The Tractor Thread

[mike hunt]

I have a JD855 with the belly mower and loader, it's one of the best things I own, but it's not a piece of construction equipment. You would be further ahead hiring an excavating contractor, they may have access to cheap stone fill or grindings.

 

[Big Weff]

I have a 35 HP mahindra 4 wheel drive with a bucket. I have used it and a 25 hp Kubota to move dirt (not large amounts) and would totally agree that trying to cut in that big of a drive would be painstaking. I think it would be worth giving bedrock or Wagners tool rental a call and checking rental prices for sure.

 

[Big Weff]

My wife’s uncle also has an excavation company, not sure on availability but if you decide to go that route I would definitely give Dan Sickles inc. a call. They do nice work.

 

[jagermeister]

How many total linear feet of driveway are you looking to have installed, Chuck? Did that price quote include the stone?

 

[Hedgelj]

Not sure it will even happen this year but we have been talking about getting a tractor for the many projects on the farm. It would have to be 4x4, have at least a bucket and eventually a brush hog. Something just about the size of Jesse's Kubota is what I have been envisioning but I am not sure it would do some of the jobs I can see needing done. I'm hoping guys with knowledge of actual dirt moving/excavating could chime in. @giles and others??

A couple years ago we got a verbal estimate from an excavator for a driveway, adding a culvert and flattening for a home site of over $20K, more likely $25K the way he was talking. Probably be more now the way things are. For someone that doesn't know anything about dirt moving it just doesn't seem hard to cut a driveway, drop stone and make a driveway work by just using a tractor. Am I off base here??

View attachment 155075

My questions to you guys are:
- Creating a driveway and fixing trails through creek crossings and hillsides what would be your recommendations on equipment for getting it all done? (aside from or including a tractor like this?)
- With a tractor the size of Jesse's, how well does the bucket do at moving dirt, to possibly create the driveway and remove topsoil?
- For clearing a driveway/trail repair would a back-hoe attachment be worth it if the tractor came with it?
- Am I biting off more than I can chew with wanting to put a driveway using a smaller tractor?
- Should something like this be left to a professional?

I'm looking at 800 ft of driveway and was just quoted $20k for it start to finish but my brother in law knows the guy so not sure how good a price difference I'm getting.

 

[Big_Holla]

My wife’s uncle also has an excavation company, not sure on availability but if you decide to go that route I would definitely give Dan Sickles inc. a call. They do nice work.

Dan is who we had out to just give the general idea. Once we realized it was going to cost a lot more than we thought we told him to hold off on an actual quote and unfortunately felt like we wasted his time. He was very straight forward and honest with us, so if we were willing to spend the money he would be the first one we would call

How many total linear feet of driveway are you looking to have installed, Chuck? Did that price quote include the stone?

I forget how long we paced it off at. The general price he was giving was just verbal and as he was calculating in his head the cost of gravel was being included in it. As we talked we realized it was going to be more than we were financially ready to tackle at the time.

 

[Nighthawk]

I have a JD 3038E. I would have to agree with everyone else. I have used it to make my driveway wider by probably 30' or so. It wasn't bad with the help of a toothbar on the loader but I wouldn't want to take on much more than that. A box blade is a great attachment to have for maintenance on driveways. I do not have the back hoe attachment and have really thought about getting one but for the price JD wants I think I would be better off to buy a used back hoe or renting a mini when I need one.

 

[Big_Holla]

I really appreciate all the feedback on my questions guys. I guess I knew the answers, they use certain equipment for a reason, I was just looking for shortcuts that just might work. Probably cost me more $$ in the long run too by doing it back-asswards. If I could ever get our projects done around the house up here we could put the house up for sale and then have some serious conversations about it all. I have some immediate needs for a tractor up here and especially down there just for general maintenance so I thought I could use all that as an additional selling point to the boss lady.

I've never driven anything like a bulldozer so I'd likely have to rent one for a couple days just to learn the ropes and grind a few gears if we decided to do it sometime.

 

[giles]

My plate is full right now, but let me know when you get closer.

 

[Big_Holla]

My plate is full right now, but let me know when you get closer.

You'll have plenty of time for that. Heck, you could start that excavating company by then and then hire and train me!!

 

[Clay Showalter]

6 states, 44 hours, 1437 miles, back home from New York with a loader for my tractor and the tiller I got from Jesse, gonna get tons of use out of both of them.

Thanks to @bowhunter1023 for meeting me and loading the tiller

The middle of Pennsylvania is beautiful, looks like Ohio, get near a bigger city and the people drive like assholes on crack.

The roads in Pennsylvania and New York suck.

Met several nice people.

the biscuits and gravy I had in Pennsylvania were blah, but I was hungry.

New York has the stupidest gun laws, but hey I was able to have my gun, but locked up with ammo locked up in a separate place.

 

[Clay Showalter]

TikTok - Make Your Day

found my next implement, not sure why the guy wanted me to sign all this paperwork. Lol

 

[5Cent]

Lol Clay

 

[Stressless]

Mrs relation is selling a tractor - apparently too small for the jobs he needs to do 12.5 hours - dang near new.