[Cygnet]

I live on a dirt road that washes out whenever it rains -- it turns into a raging river and gets covered with bumper deep loose sand. There is nil chance of the county ever fixing it in my lifespan.

I'd like to get a tractor that I can use to yank my own and neighbor's vehicles out of the sand as necessary, and with a bucket on it to carve an "escape route" when the rains happen and to fix ruts (there's one that has to be at least 4' deep at the end of our driveway) and whatnot.

I'd like something older that I can work on myself -- I'm pretty handy. And smallish, so I can pull it around on a flatbed trailer with a 6 cylinder silverado.

Had a small flood yesterday morning. One of the neighbors got their box truck stuck to the bumpers in the sand. The tow truck called to extricate it also got stuck. There were also several smaller cars stuck. We NEED something that can move sand and carve at least one lane through until the county gets off their duffs and fixes the road, which takes 2-3 days.

How much am I looking at spending and what type of tractor should I be getting? (This is half in self preservation and half in the interest of helping the neighbors out. *grin* It's a pain in the butt not to be able to get to work -- even if I can get my truck through there have been times when someone else's vehicle is stuck in the way.)

Leva

(I'd have loved to have stuck around to watch them try to get the box truck out. They were planning to use a jeep. I'm betting the jeep gets stuck. It's a BIG box truck.)

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

Here's a good looking Massey on E-Bay with a loader, and it's a 4x4. The current bid is $5,800 with about 9 hours left.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MASSEY-FERGUSON-1042-4WD-DIESEL-TRACTOR-LOADER-BUCKET_W0QQitemZ250146488415QQihZ015QQcategoryZ91953QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[willow_girl]

Leva, where are you?

My ex has a Massey Ferguson 40 with a loader for sale in northern Michigan.

 

[Bearfootfarm]

Around here you can get an old Ford 8N for about $2500-3000. It only weighs about a ton but will surprise you with what it can do

 

[Rocky Fields]

Hey.

Farmall M. Around $1800 with a loader in useable condition. Won't be pretty, but will do the job.

RF

 

[Sand Flat Bob]

I live on a dirt road that washes out whenever it rains -- it turns into a raging river and gets covered with bumper deep loose sand. There is nil chance of the county ever fixing it in my lifespan.

I'd like to get a tractor that I can use to yank my own and neighbor's vehicles out of the sand as necessary, and with a bucket on it to carve an "escape route" when the rains happen and to fix ruts (there's one that has to be at least 4' deep at the end of our driveway) and whatnot.

I'd like something older that I can work on myself -- I'm pretty handy. And smallish, so I can pull it around on a flatbed trailer with a 6 cylinder silverado.

Had a small flood yesterday morning. One of the neighbors got their box truck stuck to the bumpers in the sand. The tow truck called to extricate it also got stuck. There were also several smaller cars stuck. We NEED something that can move sand and carve at least one lane through until the county gets off their duffs and fixes the road, which takes 2-3 days.

How much am I looking at spending and what type of tractor should I be getting? (This is half in self preservation and half in the interest of helping the neighbors out. *grin* It's a pain in the butt not to be able to get to work -- even if I can get my truck through there have been times when someone else's vehicle is stuck in the way.)

Leva

(I'd have loved to have stuck around to watch them try to get the box truck out. They were planning to use a jeep. I'm betting the jeep gets stuck. It's a BIG box truck.)

I have a 4.3V6 Chevy that I pull my 1620 Ford around on a 16 foot trailer. Don't know how far you are going to haul your tractor, but I wouldn't want a much heavier tractor on my rig. That creats a problem when it comes to pulling out a stuck truck, or vehicle with a light tractor. Mine is 4 wheel drive and when I have tried to pull out a stuck vehicle, it just spins in the sand and digs a hole. You need a large heavy tractor to do the pulling. better if you have lots of trees along the road, get a good winch and you can double or triple the pull by a light tractor or vehicle. Just my experience and watching other people try to pull stuck vehicles out. Winches work best if you use a couple of pulleys and something that is firmly anchored.

Bob

 

[Windy in Kansas]

Tough order in my opinion.

