Buying Advice Track Loader or 4wd Tractor For Hills

samryoung · Feb 24, 2012

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 · Feb 24, 2012

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 · Feb 24, 2012

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 · Feb 24, 2012

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 · Feb 24, 2012

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 · Feb 24, 2012

samryoung said:
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 · Feb 24, 2012

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 · Feb 24, 2012

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 · Feb 25, 2012

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 · Feb 26, 2012

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

samryoung · Feb 26, 2012

Thanks for all the input. Here are some views of the property. I'm from the ridge top down to the lowest point. 1600 feet at the top, 500 feet at the bottom.

I become more scared of tractors from the stories of roll overs. I would go for the track loader but the initial cost and upkeep cost is too much.

Can a 4wd tractor go where a 4wd Toyota truck can go? Do I need to worry about the tractor flipping backwards when going up hills?

Thanks again for your input. Hopefully these pictures will help.

KYDan · Feb 26, 2012

I live in the knobs of central Kentucky and it is very similar terrain. Actually, I bought this land in 1978 for a training ground for motocrossing. Due to myriad circumstances I made this my home a little later. I have had Ford 2000, 4000, 4600, 2WD tractors that I used on it very carefully. In the mid 1990's I bought my first 4WD tractor, a Kubota L2900, 4WD, with a loader and backhoe attachment. I set the rear wheels to the maximum extension and I was able to use it on all of the hills on the property. On some of the steeper ones I only travelled and mowed, up and down the slopes as they were too steep to traverse across the face of the slopes. I quite biking some years ago due to knee issues staying on the pegs. Since then I have built a runway and fly a light STOL aircraft from the property. I also now have a Kubota MX5100, HST, 4WD, tractor and loader. I sold the L2900 and backhoe as I found the backhoe reach for what I do was not adequate. I have contracted most of the hoe work out to a contractor with a JD trackhoe, dozer, and tracked loader. I found it was less costly, more effective, much quicker and safer. I tend to agree with the earlier posts about a good 4WD tractor in the 50-80 HP range and either rent the necessary machinery or contract the heavy lifting.

TripleR · Feb 26, 2012

"Can a 4wd tractor go where a 4wd Toyota truck can go? Do I need to worry about the tractor flipping backwards when going up hills?"

Really hard to tell and is going to depend on the tractor. Our MF375 would go up stuff a truck couldn't touch, but it was pretty low profile. We go up some steep slopes with our 5030 and 8540, but I don't have an inclinometer.

Do some searches on "operating on slopes" and you will find LOTS of information, here is just one. And yes, you should be worried about back flips and operate/ballast appropriately to mitigate the risks. I am always cautious no matter how many times I go on some of our hills.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/199464-slopes-tractor-tilt.html

powerpace · Feb 26, 2012

My property is hilly to the point of only backing up and down the slopes when bushhogging. I can move at an angle till the pucker factor kicks in. I have a Kubota b3200hst with R4s. It will go where no 4 whd pickup will go.
With the Backhoe attached, backing up hills is the only way to go. I have dug stumps with the stabilizers all the way down on one side and only the wheel touching on the other and still not level.

You can probably do 95% of the work with a good wide footprint tractor. Rent what you need for everything else. In my opinion.

Hollow · Feb 26, 2012

You'll want to buy a tractor with the two piece wheels that has the concavity turned to the inside like...

And reverse it to where the concavity is to the outside like this...

Make sure it's a tractor that doesn't have the concavity to the outside when the wheels are tracking "normal". New Holland markets many of their tractors to do steep highway and right-of-way mowing so they build many of them to tackle your problem. I'm not advocating exclusively for Ford/NH. There are other companies that do this but Ford/NH has targeted DOT's and ROW contractors for years. I would feel safer in the proper tractor on a steep hill side than I would in a narrow Bobcat even if it does have tracks.

Hollow · Feb 27, 2012

Is it any steeper than this? I don't know who the guy is talking in this video. He did however use some relaxing background music though... lol

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeAwzmv7-ug]BUSH-HOGGING--TEST OF THE WILL TO LIVE---06-06-2010--.wmv - YouTube[/ame]

You could buy one of these. They are pretty cheap if you can find one at a government auction. Your not going to be able to buy parts for them at your local parts store though. Order and wait for the UPS man to come driving up your driveway would probably be more like it...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-r-OduMGwg[/ame]

deezler · Feb 27, 2012

Whoa. Serious side-slope capability there.

flusher · Feb 27, 2012

samryoung said:
Thanks for all the input. Here are some views of the property. I'm from the ridge top down to the lowest point. 1600 feet at the top, 500 feet at the bottom.

I become more scared of tractors from the stories of roll overs. I would go for the track loader but the initial cost and upkeep cost is too much.

Can a 4wd tractor go where a 4wd Toyota truck can go? Do I need to worry about the tractor flipping backwards when going up hills?

Thanks again for your input. Hopefully these pictures will help.

Backflips--guys (and gals) who are into tractor pulling install wheelie bars on the rear of their tractors to prevent backflips.

Tractor Pulling: Tractor Wheelie Bars

You've got some beautiful scenery around your place in Healdsburg. But those hills are really scary.

Really be careful out there:thumbsup:

Huckleberry Ranch · May 18, 2012

I have used both a tractor and a Bobcat T200 on my rocky, hilly 80 acres. The T200 was much more stable working on hillsides. If you do go with a tractor make certain you get one with a wide wheel base. Trying to use a 2 wheel drive 48" wheelbase tractor was a harrowing experience. However, Bobcats and their attachements seem much more costly, so I am now looking for a tractor keeping our terrain issues at the forefront of our decision.

tmc_31 · May 18, 2012

Just looking at those pictures, I would definitely go for the CTL. I have a small ag tractor that I mow with (among other things) but it is very narrow tracked. Most of the ground that I mow is pretty flat. Just a small slope puckers me up. I also have a rubber tired SS that is right at home on the slopes. Besides, if you did have a rollover on a CTL, you have got a nice solid cage around you to keep your head out of the dirt.

Tim