Never owned a compact utility tractor, yet

[Kan1ck]

My first post to this forum, some members could possibly remember me from another forum, if so how ya been doing?
Here is my dilemma. My wife and I are thinking of putting a bid on a nice house on a 1 acre lot that is mostly lawn.
The property has some issues in that there is a nice sized (15' X 24') oval shaped, in ground swimming pool that is basically just the derelict remains of what may have once been an asset. But it appears that the pool has not been maintained in who knows how long. And the property has not been occupied in nearly a year, so I'm thinking that the critical plumbing is likely shot from freeze damage, along with the filter and pump. Bottom line on the pool is, my wife and I have no interest in owning a pool, and would just as soon demolish the structure as a pool and use the concrete deck surrounding the pool as a patio of sorts with a vegetable garden where the pool was.
Right now I don't even know if the pool is of Gunite or other concrete construction, or if it is a vinyl drop in liner type pool because the water in the pool is forest green and full of debris, and when we first looked at the house one day last week, we only had a short amount of time to spend because of other appointments. So, that is the part about the pool.
There is also what was once a Koi pond. Now it is completely full of Cattails and water lilies and all sorts of debris. We are also not interested in a Koi pond.
And then there is the issue of some big Cedar trees and a Hemlock tree on the property. The Cedar trees are all damaged from a storm splitting the trunks and twisting limbs to the breaking point. The Hemlock tree is dead. All of the trees will have to be taken down. There is a Cedar stump still in the ground that appears to be many years old that would need to come out too.
There is also what might possibly have once been someone's idea of a "rock garden" that is now completely overgrown with brush and small trees.
Another eyesore (to me) is that the owners seem to have cultivated a "cane break" to somewhat shield (I suppose) the swimming pool on one side. That cane has demonstrated its invasive character and spread out of control far beyond any original planting site.
Now to get to the meat of this thread, having set the scenery in place.
I told me wife that if we buy this property, the pool, the Koi pond, the damaged and dead trees, the rock garden, and the cane break.............will all have to go.
And I explained to her that we would need to buy a backhoe/FEL to do the work.
Well, it seemed like I had started World War III or something. Until I showed her what I meant by backhoe/FEL on the John Deere website. After showing her the Deere 2025R with mid mount mower deck and going over the amenities, she was like "Yowsa, that would be nice" (whew!)
What I have in mind is something on the order of a compact utility tractor like a John Deere 2025R, or a Kubota BX 25D, decked out with quick attach hoe and front loader and a 60" mid mount mower.
Do you folks think that I have lost my mind or are these machines (or other suggestions welcome) capable of doing the projects for me? I am very open to suggestions aimed at the used market as I am a quite capable mechanic of 45 years + experience and still work it every day. I'm just getting old and will retire from the job in a couple years (I hope) and I want to be able to do some heavy duty "piddling around the property" if everything works out for us.

 

[Dillier23]

Sounds to me any compact or Subcompact would suit your needs. Likely more the subcompact, smaller, lighter and not as expensive. But likely the price isn't a huge issue if your already looking at new machines. Thats my 2 cents.

 

[Roadbuilder6]

Tbh with only one acre of land, the best thing for the kind of work would be to rent a mini excavator for a month or so

 

[Gary Fowler]

If you can afford the backhoe, go for it. They are so useful for all around the house. With all the work you have outlined, you have more than a month of work to do and getting that cane brake back in shape(or gone) will require several passes at digging out the shoots till you get all the rhizomes out so you are looking at at least a year to get that project complete.

I assumed that you would just fill in the pool and leave the concrete in place (maybe break off the top 12" or so of the perimeter) so that is a lot of dirt to haul in and move, and concrete spoils to get rid of.

I think I would look at the BX25D for all the task that your have and then the mid-mount mower would be good for maintaining the lawn when it is finished. You don't need a compact tractor to do what you have outlined, a SCUT will handle that job fine and still be usable for a lawnmower when the heavy stuff is gone. See Cherokee 140's post on "the life of a BX25D" for all the stuff the little tractor can do.

 

[Kan1ck]

Tbh with only one acre of land, the best thing for the kind of work would be to rent a mini excavator for a month or so

Thanks for the replies.

Well, if I viewed the whole thing as having just a few specific tasks to do, and a definite time frame to work within, and do nothing else but work on those specific tasks until they were completed, renting a mini excavator would be the route to go.
But the reason I want to purchase my own multitasking machine is because I don't want to be handcuffed to several projects that absolutely must be completed within a short time period.
Though we are interested in buying this property to live on (and it will likely be the last place we will own before our lives are over, if all goes well), I would rather own the machinery and use it to work on the projects as I choose to do them, instead of being forced to pursue them at a slave's pace just because I have to return a rental unit by a certain deadline.

