Building new home on 1.6 acres.....need a machine

biggeemac · Dec 11, 2019

Hi all, i've never owned a tractor but I want one to assist in building my house and developing my property. I have looked at all of the brands and capabilities and I am a bit unsure what would be best. I will list what my objectives are for this machine and would love to hear suggestions.

- I want it to be built to last, I would enjoy getting under the hood and doing repairs myself instead of depending on the dealership. I would be learning as I go. Would like to limit the amount of plastic and electronics if possible.
- Needs to be a good machine that can assist in developing our flat property. Not too many trees, but a little clearing and land shaping/dirt moving/backfilling will be necessary.
- Need front end loader, maybe forks.....would a hoe be overkill, or should I just rent a hoe?
- This isnt a must, but if it could be fun for the wife to use as well, that would be nice.
- Prefer hydrostat instead of manual shifting, but open to both
- I would rather buy too much machine rather than not enough
- I am not interested in paying full price and getting a warranty. Would rather buy the parts and repair myself.
- Once the house is complete and the property is in good shape, there won't be nearly as much work for this machine......until I buy another property.
- Asthetics does matter to me. I like beefy looking machines. Not a deal breaker though.
- Want to have fun AND have plenty of options

Thanks in advance !

4570Man · Dec 11, 2019

I think a hoe is a must have for construction. I also think HST is a must have for construction. My suggestion would be a Kubota construction TLB because their loaders and backhoes are much stronger than a comparable sized tractor. The oldest and cheapest is a L35. The newer ones are a B26, L39, L45, L48, M59, and M62. I think the B26 is a little on the small side but any of the rest would get the job done.

Gary Fowler · Dec 11, 2019

A B2X50(available in 23-26 HP IIRC) series Kubota would be perfect size for a couple of acres. They have a good lift capacity for their size and are very maneuverable. They can accommodate a mid-mount mower if you like. My daughter uses one with a mid-mount mower to keep their 2 acre property mowed. Personally I prefer a zero turn mower for that task, but that is just a personal choice since lots of folks prefer to use their tractor.

4570Man · Dec 11, 2019

A B series Kubota isn’t much machine for dirt moving. It would probably be fine after the construction was done. I assume he’ll hire out the most of the digging for building the house but there’s still a lot to be done outside of the major task.

biggeemac · Dec 11, 2019

We will be renting a mini ex to get the dirt moved out for the basement, but my machine will be doing the backfilling.

Jchonline · Dec 11, 2019

You are talking 2 different machines. The machine needed to build a house isnt the same as one needed to maintain 1.5 acres. Rent the correct construction equipment and look for a machine that fits your needs on 1.5 acres. That would be the BX series, or JD 1 series or the GC with Massey....many others. The great news is there are lots of these machines on the used market because most figure out they are too small to do what they originally intended, or they were urbanites that decided it was easier to pay someone to landscape so they didnt get their hands dirty changing oil.

4570Man · Dec 11, 2019

Jchonline said:
You are talking 2 different machines. The machine needed to build a house isnt the same as one needed to maintain 1.5 acres. Rent the correct construction equipment and look for a machine that fits your needs on 1.5 acres. That would be the BX series, or JD 1 series or the GC with Massey....many others. The great news is there are lots of these machines on the used market because most figure out they are too small to do what they originally intended, or they were urbanites that decided it was easier to pay someone to landscape so they didnt get their hands dirty changing oil.

I agree but general contracting your own house isn’t a quick process. It’s way too costly to rent that many times. Buy a construction machine and sell it when you’re done.

ovrszd · Dec 11, 2019

4570Man said:
I agree but general contracting your own house isn’t a quick process. It’s way too costly to rent that many times. Buy a construction machine and sell it when you’re done.

I agree. Buy a TLB, build the property. Sell the TLB and buy a maintenance machine such as BX, 1 series, etc.

crmorse · Dec 11, 2019

ovrszd said:
I agree. Buy a TLB, build the property. Sell the TLB and buy a maintenance machine such as BX, 1 series, etc.

