Looking for input regarding equipment purchase

[mom25kiddles]

We are looking to purchase a piece of equipment for our little property. Our 9 acres is mostly all sloping, a good portion is quite steep and heavily treed throughout. We would like to do a bit of leveling, take down some trees, move around some rocks and push snow. We would love a 4x4 tractor w/ loader or a backhoe but our budget is minimal this year. Been looking at some small dozers on Craigs that would push some snow and knock down trees, etc.... but really, we don't know enough to know if it would be sufficient. Any advice on what would be a great addition to our little homestead? Or advice on what definitely would NOT be good?

Also, we are in North Idaho and heading into winter. Has anyone any advice regarding the best time of year to purchase used equipment at a good price. Like... don't look for a snow plow the day after the first snow

Thanks so much for any pointers!! Appreciate it

mom25kiddles & hubby

[fordy]

Originally Posted by mom25kiddles

We are looking to purchase a piece of equipment for our little property. Our 9 acres is mostly all sloping, a good portion is quite steep and heavily treed throughout. We would like to do a bit of leveling, take down some trees, move around some rocks and push snow. We would love a 4x4 tractor w/ loader or a backhoe but our budget is minimal this year. Been looking at some small dozers on Craigs that would push some snow and knock down trees, etc.... but really, we don't know enough to know if it would be sufficient. Any advice on what would be a great addition to our little homestead? Or advice on what definitely would NOT be good?

Also, we are in North Idaho and heading into winter. Has anyone any advice regarding the best time of year to purchase used equipment at a good price. Like... don't look for a snow plow the day after the first snow

Thanks so much for any pointers!! Appreciate it

mom25kiddles & hubby

..................Richey bros. is having an equipment auction in Boise , Id. on Dec. 9 ! You won't find a larger inventory of ALL kinds of tractors than they sell at their auctions . They have a very easy website where you can view all the items for sale ! , fordy

[jwal10]

A great read for the "beginning"...

[plowjockey]

A small dozer will get the small dozer jobs done and then set around, the rest of the time, unused, IMO. Also, they will have to be moved, by a relatively heavy truck and trailer, everywhere they go, not an inexpensive task. If they are real old (which the cheap one's are), finding parts and repairing, will likely be a nightmare.

What is your budget?

An older 4x2 tractor with loader, or even some functional backhoes, can sometimes be found for under $5k, at least in some areas. They would offer much more versitility, year round.

Start asking around to everyone that you kow. Someone has something, somewhere, setting in a barn (even in ID), that they will let go, for a good price.

Good luck.

[texican]

Originally Posted by plowjockey

A small dozer will get the small dozer jobs done and then set around, the rest of the time, unused, IMO. Also, they will have to be moved, by a relatively heavy truck and trailer, everywhere they go, not an inexpensive task. If they are real old (which the cheap one's are), finding parts and repairing, will likely be a nightmare.

What is your budget?

An older 4x2 tractor with loader, or even some functional backhoes, can sometimes be found for under $5k, at least in some areas. They would offer much more versitility, year round.

Start asking around to everyone that you kow. Someone has something, somewhere, setting in a barn (even in ID), that they will let go, for a good price.

Good luck.

What I was thinking... a dozer doesn't have too many uses besides pushing stuff. IF you could find one at a reasonable price, use it a few weeks, WITHOUT it cratering, you could probably sell it for what you had in it.... it's that old bugaboo, if it works good without busting a $500 hose or pump or whatnot, and finding out parts are scarce.

It's a rare day, when I'm working outside, that I don't use my 4x2 tractor w/FEL. I use the front end loader sometimes without even moving the tractor. I can dig holes, push down small trees, do 'grading' with it, etc... everything a dozer'd do, but just a little slower.

[Darren]

If you're going to buy a used dozer at an auction find someone familiar with dozers to go with you. A lot of stuff going to auction is cleaned and painted beforehand so it really looks good. That makes it harder for the uninformed to not get suckered. It also jacks the price up. Unless you have someone who can look at the undercarriage and check operation you can end up with a machine that will cost you a bundle to get into decent shape.

The undercarriage isn't difficult to evaluate. Find someone that can give you a 15 minute show and tell. There's also an equipment guide that's worth buying that has values. In WV the county assessors have a copy. If personal property is taxed in Idaho, you may find a similar situation.

Personally I'd invest in a good 4x4 truck and maybe a snow plow. Of course this is not the time of the year to get a deal on a snowplow as you mentioned.

You can also check www.equipmenttraderonline.com for pricing. EBay occasionally has some bargains if you know what you're looking for. There's a JD 350 on there now for about $9,000 that may be OK. The IH dozers usually go cheap.

