Tractor for 1.5 acre / extensive dirt work?

Narcoleptic · Aug 17, 2005

I have a house in a small town that has a small 1.54 acre lot. This land was poorly graded and is 10 feet from a flood zone. Unfortunately I was blinded by the gigantic shop when I bought it, and missed that it floods.

I am looking for a tractor with a FEL and backhoe to grade the lot and dig drainage ditches for flood control on my land. I have rented a Kubota B21 from a local dealership and have dug two initial ditches, but I do not think this is a wise choise given the amount of work I have to do and the rental charge ends up being around $300 for eight running hours (if you go over the eight hours included, they start charging by the hour)including pickup and delivery of the tractor. I am planning to enlarge the house and I cannot do this until I have this flooding problem solved.

I liked the Kubota, especially the "rocker" foot switch for the transmission, and the canopy and four-point lights enabled night and rainy weather work possible. I haven't taken close look at other brands (Kubota is the only dealership that rents equipment, we have Case, Massey Ferguson, New Holland, and John Deere dealerships in the county) except for browsing their respective web sites.

The tractor will be used primarily for digging ditches, and clearing and deepening a silted-in creek bed. The land is billiard table flat, with trees lining the creek bed. About the most difficult terrain it will face is crossing a ditch before I build bridges for them. The 4WD on the B21 I rented helped in this respect.

It will also be used for maintaining a rather large (1 acre) garden and mowing. The attachments other than the FEL and backhoe I plan to purchase are a tiller and MMM. I know the MMM will have to be removed when using the backhoe, and I do not have a problem with this. The mowing part is up in the air, I have not completely planned the garden out so depending on how much land I devote to it, I may just use one of my riding lawn mowers to mow.

Any help would be appreciated, and I can provide more details and/or pictures if need be. Thank you.

ByronBob · Aug 17, 2005

Your problem is like many you come across here. In the short term you need a big machine and after that you don't. Actually I'd even question if you need nothing more than a lawn tractor in the end.

Your best bet is rent which you've been doing. A B21 is nice sized and you'd be spending 20,000 for that type of set-up new.

Have you thought about buying used until your done then selling it?

Narcoleptic · Aug 17, 2005

( Your problem is like many you come across here. In the short term you need a big machine and after that you don't. Actually I'd even question if you need nothing more than a lawn tractor in the end.)

Since I rented the B21, I have been doing some work with a Craftsman garden tractor. I bought a sleeve hitch, box blade and plow. I break the dirt with the plow, and hand dig the ditch. The plow only gets down about 5-6" and the tractor sometimes has problems pulling the plow. I worry about the longevity of the hydrostatic transaxle. The tractor already has 1200 hours on it, it is a 24HP Kohler. This particular tractor was given to me, but I don't count on having that kind of luck again and don't want to spend $1500-2000 on something that will not last long given the work I need to do. I've already locked myself into Electrolux tractors by buying the sleeve hitch and attachments for my Craftsman.

I am looking at this as something I will always have to maintain. From what I have gathered, the homeowners in this subdivision rented a backhoe 10 years ago and dug the original drainage ditch that runs through the back of our yards. Like I said before, I am planning to enlarge the house and will need to protect it from flooding for the rest of my life. The current expansion plans place it closer to the flood zone.

Now the ditch is almost level with the yard. I do not know the original depth of the ditch, though. All the silt that flows down the street get deposited on our land since the water slows down here.

Pooling resources to do that again is not feasible, our next door neighbors built a retaining wall that blocks the flow of water off of our land and have no interest in doing anything else. The city is of no help, either. I have conceded that I will have no assistance in this matter and I do not plan on selling the house because I cannot do so with a clear conscience.

( Your best bet is rent which you've been doing. A B21 is nice sized and you'd be spending 20,000 for that type of set-up new.)

Something a bit smaller would be just right, 1.5 acres isn't that much. It would be easier to store, too.

( Have you thought about buying used until your done then selling it?)

I have been in this county going on four years and have yet to see an used compact tractor for sale. The only used tractors for sale are Ford 8Ns and bigger. I have thought about buying a tractor like that and continuing to dig like I am now, just with a bigger plow. I would still like to have a FEL which is rare on a tractor here, most are from farming or ranching operations and don't have attachments other than a mower. The only thing that throws a wrench into this idea is transporting the tractor, I don't have any way to do it. Finding somebody to trailer it is rather difficult. The times I've called inquiring about a tractor for sale, the sellers have had no interest in transporting the tractor even with extra money thrown in.

HomeBrew2 · Aug 17, 2005

I whole heartedly recommend the BX23 !
Cheers!

fish_wisperer · Aug 17, 2005

if i were in your shoes i would get a massey gc2310 oe a kubota bx23 and a mmm..........after the big stuff is done remove the loader and hoe and you have the coolest lawn mower ever. neibors will invy.

RedRocker · Aug 18, 2005

I've got a place in Bowie, if you want to try a CK30HST, PM me, the next time I'm up there I'll let you try it out.

ByronBob · Aug 18, 2005

Ok my vote is the BX23 with a toothbar for the FEL. It will allow you to dig easily and transport material effortlessly. You could mow with it or use the garden tractor. This set up would allow you to fend for yourself with no trouble.

BigEddy · Sep 29, 2005

I disagree - if you want the most cost effective solution, I'd suggest you buy an older used backhoe or bobcat, do all your dirt work with it over the next few years, get your yard to the point where only periodic maintenance is required, then sell it for what you paid. There is a huge difference in capability between those and a BX or equivalent. You'll get done in one summer what would take you years with a BX, and it will be much cheaper in the long run - sounds like you already have your mowing tractor anyway. And if you do it right, the maintenance should be minimal.

Now - if time and money are less important, you can go the BX route, and you will end up with a tractor that will allow you to accomplish what you want over time, and will leave you with a "super" lawnmower. Plus a great toy to muck about with whenever the mood hits. But you won't get what it sounds like you need to get done, anywhere near as fast.

jim_wilson · Sep 29, 2005

What do you plan on doing with all of the dirt/silt that you are excavating out of the ditch? You should think about the answer to that question as it will help you decide what type of equipment to get. I tend to agree with the people who say get something other than the BX23 - I have one myself and I think that it will do the job but I also think you might be able to come up with a more efficient setup for what you want to do.

I bought a BX23 last year to do a bunch of excavation to put in a new driveway and dig a foundation hole to put in a new garage. My lot is only 1/2 acre and I can tell you that a good portion of the 320 hours I have on the tractor now came from driving back and forth with the tractor hauling dirt in the FEL.
Without more info I can't say this with complete certainty but I would suggest thinking seriously about getting maybe a BX2230 (or similar size) tractor, a dump trailer, and a used small sized trackhoe. With a small trackhoe you could dig out the ditch - dump the dirt directly into the back of the dump trailer - which is hooked to the tractor - haul it off to where you are dumping - spread with the tractor - and go back for more. Using a BX23 you will be constantly repositioning and repurposing the tractor. Or maybe buy the tractor and dump trailer and rent the trackhoe when needed.

You need to look very carefully at the actual work you need to do and consider that the hoe on the BX only reaches about 6 feet and has a 140 degree swing - if you are backe up to a ditch and digging this means that you will only be able to dig down into the ditch directly behind the tractor and then dump just beside the tractor. A trackhoe swings 360 so it gives you better options on where you dump.