Vehicles for the homestead?

[Madroaster]

Hi All,

I'm thinking about the kinds of vehicles we'll buy when we get started. First, a little background: We'll be building in the Maritimes (Canada), and we'll be building ourselves. We plan to buy a 10+ acre woodlot (we won't be able to afford much more than 50, so that's probably our top end), and we'll build ourselves.

We'll be farish from town, so we'll definitely buy a small car; maybe a diesel Golf. But on the land, what to use? There's plowing to be done, trees to be hauled, and all the other endless jobs. I had originally thought of a car, a tractor, and beater truck to plow with. Now I'm wondering if that's the wrong way to go. Better truck instead of a beater and forget the tractor? Swap the tractor for an ATV? Using a 1/2 ton for everything is hard on the land; something with a smaller footprint seems better, not to mention fuel efficiency.

So what do you all use? Any suggestions? What haven't I thought of?

Thanks!

[DW]

Must have 3/4 T 4WD...our 1st was a '65 Chevy and used it many yrs. We really thought we came up in the world when we got a '95 and sold the '65 for more than we originally paid for it! Still have the '95...gas mileage is bad but for hauling, it can't be beat.

[LisaInN.Idaho]

We have a tractor, pickups and 2 ranch type ATV's. It's hard to imagine what we did before we had any of them, but I think the ATV's (Honda Foreman and Honda Rancher) were a really great addition. We use them to haul things with a cart, spread manure with a small manure spreader, and when we have a few spare hours we ride them up into the mountains. Which is my favorite part.

[Batt]

we'll definitely buy a small car

Why? Will you be driving to town daily(as in to work or school)? Why not wait until you have enough to do in town to make the trip worthwhile?

Not primary vehicle but my 85 Ford F250 goes to town(20 miles or 60 miles to big town) about every 2 weeks. Between feed, building materials and groceries(monthly) it needs every bit of the hauling capacity. Between trips needed materials are noted on the dry-erase whiteboard and transferred to 3x5 cards, 1 for each major stop, before leaving.

Tractor....You bet. Get 1 with a front-end-loader!!! 4WD preferred.

ATV...After you see if you need one. Maybe, maybe not.

[fantasymaker]

Why ya going to town? What ya doing at the farmstead? Whats your monthly income? whats your car budjet? What do ya liketo do for fun?? LOL telll us about yourself!

[anniew]

I have a car and a small 4-wheel drive truck.
No tractor or ATV. I use the car most of the time. Truck for hauling to farmers market and when needed in snow, or when getting more feed than the car will allow.
I only have birds, so no major manure.
When I need snow plowing, I hire it. When I need soil plowing, I hire it if my rototiller can't do it. The cost of hiring it would be cheaper than buying new, or even buying used. You may also be able to barter for it.
It all depends on what you plan to do with your land. Garden, small animals? Or large animals...if all wooded it kinda cuts out some choices...but then the fire wood would need something to haul. I haul with my truck or a regular riding mower with a cart on the back. Not perfect, but the price is better than another larger engine vehicle.
Ann

[big rockpile]

Me and my DW has been through this many times before.

We went and drove one of these yesterday and was interested.

http://www.bristers.com/4wheeldrive.html

Then went home slep on it.For the $6,000 they was asking for it we could buy a decent 4WD Pickup.Do the same and much more with it.

I've always thought get a Tractor over a ATV can do so much more with it and it will hold up.

Car thats up to you we have not much use for one.Plus they don't hold up on our road.

big rockpile

[saramark]

We are in this pickle right now. We have 3 kids and I work building and remodeling houses. My wife's minivan broke down and we have a 4wd x cab truck that will seat us all. I almost bought her a new van and then decided that the truck is so much better in the snow, able to haul trailers, haul all of us, and we already have it, why bother to buy anything until we have worked around the problem.

