labradorguy
Well-Known Member
Hello all.
I stumbled upon this forum while googling some info on different machines. I'm impressed with the collective knowledge here so I thought I would humbly ask for some purchasing advice....
Here is my situation, I'll try to explain it as thoroughly as I can... I own three hundred plus acres south of St. Louis and am looking at getting another 300. It was a farm way back in the day and for the last 20 years at least it has been used only as a hunting property. I'd like to get it back in shape for cattle, timber, and as a place spend time with my boys. I've been trying to keep it up with a 65hp tractor and a bush hog, but it is a losing battle. A couple of the fields are overgrown. 90% is 6" diameter and smaller hardwoods and cedars, a few bigger trees sprinkled in. The woods have encroached 20 yards or so past the fence lines and out into all the fields, there is grading work to do, a couple old ponds that are filled with sediment, and a lot of TSI work in the woods. Plus there is all the usual never ending farm related tasks to be done.
I've considered a CTL, a small dozer, an excavator, etc... and have come back full circle to the CTL. I was looking at purchasing a large CTL to do several things, but being Missouri, there is a lot of rock outcropping and stobs and I was wondering about the rubber tracks and how they would last. Does anyone sell steel tracks on CTLs? I considered getting a 100hp machine and pushing out all the brush it could handle, then chainsawing anything that was too large. I then considered a mulching attachment and a pt100g as an option and labor saver. It would clean things up nicely and I think I could make a few bucks on the side working in area subdivisions and opening up congested wooded lots in backyards. Everyone around here does "Bobcat" work, but nobody is advertising mulching as a way to open up backyards. It was just a thought as a way to help offset the cost of a machine.
I was leaning towards a pt100g with a mulcher, dozer blade, and maybe a backhoe attachment but I read a lot of negative comments about downtime, lack of support, and expensive repairs, so I went back to maybe a Cat or a Tak for reliability.
I've kicked this around so much that I feel like I am running in circles so if anyone would be kind enough to throw a few ideas out, I would sincerely appreciate it. Sometimes a person needs a fresh perspective. Many thanks.
I stumbled upon this forum while googling some info on different machines. I'm impressed with the collective knowledge here so I thought I would humbly ask for some purchasing advice....
Here is my situation, I'll try to explain it as thoroughly as I can... I own three hundred plus acres south of St. Louis and am looking at getting another 300. It was a farm way back in the day and for the last 20 years at least it has been used only as a hunting property. I'd like to get it back in shape for cattle, timber, and as a place spend time with my boys. I've been trying to keep it up with a 65hp tractor and a bush hog, but it is a losing battle. A couple of the fields are overgrown. 90% is 6" diameter and smaller hardwoods and cedars, a few bigger trees sprinkled in. The woods have encroached 20 yards or so past the fence lines and out into all the fields, there is grading work to do, a couple old ponds that are filled with sediment, and a lot of TSI work in the woods. Plus there is all the usual never ending farm related tasks to be done.
I've considered a CTL, a small dozer, an excavator, etc... and have come back full circle to the CTL. I was looking at purchasing a large CTL to do several things, but being Missouri, there is a lot of rock outcropping and stobs and I was wondering about the rubber tracks and how they would last. Does anyone sell steel tracks on CTLs? I considered getting a 100hp machine and pushing out all the brush it could handle, then chainsawing anything that was too large. I then considered a mulching attachment and a pt100g as an option and labor saver. It would clean things up nicely and I think I could make a few bucks on the side working in area subdivisions and opening up congested wooded lots in backyards. Everyone around here does "Bobcat" work, but nobody is advertising mulching as a way to open up backyards. It was just a thought as a way to help offset the cost of a machine.
I was leaning towards a pt100g with a mulcher, dozer blade, and maybe a backhoe attachment but I read a lot of negative comments about downtime, lack of support, and expensive repairs, so I went back to maybe a Cat or a Tak for reliability.
I've kicked this around so much that I feel like I am running in circles so if anyone would be kind enough to throw a few ideas out, I would sincerely appreciate it. Sometimes a person needs a fresh perspective. Many thanks.