4 Wheeler or Heavy Duty Lawn Tractor?

[deerminator]

I'm getting a little older, slower, and some of the more strenuous lawn work is starting to take its toll on me. We have a couple acres of woods that surround our yard and I'm constantly clearing dead trees, trees we don't want anymore and brush for maintenance reasons and so we can plant new trees, garden areas and what not. Bascially, what's getting to me is I'm not sure I can take another year of moving lots of logs with a wheelbarrow and/or handtruck. My back is killing me after a day or two of clearing sometimes.

So that's the background that led me to consider buying a 4 wheeler or even Gator to haul the logs and other stuff around instead. But then I got to thinking, I could probably do this with a heavy duty lawn tractor too. And I could mow with it and also buy a snowblower for the front for our gravel driveway, which is about 700 feet long.

Anyone else with a similar experience? And/or recommendations based on what I've shared? Any input will be much appreciated. Thx!

[Dellfin]

My $0.02...

I'd vote four wheeler.

1. You can go just about anywhere with it

2. You can pull darn near anything with it. Great with a trailer.

3. You can get a pull behind mower with a stand-alone motor and as many blades as you can imagine.

4. You can plow snow with it. Gravel driveways and snowblowers don't mix well and 700 feet is an awful lot to blow-even with a tractor.

5. You can use it for fun and recreation. (I haven't seen too many lawn tractors used by hunters.)

The only down side is that you're going to pay for it in the short term. Long term you'll probably never regret it. Although, buying a quality lawn tractor and all those attachments will probably set you back nearly as much.

[deerminator]

Thx! Any recommendations on a 4wheeler while I'm racking my brain on this?

[jeffreyd]

how about finding a county auction that is getting rid of used parks equipment? i know we let a pretty new jd tractor go to auction was basically new unit, wanted 15k for it drove off for 3k. just a thought.

[Eric Wettschreck]

My $.02. Get a wheeler.

You can plow.

Mine pulls like a mule.

Works well for ice fishing.

You can pull a mower behind it.

You can move trailers around the yard like it's nothing.

As far as recomendations, there are aboot a million of them out there.

Knowing you're getting up in years, I'd get;

auto trans

Independant suspension

at least a 600 if you want to pull logs around

They make em now with hyrdraulic power steering

[psepuncher]

I'd get a side by side.

Takes up less storage space than having two or three wheelers.

You won't have to look at an extra wheeler that never get used.

all the harrows and disks will still adapt

more stable, you can get a heated cab for winter

and snowplow.

After all, you'll always need to bring an extra person to load the trailer or shovel the mailbox out since your back hurts.

[LwnmwnMan2]

Kubota BX2360. As with what Jeffrey said, you can find them on auction sites, "c-list" and other areas if you're not in a hurry.

[croixflats]

Kubota BX2360. As with what Jeffrey said, you can find them on auction sites, "c-list" and other areas if you're not in a hurry.

Awsome machine! Gets my vote. Make the machine do the work for you. Try to find one with a front end loader and your set.

If you can find a John Deer 855 that be a good machine also.

Though, Kubota you get more bang for the buck along with quality.

[deerminator]

Thanks guys. Also, I'm not getting up there in years but I am getting older. Very close to but not yet at the big 4 - 0. : ) It's more that cutting down 3 or 4 large, thick, tall trees, then cutting them apart and then hauling them several hundered feet into the woods is more than I care to do with a wheelbarrow anymore.

I like the idea of the Kubota or John Deere after checking those out on their sites. I'm in no rush. I think I'll take everyone's advice and check out the local auctions. I'd like to get one with a bucketloader and mower right away and then get the other attachments down the road. I have a drag I can pull behind the truck to grade our driveway and if my plow guy can't get out right away in the winter, I have a heavy duty walk behind snowblower that I use to clear a wide enough path to get one vehicle down on our driveway. Even though it's gravel, I just put it up on the highest setting and it clears everything nicely without getting caught up.

A four wheeler would be nice too but I can't see myself using it for recreation of hunting, etc. I pretty much just bowhunt these days and walk in to my stands through thick stuff in most instances.

Thanks again for the ideas!

[jeffreyd]

i know from previous experience, if you look at the construction sight auctions online, some of the auto auctions, they usually have equipment. Not sure where you live if you are close to military base or larger city, you can find some decent deals. Also the GSA auctions are pretty good. My buddy bought two suburban

with barn doors and manual trans that came from state of montana land had 40k on them got them both for 5k out the door. good luck

[Tom7227]

A lot of the stuff at municipal auctions is in tough shape. Consider going to an equipment dealer and find out what they have. I don't know if they do it but some sort of a warranty may be offered. I'd be leery of just buying a used one unless I knew an awful lot of what to look for in terms of wear and tear.

IMO that Green Paint usually fetches a pretty steep price, both new and used and there may be better options out there.

[JeffB]

I have been doing some compact tractor shopping lately, and the bobcat compact tractors also look nice and are very well priced. Right now I have a 20 year old kubota that still works great and hasn't given me any trouble so it hard not to return to kubota.

[deerminator]

Thanks guys. Yes, the auction thing does make me a little nervous if I don't know much about the machine or how it was used. I am planning to check out local shops too in order to see what they have - new and used - and what kind of pricing. I'd love to get something that will last the next 20 years so going new isnt out of the equation either if I can get a good price and can afford it.