Homeschooling, as we do, makes for less trips out. We schedule all our appointments on Thursdays, and I take Thursdays, off and do the doctor, shopping, and field trips on those days. If we really need to, I could catch a ride to work with my friend, who is also my business partner. We have many tools that are redundant, so I don't need my truck that often,really. We have a farm truck that cost us nothing. We use that for hay, feed runs, and firewood, so I don't see a need right now. If anything, I could do with an older truck as we owe money on this one. I bought it because I wanted a newer truck, only reason, really. That was stupid and now I am paying for that decision. Next time I will think long and hard before I buy anything that I can't pay for out of pocket.

mark

[sammyd]

We have a small car, a 4wd reg cab long box pick up (1/2ton) and a 3/4 ton 2 wd super cab short box with a removable 5th wheel in the bed.
The big truck is nice for hauling trailers and stuff, it's pretty new compared to the other ones.
We also have an old Allis Chalmers WD for working around the place. Never bought into the ATV thing. Seemed like they'd be too fragile and lightweight to do anything. Can't use em to pull my sickle mower or the 2 bottom plow or the 8' quack digger.

For a while all we had for hauling was a Chevy Tracker with no hitch....pretty hard to get 100 bales of hay moved anywhere with one of those (5 at a time).
A good trailer is nice to have as well. I picked up one from a buddy for 100 bucks. 10'x7' with decent sized tires and a tilt bed.
You can really haul some wood with the long box truck and a trailer.

I'd say a small car is nice to have but get one that will handle your location..snow, mud road conditions.....
A 4wd pick up and a trailer and maybe a snow plow.
And a real tractor. Something a little newer would be good with live pto and hydraulics, a 3pt hitch and maybe a loader. 4wd is nice too but I've been on and off farms for almost 40 years and never had one, never put myself in a position where I needed one either.
You can add implements as needed and with good hydraulics and a 3 pt hitch you can be flexible with what you can get.
The hydraulics on my Allis are pretty shot so I'm limited to older stuff with wheel driven clutches to lift them.
I'd stay away from the old small Fords as well. Small underpowered and most don't have live pto or hydraulics(8n 2n 9n). Never did much with them but rake hay and haul small trailers.

[Madroaster]

Thanks for all the replies and information...lots here to think about.

So I guess a little more background is in order. We plan to garden and grow as much of what we need as possible, and provide for a few other family members as we become better gardeners. We'll eventually keep some birds, and maybe goats as well. We're homebodies and look forward to a time when we don't have to go places. We don't have kids yet.

Income/expenses...Here in Korea, prices are 95% of US prices. We spend $600/month for total living expenses (we don't pay rent), and that includes insurance, food, and bills. We're very much homebodies. Back home we hope to keep our monthly expenses below what we're spending now. Once we're successfully growing our own food, I think this is possible. My wife's a jeweler, and I'll do whatever I have to if things are tight.

The car. My wife has the weekly market in town, plus trade shows a few times a year. Family is scattered throughout the Maritimes, and we visit a lot. Driving a 1/2 ton+ into town once a week isn't so bad gaswise, but using it to also drive around a couple provinces on trips gets expensive. Plus, our roads are good, so a truck isn't necessary just to get out to the highway.

I had imagined keeping the truck home for working there; I don't want to insure two vehicles. Besides, I like small cars. I just do. I love big trucks, too, but I don't like buying gas for 'em.

As for the tractor, a friend of mine bought one for his homestead. Seeing what it did for him, I was hooked. I don't know much about tractors, though. Can they be used for plowing? I've moved snow around with a loader, but it was messy and not much fun. What about plow attachments?

As far as budget is concerned, we've got enough that we can buy the things we'll need, but I hate buying things I find I didn't need. You've got me thinking hard about the car now. I haven't owned a vehicle in 12 years--haven't needed one. When I need to go somewhere far, I rent. That may still be an option. Maybe we'll rent for a year or so and just keep a truck on the road. If we find we're traveling lots, we can look at a car then.

[sammyd]

You can get a front blade for a tractor or if you have a 3pt hitch you can get a back blade. Or you could get crazy and buy a snowblower for the 3pt. We had a Leyland with a loader and a snowblower...a real snow moving machine. Only problem is looking backwards to use it.