+1 here. I am currently in year 2 of this exact process and 100% agree.

I bought an L47 and have found it's not quite the right machine for general farming/maintenance (it's not bad for that) but it's not really up to snuff as a full construction machine. The biggest shortcoming is the hoe is too short. 10' sounds big until you try to dig anything other than a straight line trench. That said, having the forks and a bucket for moving materials around has been a godsend. And speaking of holy things, for the love of everything, definitely get a hydrostat. Inching forwards/backwards to position materials is totally stress free on an HST. On a gear machine that would be tiring. If you plan to do any serious material moving (like backfill) +1 the HST again. IMHO, HST is now a non-negotiable for me. And for those that say it's not good for dirt-engaging implements, I'd disagree. I've buried a 7 tine chisel plow up to the frame and pulled it for hours. Just shift to L range and it's a non-issue.

If I had it to do over, I would have gotten a Grand L machine better suited for farming (ex: they have cruise control on the HST where the TLB does not) and a used mini-ex for construction and then flipped the mini-ex (or not) when done.

The allure of having a TLB with PTO dulls a bit when you realize it's nearly a 30 minute procedure to mount/dismount the backhoe and mount up the 3-point parts. Ok, with practice I'm now usually down to <20 minutes but I still hit snags sometimes so I still plan 30 minutes. And maybe you're better at sequencing your jobs but I swear 75% of the time whatever I want to do I have to swap the BH/3pt. It's gotten to where I mostly just keep the TLB on full time and get by using the '52 Ford 8N for nearly everything else.

4570Man · Dec 11, 2019

The ability to drop the backhoe off to be out of the way was a better selling point for me than the 3point hitch. Neither one was high on my priority list. The biggest reason I got rid of my 310 was the lack of a quick attach bucket.

biggeemac · Dec 11, 2019

So a Kubota TLB is preferrable over, say, a full-blown Case backhoe? Do TLB's sell faster?

4570Man · Dec 11, 2019

biggeemac said:
So a Kubota TLB is preferrable over, say, a full-blown Case backhoe? Do TLB's sell faster?

I traded my John Deere 310 for a M59. The 310 would dig circles around the M59 but the M59 is a lot more versatile. If the 310 had all the options the M59 has I’d have kept it.

ovrszd · Dec 11, 2019

How much money are you willing to spend?

Henro · Dec 11, 2019

I dunno, but buying a machine for the purpose of excavating ONE foundation, then trying to sell it seem like a much greater risk than just paying someone to excavate, or renting what is needed to do the job yourself.

Just speaking from personal experience. Built my house 99% myself from the ground up. The other 1 % was friends that happened by at the right time...

So I do have some experience with where the OP is coming from.

Back filling? I did it by hand with a shovel and wheelbarrow... A bx with a loader would have been a blessing. My bet is a BX TLB would suit the OP fine for miscellaneous tasks on 1.5 acres. Could it dig his foundation? Maybe, but it would probably take several months...

As for a slightly larger tractor, whoever said a B series can't move dirt better talk to my tractor. Over the years it has moved hundreds of tons of fill, mostly dumped by trucks though. Digging and moving virgin earth certainly takes a LOT of time with a small tractor. For example, one day I got 16 tri-axle loads of shale to build up my driveway and fill in behind the house next door that I am renovating. That would be over 300 tons easily. At the end of the day it was where I wanted it...

A couple summers ago, I dug and moved several hundred cubic yards of earth to taper the banks around my pond and up near the house. It was a summer project done when the ground was dry, but it was done with my B2910. Granted, I used my dump trailer pulled by my BX2200 to move the dirt from the digging spot to where I needed it. But both are small tractors...

