koselig
Active Member
Hi all!
First things first - I know nothing! I have never operated any heavy equipment except for our antique tractor. I am very open to advice but I also have researched heavily and studied what should cover our year-round needs.
I live and work with my family (wife and 4 children) on a remote property near Two Harbors, MN. This is the Lake Superior Highlands where we get more than the average Minnesota snowfall. Our driveway is around 1300ft of gravel through dense forest with a decent slope (unsure of grade) and turn. This is both our homestead and the location of my office/shop/studio, and we homeschool the kids, so we truly "live" here.
Currently we have the following equipment:
- 2014 Honda 420cc Rancher with plow
- 1958 Ford 961 tractor with original loader (trip bucket) and back blade
- 1994 Toyota plow truck, 4x4 with chains, Meyer blade (came with the property)
- two-stage MTD walk behind snowblower I paid $100 for
Warm-weather needs include:
- taming rough/overgrown land and general landscaping
- moving logs and rocks
- road grading and spreading gravel/dirt
- trail clearing/management (although a forestry mulcher is way out of my budget)
- managing our small orchard
- basic construction utility if we build our own pole barn, greenhouse, woodshed, or something. My son would like to build a tiny log cabin or sauna just for fun.
- trailering to our rustic lake property for the same sort of work as above
Cold-weather needs are dealing with snow of course. We plow the 1300ft driveway/road, and do what we can pushing piles in parking areas using the plow truck. I haven't used the tractor loader much to move snow because I don't have chains for it and am unsure how reliable it would be to depend on it in the cold. We plow with the Honda ATV when the snows are modest but it's not useful in big/heavy snow. It is nice for final cleanup.
We got 3 winters of use out the "free" plow truck but it's obvious now that we need a real solution. To be perfectly frank I don't enjoy operating the tractor or the snowblower because of the exhaust smell getting everywhere. I know I could rework the exhaust on the tractor but I still have the same concerns about depending on it in the winter. It's mostly "fun" for restoration someday, pulling logs out of the woods, and eventually a hay wagon for the kids.
I operate a product development technology business on the property which demands most of my time, and the rest of my time goes to the kids, so while I love machines and wrenching, I do not have any time for that at this stage in my life. So I need things that work and do not require a lot of fiddling.
I would love for you all to suggest/discuss recommendations for a CTL/MTL suitable for our purposes. My requirements are:
1. Must be able to tow with a common "skid steer trailer" and 1T truck
2. Must have traction on sloped roadway
3. Must be usable in Springtime mud or clay
4. Must support easy attachment to blade, bucket, forks, grapple, post hole digger, and eventually maybe a blower without leaving the cab
5. Must meet budget of 25-35k (40k if there is something really amazing) including a basic set of attachments and ideally a trailer - blade, bucket, forks?
Questions:
TRACKS OR WHEELS?
I know lots of guys run wheeled skid loaders with tall tires and/or chains, and our plow truck has demonstrated that combo can go a long way. But I really don't think wheels would be the right tool in the warm seasons. We are in the forest - it gets wet and soft. A neighbor has an ASV tracked loader and it seems to do the job pretty well. With the slope on the driveway I know I will need the right tracks, but I am hoping I am right that tracks will be the right thing overall. I don't want to stud them or anything.
CTL OR MTL?
Does a CTL or MTL sound right for my purposes?
MAKE/MODEL?
I had been looking at the big Cat 299D or Kubota SVL90 but I believe these blow the #1 requirement due to weight. So maybe I am looking at a ~74hp unit?
HOURS, AGE, HISTORY?
A lot of the machines in my budget are >3000hr. Is there some threshold over 3000hr where these become too expensive to operate and maintain? I don't want to spend 30k on a machine then not be able to afford either the time or money (or both) to keep it running.
Please share your thoughts and any followup questions to help narrow this down!
First things first - I know nothing! I have never operated any heavy equipment except for our antique tractor. I am very open to advice but I also have researched heavily and studied what should cover our year-round needs.
I live and work with my family (wife and 4 children) on a remote property near Two Harbors, MN. This is the Lake Superior Highlands where we get more than the average Minnesota snowfall. Our driveway is around 1300ft of gravel through dense forest with a decent slope (unsure of grade) and turn. This is both our homestead and the location of my office/shop/studio, and we homeschool the kids, so we truly "live" here.
Currently we have the following equipment:
- 2014 Honda 420cc Rancher with plow
- 1958 Ford 961 tractor with original loader (trip bucket) and back blade
- 1994 Toyota plow truck, 4x4 with chains, Meyer blade (came with the property)
- two-stage MTD walk behind snowblower I paid $100 for
Warm-weather needs include:
- taming rough/overgrown land and general landscaping
- moving logs and rocks
- road grading and spreading gravel/dirt
- trail clearing/management (although a forestry mulcher is way out of my budget)
- managing our small orchard
- basic construction utility if we build our own pole barn, greenhouse, woodshed, or something. My son would like to build a tiny log cabin or sauna just for fun.
- trailering to our rustic lake property for the same sort of work as above
Cold-weather needs are dealing with snow of course. We plow the 1300ft driveway/road, and do what we can pushing piles in parking areas using the plow truck. I haven't used the tractor loader much to move snow because I don't have chains for it and am unsure how reliable it would be to depend on it in the cold. We plow with the Honda ATV when the snows are modest but it's not useful in big/heavy snow. It is nice for final cleanup.
We got 3 winters of use out the "free" plow truck but it's obvious now that we need a real solution. To be perfectly frank I don't enjoy operating the tractor or the snowblower because of the exhaust smell getting everywhere. I know I could rework the exhaust on the tractor but I still have the same concerns about depending on it in the winter. It's mostly "fun" for restoration someday, pulling logs out of the woods, and eventually a hay wagon for the kids.
I operate a product development technology business on the property which demands most of my time, and the rest of my time goes to the kids, so while I love machines and wrenching, I do not have any time for that at this stage in my life. So I need things that work and do not require a lot of fiddling.
I would love for you all to suggest/discuss recommendations for a CTL/MTL suitable for our purposes. My requirements are:
1. Must be able to tow with a common "skid steer trailer" and 1T truck
2. Must have traction on sloped roadway
3. Must be usable in Springtime mud or clay
4. Must support easy attachment to blade, bucket, forks, grapple, post hole digger, and eventually maybe a blower without leaving the cab
5. Must meet budget of 25-35k (40k if there is something really amazing) including a basic set of attachments and ideally a trailer - blade, bucket, forks?
Questions:
TRACKS OR WHEELS?
I know lots of guys run wheeled skid loaders with tall tires and/or chains, and our plow truck has demonstrated that combo can go a long way. But I really don't think wheels would be the right tool in the warm seasons. We are in the forest - it gets wet and soft. A neighbor has an ASV tracked loader and it seems to do the job pretty well. With the slope on the driveway I know I will need the right tracks, but I am hoping I am right that tracks will be the right thing overall. I don't want to stud them or anything.
CTL OR MTL?
Does a CTL or MTL sound right for my purposes?
MAKE/MODEL?
I had been looking at the big Cat 299D or Kubota SVL90 but I believe these blow the #1 requirement due to weight. So maybe I am looking at a ~74hp unit?
HOURS, AGE, HISTORY?
A lot of the machines in my budget are >3000hr. Is there some threshold over 3000hr where these become too expensive to operate and maintain? I don't want to spend 30k on a machine then not be able to afford either the time or money (or both) to keep it running.
Please share your thoughts and any followup questions to help narrow this down!
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