Looking for my first tractor, few questions.

[850stealth]

well this is my first post and ive, owned a tractor before. I have used a few and have ran loaders and excavators and skid steers a bit. My main reason for wanting a tractor is to start a small side business doing bush hogging, clearing brush, box blading driveways, snow clearing, etc. I am also going to start a small hobby Xmas tree farm on a piece of my land.

My land was cleared about 8 years ago and most stumps and rocks removed before i bought it. Now its mostly thick alders and birch, some larger than others but nothing overly huge. All the big trees i will leave. I was hoping to get one machine to do it all, a tractor with all the attachments to do a small business and then my own land. Im basically looking to see if there is a root rake/grapple for the front that will clear this stuff or maybe one for the back and i chainsaw it first or spacing saw. Ground is pretty level with some rolling hills and a few skidder ruts i can fill in.

I am looking at a tractor between 78HP and 97HP. I figure this should be big enough, id rather go to big than have something to small. At first i want to clear about 8-10 acres. I know an excavator with a thumb and a dover would be the way to go but i just built a house and would rather buy something and do it myself than waste money.

I looked at kioti PX9020PC, The LS 7040 with a cab, Branson 7845C, I chose these because they have the closest dealers, there is a massy dealer but they will never get my money, horrible people.

Basically hope to have enough tractor to do everything without needing to hire someone. New to all this and just dont want to get something to big or not big enough, or even the wrong machine. Thanks.

 

[jeff9366]

Have you considered how you are going to move a 78-horsepower to 97-horsepower tractor AND its implements from job site to job site?

In addition to the tractor and implement investment you are going to need a large, heavy duty trailer, a large, heavy duty truck and commercial insurance, without having established customers. You will need a second truck for debris. I do not see how you could make requisite payments on a part time basis.

I figure operation cost of my little Kubota L3560 plus multiple implements in my residential development is $30 per hour, valuing my time at "0". No truck, no trailer, just homeowner's insurance and Kubota tractor insurance.

I think the part-time, small business plan you have laid out is infeasible from a financial standpoint.

 

[850stealth]

Have you considered how you are going to move a 78-horsepower to 97-horsepower tractor AND its implements from job site to job site?

In addition to the tractor and implement investment you are going to need a large, heavy duty trailer, a large, heavy duty truck and commercial insurance without having established customers. I do not see how you could make requisite payments on a part time basis.

I figure my cost to operate my little Kubota L3560 and multiple implements in my residential development is $30 per hour, valuing my time at "0". No truck, no trailer, just homeowner's insurance and Kubota tractor insurance.

I think the small business plan you have presented is infeasible from a financial standpoint.

Well to move the tractor around around i would either use a ram 2500 diesel or a ram 3500 dually. The reason i was looking at a tractor that size was because there are 2 people locally who have smaller tractors and are busy alot. They have done jobs for me. 65.00 an hour is the rate. They have turned down many jobs because of not having enough time and not enough tractor to do the job. I am still pricing tractors and getting attachment prices so the out the door prices are still up in the air. A 79HP McCormick was 64,000 delivered. Im in Canada so the prices probably seem high. Also was looking at that size hoping there would be some good attachments to clear my own land while i was at it. Dont want under powered if i do get one.

 

[850stealth]

Like i said, im new to this, I didnt price insurance or anything and may just start off doing stuff locally around my house. I can drive the tractor there if its close enough and in the winter getting work during a snow storm is no problem. People in my area usually have to wait a couple days just to get the road plowed, lots of snow to plow.