Tractor Choices less than 40hp with

[Cvans 1,009]

A skid steer without a doubt has it's place and with a skilled operator can really turn out the work. My yard is not the place for one though. One turn and I would have a lawn to repair. They can do a lot of damage to the ground they are operating on and I'd never hear the end of it if the neighbors saw me pulling a plow with a skid steer. 

[1995 520H+96+97 937]

Turn on two wheels.

 

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

I would suggest a Kubota B or L as Kubota has great after-sale support. There used to be a dealer in KY that would undercut local dealers and be cheaper, even with transportation costs. Regarding the tractors, the B is priced very close to the popular BX but is a more capable tractor. The L is a bit larger and can match the high end of horsepower your friend is looking for.

[WVHillbilly520H 10,373]

8 hours ago, Cvans said:

A skid steer without a doubt has it's place and with a skilled operator can really turn out the work. My yard is not the place for one though. One turn and I would have a lawn to repair. They can do a lot of damage to the ground they are operating on and I'd never hear the end of it if the neighbors saw me pulling a plow with a skid steer. 

That's the biggest draw back, my BIL/FIL had one and was constantly tearing up the grass/sod because it is a "SKID" steer my BIL does concrete/construction work and is a skilled operator but when I did the digout for my new carport/shed (was only about 2" off level in a 18'x21'+ span) and concrete slab(4'x8' span) in front of our deck he commented on how much nicer I had done the work with my eMax vs him on the skid steer, open differential 4x4 I agree you can see more of what you're actually doing on the skid steer vs my tractor loader combo but that also is part of becoming familiar with the pieces of equipment you're operating be it a gear drive vs hydro drive horse or compact car vs a semi truck and everything in between, you wouldn't necessarily use that 40hp utility tractor to mow a 1/4 acre lawn then use a single  to plow a 14 acre corn field but if that's all you got and know how to use it...Jeff.

[slim67 2,735]

21 hours ago, ohiofarmer said:

  Let's say that you want to use a front end loader quite a bit and a post hole digger occasionally, and also want a piece of equipment that you can mount inexpensive 3 point equipment like a landscape rake on..

 

 For my money, it is Bobcat skid steer loaders.  I can pick a piece of lint off you with my front end loader on my 853. You can buy a 3 point adapter at TSC  for a hundred or so to mount implements on the bucket  mount called a Bobtach. Final grading with a Bobcat is so much better because you are steering with your hands and operating the bucket with your feet---and you can SEE and even feel what the bucket is doing. For a post hole digger, you have to have front hydraulics, but they will out dig anything else out there and you can reverse the rotation if you hit a rock.  I have dug 18" diameter holes 4 feet deep in a matter of a few minutes.

 

 I can outwork a tractor/loader/backhoe 2 to 1 with the loader in  close quarters unless loading a carrying over longer distances like 150 feet.

 Another option you can enjoy is that you have developed skill with your machine, and if you need to rent a complicated tool with a rented bobcat ,then your skills as an operator will transfer to the rented machine.

 

 The aftermarket has invented so many tools for the bobcat that I never cease to be amazed

Good point and hard to argue especially since there is a huge market of used skidsteers. Add a set of tracks and you can go anywhere and do anything. Thats probably why you see so many at the jobsites. I used to hear the rubber tire backhoe was the one piece of equipment any excavator/contractor had if nothing else but I think the skid steer is right there with it.

[ohiofarmer 3,265]

2 hours ago, slim67 said:

Good point and hard to argue especially since there is a huge market of used skidsteers. Add a set of tracks and you can go anywhere and do anything. Thats probably why you see so many at the jobsites. I used to hear the rubber tire backhoe was the one piece of equipment any excavator/contractor had if nothing else but I think the skid steer is right there with it.

 

 i also happen to have a Ford 455 tractor loader backhoe, and that is what i base my opinion on about what each machine can do.   You guys are correct about how a TLB is easier on a lawn than a skid steer.. but the backhoe swinging around the back can hit and damage trees if you are not super careful..I often thought that I would like to have two extra tires that were smooth to operate the Bobcat on the lawn and switch them out for such work. A lot of the contractors have switched to compact excavators and tracked skidsteers and found that they can get more work done in less time for about the same investment.  Both pieces of equipment will still fit on one backhoe trailer as well, and you can be working in wetter conditions while your competition is waiting for the ground to dry.

 

 Even a zero turn mower can scuff the lawn a bit given the right conditions..

 

 When i dig out my gravel driveway after a big storm, I leave about 4" of snow on it and then pack it down tight to form sort of  an Ice skid pad where it is  handy to turn the machine around. That way the tires don't bite into the gravel. Tracked Skid steers minimize rutting and tend to be much easier on turf and things like that.

Every machine has its good and bad points, so you just have to look at what percentage of the time it will be used on the jobs it is built to excel at and how much time/work/money it will take to fix the blemishes it will cause vs. doing the work by hand. Excavating has come a very long way even to the point of having automatic buckets that read and automatically adjust off a rotating laser beam to get the finished grade almost perfectly level. Bobcat and other brands have this feature available.

 

 A few years back, i did two septic systems for my own properties that involves setting a two thousand gallon septic tank and 1800 -2000 feet of leach lines. Working alone, I did each one in about a week. A lot of jumping off that backhoe and reading the stick was involved, but at least I had a laser. I welded up leach line holders out of rebar to hold the leach lines level so I could pour gravel [very delicately with the Bobcat] over them into the trench. Rubber  bands made from old motorcycle tubes held the leach lines to the holders. Worked great.--- Dig a trench, set the stakes with a laser, Lay the pipe on the holders. Cover the pipe with gravel. Remove the rebar pipe holders and do the next set. 

 

 I saves about five grand doing the work myself 

[ohiofarmer 3,265]

 That is, about five grand on EACH system

[Pullstart 62,834]

On ‎1‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 7:50 PM, ACman said:

Most farmers are brand loyal but became that way because that was their closest dealer. That’s my  from growing up in the Ag business.

 

 

Reminds me of the Kenny Chesney song American Kids... "Momma and Daddy put their roots right here cuz this is where the car broke down"

[fast88pu 3,324]

John deere