Why does there always have to be one answer for everything?
I bought a very lightly used Oregon 28 ton splitter with a Honda engine a couple of years ago for $1,200 and it works well enough for me. Is it the best thing since sliced bread .... nope, but it's good enough. I've never had and never will have any interest in running a log splitter on a tractor but I can appreciate that others have different needs, goals or interests.
I admire the folks here that use (and not abuse) the crap out of their tractors. So many seem to think more about the next owner than themselves. It's like buying a new car or truck and putting on seat covers! Why not enjoy what you paid for? If we all believe that we'd keep our tractors until the very end I bet we'd care less about running pto driven chippers, log splitters or generators off them, or getting to 5,000 hours.