@ Dillier23, I am only beginning to look at any machines to "feel the waters" about what is available. The reason I showed my wife something new on the Deere website was to explain to her that I was not talking about a large, dedicated backhoe/loader, but a smaller and versatile machine that can quickly be tasked to mowing the lawn as well as some fairly serious "ground engaging" work too.
New is not out of the question, but it is certainly not what I am aiming for.
Renting and buying new are options I place toward the bottom on a list of ways to get it done. Contracting the work out to 3rd parties is not even on the list as I am (always have been) a DIY type of person.

 

[DieselnHooters]

Contracting the work out to 3rd parties is not even on the list as I am (always have been) a DIY type of person.

After this my point is moot but I am gonna say it anyhow

An experienced backhoe operator on a full size rig will make short order of all you have listed in a day or two for less $ than you are gonna sip on fuel on something like a BX which will take months or years to accomplish.

Of course a Case 580 will not mow your lawn lol

 

[Kan1ck]

Even better, I am a somewhat experienced backhoe operator. I ran an old Ford 4500 hoe for the private owner on his land for 3 years doing projects he needed done. Built a big pond and did some septic drain field work he contracted to dig for a builder friend of his. Later, I rented a compact backhoe/FEL for an ambitious project at the house we live in now. This project was to install a gravity drain system for the cellar of the house, which we found out after the drought ended and the rain came, would be prone to standing water 12" deep after a storm. The house is notched into a hillside. It had a cellar that was accessed by going through a 36" high door at grade level and descending 4 steps to the concrete cellar floor. That arrangement was like a big bowl that would fill with ground water after a hard rain and took a couple of days time to drain out after the rain stopped. I dug out an area outside the cellar crawl through door, all the way down below the footing and shot a 3" PVC pipe to intersect with a sump cavity that I made in the concrete floor under the house. Then the 3" PVC pipe ran 80' downhill in a trench I dug next to the driveway.
The area outside the cellar door was then enlarged to about 15' X 10'. I installed a drain culvert to carry away rain and runoff from the gutter downspout to a concrete trough I made above the filled in trench next to the driveway.
Then I poured concrete outside the cellar crawl through door. The last thing I did was knock out the small 36" high by 28" wide crawl through door and replace it with a walk through door.
The photos show some of the work I did (and I mean "I did" with my 2 hands).

 

[batwing]

If it was me I would get the tractor with loader and use the money a backhoe would cost to rent a bigger backhoe for a day or two when needed.
Ron

 

[pinetree10]

My property is only slightly bigger than yours at 2.5 acres and I bought a 2720 last year because I knew I would be using it for a number of projects big and small just like you. I also agree that it's nice to have it available whenever I want/need it rather than rushing through a project with a rental or hiring someone else to do it when I'd rather do it myself. It is a lot of money to spend on these machines but it sounds like you already have an idea of what you think you want and I'm not one do discourage you from getting it. When my wife and I bought our house 15 years ago it was very neglected too, as was the yard around it. It would have been nice to have the tractor and chipper back then but we could never afford it. I'd say you could probably do all of those jobs you described with a SCUT because your lot is relatively small and some guys on this site manage a lot more than that with their SCUTs but like I said, if you want the 2025 with the attachments because you think it'll work, I think you'll be glad you did it. That particular tractor is a lot like mine and I have no problem doing everything I need to do. I can only imagine how much better it would be with a backhoe hanging off it. Good luck with all that work and post some pictures for us while you're doing it. We like the pictures.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

My perspective is if you want to be able to "putter," then get a tractor and at your leisure putter with your tractor knocking out jobs. Get the backhoe too as it will allow you to remove stumps or live trees at a faster pace.

You'll also be able to "putter" on your neighbors projects if you're a friendly chatty type because they will all see your new tractor and suddenly think about things they'd like to have knocked out.

 

[Kan1ck]

