Chosing a tractor

[pick_up_man]

thanks for the heads up. but forgive me for the blonde moment why cant you haul as much dirt at top speed with a tractor we do it all the time on larger tractors at the farm and where i worked this past summer at a park (i was speading gravel on the campground roads).

BTW before posting this i was thinking posibly the Massey 1531 or new holland TC 26

 

[LoneCowboy]

Couple thoughts

One, having a backhoe puts you into being an excavator, better check insurance costs on that.
In fact, better check insurance costs on the whole business. Landscaping for some reason is ridiculous in that area.

A small tractor is almost worthless in small landscaping. I can hire a couple day laborers to move it faster ,better, CHEAPER and I can surely outdig a small backhoe. There just aren't that many jobs where people are willing to pay what it costs to make money at it.

Get at least a medium sized one, and even then your market is limited unless you are doing new construction. Then, go again and look at insurance costs above. And if you are doing new construction, a skid steer is a better and faster choice.

I've done the homework, I couldn't make it work, make sure your business case makes sense first, then figure out your market, then figure out what tractor you need.

JMHO

 

[hosejockey2002]

A small tractor is almost worthless in small landscaping. I can hire a couple day laborers to move it faster ,better, CHEAPER and I can surely outdig a small backhoe. There just aren't that many jobs where people are willing to pay what it costs to make money at it.

That statement may be true in your neck of the woods, but I'd take a compact TLB over a couple of guys with shovels any day. With a Kubota B21 or equivalent I can dig ten times as fast with a guy with a shovel. A machine doesn't get tired, show up late or drunk for work (or not show up at all) and it won't sue when it hurts itself. You don't have to tell it what to do other than pulling on levers. There are many times in the landscaping business when it's great to have help, 99% of the time I'll take the machine.

As far as the machine to buy, if I can only buy one machine it would be a small TLB. If I didn't work alone and could have two machines, I'd get a skidsteer and a mini excavator. The skid steer is much faster for moving material and can accept dozens of attachments. A mini-ex will outdig a TLB by a big margin. A tractor is sort of a "jack of all trades, master of none".

 

[pick_up_man]

well my dad owns a skid steer and we have work for it constanly after one of us is done work and that is only in a town of about 400 people and surrounding farms. as for insurance costs i'm not sure. Were i am planning to start this is in a large town about 45 minutes drive from there. So i'm sure i'll have business lots of it is because nobody has equipment that small. most spaces we deal with are about 6' wide and some places narrower so a bigger tractor is not an option and think again on moving dirt by hand is faster i know from experience it is not faster and unless you charge an obscene amount for you rwork cheaper is harder to. Also i live in saskatchewan canada where in winter there is tons of snow to move i'm positive that i could find work for a small tractor. Also there is virtually nobody that does landsaping by hand around here. and yes i wouldn't have money to buy both a bobcat and a small trackhoe so i kinda want a "Jack of All trades" and once again you can do a **** good job with a tractor if you know what you are doing.

 

[LoneCowboy]

ok
1. a small tractor isn't the greatest tool for snow removal (yes, it's better than a shovel).
2. insurance won't be cheap, price it, You'll be appalled.

3. So, who is your customer?
Who is going to hire a small tractor guy?
It's not a smart ***** question, it's what your market is.
and what are they going to hire him to do?
Dig a ditch?
smooth dirt on a new lawn install?

What's your market?

And then, will they support what your cost structure will be for the tractor (at LEAST $50 an hour).

All I'm trying to say is
a. I wonder how big the market really si.
b. if you can get a tractor in, you can almost always get a bigger tractor in. 6' wide will fit a lot of tractors. A small SCUT just isn't all that useful. A CUT would be. And if Iv'e misunderstood the question, I apologize. But much below 35hp (or so) I just don't see the market.

 

[pick_up_man]

How would you know what the market is here in saskatchewan canada if you even know where that is i almost know for a fact that there would be a market for such a bussiness because this provine is going to expand within the next five years and there are alnost certaintly going to be lots of houses built in that area and i know for a fact that these little tractors work well for snow removal and also landscaping because there are a few people who own tractors around 30hp range and they say that they are great for snow removal. And it wouldn't be a SCUT it would be a CUT because most lines of tractors a SCUT is under 25 horse i can get upto 33 horse and still be around that 54 inches wide and if you go to a tractor that is 60 inches wide it leves nothing for clearance also the private owners of these small tractors on the farm did quite a bit of their own landscaping and they worked just fine. So as for snow removal and landscaping it the same as what has been said many a time "The Machine Is As Good AS The Operator" The Question is not about wheter this is a feasable bussiness or whether a tractor would work well because i know the answer to both those questions and it is yes. the Question is About what kind of tractors are out there. And anthing above 35 horse gets too big dimensionaly i explained that at the begining and insurance won't likely de the same here as where you live so GET OFF IT. I LIVE IN SASKATCHEWAN CANADAso hoiw would you know what the market is like here i already have a bunch of experience and knoledge on how this kind of bussiness will work. also there are alot of farmer around with livestock and tractors to big to clean pens and corralls SHOVEL THAT

 

[hosejockey2002]

ok
1. a small tractor isn't the greatest tool for snow removal (yes, it's better than a shovel).
2. insurance won't be cheap, price it, You'll be appalled.

