new to the site, need advise!

[scagwildcat]

hi everyone, thanks for having me on your site!
for years now ive been wanting a tractor for my lawn care co. ive been doing things the old fashion way. i find myself leaving $ on the table by doing things this way. most times i sub it out, but lately the guy i sub to thinks every thing is worth 1mil. $. last week i had a walk way with about 5 feet of slush/ice on it. my blower could not move it, nor my truck, i called him and he told me that for less then 250 he couldnt do it. (its about 1.5 miles from his shop) now im stuck, so i waist 4 hours with a shovel, to keep my client happy!
Now that you know what im dealing with, i can explian what i would use it for.
Im looking at a kubota b7610 with a loader/hoe to move soil/mulch maybe some light landscaping. i havent advertised for these services, but people ask for them once in a while, i mainly stick with lawn mowing. also would help me with mulch.
ive talked to many people i know about this, and half say get it, and the other half including the guy i sub to says dont get it , YOU WILL BE PAYING FOR SOME THING THATS GOING TO SIT MORE THEN WORK! so i dont know, what do you all think? would it be worth it? i live in ct. im wondering if there would be work for this thing. i wa just thinking that by getting it, i know i have it when needed, i dont have to wait for others then just rob my $. i thought of renting one, when needed, but i work solo, and would do the tractor work on sat. so it wouldnt make sence to let a machine sit all week and pay for it, nor will it make sence to rent a machine for a day, (if the rental co. has one that day) just to clear some snow for two hours.. sorry guys, im wrote a book, i dont know what i should do! thanks for your input...

 

[Bird]

Welcome to Tractorbynet. Glad to have you join us. I'm sorry I don't have an answer for your questions. Obviously some people make good money with their tractors, but many do not. And probably only someone in your immediate area would know what the market would be like there.

 

[Fjord]

hi everyone, thanks for having me on your site!
for years now ive been wanting a tractor ...

Maybe that's your answer right there. I don't expect to make any money with mine, but when I was looking I tried to justify the cost with how much I'd save over renting or hiring out the work.In the end there was no way it made sense from a $ point of view but I got it anyway because that's what I wanted.What if having the tractor saved you from a debilitating back injury from shovelling too much? That would be worth something. Just trying to help you with justification for getting what you already know that you want.

 

[mainiac]

I started out with a B7500 part time and now I run a property care business full time. I now mow, care take empty houses, and do light excavation. I couldn't picture having this business without a tractor. With it, I have a backhoe, grader blade, landscapers rock rake, rototiller, and field and brush mower. I charge $40/hr(actual time not tractor hours)for my tractor work and was able to put on just over 200hrs on the tractor alone last year. Now I am getting into low impact logging to fill in the winter months.

By having my tractor, I have been able to take on big paying jobs and what is beyond the tractor's capabilities, I sub out to the guys with big equipment and then come in to do the finish work.

Love my tractor!

Hope this helps.

 

[unit40]

I think getting a tractor for you would be great. Think of all the things you could do with it. Since you run a lawn care company, you could get a pto spreader for applying fertilizers. How about a PTO sprayer ? A belly mount mower with a bagger in case one of your units breaks down. You could now aerate your customers lawns with a powerd unit. You could spread loam and mulch, move heavy ball and burlap trees for planting. I suggest getting a tractor with a quick removable loader and removable backhoe. and I wouldn't get anything too big either. Compact and maneuverable but with enough power to do the jobs. I would look at the 35 HP range.

 

[Egon]

Make up a plan which would utilize the tractor more and then see if you can find customers. Lots of planing first.

Wish you well in your endeavors.

 

[MarkV]

but i work solo, and would do the tractor work on sat. so it wouldnt make sence to let a machine sit all week and pay for it, nor will it make sence to rent a machine for a day, (if the rental co. has one that day) just to clear some snow for two hours.. sorry guys, im wrote a book, i dont know what i should do! thanks for your input...

Welcome to the forum. I’d have to ask myself how much more work could I get and how long it would take to pay off the equipment. If you would not use it more than if you were renting then there would be a long pay back time.

Another consideration is that if you are going to run a legit business you need to consider insurance cost. A tractor and particularly a backhoe can do a lot more accidental damage than a shovel to a client’s property. Landscapers insurance for a tractor isn’t too bad but when you add a backhoe you need contractors insurance and that is expensive. Backhoe’s break water lines, gas lines and fiber optic lines so I can understand where the insurance company’s are coming from.

Good luck and again welcome to the forum.

MarkV

 

[scagwildcat]

thanks for your replies, i looked at the b7610, i took my truck with me to see if this machine would load the truck, my side boards are off at this time because of my sander. what i did was mark on the head board were my sides go. the machine lifted up that high but i wasnt able to get close to the truck, the grill of the b7610 was about two feet away from the truck bed due to the sand being in the way. i was wondering if anyone uses a ramp/ rd ties to get the tractor up more? i was told by the dealer it will work, but its a pain!
i like this tractor for the fact that its big enough to get the job done, the price i think is a good deal, its a 05 tbl 100hrs for 15,900. also wanted somthing that would fit into gates.. but still would load my truck at a job site...maybe i just want to much . lol my truck sides are 70 inched from the ground, the tractor lifts 69.7 i could take off the top board wich is 12 inches .
it would leave me with about 58 a diff. of 11.7 inches from the top of the sides... what do you all think? i was thinking of making ramps that i could take with me, 6 to 12 inches high to help loading the truck, but what im affraid off is that once you get the tires started on the ramps would they slide forward? its happend to me before with my mowers...

 

[unit40]

I know this is a tractor site, but ever consider a bobcat? You can rent a backhoe plus other attachments for one if you need it, plus they are more maneuverable. They will lift plenty high, and are enclosed with heat when your doing snow removal. Unless of course you plan on taking advantages of all that a tractor can do regarding lawn and landscaping work with the rear hitch and mid and rear PTOs. Almost forgot, here in Mass you need a hydraulics license if your running machines that lift up to a certain height.

 

[Timber]

Welcome aboard,
Well I do have some thoughts on what your looking to do. We do have quite a lot of landscapers and lawn care people hear. Lawn King comes to mind. He can really give you some working input as to what your looking to do. Really think the backhoe in you purchase as well as your business. They are an $8000 dollar attachment. I would go the extra $600 for the B7800 or even better for you the B3030 with a cab and screw the Backhoe. Spend you money on your 3 point attachments that will make you more everyday and sub you trenching work. The liability and equipment is probably a hassle you don't need. I know we would all like a back hoe but when it comes down to numbers setting up a nice tractor with a tach-all, tooth bar, rear remotes, Cab with AC and heat and a couple of implement's and a 30 horse 4 banger might be the way to go in a lawn care business. If I only new then what I know now