I guess I will have to settle for a sub CUT instead of a CUT, and will definitely have to be looking at used instead of new.
I tinkered on the Deere site last night using their "build your tractor" and was looking at the 1023e and that tractor was going taller than $20K adorned with backhoe and front loader.
I also am not really overjoyed about participating in a grand EPA experiment with the engine being Final Tier 4, so that in itself is enough to make me hesitate on new.
As I explained in my OP, I have never needed to look into owning tractor equipped in the manner I described, so it is going to be quite a steep learning curve for me to become a "tractor hunter".
I have much homework to do on this.
We went back for a second look at the property yesterday and I began to have mixed feelings (sort of).
We met one of the neighbors who live next door to the property and they were warm and cordial (neighborly if you will).
Found out a few things from her perspective about the neighborhood and got a positive feeling.
But as I walked the property and house taking photos for us to review at home, I got a very realistic impression of just how big the projects of converting the pool into a backyard garden, taking out a failed Koi pond, uprooting stumps, removing a poorly executed rock garden attempt, and getting rid of a runaway cane break.......................would actually be. I came to realize that the cane break is probably the least of all evils in the line up.
The biggest and most critical of them all though is that pool.
As it stands right now, the pool does not even meet the required enclosure standards of codes (complete enclosure with self latching gate). There is a fence surrounding the pool on 3 sides only. The end of the pool nearest the house is open. There appears to be a stack of "wooden picket fence panels" under the deck at the back of the house that I surmise may have once closed off the pool there. This would certainly have to be addressed immediately upon acquiring the property. I can foresee problems with codes authority and homeowner's insurance company on that right from the git go.
Gotta go right now. Family matters require us to travel today and I have already tarried on the 'puter too long this morning (my wife said so).

 

[troutsqueezer]

Owning a tractor and having the land to use it on is the most important thing here. :thumbsup:
Find a house w/land that meets the criteria of the tractor you want instead of finding a tractor that meets the demands of the yard.
C'mon, its all about toys here, right?

 

[Kan1ck]

Owning a tractor and having the land to use it on is the most important thing here. :thumbsup:
Find a house w/land that meets the criteria of the tractor you want instead of finding a tractor that meets the demands of the yard.
C'mon, its all about toys here, right?

For my part of the equation, that could be a pretty good summary. However, for the one job I had to do in the past where we live now, renting a hoe/loader for a weekend sufficed to get the project hole opened up.
But this new situation will be (if we even get this property) different in that there are a few specific jobs that will have to be done, and it will take more than a weekend. And I still work a full time job, so I don't have unlimited spare time off from my job that I can just ply myself to the tasks continuously til completed. Plus, my wife is already outlining some projects she wants to have done, so that will become a balancing act.
The driving impetus behind us even looking at this property has more to do with the fact that we are going to move my mother in law in with us. She is elderly and becoming feeble and has already been diagnosed with onset of dementia. I'm not supposed to talk about that so you guys can keep a secret, right?
Anyhow, I need to tailor a tractor package to fit the property and its tasks, plus it has to fit into a budget we can swing.
As far as toys go, yes, I have my share of tools/toys, I just don't have a tractor/backhoe/loader/mower..........yet.

 

[MoMower]

I found looking at used machines was somewhat fruitless in that once I would have equipped it as a TLB and mower, the savings was small enough that buying new made more sense. Just a thought to add.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Good luck in your future purchases with house, land and tractor. Hopefully you can find a good deal on a used TLB in good shape. A good TBN member turned me on to a used deal on a B26 which I got for $20,500 with 60 hours on it. It and my RTV900 are my two great finds on used. Most folks start looking at used and soon find like MoMower that the used are prices similar to new but financing a used tractor will cost more interest than you will save over new pricing with 0% interest financing. If you have cash laying around to pay for a used tractor it can be a good deal sometimes (unless the owner wants all his money back which most of them seem to think they are entitled too).

I love being able to just go to my shop, get on my TLB and do some little 10 minute to half hour project that needs doing but would never get done if I had to rent equipment, so I think you are on the right track to buy what you need. I have put almost 300 hours on my B26 since I bought it in 2012. I still have less than 100 on my P7010 bought new in 2010. The little TLB is just perfect for most of my chores and even though my LS has cab and air, it is used only for bush hogging and tilling operations and everything else is done with the B26. If you can find a B series TLB, it will give you a bit more capacity than a BX for about the same price. They wont be a B26 in capacity but will be better than a BX. The B26XX or B29XX series tractors will do well when it comes to backfilling that pool. That is what I would do if I were you, just fill it in with dirt, maybe chip off a foot or so of the top rim.
I kind of envy you all the chores you will be doing if you get that house. I have just about ran out of things to do around my place.

 

[Kan1ck]

Good luck in your future purchases with house, land and tractor. Hopefully you can find a good deal on a used TLB in good shape. A good TBN member turned me on to a used deal on a B26 which I got for $20,500 with 60 hours on it. It and my RTV900 are my two great finds on used. Most folks start looking at used and soon find like MoMower that the used are prices similar to new but financing a used tractor will cost more interest than you will save over new pricing with 0% interest financing. If you have cash laying around to pay for a used tractor it can be a good deal sometimes (unless the owner wants all his money back which most of them seem to think they are entitled too).

