Moving and need to buy a new TLB next year.

[SoGeorgia]

Next summer we are planning on moving from south Georgia to Maine.. yes, Maine.. yes, we know, it's cold there.. lol... We bought 26 acres off-grid and I will need to do a lot of clearing.. making roads.. a lot of digging.. fel work.. grapple (trees, limbs, rocks) and snow plowing as the road is not county maintained. We recently visited our property for 2 weeks and met our nearest neighbor. He bought a small Kubota with a fel (don't remember which model) and couldn't say enough good things about the dealer. I contacted the dealer to ask him what he would recommend based on my needs.. He sells Kubota and Mahindra.. after discussing with him it looked like the Mahindra 1626 would be a good option.

A few days later I did some Internet searching and found a TYM dealer about the same distance away.. Surprisingly they listed their prices which were well below MSRP. After contacting them they suggested a larger TYM 474 that was decked out with a FEL, backhoe, cab and 20 more hp for just slightly more than the Mahindra 1626 with only a FEL and NO cab. Anyway, I'm definitely leaning towards the TYM. For the money it looks like I can get a lot more tractor with the TYM than a Mahindra or Kubota.

Does the TYM 474 seem like a good tractor? Thoughts?

 

[Tractorable]

I didn’t see the TYM 474 on TYM’s website. Discontinued?

Either way, for 26 acres of forest in Maine, building a property, I’d be looking to rent construction equipment for the initial heavy work, then purchase a ~4000lb bare tractor weight machine with a cab. 75in+ wheelbase would be desirable to have enough weight, traction, and leverage to handle all the heavy work your new property willl entail. Definitely a third function, 2-3 rear remotes with top n tilt, grapple, snow blower, and box blade should be on your list.

 

[deezler]

Not a lot of TYM owners on here. When I bought my (used) Kioti, I was also first tempted by the regional TYM dealer's ads on craigslist and elsewhere, because the published prices are pretty aggressively discounted.

But it made me stop and ask: why. Why are TYM tractors able to undercut the competition by so much? Sure, they have less features, but they still come equipped to work. Is the quality lower? Dealer and repair network much weaker? Hard to say.

I was attracted to Kioti myself, because of the relatively strong reputation for reliability already established here on TBN, while also being priced some 20-30% under a comparably capable Deere or Kubota.

Seems like Mahindra tractors can be durable tanks, OR complete break-down lemons. Easy to find many horror stories of repeatedly non-functional Mahindras here and elsewhere on the internet, often with poor dealer repair experiences to go along with that. Kubotas are terrific, but very expensive.

Any tractor brand can have problems - it really depends on your dealership support. Are they going to quickly take care of you under warranty if something goes wrong? Do they promptly answer the phone and get back to you with answers, or do they dodge you and make excuses? Are they just down the road and friendly, or 85 miles away and gruff? It's all about the dealer, if buying new. Take a tour of their repair shop and see if it is organized and clean (ish).

 

[sea2summit]

I think for 26 acres you need a lot more than 20 HP and 2500# of tractor….don’t even get me started with grappling on that light of a tractor.

But let’s hear more about what you want it to do and how much time you want to spend doing it.

 

[deezler]

Echoing what tractorable said - you might really want a mini-excavator for initial site work instead. You can yank trees/stumps, cut ditches, scoop dirt, etc - much easier with a excavator in the 8,000-15,000 lb range than by abusing a 4000lb tractor.

 

[Tractorable]

Take a look at the new Massey Ferguson 1835/1840M tractors as well. Now 100% made by Iseki in Japan. Affordable premium 3500-4000lb machines with lots of nice features.

 

[Mr_Pips]

I didn’t see the TYM 474 on TYM’s website. Discontinued?

Either way, for 26 acres of forest in Maine, building a property, I’d be looking to rent construction equipment for the initial heavy work, then purchase a ~4000lb bare tractor weight machine with a cab. 75in+ wheelbase would be desirable to have enough weight, traction, and leverage to handle all the heavy work your new property willl entail. Definitely a third function, 2-3 rear remotes with top n tilt, grapple, snow blower, and box blade should be on your list.

It's on their site under the Series 3 tractors.


OP: Check out "Tony's Tractor Adventure Homestead" on Youtube. He runs a T474 and T25.

 

[SoGeorgia]

Echoing what tractorable said - you might really want a mini-excavator for initial site work instead. You can yank trees/stumps, cut ditches, scoop dirt, etc - much easier with a excavator in the 8,000-15,000 lb range than by abusing a 4000lb tractor.

I really wish I could afford to buy a mini excavator. Due to the distance to the nearest rental place and how long I would need to rent one I can see renting becoming quite expensive which led me to the backhoe option.

 

[SoGeorgia]

Here's the tractor I was looking at. TYM 474

 

[SoGeorgia]

I think for 26 acres you need a lot more than 20 HP and 2500# of tractor….don’t even get me started with grappling on that light of a tractor.

But let’s hear more about what you want it to do and how much time you want to spend doing it.

Thick, untouched forest that I'm going to need to make some roads through. Moving trees and brush, a lot of firewood carrying. Grapple for moving trees and large rocks. Will need a box blade for the road work and a plow for snow when it comes. Digging a small basement as well as a sunken greenhouse and lots of trenching, burying water containers, etc.