Will the trailer you have be able to haul the tractor you select? Quite a large number of the flatbed trailers are built to haul autos and are too lightly built to safely haul all but the smallest tractors around.

Can your Silverado handle the loaded trailer when it comes to stopping? Trailer brakes?

Will you be pulling out your neighbors box bed truck? When loaded? That might take a pretty fair sized tractor if it is stuck very hard.

Be sure to check into the Department of Transportation regulations for securing a tractor, or anything for that matter, to the trailer. In most or all instances the securing devices must me DOT safety standards. High grade chain for starters. In many areas having the right equipment will save you from a hefty fine should you be stopped.

My opinion is that you should look for at least a 40 horsepower tractor. The older ones will probably weigh more which will help for pulling out stuck vehicles but be a problem for hauling. I wouldn't have a problem with the Farmall M that was suggested, not sure about hauling it on a trailer if it has wheel weights and liquid or powdered ballast in the tires. Certainly okay on some trailers, not on others.

 

[comfortablynumb]

if you have lots of trees around the drive, itll be cheaper to go outfit the trucks with big winches.

they can pull themselves out.

 

[Bearfootfarm]

if you have lots of trees around the drive, itll be cheaper to go outfit the trucks with big winches.

they can pull themselves out.

OP:
"We NEED something that can move sand and carve at least one lane through until the county gets off their duffs and fixes the road, which takes 2-3 days"

Its hard to move sand with a winch

 

[Raptor]

Why don't you ask the county to put a culvert in where the road washes out? Would save them money in the long run and should solve your problem if the road washes out in the same place every time it rains. ( I'd still get a tractor).

 

[fordy]

.....................There is a much easier solution............install , say 100 feet or so up the hill an electric winch . 12 volts DC , rated for about 8,000 pounds of pull . Now you build\weld a stationary mount out of pipe , cemented into the ground with a flat steel plate with the winch bolted too it . On the other side of the road , maybe 20 feet away you build a simple point of attachment out of pipe and also cemented into ground with an eyelet too attach a Cable too . then you will have a cable shaped like a "V" with a pulley and a hook too attach too the stuck vehicle and you simply engage the winch and pull the vehicle outta da ditch . That pulley will DOUBLE the pulling capacity of the rating of the winch . You'll need two deep cycle batteries , hooked in Parallel , and you can setup a trickle charger powered by a small solar panel just like they use on fence chargers too keep the batteries topped off . , fordy

 

[scorpian5]

how about a helicopter or a hovercraft or a tank? OK id stay away from the older fords unless you can fix them yourself. I use http://www.tractorhouse.com/ to find local tractors and it helps get a price in general of what im looking for. For me a international M or super M are great older tractors that will outpull much bigger tractors but they ddint come with three point hitch and i would look for a 350 or 450

 

[Macybaby]

How about a used skidsteer? If you need it more for bucket work than pulling, it's an ideal machine. We've pulled ours with a 1/2 ton pickup.

We also have an Oliver 1800 for doing farm type work but use the skidsteer for the bucket work and moving round bales. It's much handier in tight quarters (like the run in shed) and around the buildings.

Cathy

 

[Up North]

Windy in KS makes some good points on the transporting...That said...
Farmall M or even Farmall H
John Deere B, 50, 60, 70
Case 430 0r 530
Allis Chalmers WD-45 , D15, D17
Ford 800, 860, 4000, 5000
Massey-Ferguson 155, 165

With a frontend loader, of course.

 

[Beeman]

I live on a dirt road that washes out whenever it rains -- it turns into a raging river and gets covered with bumper deep loose sand. There is nil chance of the county ever fixing it in my lifespan.

I'd like to get a tractor that I can use to yank my own and neighbor's vehicles out of the sand as necessary, and with a bucket on it to carve an "escape route" when the rains happen and to fix ruts (there's one that has to be at least 4' deep at the end of our driveway) and whatnot.

I'd like something older that I can work on myself -- I'm pretty handy. And smallish, so I can pull it around on a flatbed trailer with a 6 cylinder silverado.

