Buying Advice Track Loader or 4wd Tractor For Hills

[samryoung]

I own 200 acres and need a tractor to maintain my land. I have always rented track loaders (such as Bobcat 190) and now I want to buy.

My land is on a hillside, much of the property is steep. There are roads cut through the property already, so much of the work needed to be done is maintaining these roads.

I'm looking at a Mahindra 40hp 4wd tractor loader. I'm afrain of driving a wheeled tractor on steep hills. I've heard horror stories that wheeled tractors on hills are dangerous and more prone to tipping than a compact track loader.

I plan on using the tractor for the following: pushing brush, mainting roads on a steep hillside, pushing trees over (if possible) and of course building motorcycle tracks.

The land is hilly, tree filled and clay soil. It's extremely slippery as well when wet. Will a 4wd be fine on the hills?

 

[Bigfoot62]

From what I'm hearing, it sounds like you might need to purchase a tractor and just keep renting the Bobcat for the really steep grades.

 

[MarkV]

Hard question to answer with all the variables involved. Much depends on your definition of "steep hills". Also on the tractor itself. When talking compact tractors the general rule is 15 to 20 degrees max for side slopes. You would want to shop for a tractor with the widest rear wheel setting you can get. (Many tractors have the ability to widen the rear wheel setting) You would also want to add liquid ballast to the rear tires to lower the center of gravity. Tire chains can help with slippery slopes.

See if you can post some pictures of your general working areas. It would help forum member give you a better idea.

MarkV

PS. Welcome to the forum.

 

[20 20]

You have a stumper of a question, but from what I gather a tracked SS would be your best bet especially if you plan on building a lot of motorcycle tracks, and with the steep angles of planed work. With that written do you have an idea of the price differences between a compact tractor and a tracked SS there is a BIIIIG diference.

 

[jenkinsph]

Sounds to me like you should buy something similar to the tracked skidsteer which works for you. Rent a tractor for the few times it is needed.

 

[flusher]

I own 200 acres and need a tractor to maintain my land. I have always rented track loaders (such as Bobcat 190) and now I want to buy.

My land is on a hillside, much of the property is steep. There are roads cut through the property already, so much of the work needed to be done is maintaining these roads.

I'm looking at a Mahindra 40hp 4wd tractor loader. I'm afrain of driving a wheeled tractor on steep hills. I've heard horror stories that wheeled tractors on hills are dangerous and more prone to tipping than a compact track loader.

I plan on using the tractor for the following: pushing brush, mainting roads on a steep hillside, pushing trees over (if possible) and of course building motorcycle tracks.

The land is hilly, tree filled and clay soil. It's extremely slippery as well when wet. Will a 4wd be fine on the hills?

YOu can adjust/modify most tractors for additional stability on hillsides. You can adjust the rear wheels to give the widest possible track. Another way is to use dual rear wheels to increase the track width. And you can make modifications to increase track width and lower the center of gravity. For example, my 1964 Massey Ferguson 135 diesel is a field tractor that has been modified to squat low for work in the previous owner's olive orchard.



The rear wheels are 16" diameter and carry Goodrich 6 ply 18.4-16A rubber that are filled with water/antifreeze mix. The front axle spindles have been replaced by shorter ones to keep the tractor level. The wheel track is 83" measured to the outside of the tires and the centerline of the rear axle is 20" high, giving a squat ratio of 4.15. By comparison, my 2008 Mahindra 5525 is set up like a typical field tractor with 28" dia rear wheels and has a 71" track width, 25" axle height for squat ratio 2.84.



My place is 10 acres of flat pasture so the MF135 is not challenged by hills. But I'd feel a lot safer on the 135 than on the 5525 when mowing steep terrain.

Good luck and be careful out there.

 

[cougar21300]

If you do go the track loader route, skip the rigid tracks and be certain to get something with the ASV suspension; ASV, Cat, or Terex. The traction, stability and ride advantages are just unbelievable! I've demo'd and sold quite a few suspension machines and personally wouldn't even give a rigid track consideration. But if you do go rigid track, be sure to check out Kubota's new SVL line up, a lot of machinery for the money!

 

[PAfarmer]

I own both a tracked compact loader and 4wd JD 4700 tractor. For what you are describing I would without hesitation go with the tractor and rent the tracked loader when required. the tractor is much much versitile and far cheaper to run and maintain. I own/maintain a 698 arce farm in PA. I also own a tracker mini excavator and that unit see's the most use out of all of my equipment. Go with a real nice 4wd tractor in the 50 plus HP range . Feel free to PM me if you need specfic information. I would be more than happy to help more if you need to talk in detail about what you have in mind. These machines major purchases and the cost of getting it wrong painful.

 

[TripleR]

We used a tracked Bobcat 864 for a couple of months and it did a lot of stuff really well, but for our uses a tractor just works better. We have some pretty hilly ground and may rent a tracked loader some day, but tractors just work better for us.

 

[MarkV]

Have you considered how long it would take to cruise around 200 acres in a skid steer? They are not the fastest things around. Also as mentioned you will spend a lot more for a skid steer and the implements for it. You might be better off having a dozer come in to make your trails tractor friendly. I would bet you would come out money ahead.

MarkV