'll take another look at a skid steer and maybe a B or L series and see where I end up. I could always start out with a B or L and move up in a year or two. A tractor I know would handle what I have right now which isn't 2.5 acres of gravel more like 1.5 right now but when I do get up to 2.5 acres of gravel a skid steer will be the way to go. Which that 2.5 is coming faster than I think as well. I definitely appreciate the input.

The maneuverability I don't really consider cause the entire site was built to maneuver bigger vehicles, wider drives, bigger turning radius areas, etc. Just 3 weeks ago I had a 90' tractor trailer show up to move a renter from down south. Got in and out no problem.

All of my drives are roughly 1 to 3/4% grade or so, zero hills, its basically flat as can be but enough slope to have water flow where it should, so the actual tune up of gravel would be maybe 1-2 times a year. The drives themselves are 25-30' wide. The widest is for my big units for 80' so can back up a boat or camper easily.

 

[Muzzy]

Sounds like you do not need a mid-pto, the L2501 would be a good fit, it is an economical work horse for its size.

 

[RCW]

The pallets will be anywhere from 100-800 pounds of building materials/scrap and won't be lifted that high just enough to organize it around the site.

I think this is your limiting factor. An 800 pound pallet - especially on SSQA pallet forks - which extend the load further forward - will require more than a "B".

I would look at the L's with QA FEL/pallet forks, and some decent ballast to hang off the 3PH.

An L will also pull a wider grading scraper, which could also be used for FEL ballast.