Equipment purchase advice for a land clearing homeowner.

I'm not sure if I'm in the right section of the forum here, but since I don't know what I need, I didn't know which equipment specific section to put this in.

I'm looking for advice on which piece of equipment would be most beneficial for my situation, which is, mostly land clearing.

I am NOT a contractor, and I don't pretend to have thousands of hours operating equipment, but I do have experience as a homeowner and grew up with always having a large loader or backhoe/loader in the yard.

I have about 50 acres of land which is currently forested. My family will be moving up to our land (from MA to NH) this winter. The house we are moving into has less than an acre of open land, probably more like a half acre ar best. I want to clear a LOT of trees and move a fair amount of dirt small distances. Trees are mostly small diameter (less than 8" DBH) white birch and 8"-20" max DBH white pine.

The lot is gently sloping (nothing I could drive across but certainly not level). I would like to regrade and level an area of about an acre or two in size, and create lawn. I've always wanted a flat area to mow and this should be attainable.

So, my original plan was to buy a larger tractor in the 70-80hp range, and use that to do the work. However, I know it really isn't the right tool for the job. But I'm wondering what IS the right tool for the job?

That is my main question, what is the right tool for the job? Now the hard part, I would be looking to spend in the $30k range if I buy something. I've ALWAYS wanted an excavator, and I've always loved backhoes. I've never ran a dozer and only limited experience in a skidsteer. I'm also open to any "outside the box" ideas like tool carriers/telehandlers or anything else if it's a good choice.

A cab would be a must. I figure it's probably between a backhoe or excavator, but what do you experts say?
(I am active over on tractorbynet and know a lot about tractors, but not so much about the real deal equipment like this).

A track loader around 2yds. might be a good option and you should be able to find something in pretty good shape for 30K like a 955 or maybe even a 953 but pay to have a Cat tech check it out.

You have described exactly what a track loader does best! Something along the lines of a 955K or L, or a 953 in an A or B model. They are excellent clearing machines. Quite capable of cutting dirt, hauling fill a short distance, laying out a grade. For 30K you should be able to find a pretty good early model 953 with a cab( wont have AC, but heat possibly), shop for a bargain with cash in hand you could prolly buy a B model with cab, heat and air. I'm not a fan of a 4 in 1 bucket but some folks love em.

Good luck
John

Not sure this is the answer you are looking for but as I'm a non-professional and land owner with a ctl I have to say.... for the cost of fuel, repairs etc if it were my choice again I would have a timber company come take the trees I wanted cut, have a mulching company take care of any other and have a professional do the clearing. Then I would buy a smaller ctl to have for "fun" on the property. Now, if you are mechanically inclined the repair costs may not be as big a factor to you but having just had to replace a hose which cost $2k (because of its location) and now a water pump that cost $1400 for the part alone.... it's a shock to my senses and I could have gotten work done cheaper, quicker and then just used my machine for building trails or maintenance. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my ctl for its ease of use and tracks but like all machinery comes with its headaches. For me the ctl is a good all around machine and if you are planning to keep the machine after the initial work is completed you want to consider either it's future use and/or resale value. You can also lease machines which might be a great thing to consider.

Thanks for the replies. I never would have thought a track loader would be the way to go (shows how much I know.)

Welder Dave said:

A track loader around 2yds. might be a good option and you should be able to find something in pretty good shape for 30K like a 955 or maybe even a 953 but pay to have a Cat tech check it out.

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I don't have any experience with anything 'tracked' as far as the knowledge to know what is considered good or bad, so I would certainly need someone to help me 'inspect' a machine. Is it common to hire a mechanic to come with you to look at a machine? Or would they look at me like I have two heads?

JD8875 said:

You have described exactly what a track loader does best! Something along the lines of a 955K or L, or a 953 in an A or B model. They are excellent clearing machines. Quite capable of cutting dirt, hauling fill a short distance, laying out a grade. For 30K you should be able to find a pretty good early model 953 with a cab( wont have AC, but heat possibly), shop for a bargain with cash in hand you could prolly buy a B model with cab, heat and air. I'm not a fan of a 4 in 1 bucket but some folks love em.

Good luck
John

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Thanks John,
The reason I was originally thinking that an excavator would possibly be the best option, was the ability to move trees around (with thumb) after knocking them over with the stump still attached. I like that the track loader can reach high up on the tree and get good leverage unlike a dozer. But again, never operated one.

kckc said:

Not sure this is the answer you are looking for but as I'm a non-professional and land owner with a ctl I have to say.... for the cost of fuel, repairs etc if it were my choice again I would have a timber company come take the trees I wanted cut, have a mulching company take care of any other and have a professional do the clearing. Then I would buy a smaller ctl to have for "fun" on the property. .....
For me the ctl is a good all around machine and if you are planning to keep the machine after the initial work is completed you want to consider either it's future use and/or resale value. You can also lease machines which might be a great thing to consider.

Click to expand...

Actually, I'm surprised this wasn't the first thing posted, so I was expecting a reply like this I'm definitely not ruling out just hiring out the work, and that may very well be the way I end up going. The reason I'm considering doing it myself (aside from the fun aspect) is because I'm planning on upgrading my tractor anyways, so my initial thoughts, were that I would upgrade my tractor first, and then use that new, bigger tractor for this work. Now, the more I think about it, the more I know that a tractor is not meant for this kind of work (this is despite the fact that I have done a lot of land clearing with my current tractor)

If it weren't for all the grading and dirt moving I want to do, I would be able to use my current tractor for everything. I'd cut the large trees down with a chainsaw, grind the stumps, and power rake the area smooth. Then I can mow over pretty much anything under 3-4" and knock down all the "in betweeners" and pile or chip everything.

Regarding the timber, I don't want to sell any of it, so it would cost me quite a bit to have a logger come in. The option of cutting the trees down isn't too appealing to me because then I would have to dig out all the stumps, where it's much easier to just push them over.



So back to my original thought of buying a tractor, I still plan to upgrade (I need a cab) so whatever I buy, I would likely only have for a year or two, and use for this initial project, and then for some hobby logging and creating skid roads through the property as well as making some dirt bike trails. So I figured it will be smarter for me to keep my equipment now, and add a heavy piece of equipment to do the rough work, then sell it and buy my cab tractor.

My other thought, is keep my tractor for a lot longer, and buy a 5 ton mini excavator for the numerous jobs I'll have over the years. I know a mini isn't the right tool for all the grading and dirt working I want to do though.