The Newest New Guy

[littledenny]

Guess this makes me the newest of the new guys.....

Name's Denny Little, from Ellijay, Ga.

First operated back in '73 or so, as a young college kid on a summer job - went from a Bobcat to a Scoopmobile and a 50's vintage Wabco Scraper that summer, and kept at it for a few summers.

Retired early last year after 26 years in the Army, and now trying my hand at returning to honest work. Tooka job as an operator for a local loghome builder, so I worked for a few months on a JD310SE, small dozer and loader. Left that when the boss decided to get out of the excavation business.

Since then, been working as spare labor with a couple different guys, doing all kinds of work, from retaining walls to stone masonry.

Am in the middle of taking the plunge to start my own business, and plan to continue with retaining walls, driveway maintenance and some finish grading. Planning to stay a one man operation, as this is a semi-retirement job. I intend to do first rate work, but maybe not six days a week.

Am interested to see if anyone is in a similar position, and if anyone has a few recommendations and/or experiences to share. I'm considering equipment, and really think something like a JD 110TLB would work well for the kinds of jobs I intend to pursue. I'm also considering a smaller tractor with a hoe and a few other attachments (front bucket, forks and a good scrape blade) since "small and maneuverable" is better for what I want to do.

I've seen lots of guys with skid loaders struggle to do the kinds of jobs I'm seeking, but I've not seen anyone locally with a small backhoe as their sole piece of equipment. Am I missing anything here?

Is a JD 110TLB worth the premium cost over one of the midsize tractors, like the green JDs, Masseys, or Kabotas?

Anyway, look forward to conversing with a few kindred souls.

Littledenny

Owner, 2Vets, LLC

 

[cat320]

To be hounest I see more guys going into the mini excavator and skidsteer combo.Unless your looking for one machine to do everything then those would be ok I have never used one so can't say on how good or productive they are.JCB makes a 212 which is a little bigger but seams like a nice machine for the size with the quick disconect bucket to put forks on for your stone work with pallets.

 

[Steve Frazier]

Welcome to HeavyEquipmentForums!!!:drinkup

First and formost, thank you for your service to our country, there is no more noble profession!!:salute

There are some key items you've mentioned in your post that lead me to believe a skid steer will be more of what will work for you. The JD 110, while a nice machine, is fairly small and limited to the amount of work it can do.

You mention "small and manueverable". A skid steer will do both better than the 110. Shorter in length and able to turn in it's own footprint.

Attachments? There are hundreds available for skid steers to fit any job you can dream up. It's right in front of you with great visibility, not out front and under the engine of a TLB.

I own a Cat 248 skid steer and work almost exclusively with brick pavers and block retaining walls. I can't think of any other machine I'd rather have. The 110 won't be able to handle a full pallet of bricks or blocks, my 248 can. Also, most skid steers in this size range will have the same horsepower and hydraulics power of a JD410 TLB. This is why you see so many, it's the best tool for the job.

Struggling with them? Never! I'd be struggling without mine!:bouncegri

 

[littledenny]

Thanks for the reply -

I've seen several guys, also with the skidster and small hoe,
but neither piece is worth a flip in grading driveways here in the hills of North Georgia. I've seen too many guys that con locals into thinking that a flat regrade and another load of gravel constitutes "driveway maintenance". Guess it's good for their repeat business again next year, but I intend to sell folks on proper drainage, and doing what will cure the root cause of washed out driveways in the first place.

That's why I think a small TLB will work best for me. A good tilt/angle blade will slope drives much better'n a bobcat bucket ever will, and I can deal with the culverts and trees with the bucket and backhoe. These tools are also helpful in cutting banks for the retaining walls that nearly everyone here has along their drive, somewheres. I'm getting too old to be schlepping railroad ties by hand, hence the forks. I really don't want to invest in two pieces of equipment, and want to hold down the size of whatever I get so that I don't have to invest in a bigger truck and trailer, either.

Anyway, thanks for the toughts.

Littledenny

 

[Steve Frazier]

I've got to disagree again, sorry.

I owned a JD410 for a number of years, I could grade with it but not nearly as well as with the skid steer. The key is visibilty. Your attachment (in this case a 6 way blade) is directly in front of you, you can see everything unobstructed.

Add to this the pilot control technology on some skid steers, giving you precise control of the boom and bucket, and you've got a combination that can't be beat! If you want to really go nuts, you can get a grading attachment that turns the skid steer into a mini road grader!

If you've never run a skid steer, I'd advise you to rent one for a few days and see what they can do before making a purchase, I think you'll be surprised. The shortcomings you've listed are not the fault of the machine, but rather that of the contractor operating it.

You'll only need a skid steer to do all of the things you list and more. I've got a 4 way bucket, forks, grapple hook, brush grapple, snowblower, back hoe and Harley Rake for mine. A skid steer will open a world of opportunity for work. Make sure you look at the rated lift capacity of the 110 verses that of skid steers in the same price range, I think you'll be surprised again.

I'm not trying to disuade you (well, maybe I am) but my work is exactly what you describe and I'd never consider using a TLB unless it was all I had available.