 

[Jchonline]

Next summer we are planning on moving from south Georgia to Maine.. yes, Maine.. yes, we know, it's cold there.. lol... We bought 26 acres off-grid and I will need to do a lot of clearing.. making roads.. a lot of digging.. fel work.. grapple (trees, limbs, rocks) and snow plowing as the road is not county maintained. We recently visited our property for 2 weeks and met our nearest neighbor. He bought a small Kubota with a fel (don't remember which model) and couldn't say enough good things about the dealer. I contacted the dealer to ask him what he would recommend based on my needs.. He sells Kubota and Mahindra.. after discussing with him it looked like the Mahindra 1626 would be a good option.

A few days later I did some Internet searching and found a TYM dealer about the same distance away.. Surprisingly they listed their prices which were well below MSRP. After contacting them they suggested a larger TYM 474 that was decked out with a FEL, backhoe, cab and 20 more hp for just slightly more than the Mahindra 1626 with only a FEL and NO cab. Anyway, I'm definitely leaning towards the TYM. For the money it looks like I can get a lot more tractor with the TYM than a Mahindra or Kubota.

Does the TYM 474 seem like a good tractor? Thoughts?

Unless you have 2 years and a YouTube channel for income I would not recommend using a tractor for this degree of land clearing. Rent or contract the machines you need now to do the work efficiently. The tractor is the machine to maintain the property. Not to build it.

That said, an open station machine in Maine? No thanks. You will thank me later. Get a cab.

 

[Jchonline]

Thick, untouched forest that I'm going to need to make some roads through. Moving trees and brush, a lot of firewood carrying. Grapple for moving trees and large rocks. Will need a box blade for the road work and a plow for snow when it comes. Digging a small basement as well as a sunken greenhouse and lots of trenching, burying water containers, etc.

Sunken greenhouse depending on the style you will need to get 6-8 ft in the ground. It is going to be nigh impossible to dig that with a tractor mounted backhoe with 8 ft of reach. You might think the math works out (8 ft hole, 8 ft reach) but you will quickly learn that is only if you are directly over the dig spot. A tractor backhoe is not for clearing land or digging larger holes. Trenching? great. A 16 ft x 6 ft x 8ft hole? It will be really difficult.

 

[SoGeorgia]

Unless you have 2 years and a YouTube channel for income I would not recommend using a tractor for this degree of land clearing. Rent or contract the machines you need now to do the work efficiently. The tractor is the machine to maintain the property. Not to build it.

That said, an open station machine in Maine? No thanks. You will thank me later. Get a cab.

Right... the one I'm looking at has a cab... no way I'm getting one with no cab.

 

[ruffdog]

I would be more apt to get something like this TLB for 10 years and then sell and buy what you need. The extra money spent on the equipment will allow you to get the work done the way it should be. In the long end it will probably be cheaper.

LB75 tractor, loader, backhoe - heavy equipment - by owner - sale

 

[Jchonline]

I really wish I could afford to buy a mini excavator. Due to the distance to the nearest rental place and how long I would need to rent one I can see renting becoming quite expensive which led me to the backhoe option.

You just need to do it at once. Rent it for a month, clear your schedule and get it done. I would not rent a mini Ex in your case. Go bigger. Like 20 tons or so.

Other option is buy the mini EX now, finish everything then sell it and buy the tractor in a few years when you are done. Equipment holds pretty good value.

 

[SoGeorgia]

I would be more apt to get something like this TLB for 10 years and then sell and buy what you need. The extra money spent on the equipment will allow you to get the work done the way it should be. In the long end it will probably be cheaper.

LB75 tractor, loader, backhoe - heavy equipment - by owner - sale

I like it.. unfortunately I don't have that much cash and not sure how easy it is to go about getting financing for something that old with a decent interest rate.

 

[deezler]

I really wish I could afford to buy a mini excavator. Due to the distance to the nearest rental place and how long I would need to rent one I can see renting becoming quite expensive which led me to the backhoe option.

Ask your rental places about renting for a full month at a time, though. Sometimes a full month is only the equivalent of like, 7-10 daily rentals.

 

[DaBear3428]

Here's the tractor I was looking at. TYM 474

this is all IMO but, a cab in forrest is a bad idea, check to see what a replacement window costs and then think about going thru trees. but then again it is cold up there.
the 1626 is a light tractor check the Mahindra 5100 series, much more capable and less than the TYM you listed.

but all that depends on the dealer that you have.

 

[SoGeorgia]

this is all IMO but, a cab in forrest is a bad idea, check to see what a replacement window costs and then think about going thru trees. but then again the it is cold up there.
the 1626 is a light tractor check the Mahindra 5100 series, much more capable and less than the TYM you listed.

but all that depends on the dealer that you have.

That 5100 series is definitely nice. What is an average price for one with a FEL and cab?

 

[Carl_NH]

For your rough work rent an excavator 39,000 lb class for a month (~$5K/month, plus delivery, plus insurance another $6-700) and you will need fuel another $1200-1500)- get 2 or 3 55 Gal drums you can have refilled with off road diesel. So you are about $7500 for a month and you still need to cut trees, stump and clear the lot.

Or have a land clearing co come in and cut, dig and remove stump and haul the logs and chip all the tops so you are left with a "clear" lot and somewhat of an access road. For these larger projects you might find they are competitive especially in the winter when things are slower.

Then buy a machine like this TEREX BACKHOE LOADER - heavy equipment - by owner - sale
$45K and 700 hours and it's a good size to do all the rest.

I have bought from Scotts Recreation (Ferris Zero Turn) and they sell a lot of different stuff there - just got into tractors maybe 4 years ago - so not a "typical tractor dealer".