Lifting via FEL vs 3 point? Maybe I've looking at it wrong thinking I NEED a FEL?

[herm0016]

Rent a tractor for a 3-day weekend.

My wife would never let me display an ugly old tractor plus attachments on one acre.

We have a loader tractor on an acre, and use it at least several times a week.

for 5 grand, you could probably do without a loader. finding something under 7 or 8 with a loader that will be reliable will be difficult. It sounds like you could a pole for most of the lifting. getting a tractor that will lift a full pallet of anything will cost 3x your budget. cheaper end tractors loose very little in value after the first 10 years or so. a 6-8k tractor with a loader that is mechanically sound will be worth that much until it dies.

 

[BadDecisions]

You could probably buy a good used fork lift for cheaper than a hefty tractor.

I've thought about that for a while, and I still can not even begin to fathom how a fork lift is going to do anything but lifting thing. Plus, I would need an all terrain one, and even the "cheap" versions of those are anything but cheap. I already know that a typical warehouse surplus lift is going to be a royal pain in the backside on a dirt lot, meaning I'll be spending more time getting it unstuck than actually using it, and refueling is gonna be a pain as the local propane places won't fill anything but a 20lb BBQ tank. They won't even touch my camper tanks.

One of the older, heavier tractors with a $350 Three Point Hitch boom pole might serve you well for your primary lifting task.

You contradict yourself in your post:

I have ZERO plans/intentions/desires to do _any_ type of farming/gardening/etc so I'll never own "ground engaging implements". My thinking/plan there was either a grader blade, or a box blade? Gannon is a brand of box blade.

My understanding was ground engaging was things like plows that go deep into the ground, whereas box blades ride on top of the ground? Though I'm really beginning to understand why my neighbor got so frustrated, and eventually just said screw it, went to the dealer, told them what he was doing, and brought home a new $25K Asian import tractor...that broke 3 times in the first year, followed by the dealer telling him that the tractor wasn't designed to carry the backhoe that they sold him with it as a package. For him though, $25K wasn't really a big amount to throw down, nor was the $60K he dropped on a new truck, then a 2nd new one 4 months later when he didn't like the 1st one. Me..I've never spent more than $3500 on any vehicle I've ever owned in my entire life, and a brand new car is never going to happen.

Rent a tractor for a 3-day weekend.

My wife would never let me display an ugly old tractor plus attachments on one acre.

Well, seeing as how I'm not married to your wife, which is likely a good thing...she would likely have an aneurysm if she saw the collection of old stuff here.

When my wife was still alive, she brought home more "ugly old stuff" than I did.

Renting really wouldn't be feasible for me. That too would get expensive to rent one every time I needed it at around $1000/each time, highly inconvenient given that the nearest rental place is nearly an hour away, and a 3 day weekend isn't a guaranteed 3 days for me as I'm on call for work 24/7/365.

End story of all this is that I'm still really just guessing at what I need, and I just keep confusing myself more and more. I never really have been able to find any decent source that will lay out capabilities of different things beyond WIDE generalities, which doesn't really help those who really have no idea of what they're getting in to. Guess I'm just going to have to risk a few bad financial decisions, lol.

 

[rademamj1]

I never worked any Arizona desert before, but have done a lot of work clearing here in Central Texas brush country both with and without tractors. Your budget of $5000 is seriously restrictive, and doubt it can be done by purchasing a reliable FEL tractor and box blade implement within that budget.

It may be most simple and best to just hire local land clearing labor and clear by hand. They can go through first pass with chainsaws, and cut most everything to ground level. Then put all that into a burn pile, and burn it under close supervision, on a non-windy day. If it's just 1 acre, they may do that all that cutting and burning in about 3 days work.

Follow up with rental of a tractor/box blade and spend about 2 days just working the box blade with its rippers down 4 inches into the soil, and that loosens and tears the vegetation and turns the soil over. Followed up with a good day of leveling work with box blade. Ideally, your weeds and brush will stay away a lot longer doing this....but should allow your lawn mower to handle everything from this point foward.

 

[chim]

I have zero desert knowledge, but have heard that when camping there one should look in his boots in the morning before slipping them on.


I do have experience with a boom pole and dirt scoop on a small tractor. The boom pole is not very useful on a small tractor. Picking anything heavy would bring the front wheels off the ground. Scoop did the same when I managed to get it full. It even had a couple suitcase weights on the front.

 

[Myz28u]

An older tractor like a Ferguson, Ford or International would probably suit your needs and come in under your budget. You can do quite a bit with these older tractors. They are decent at pulling and ground work especially compared to new compact tractors. I grew up running old TO30s and Ford 8Ns. You learn to use boom poles and other 3pt implements to move and lift things. They work well for “mowing” too.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I would hire out a contractor to do the initial land clearing, and any grading you want done. Then buy a small old tractor minus FEL with a brush hog 3 pt rotary mower to stay on top of it all after that.

Everyone has a budget they have to stick to. I get it. But realistically, you're not going to be able to touch the equipment you need for $5K. The ground there is like iron, and to get a tractor big enough to be able to scrape and grade that cast iron soil is going to be big. Like utility tractor sized big, or bigger.

Once you get the initial clearing done, and get the grade the way you want it, it will be much easier to manage. That part you should be able to realistically do with a SCUT sized or older CUT sized tractor. Heck, even a garden tractor would be able to manage, you'll just have to do something to the tires (foam them or find solid ones) to stop the tire punctures that are going to be likely. Even the grass there has spikes and thorns, and I doubt you have any grass.

 

[jeff9366]

I'm still guessing at what I need, and I just keep confusing myself more and more. I never really have been able to find any decent source that will lay out capabilities of different things beyond WIDE generalities, which doesn't really help those who really have no idea of what they're getting in to. Guess I'm just going to have to risk a bad financial decision.

U-Tube videos should give you some idea of tractor weight/size capability. A little "more" tractor is much better than "not enough" tractor. Within your $5,000 budget you will not have a multitude of choices.

Probably 2/3 of first time new tractor buyers wish they had purchased a heavier tractor than the one they have, within two years.

 

[LouNY]

Lifting that kind of weight off the back especially with minimal front ballast will still take no slouch of a tractor.

I guess some of that is dependent on how much you need to lift and the size of your tractor;
I consider my IH 574 to be a light weight tractor in that it is a utility with a "small" frame.
Here she is with 1200 pounds on the forks, the front end is light but still on the ground.

 

[Egon]

The garden type tractor may not be built sturdily enough for either serious bucket or Three point lifting and weight transportation.

It may be advisable to look for a twenty HP and up diesel tractor.

As a side note a Kubota B7100 would work for your situation. 16 HP.

 

[dodge man]

I壇 break what you need into two tools. One being an engine hoist or some kind of overhead crane. The other being a used compact tractor. Lifting something like 2500 pound pallets is going to take a big machine so probably not going to happen. A 1000 pounds is possible. Maybe add a little to your budget and get a tractor that will do everything you want say a FEL and brush cutter box blade and a set of forks.