Buying Advice TC45D Opinion / Advice requested.

TWD · Jul 18, 2010

Hi Everyone, we have approx. 20 acres of heavily wooded land with elevation change of maximum about 85-100 ft. Probably 3-5 acres of cleared land that's relatively flat where all my work has been done at, and an area between our mountains where the pond work has started. (And hopefully another 20 acres added)

Our primary projects on table as of now:

- Level out backyard (will require large amounts of fill)
(We already leveled out a 40x40' area for the garden with the rental. Lowest corner required about 3' of fill.) We probably have an area 3-5x this size to finish leveling.

- Dig our grey water filtration system & connecting pipes

- Dig out area next to shop to add a new bay.

- Trench plumbing to garden, and *new* electrical to shop

- Finish the pond, digging, and loader dirt moving.

- Re-do the gun range berms.

- Replace downed tree protection with dirt hills

- Misc land clean-up: log moving, small bush digging out, leveling, gravel moving, etc.

I have been renting a TC35D with loader and backhoe, and with a full bucket of dirt it BARELY can make it up my road from my pond to my backyard. In low-low it just crawls. The depth of backhoe is not bad, but the strength is not exactly strong for small root removal. I've removed a decent number of small trees/stumps with the backhoe, and feel I have a pretty darn good grasp on the controls. I love the JoyStick on the New Holland for the loader, and haven't tested a Kubota out yet but it seems like a great inconvenience to have the "joystick" up higher near the steering wheel, especially for someone like me with wrist problems. After 8 hours straight on the rental bucket after bucket my wrist was no problem, and I had it down to scrape-n-fill turn around empty, and repeat at a very rapid pace. I just am not sure I can do that with the Kubota so I've decided to look at the larger New Hollands.

I`m looking at the TC45D since we don't do any field work I think the HST is the best thing for me. I`m also looking for a used model, if I go NEW it won't have a backhoe since the price to add one is crazy, and used mini-excavators can be had for a couple grand more than just the backhoe itself it seems.

So, my questions:

Going from a TC35D to a TC45D will the 10HP be noticeable?

Is the backhoe that the TC45D accepts larger than the TC35D?
- Can the backhoe on the TC45D make use of a 24" bucket?

What kind of reliability should I expect from the New holland say compared to a Kubota and JD.

Any advice/opinions would be great :thumbsup:

My only issue with the rental is that @ 5'10" it seems I really have to strain to get my foot on the forward/reverse pedals even wtih the seat all the way forward. It seems like it's def. made for a "bigger guy". I`m hoping with an owned one I can move the entire frame, and weld it up in a new position. Is this a common issue or only for us small guys?

Rental is a SuperSteer FWD, what's the primary difference between the SuperSTeer FWD and normal FWD?

k0ua · Jul 18, 2010

With supersteer, not only do the front wheels turn when you turn the steering wheel, the whole front axle turns also. No other CUT I know of has that feature except New Holland. The idea is that you can turn sharper, Its good and bad, the good is you can turn sharper, the bad is on hilly ground, you can actually turn too sharp, causing stability problems. also another negative the loader must be stuck out a little further so the front wheels will clear the loader. One other thing is there is a fluid coupling between the front wheels and the rear wheels to prevent binding, or scubbing or what ever you want to call it. You can turn off the "auto" four wheel and lock front and rear axles solidly together . All in All it works well and really turns sharp! which can be a real advantage when mowing, you just have to understand it. Have you tried a Kubota loader control?. It does not cause any discomfort to me in using it all day, if fact it becomes totally second nature, and you never think about it
Also I dont understand why the tc35d, struggles with a full load.. something does not sound right with that particular tractor to me there.. My old tc33da never lacked for power with any load I ever tried on it.
just my 2 cents
James
K0UA

TWD · Jul 18, 2010

k0ua said:
With supersteer, not only do the front wheels turn when you turn the steering wheel, the whole front axle turns also. No other CUT I know of has that feature except New Holland. The idea is that you can turn sharper, Its good and bad, the good is you can turn sharper, the bad is on hilly ground, you can actually turn too sharp, causing stability problems. also another negative the loader must be stuck out a little further so the front wheels will clear the loader. One other thing is there is a fluid coupling between the front wheels and the rear wheels to prevent binding, or scubbing or what ever you want to call it. You can turn off the "auto" four wheel and lock front and rear axles solidly together . All in All it works well and really turns sharp! which can be a real advantage when mowing, you just have to understand it. Have you tried a Kubota loader control?. It does not cause any discomfort to me in using it all day, if fact it becomes totally second nature, and you never think about it
Also I dont understand why the tc35d, struggles with a full load.. something does not sound right with that particular tractor to me there.. My old tc33da never lacked for power with any load I ever tried on it.
just my 2 cents
James
K0UA

Appreciate the input greatly!

Now I understand why the rental turns on a dime! The turning radius is amazingly sharp!

I haven't tried the Kubota controls yet, planned on it last week but got busy when I went into town. This week I plan to try some out at the dealers and see if I can handle their loader controls. That would open me up to a lot more used options.