[fantasymaker]

sounds like a small Diesel pickup or jeep might be the transport option for ya definitely a tractor too and ya ought to be covered. Sounds like small cheep and used and 4 wheel drive for both of them!

[Madroaster]

Originally Posted by fantasymaker

sounds like a small Diesel pickup or jeep might be the transport option for ya definitely a tractor too and ya ought to be covered. Sounds like small cheep and used and 4 wheel drive for both of them!

I think you may be right. We talked more about this this morning... We're thinking a truck until we actually need a car is the way to go. We still plan on the tractor too, of course.

Thanks!

[artificer]

I'f you're going to be building, I wouldn't go too small on the truck. An older 3/4 ton diesel with a trailer is a great combination. You can find beater trucks with snow plows cheaper than just the plows themselves. Kinda strange.

The smaller the tractor, the more you need 4wd. We have a Mitsubishi 2050FD (24hp 4wd) tractor, and it has plenty of power. However, since its small, it doesn't have a lot of weight. When pulling something, it really needs the 4wd and differential lock. If you get a bigger tractor, then its less important. The loader is almost mandatory. They are SO useful, I can't see not having at least one on any farm. Compact tractors cost more than full sized tractors for some reason. Don't be afraid of an older, low hour, larger tractor. They can still be reliable machines.

If you're trying to pick an choose between vehicles, I would say an ATV is the last thing to get. Once you have all of the others, its great, but it can't replace the functions of the others. We picked up a riding mower to mow and tow a wagon/cart around so we don't tear up the lawn/field. Not as fast as the ATV, but you can't mow with the ATV either. (ok, you could get a powered tow behind mower.. $$$)

Michael

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Go easy on vehicles - the cost of everything else on a homestead will eat up more than their share of money. Wait until you get a load of fencing costs - and you can't live without fencing.

[Madroaster]

Artificer...thanks for the advice on tractors. I've been looking at some fairly old ones; for that matter, I can't afford anything manufactured much past the 70s anyway.

YuccaFlatsRanch...that's pretty much the reasoning behind my thread. I don't like wasting my money and wanted to see what other people use and suggest. Lots of great advice here.

Cheers,
--Derek

[Junkmanme]

pickup, backhoe, tractor, tandem-axle trailer, 3 wheel-barrows, maybe a 4-wheeler with a tiller and plow.......(?)

[PyroDon]

well we have roughly 40 acres about half is tillable or hay meadow.
for a family car we have a Jeep grand cherokee larado 93 (yeah I know an evil SUV)
it gets roughly 22mpg and is full time 4wd it handles most any pulling we need done and can do a good job in the snow and mud. also have a older 4 cyl. dakota 91 pick up (also about 22mpg lousy milage got better with the v6) good only for carrying tools and light loads .
for pulling light loads around the farm we have three lawn tractors total cost of all three was $150 they arent pretty or fancy but get the job done. for brush hogging ,skidding logs, plowing and discing or snow plowing we have a tractor. Most of the time the tractor sits waiting to be used but at a cost of $1500 for the old wd and loader it paid for its self in one seasons mowing. Theres also the combine though I have no use for one as a thetcher I'll modify it as a swather and snow plow 99% of the time it will set unused but the $500 I bought it for will be recovered from one cutting of hay or plowing one parking lot of snow.
The point is you can go new and fancy with all the bells and whistles and never recover your investment. Or for the Cost of One new riding lawnmower you can have an older tractor to do work when needed. same goes for cars .
your going to be out of town quite aways ok , this is in canada , how much snow?? when does it start snowing when does it end? is a compact good milage car going to be of use in winter ? Your life may depend on the choice made . if your 20 miles out and run into a blizzard with 10 inches of snow in a compact your stuck. I'd personally trade off while a larger 4wd suv might not get the milage of the compact but you can use it year round vs 4-6 months of use from the compact.

[Ramblin Wreck]

Unless you're going to have a large farm animal for plowing, I'd buy a diesel tractor. They tend to be very fuel efficient. I can operate mine at 1500-1800 RPM's for about 15 hours on one ten gallon fill up.