Tractor vs ditch witch?
- Thread starter Hedgelj
- Start date
P8riot
Active Member
The cab vs no cab debate totally depends on your intended uses. A cab obviously offers comfort, and some protection as well. There are downsides to a cab, though. Decreased visibility (sometimes), tighter quarters entering and exiting the tractor, and the cab is only good when the climate control works… a cab with functional AC is great… however there’s nothing worse than a cab with poor AC, or AC that quits workin altogether. The other thing people don’t usually think of is the fact that a cab invites rodents to the interior of your tractor. No matter what you do, mice will inevitably get inside the cab at some point. If they make themselves at home in your headliner or ventilation system, that awesome cab will instead become a urine stench box of hell.
For me personally, for typical jobs around the farm/homestead, an open-station ROPS tractor is the way to go. If you’re going to spend long hours mowing in summer heat or pushing snow in the winter, then maybe a cab would be worth the extra coin and hassle. But that’s your call.
For me personally, for typical jobs around the farm/homestead, an open-station ROPS tractor is the way to go. If you’re going to spend long hours mowing in summer heat or pushing snow in the winter, then maybe a cab would be worth the extra coin and hassle. But that’s your call.
I see you've ridden in our big tractor.
Bees and AC are the only 2 reasons for a cab, IMO. Brushhogging over bees with no cab sucks, but is very satisfying while in the comfort and safety of the cab. And those all day mowing jobs in late summer make the AC worth the $.
at1010
*Supporting Member*
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Cab - absolutely love my new tractor and cab setup. It made planting this year in a downpour a breeze!!
Back to snow- put a blade on the skid loader. Very efficient compared to a bucket. Even buy a cheap used one off a truck and plumb lines to make it power angle. Very easy project.
Cab or no cab? How long will you be in it? How often? Our skid loaders are all two speed, enclosed cab, heat and AC. The only reason is for snow. Commercial versus personal use is way different. I would buy an open cab if personal use only simply because of cost and the fact I won't be in it very long.
For a tractor? I don't know. I've only had open cab tractors. Both have had a canopy though and that is nice until you are around low hanging tree limbs. Open ground the canopy keeps some of the sun and light rain off you.
Cab or no cab? How long will you be in it? How often? Our skid loaders are all two speed, enclosed cab, heat and AC. The only reason is for snow. Commercial versus personal use is way different. I would buy an open cab if personal use only simply because of cost and the fact I won't be in it very long.
For a tractor? I don't know. I've only had open cab tractors. Both have had a canopy though and that is nice until you are around low hanging tree limbs. Open ground the canopy keeps some of the sun and light rain off you.
Cab on skid steer is a no-brainer, but I prefer no cab on tractors for all the reasons JB and Jesse listed. Too many nightmares of being hotter in the cab than on the hay/straw wagon when bailing or dodging/trying to kill mice once you start it and rattle em out of their nests. If new like Albert's and you can keep it clean, different story.
So an update to this thread.
I decided on a stand on skid steer and had been watching them for a good price on a used one or the right price on a new one. I was looking at the new Kubota SCL 1000s when my local Kubota dealer (Wellington) told me about what he had gotten in before Kubota got into the stand on skid steer game. Its an italian made kubota engine, with parts available here in America called Cormidi. He was trying to get rid of his last one after selling over 20 of them in the last few years. The dealer hasn't had any returned with any problems and gave me a good enough deal that if I decide to sell I'm below the price they are going for on Machinery trader and similar sites.
I have two buckets (tooth and smooth) and a root grapple on order. The buckets will help me do the basic jobs on my list around my barn and the property. The root grapple will help me deal with the pile of logs and wood left over from the dirt moving from my house build as well as the other trees that have fallen over in the last 2 years.
I am renting a trencher attachment for next week to run some 4" tile to help move water around my barn and property when it rains. Have a power rake for doing some soil work at the beginning of May. The machine I have has both standard and high flow hydraulics so I can run virtually any attachment they make for the mini stand on skid steers. Same attachment plate as the main ones (not the bobcat plate). It has over 1000lb lifting capacity so I should be good for anything I want to tackle.
I decided on a stand on skid steer and had been watching them for a good price on a used one or the right price on a new one. I was looking at the new Kubota SCL 1000s when my local Kubota dealer (Wellington) told me about what he had gotten in before Kubota got into the stand on skid steer game. Its an italian made kubota engine, with parts available here in America called Cormidi. He was trying to get rid of his last one after selling over 20 of them in the last few years. The dealer hasn't had any returned with any problems and gave me a good enough deal that if I decide to sell I'm below the price they are going for on Machinery trader and similar sites.
I have two buckets (tooth and smooth) and a root grapple on order. The buckets will help me do the basic jobs on my list around my barn and the property. The root grapple will help me deal with the pile of logs and wood left over from the dirt moving from my house build as well as the other trees that have fallen over in the last 2 years.
I am renting a trencher attachment for next week to run some 4" tile to help move water around my barn and property when it rains. Have a power rake for doing some soil work at the beginning of May. The machine I have has both standard and high flow hydraulics so I can run virtually any attachment they make for the mini stand on skid steers. Same attachment plate as the main ones (not the bobcat plate). It has over 1000lb lifting capacity so I should be good for anything I want to tackle.
Keep your eyes open for pallet forks. Not sure how high it can lift, but a skid loader and pallet forks is a game changer. Never knew how much I would use them until I bought a set. We have 3 now in order to have a set at each main location we would use them. Sounds like you have a pretty versatile piece of equipment.
Interesting Doug, hope it gives you years of trouble free use and fits the needs. I've never used one, but could see where they come in handy, usually in tight places or minimum impact applications. How many HP is it?
They are very handy. We have one at work and it gets used every day for all kinds of things. Obviously it's not the job for leveling out a hillside, but they are great for the odd small jobs. Great pickup! Know that they will throw you off, lol.
Trenching a few feet for some tile to move water off my driveway.
I've used the bucket to expand a swale at my place, worked well.
I used it to move a large pile of what the rock hound pulled out of my yard when i installed that and it worked great. Filled a F450 dump truck bed.
I used a root grapple to clean up some trees that fell into my yard during storms the last few months and worked awesome. I have one on order because it happens frequently.
I used the trencher and wasn't impressed by what it did. It made a nice trench but it didn't clean it out well enough for me to lay the tile. So i returned it and my brother in law used a mini excavator and re-trenched it.
Between the root grapple and the trencher i did bend one of the pins that holds the attachments onto the plate so I'm ordering a new one (under $40 shipped). That's a bit of a bummer.
Overall i really like it and it's going to do what i need it to do. Only other negative (so far) is the fuel tank is small and i can really tell when I'm running the hydraulics because that really eats fuel.