3. So, who is your customer?
Who is going to hire a small tractor guy?
It's not a smart ***** question, it's what your market is.
and what are they going to hire him to do?
Dig a ditch?
smooth dirt on a new lawn install?

What's your market?

And then, will they support what your cost structure will be for the tractor (at LEAST $50 an hour).

All I'm trying to say is
a. I wonder how big the market really si.
b. if you can get a tractor in, you can almost always get a bigger tractor in. 6' wide will fit a lot of tractors. A small SCUT just isn't all that useful. A CUT would be. And if Iv'e misunderstood the question, I apologize. But much below 35hp (or so) I just don't see the market.

__________________
1. Agreed.
2. $850/year, including bond. Truck insurance is about $900/year.
3. Dig a ditch? Yes.
4. Smooth dirt for a new lawn install? Yes.
Also, clearing and grading small areas, small field mowing, etc.

a. The market depends on entirely, well, the market. If you live in an area that's mostly rural, there's probably little or no market for small tractor work. If you live in an area like mine that's urban/suburban that transistions into rural, then there's TONS of work. It's not all small tractor work, but there is lots of residential install work that a small TLB is useful for. In my business I use a little tiny Yanmar 1401D with an FEL and a box scraper. I don't do a lot of work with it because a lot of the jobs I do are too small to justify it. But there have been many, many times where it's been just the ticket to spread out a 5 or 10 yard pile of topsoil, regrade a gravel driveway, move a pile of boulders into a backyard to build a wall, or mow a 1 acre pasture.
b. Six feet wide will fit a lot of tractors, but in a residential setting four feet wide makes a huge difference.
Like I said, the area that you want to work in will dictate the market for a given type and size of machine. In an urban setting, many landscapers will even use a mini walk behind skidsteer because no other machine will work, where in a rural area the same machine would be totally worthless.

 

[pick_up_man]

Where i plan to start this bussiness will be a town of about 2 to 3 thousand people and there would be work to keep it busy noit as a full time bussiness you have to understand just as a on the side kind of thing. and i probaly wouldn't need a truck, and as for width about 54 inches is about as wide as i would want to go most houses have a back alley richt at the back yard. As for moving snow you canalways use a blade on the FEL my father made a seven foot blade for his bobcatand it will move alot of snow power isn't the issue being able to steer is along a little bit of traction issues but chains would solve that.

 

[coasterez]

Based on what you describe as the work you'll be doing, All-wheel steer would be great for plowing snow and working in tight spaces. Again, this would point you to the articulated machines, or perhaps one of the subcut John Deere's that has AWS. Though, the subcuts may be too small for your other chores.

I have a "little" JD425 AWS and a Kioti CK25, which is much much bigger than the Deere. Except when plowing very long "roads", the little Deere will plow circles around the CK25. Why? Way more manueverable: All-wheel steer, shorter, narrower. Sounds like manueverability should be very important in your selection criteria. I don't know if supersteer is available on the smaller NHs. But, if it is, that would also be an option.

But, the articulated machines may still be your best bet. If I were making a living from my machines, time spent on a job would be just about everything such that I would choose the machine(s) that would get the work done the fastest. Toward this goal, I would give serious consideration to Antonio Carraro machines. They will cost more up front, but should pay back big over the life of the machine.

 

[swines]

How would you know what the market is here in saskatchewan canada if you even know where that is i almost know for a fact that there would be a market for such a bussiness because this provine is going to expand within the next five years and there are alnost certaintly going to be lots of houses built in that area and i know for a fact that these little tractors work well for snow removal and also landscaping because there are a few people who own tractors around 30hp range and they say that they are great for snow removal. And it wouldn't be a SCUT it would be a CUT because most lines of tractors a SCUT is under 25 horse i can get upto 33 horse and still be around that 54 inches wide and if you go to a tractor that is 60 inches wide it leves nothing for clearance also the private owners of these small tractors on the farm did quite a bit of their own landscaping and they worked just fine. So as for snow removal and landscaping it the same as what has been said many a time "The Machine Is As Good AS The Operator" The Question is not about wheter this is a feasable bussiness or whether a tractor would work well because i know the answer to both those questions and it is yes. the Question is About what kind of tractors are out there. And anthing above 35 horse gets too big dimensionaly i explained that at the begining and insurance won't likely de the same here as where you live so GET OFF IT. I LIVE IN SASKATCHEWAN CANADAso hoiw would you know what the market is like here i already have a bunch of experience and knoledge on how this kind of bussiness will work. also there are alot of farmer around with livestock and tractors to big to clean pens and corralls SHOVEL THAT

You apparently have all the answers - finding a tractor should be easy. Take your tape measure to the tractor dealers near you and measure the rear tire width - boom - you've got your answer.

I think you'll find that CUTs in the 30hp and above range are wider than your 54-inch requirement - especially with R4 tires. That leaves you with obvious choices from Kubota, NH, Deere, Kioti - or, your favorite brand.

If you want step-by-step instructions:

1. Look in the local phone book under "tractor." Note tractor dealers in the area and phone numbers.

2. Call tractor dealers and ask them what they have in 28-30hp range that will take a loader and back hoe and don't have over a 54-inch tread width with R4 tires.

3. Go look at the tractors - take a tape measure and verify the rear tire width.

4. Pick your favorite tractor + dealer.

5. Get the best price with - loader, BH, implements, and loaded rear tires.

6. Pay for tractor.

7. Ride off into the sunset with your new tractor and successful new business.