L47 vs. SVL65 Breakout Force - trying to decide between two machines

PaulL

Well-known member

Equipment
B2601
Jul 17, 2017
2,443
1,366
113
NZ
1. Slopes. In my experience most machines will drive on slopes that your butt pucker wouldn't be happy driving on. That ranges from my B2601, which I sometimes stop and get off and rock to check my mental belief it won't tip over, as compared to my gut/butt feel that it's about to. Up to my father's 100HP Kioti that I drove on a slope because I thought he'd told me it was fine, but turns out he meant somewhere else entirely. I felt pretty uncomfortable, but it was nowhere near tipping over.

Biggest factor on slopes is speed. The machines are all pretty stable at rest/slow speed. With a bit more momentum even a small bump or hole can see you over. Also big factor is up/down v's side to side. Most machines going up/down will keep going till they run out of traction, it's nearly impossible to tip them end over end unless you do something very stupid.

2. Honeysuckle. I'm not sure what you'd use to get rid of it - but my first guess would have been a rotary cutter to clear the mess, then Roundup to keep the regenerating plant down. Once you have some grass in, perhaps some selective herbicide to keep the honeysuckle down while the grass grows, or perhaps just mow it with the rotary cutter enough that the honeysuckle eventually gives up (in my experience if you mow something often enough it turns into grass - not many plants like being mowed weekly).

I guess if it's honeysuckle in the woods, and you want to keep the trees, then that's perhaps a different category of problem than if you're clearing it and mowing it.

3. Are you keeping the RV park? If so, then I would imagine you'd be spraying weeds, mowing the park when the RVs aren't parked in it, maybe dragging trailers around (mulch and the like), making gardens, moving dirt etc. In my mind a tractor does these kind of general purpose jobs much better.

If you're moving dirt with a skid steer it's fast to load it onto a trailer, but slow to move it point to point in the bucket. I often move stuff point to point with my tractor - buckets of this that and the other thing.

If you're constantly putting it in the trailer, then towing the trailer somewhere (with a truck?) then tipping it off the trailer (do you have a hydraulic tip trailer?), then go get the skid steer and bring that to spread it out. I compare that to either:
- getting a bucket load of mulch, go where I want it, tip it out. OR
- use my tractor to load my trailer. Put the trailer on the tractor hitch. Go where I'm going. Tip the trailer with my tractor hydraulics. Take the trailer off and use the tractor to spread it/move it.

I think you need to visualise the whole task that you want to do, and how each machine would actually do the task. You have a variety of tasks, but sounds like you're a methodical guy. Step through them in you mind and make sure you know how exactly you'd do each task - from when you get out of bed until when the machine is put away again. That'll give you a good idea of the relative efficiency of each task.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

chrisvconley

New member

Equipment
L47
Nov 28, 2022
24
5
3
Morris, IL
1. Slopes. In my experience most machines will drive on slopes that your butt pucker wouldn't be happy driving on. That ranges from my B2601, which I sometimes stop and get off and rock to check my mental belief it won't tip over, as compared to my gut/butt feel that it's about to. Up to my father's 100HP Kioti that I drove on a slope because I thought he'd told me it was fine, but turns out he meant somewhere else entirely. I felt pretty uncomfortable, but it was nowhere near tipping over.

Biggest factor on slopes is speed. The machines are all pretty stable at rest/slow speed. With a bit more momentum even a small bump or hole can see you over. Also big factor is up/down v's side to side. Most machines going up/down will keep going till they run out of traction, it's nearly impossible to tip them end over end unless you do something very stupid.

2. Honeysuckle. I'm not sure what you'd use to get rid of it - but my first guess would have been a rotary cutter to clear the mess, then Roundup to keep the regenerating plant down. Once you have some grass in, perhaps some selective herbicide to keep the honeysuckle down while the grass grows, or perhaps just mow it with the rotary cutter enough that the honeysuckle eventually gives up (in my experience if you mow something often enough it turns into grass - not many plants like being mowed weekly).

I guess if it's honeysuckle in the woods, and you want to keep the trees, then that's perhaps a different category of problem than if you're clearing it and mowing it.

3. Are you keeping the RV park? If so, then I would imagine you'd be spraying weeds, mowing the park when the RVs aren't parked in it, maybe dragging trailers around (mulch and the like), making gardens, moving dirt etc. In my mind a tractor does these kind of general purpose jobs much better.

If you're moving dirt with a skid steer it's fast to load it onto a trailer, but slow to move it point to point in the bucket. I often move stuff point to point with my tractor - buckets of this that and the other thing.

If you're constantly putting it in the trailer, then towing the trailer somewhere (with a truck?) then tipping it off the trailer (do you have a hydraulic tip trailer?), then go get the skid steer and bring that to spread it out. I compare that to either:
- getting a bucket load of mulch, go where I want it, tip it out. OR
- use my tractor to load my trailer. Put the trailer on the tractor hitch. Go where I'm going. Tip the trailer with my tractor hydraulics. Take the trailer off and use the tractor to spread it/move it.

I think you need to visualise the whole task that you want to do, and how each machine would actually do the task. You have a variety of tasks, but sounds like you're a methodical guy. Step through them in you mind and make sure you know how exactly you'd do each task - from when you get out of bed until when the machine is put away again. That'll give you a good idea of the relative efficiency of each task.

Thanks for the thoughts on slopes!

Hoping to pull out the honeysuckles I can with Danuser Intimidator and then cut and direct apply herbicide to the cambium for large specimens. At about 18 acres, it's going to be a big job, but will transform the woods for sure.

We will be converting the RV park to "permanent" tiny cabins and wall tents. No RV's in and out.

Will be converting the 16 acres of conventional tilled farmland to no-till using cover crops, agroforestry and permaculture principles.

Thank you for all your feedback!