[Molly Mckee]

I wouldn't buy a dozer. We have one, as well as tractors and a backhoe. Dozer parts are very expensive, and older ones need parts. If you don't know how to drive one there is a learning curve. I don't know how steep you mean when you say your land is steep, but rolling over is a real possibility around here with any equipment. Your best buy would probably be an older 50 + hp tractor. I will do much more for you than a dozer, and the mid sized to larger tractors are cheaper than the small ones. If you can find one with a loader and a blade you can do most of what you want. I would look for 4 wheel drive. You will want chains, and fluid in the tires if your property is steep. Find someone you trust to help you look at tractors.

You will be told to get a Ford 8 or 9N. They are too small for what you want and light in the front, a serious problem on our hills. You might look at finding a logger that has a dozer or skidder to do some of the dirt and rock moving for you. Someone that knows what he is doing will be far safer, and get more do for a lot less money than buying one. A good 4x4 tractor with a loader will get used a lot. A dozer not so much, once the initial job is done.

If you are not familiar with equipment do not buy at an auction.

[mom25kiddles]

Thanks so much for all your input! It does sound like it would be a good idea to continue looking for a tractor w/ loader like we have wanted... hard to not be *antsy* when we are "plowing" with shovelsl and "leveling" with picks and rakes While my husband does do our maintenance on vehicles and yard equipment, it is all done with a manual, Google and prayer... so I think equipment auctions may be a bit (lot) out of our league!!

As far as budget goes, we were looking at small dozers for around $4500. I know that we are way below what we need in our budget for a tractor but I certainly prefer waiting rather than using funds for something that won't really do what I need it to.

I always get great input here. Thanks much!

mom25kiddles

[greengrow]

Yes you need to be really carfeul when buying from an auction, there is no way you can tell what state a tractor is in until it is too late. I know that in one auction recently there was a tractor sold with a shot head gasket, worn PTO, and failing hydraulic pump. It still made $29,000, and a second tractor the powershift transmition ways failing. The buyer of that tractor would not realise untill they were actually driving the tractor and asking it to work.

For you puropses a loader/backhoe could be a good idea. Thge backhoe then can be used to level and work you steeper land more safely. They also make good loader tractor as their loader tends to be much stronger and they have a higher oil flow. You could then have a second tractor in future for tractor type tasks.

[FarmerRob]

Buy the tractor, with the front end loader and the backhoe, from a reputable dealer who will stand behind their sale with warranty and service. Then if you have any work that needs a dozer hire it done. That way you are not stuck with a really expensive, and mostly useless to you, yard ornament and you have the tractor that you will really need on a regular basis.

[Forerunner]

For what it's worth, I have found a smaller dozer to be indispensable to this homestead. What with a ripper on the back of it and the higher floatation of tracks vs tires, a bulldozer makes an awesome tool for incorporating compost and doing actual fieldwork on a small scale, i.e. 4-5 acres with ease.
As for the limitations of a dozer, find one with a loader instead of a blade, and look for one with a ripper.
That said, depending on your terrain and typical ground conditions, a good loader on rubber tires is worth it's weight in gold.....
I wouldn't touch one of these foreign or micro knockoffs with an extended reach excavator bucket tooth...... but a good old Case, Ford or John Deere, 1960s-1980s vintage, would serve well and parts are available. I am partial to John Deere's 3010s and 3020s. Diesel will last much longer and give better service overall.
A gas engine, however, can be pretty forgiving and starts easier in the cold.

Volumes could be written on this topic.
If I had 4500 to invest, I would be educating myself at the auctions and wherever else I could glean some knowledge, and buy when I knew I'd stumbled across the deal.

[idigbeets]

Any possibility you can rent or pay someone to knock trees down and do leveling and then just purchase the FEL for yourself?

$4500 is a good starting point for a 4x4 FEL, look for at least 50hp (if you plan on doing any chisel plowing or subsoiling once you have trees out of the way it's 10hp per chisel tooth). I would avoid 4x2 on sloped/muddy land.

[Qhorseman]

You don't say where you are at. A D4 won't push trees, the 953 trackloader has trouble on the bigger stuff. D6 will get the job done, but a D8 is preferrable. If you are intent on a small dozer I have a D4 in the barn lot for sale

[Forerunner]

I've cleared a lot of trees with a Case 550 in my time, and been paid to do so by men who know the nature of the service they're paying for.
That model would be equivalent to a D3.

That said, it is faster to dig and push a tree with a backhoe.
I've been called in by men running a D6 to come tip the trees for them to save digging time. There are many variables, but it may be a bit misleading to say that a 4 won't push trees.