Had a small flood yesterday morning. One of the neighbors got their box truck stuck to the bumpers in the sand. The tow truck called to extricate it also got stuck. There were also several smaller cars stuck. We NEED something that can move sand and carve at least one lane through until the county gets off their duffs and fixes the road, which takes 2-3 days.

How much am I looking at spending and what type of tractor should I be getting? (This is half in self preservation and half in the interest of helping the neighbors out. *grin* It's a pain in the butt not to be able to get to work -- even if I can get my truck through there have been times when someone else's vehicle is stuck in the way.)

Leva

(I'd have loved to have stuck around to watch them try to get the box truck out. They were planning to use a jeep. I'm betting the jeep gets stuck. It's a BIG box truck.)

Tractors are called farm tractors for a reason, that's what they're designed for. I have pulled vehicles with my junk 4x4 pickup when my tractor just sits and spins, dangerously on a hill. Tractors with loaders are even more dangerous when the bucket is full especially with 2 wd. The weight of the load in the bucket takes all of the weight off of the rear tires which can get exciting quickly since the rear is where the brakes are. As others have said a tractor on a trailer especially with a loader will be too much for the suspension/braking of a 1/2 ton pickup. Here's another trick about tractors on a hitch type trailer. I have seen the weight of the tractor lift the rear wheels of the pickup off of the ground while loading the tractor on the trailer. Since the parking brake of the pickup is on the rear wheels things get real exciting in a hurry if you're on the slightest grade, especially for the guy on the tractor as everyone runs around while he's on the ride of his life!

 

[bill not in oh]

This is what you would ideally get for what you've described. Decent used ones can be found for fairly reasonable prices.

http://www.workhorsetractors.com/bulldozers.html

 

[Junkmanme]

A Backhoe is better.

 

[Cygnet]

Meh. The big requirement is the ability to scoop up and move sand. Being able to haul it is secondary. Being able to pull other vehicles out is secondary.

The whole road itself is below grade and flows with water for about a mile stretch, and becomes completely covered in deep sand. It is naturally a dry river bed, and no, the county is never going to fix this. I am not certain I would want them to -- the fee they would promptly assess on everyone owning a house along the road would be significantly more than the cost of buying a tractor.

When the county fixes the road they just throw the sand up onto the shoulders. It's waist high. The next rain comes, it all washes back onto the road. The county is *not* going to fix this. They don't have the funds nor the inclination to help us.

They've tried dumping clay on the road several times (I think it was clay they had to get rid of anyway from somewhere else) and raised the road bed a good 2'; the next time the road flooded, we just ended up with clay up to our bumpers instead of sand. I prefer sand; it's less messy and doesn't stick to the cars. Subsequent floods of the road have washed away the clay.

I need to take a picture of this road ... you guys might have a better picture of what I'm dealing with, with a picture. *grin* It is extremely flat & there are no trees big enough to use for winching anything out.

To actually get out, I actually only need to be able to cut a path across it from my driveway to another intersecting road, about a distance of 75 feet or so, then possibly clear a very sandy corner that eats cars whole a mile from there. And fix my driveway, which gets rutted and washed out. From there, I can get out. So it's not a *huge* amount of work.

(Learning to drive the tractor won't be a problem; I have people who can teach me, and likely, lots of neighbors who will, ah, give me opportunities to practice, if you know what I mean.)

Leva

 

[Wolf mom]

Don't understand why you need to haul the tractor? If you buy it out of state, hire it to be hauled to your place.

If you need it to help grade your road, drive it there.

I have an old kabota & would rather try to pull someone out with my pick-up. Tractor is much too light-weight, but moves dirt fine with the bucket & gannon.

 

[Cygnet]

Wolf Mom -- I was thinking it would also be useful for family in N. AZ. (I'm down by casa grande). Though, on reflection, they could also come get it if they needed it ...

I can, and have, yanked people out with my truck if I can get there. Problem's getting there to do it -- it's not a 4X4 and it doesn't have the clearance to deal with the deep sand. It does have a surprising amount of oomph for a six cylinder ...

And I really don't want the expense of insurance & licensing on a 4 wheel drive that I may only use occasionally. Last time I had a 4X4, liability only was 100+ a month and that was several years ago.