In my mind, not knowing exactly what the short and long term needs of the OP really are, if I were where I seem to think he is, I would probably buy a BX with a loader and backhoe. The BX is also a pretty good mower, which I imaging the OP will need over the years.

I bought both my BX and B when I had 3.7 acres, 2 of which were old farmland that was overtaken by nature for 50 or more years, so I had a lot of things to do at the time. Frankly, I doubt something larger than a BX would work for me long term if I only had 1.5 acres. On the other hand, if things changed and I only had the original 1.5 acres that the house I built sits on, I would probably not sell my B2910, as it has been the hardest worker here over the years and we are pretty good buddies now...

ovrszd · Dec 11, 2019

Let's see, 300 tons of material, moved 1,000lbs per trip, is 600 trips. If each trip took 3 minutes, that's 20 trips per hour. That's 30 hrs of seat time. Pretty good day.

biggeemac · Dec 11, 2019

Well, I can finance pretty much any amount, but I want to be reasonable. If the machine can help and I can use it to eliminate all but a small amount of the moving duties, then spending more isnt a problem. If I end up with a machine that is overkill for maintenance and sell it and lose a few bucks, not a big deal since it pays for itself in convenience and saving backs and hands.

biggeemac · Dec 11, 2019

Kind of bummed......found a nice JD 790 with a backhoe for $13.6k, but its not hst.

ovrszd · Dec 11, 2019

biggeemac said:
If I end up with a machine that is overkill for maintenance and sell it and lose a few bucks, not a big deal since it pays for itself in convenience and saving backs and hands.

Yep. I bought a full sized TLB for $8,500. Did all my own backhoe work laying all my utilities and sewer system. Not sure how many hours I put on it over an 18 month period. Certainly paid for a big part of the cost, if not all. I kept it. So now I've got a good TLB for very little cost. Win/win.

4570Man · Dec 11, 2019

Henro said:
I dunno, but buying a machine for the purpose of excavating ONE foundation, then trying to sell it seem like a much greater risk than just paying someone to excavate, or renting what is needed to do the job yourself.

Just speaking from personal experience. Built my house 99% myself from the ground up. The other 1 % was friends that happened by at the right time... So I do have some experience with where the OP is coming from.

Back filling? I did it by hand with a shovel and wheelbarrow... A bx with a loader would have been a blessing. My bet is a BX TLB would suit the OP fine for miscellaneous tasks on 1.5 acres. Could it dig his foundation? Maybe, but it would probably take several months...

As for a slightly larger tractor, whoever said a B series can't move dirt better talk to my tractor. Over the years it has moved hundreds of tons of fill, mostly dumped by trucks though. Digging and moving virgin earth certainly takes a LOT of time with a small tractor. For example, one day I got 16 tri-axle loads of shale to build up my driveway and fill in behind the house next door that I am renovating. That would be over 300 tons easily. At the end of the day it was where I wanted it...

A couple summers ago, I dug and moved several hundred cubic yards of earth to taper the banks around my pond and up near the house. It was a summer project done when the ground was dry, but it was done with my B2910. Granted, I used my dump trailer pulled by my BX2200 to move the dirt from the digging spot to where I needed it. But both are small tractors...

In my mind, not knowing exactly what the short and long term needs of the OP really are, if I were where I seem to think he is, I would probably buy a BX with a loader and backhoe. The BX is also a pretty good mower, which I imaging the OP will need over the years.

I bought both my BX and B when I had 3.7 acres, 2 of which were old farmland that was overtaken by nature for 50 or more years, so I had a lot of things to do at the time. Frankly, I doubt something larger than a BX would work for me long term if I only had 1.5 acres. On the other hand, if things changed and I only had the original 1.5 acres that the house I built sits on, I would probably not sell my B2910, as it has been the hardest worker here over the years and we are pretty good buddies now...

Buying a machine to dig one footer would obviously not be a good plan but there’s way more involved than that in building a house. Even if you hired out that there’s still plenty of work.