 

[cat320]

I have to agree with Steve I can grade better with the skidsteere than my TLB I have woth and I find that i'm using the skidsteer more and the TLB less unless it's a big job or i'm digging for a foundation ,but a nice size min excavatoe would be nice to add.

 

[Dirt Diggler]

I agree with Steve the skid steer would be the all around better machine!

 

[littledenny]

Ok, points taken, but maybe I've mislead you a bit here.

I've operated skidsteers, a JD310SE, dozers with 6 way blades, tracked and wheeled loaders, scrapers, etc. I've cut a few new roads in the hills here. I know a bit about the pros and cons of each, and understand the merits of having the right machine for the particular job. Thus far, I've rented machines, as necessary, to do various projects, and more often than not, it's been a small Kabota backhoe and a 3 point mounted scrape blade.

I've yet to see even expert operators grade a crown on a 10 foot wide drive with a foot deep ditch for drainage up a forty percent, tree lined slope with a skidster bucket as fast as I can grade it with a decent blade on a three point hitch.

Granted, seems like just about every other truck in town is pulling a skidsteer behind, but I've made a few bucks correcting things that these guys couldn't, or wouldn't do. (And I often wonder if they don't create proper drainage, to insure callbacks next year.)

I don't want to start a riot here, but I'm convinced that skidsteers are the cure to everything. I'm looking for one piece of equipment that best suits my needs, with the intention of renting other equipment, as necessary, when the job requires it.

Still, I value other's thoughts; Lord knows I've spent a career defending the citizen's right to express opinions.

 

[badranman]

What's the weight on the JD 110? I know I used a Kubota TLB (forget the model, somewhere around 5000lb) and when I used the hoe all it did was toss the machine around. I run the mini excavator/skidsteer combo mentioned before and couldn't see me replacing them with a TLB. I know it's twice the cost but they are so versatile alone or in tandem. If I couldn't swing the bucket 180 degrees to dump spoil I don't know what I would have done on alot of my jobs. Just my 2 cents....

 

[RayDiers]

I started with a JD 4300 with a front bucket, box blade, rotary cutter and tiller.

I like working with this tractor more than I liked working with the skidsteers I have rented.

I started tilling gardens and mowing tall weeds. I also do retaining walls. I also have a 5 yard dump truck so I can deliver small loads of materials. I can usually get to those back yards where the 20 yard trucks can't squeeze in. Driveway maintenance with the box blade is easy.

Last fall I did an excavation for a frost wall for a garage and rented a mini-x. The mini-x worked great. Spring of 2004 I purchased a large mini-x and have been doing more garage preps and excavations for home additions.

I was thinking of purchasing a TLB 110 but decided the mini-x was more versitle for digging large holes.

 

[littledenny]

Thanks to those who've offered encouragement thus far.

I reconfirmed my suspicions again today. Took a small Kabota TLB and fixed a job that another guy started with a tracked skidloader.

Previous guy tried to cut a slope down through a bank to an existing paved road and made something of a mess with it. Errors were probably more operator related than caused by the choice of machine, but I would have started from the bottom up.

Anyway, managed to cut the ditch for the culvert with the hoe, knocked down the piles with the bucket, then, with a three point mounted scrape blade, managed to repair the side ditches and crown in relatively short order.

At least in my case, I'm now convinced that a small backhoe with a good blade is superior to a skid steer for the kinds of jobs I tend to get.

Hope I haven't totally offended those above who've lobbied the merits of skidsteers. Frankly, I like skidsteers for all the things they do so well, but it seems that there are 50 of them in town. Most are sole pieces of equipment for their respective owners, and it looks like I've found my niche in the local market.

Anyway, I hope to learn and share here, because I've figured out that I'll never be too old to learn a new trick, or to share an experience with a willing listener. Thanks for letting me vent a bit. I'll be buying my own little TLB soon.

Littledenny

 

[huffmanmb]

I bought a 110TLB in July of 2003 to replace my 1991 Kubota B20. I have to agree with you denny about the grading ability versus the skidsteer. I can backblade with mine quicker and keep a constant grade because of the longer wheelbase that I have with the 110 rather than a skidsteer. Thats where I differ with steves opinion about the turning radius. I turns pretty tight for its size, the only thing I had get accustomed to is where the cutting edge is. But the leveling indicator accurate as long as the rod doesent get bent (it kinda venurable under the lifiting arms). We also purchased an 8ft York Rake/Blade for the rear that it almost completly hyd controlled with the purchase of the top and tilt kit for the three point. Great for lawn prep, cleanup, etc. We also have the 4/1 bucket, Pallet forks, and 16"/30" hoe buckets and the hyd thumbwith Q/C Hyds on each end.

Steves correct about the lifting ability with the forks, wont lift a pallet load of blocks, nor a full bundle of RR ties as we placed several hundred with machine. And she will lift the ass end of the ground when your overloaded. Weight of the 110 is around 7800 lbs with the stuff we have.

Attachment wise I can run everything that steve listed that he hase for his machine. Just talk over what you want to run with dealer and/or the place where you would the attachments you can justify purchasing but do need ocasionaly.

Another task that the 110 will outperform the skidsteer is loading trucks. I have a five yard and a ten yard truck that I can load three times faster with the 110. I have loaded the same trucks with various skidsteers and you dont have the stability nor the speed.