I`m not too sure about the problem with the power, but it's on an incline, full load, and a backhoe.
I get a run at it in low w/rabbit and then soon as it slows I switch it to turtle, and ease up to prevent stalling it out, and then just crawl up, ultra slow.

This is not a very steep hill at all. I drive down there in my F250 to where the pond is, turn around, and can drive out in 2wd.
The road is even, not rutted too. I actually haven't taken the rental on the backside of my property as it won't make it up the steeper hill on the other mountain.

TWD · Jul 19, 2010

Am I right in understanding the T1530 is the replacement for the TC45D?
I can't seem to find the TC45D on their site for sale anymore.

jinman · Jul 19, 2010

TWD said:
Am I right in understanding the T1530 is the replacement for the TC45D?
I can't seem to find the TC45D on their site for sale anymore.

No, the T1530 is an economy model tractor with a different transmission (3 range). The TC35D or TC45D has a 2-range transmission with rabbit/turtle in each range for an effective 4 ranges. The 1530 might be a good tractor for you, but you'll have to do a test drive and see what you think.

New Holland no longer makes the TC45D, they changed models/numbers. They now make the 3040, 3045, and 3050 models. These tractors now have an option of a CVT transmission and the 3050 has no HST option. Hold your breath and sit down when you ask about prices.

LoneCowboy · Jul 19, 2010

You should buy a skid steer
most of what you want to do is move dirt and skid steers move dirt much quicker/faster/better than an Ag tractor.

then rent a mini-ex or a real backhoe for the dig big trenches job.

TWD · Jul 19, 2010

Skid-steer would get high centered, and to move the amount of dirt I'd like it would be a pretty big skid steer, and where I live renting is no an option for long-term. The nearest rental with a mini-excavator is about 1.5hrs away one-way. Thus why I`m looking for something to "do it all".

If money were no object I would love this too:
Super clean Caterpillar/CAT 307 C Excavator! Low Hours! PRICE REDUCED!
:licking:

woolyAcres · Jul 19, 2010

TWD-

My Dad is in the process of buying a used TC45 (geared, 4wd) w/FEL. Final price for tractor w/750 hours is ~$16k but it includes ~$1200-$1500 of implements. You can find all the details in another thread here in the New Holland forum.

If you are looking at new tractors and like the location of the loader controls on the TC35 (I assume they are in the same place as the 45) you might want to consider the Bobcat line. We looked at those and new, they are pretty reasonable. The used TC45 my dad found is even better priced, but as Jinman says you better be sitting when you price new 3045s. We had a quotation for the CT445 (45HP) Bobcat with FEL, loaded rear tires, and one set of rear remotes for a hair under $20k brand new. Might be worth a look. Lots of satisfied owners in the Bobcat forum here. They offer a brake assisted turn, but I don't think it's anything close to supersteer and I'm sure it makes a mess of the turf where it's turning (that may not matter).

My dad picks up his tractor tomorrow so maybe later in the week I'll have some comments about the machine, but Jinman knows more than a thing or two about these units.

TWD · Jul 19, 2010

woolyAcres said:
TWD-

My Dad is in the process of buying a used TC45 (geared, 4wd) w/FEL. Final price for tractor w/750 hours is ~$16k but it includes ~$1200-$1500 of implements. You can find all the details in another thread here in the New Holland forum.

If you are looking at new tractors and like the location of the loader controls on the TC35 (I assume they are in the same place as the 45) you might want to consider the Bobcat line. We looked at those and new, they are pretty reasonable. The used TC45 my dad found is even better priced, but as Jinman says you better be sitting when you price new 3045s. We had a quotation for the CT445 (45HP) Bobcat with FEL, loaded rear tires, and one set of rear remotes for a hair under $20k brand new. Might be worth a look. Lots of satisfied owners in the Bobcat forum here. They offer a brake assisted turn, but I don't think it's anything close to supersteer and I'm sure it makes a mess of the turf where it's turning (that may not matter).

My dad picks up his tractor tomorrow so maybe later in the week I'll have some comments about the machine, but Jinman knows more than a thing or two about these units.

I`ll have to checkout the Bobcats!
Thanks

LoneCowboy · Jul 20, 2010

TWD said:
Skid-steer would get high centered, and to move the amount of dirt I'd like it would be a pretty big skid steer, and where I live renting is no an option for long-term. The nearest rental with a mini-excavator is about 1.5hrs away one-way. Thus why I`m looking for something to "do it all".

this doesn't make any sense.

a skid steer (about any small size) has a 1/2 yard bucket and about a 2000lb capacity. A big skid steer (75hp plus) can easily run a 1 yard bucket and 3000lbs capacity.
a TC45 has a 1/2 yard bucket and 1650lbs capacity.

If you're worried about getting stuck, get a tracked skid steer, but the TC is going to get stuck too.

You said above you didn't want to get a 3 point backhoe (good move BTW, ) so how is a tractor going to do it all?

you can rent all those attachments (trencher, backhoe, harley rake) for a SS, you can't for an AG tractor.

long term rentals (1 week, 1 month) are much cheaper than per day. usually the rule of 3 applies. 3 daily rentals = 1 week's charge. $50 to deliver, $50 to pick up, not a big deal over a week.