I love being able to just go to my shop, get on my TLB and do some little 10 minute to half hour project that needs doing but would never get done if I had to rent equipment, so I think you are on the right track to buy what you need. I have put almost 300 hours on my B26 since I bought it in 2012. I still have less than 100 on my P7010 bought new in 2010. The little TLB is just perfect for most of my chores and even though my LS has cab and air, it is used only for bush hogging and tilling operations and everything else is done with the B26. If you can find a B series TLB, it will give you a bit more capacity than a BX for about the same price. They wont be a B26 in capacity but will be better than a BX. The B26XX or B29XX series tractors will do well when it comes to backfilling that pool. That is what I would do if I were you, just fill it in with dirt, maybe chip off a foot or so of the top rim.
I kind of envy you all the chores you will be doing if you get that house. I have just about ran out of things to do around my place.

Well, the first course of business is to see whether or not we actually acquire this property.
And even though we feel a sense of urgency in getting the three of us under one roof, we still want to be cautious and not insist on this particular property "at all costs".
When we bought our current house, it was after looking for 3 months and we checked out a bunch of properties in 3 counties before settling here.
I credit my wife with having honed her " house shopping skills" to the point where this prospective property is already at the top of the list without us having any doubts about whether we really liked it or not.
Regarding the projects and chores. I have always been a busy bee person, so if we get this property (or a different one) it will still be pretty much status quo for me, as far as projects/chores go.
I have a lot of thoughts to digest about TBL ownership and will be testing the waters soon. I appreciate all the thoughts and suggestions put forth by everyone thus far. I am weighing them all and trying not to get hung up on any OCD line of reasoning.

 

[Cherokee140]

I just bought a few months ago. I have 13ac and ended up with the BX25D....many have said I bought a machine too small. However after using it for these past few months I have not come across one single project it has been too small to do. I am sure it would not run my old round bailer and such...but I don't do that anymore. I am moving dirt, planting trees, digging up trees, clearing brush. The more I use this machine I think the only thing it is too small for is some peoples ego's. First stump we dug up was about 18" and the hole ended up being about 5' deep.

The 2025 you are looking at is not that much bigger then the BX. Personally I have found the ability to squeeze the machine into small places to be very valuable. And doing the jobs when you want or have time to work on them is a huge plus. The one thing you should keep in mind is if you want to mow with the machine as well you want to keep it light and nimble as you can. Personally I am a huge fan of the little machines, what they can do is really just amazing.

 

[Buggs67]

I found looking at used machines was somewhat fruitless in that once I would have equipped it as a TLB and mower, the savings was small enough that buying new made more sense. Just a thought to add.

Same here. I found for just a few more $$$ I got new. And after I use it I could sell it and recoup most of the $$$. BUt I think pick your property, and then think about a tractor.

BTW, I wish I'd bought mine 10 years ago. I think of all the work it could have done and the back breaking labor I would've been saved. Better late than never.

 

[Buggs67]

I just bought a few months ago. I have 13ac and ended up with the BX25D....many have said I bought a machine too small. However after using it for these past few months I have not come across one single project it has been too small to do. I am sure it would not run my old round bailer and such...but I don't do that anymore. I am moving dirt, planting trees, digging up trees, clearing brush. The more I use this machine I think the only thing it is too small for is some peoples ego's. First stump we dug up was about 18" and the hole ended up being about 5' deep.

The 2025 you are looking at is not that much bigger then the BX. Personally I have found the ability to squeeze the machine into small places to be very valuable. And doing the jobs when you want or have time to work on them is a huge plus. The one thing you should keep in mind is if you want to mow with the machine as well you want to keep it light and nimble as you can. Personally I am a huge fan of the little machines, what they can do is really just amazing.

Check out 4shorts BX25D.

Also there is the Kioti CS2410.

 

[GPintheMitten]

It might take a while to find the right deal, but I bought used with only about 115 hours. In my case it was a B2620 with a mmm and loader. I have recently added a BH6500 backhoe that was never used by the original owner.

I see others once in a while for sale on Craigslist. When you're ready, try using SearchTempest to expand the cities to search in.

People buy stuff and then change their minds to buy bigger, smaller or just get rid of it. In my case, I saved a lot of money.

As to size, I would think a BX or similar size in other brands would be fine for what you described.

As far as I know, for the pool, you pull the liner and demo the sides (maybe galvanized metal panels about 3 feet tall all around), then back fill. I helped my FIL put in an inground pool 30 years ago, The sides were as described and the bottom and tapered sides were sand screeded and worked like concrete. Then a plastic liner covered everything. A mechanical or hydraulic thumb would come in handy for the demo.

By the way, nice job on the water management on the current house.