Surprise surprise... I need a tractor

[magallanas]

Howdy folks, Greenhorn/newbie here. Only tractor experience is mowing the lawn as a teenager but I'm not afraid of learning new tractor skills

My wife and I purchased 50 acres in the Catskills and are planning to build a house next year along with other projects. My father-in-law and I built a sauna there a couple years back but now it's time to start doing some more with the land. There's quite a bit of clean up of pesky Beech tree saplings/brush/stumps that need to be moved from when the driveway and clearing for the house happened.

I need something with a bucket, backhoe for trenching and grapple for moving logs, etc around. I've been told above 40 hp is where I should head. My budget is around $45K so I am most likely in the used market. Some have told me to go with 2012 or before d/t DEF and all that emission stuff.

Another thing is that ground is NOT too level and has lots of rocks. Anything I-should be aware of or look for/add on for protection? I have skid plates on the truck for off roading but the tractor world is a whole new world to dive into.

There's an L45 for sale near me but not sure if I should go for something different....

 

[fried1765]

Howdy folks, Greenhorn/newbie here. Only tractor experience is mowing the lawn as a teenager but I'm not afraid of learning new tractor skills

My wife and I purchased 50 acres in the Catskills and are planning to build a house next year along with other projects. My father-in-law and I built a sauna there a couple years back but now it's time to start doing some more with the land. There's quite a bit of clean up of pesky Beech tree saplings/brush/stumps that need to be moved from when the driveway and clearing for the house happened.

I need something with a bucket, backhoe for trenching and grapple for moving logs, etc around. I've been told above 40 hp is where I should head. My budget is around $45K so I am most likely in the used market. Some have told me to go with 2012 or before d/t DEF and all that emission stuff.

Another thing is that ground is NOT too level and has lots of rocks. Anything I-should be aware of or look for/add on for protection? I have skid plates on the truck for off roading but the tractor world is a whole new world to dive into.

There's an L45 for sale near me but not sure if I should go for something different....

The L45 is a really GREAT machine, last built in 2015, so..... no anti pollution garbage.
New is nice, but a used machine at a fair price, and in excellent condition, would be my choice.

I spent nearly a year looking for my L48 TLB (next size up from L45).
I found a 2006 L48 TLB (in Maine) with 251 original owner hours.
I paid $32K,.....but that was in 2019,......before Covid.
I trailered it 350 miles home, fluffed and buffed it, and it is now like new.

I think my L48 may now be worth $45K.
The tough part, is finding one of these 10+ year older TLBs that has not been whipped to snot.
You will need to be either very lucky, or VERY PATIENT!

 

[DustyRusty]

Look for a tracked Bobcat to get the land to the point that all the rough work it done. They are low to the ground, have amazing lifting and pulling power, can dig and move material, and are very versatile. You can even get them with the skit steer attachment and add other attachments to them to make them more versatile.

 

[fried1765]

Look for a tracked Bobcat to get the land to the point that all the rough work it done. They are low to the ground, have amazing lifting and pulling power, can dig and move material, and are very versatile. You can even get them with the skit steer attachment and add other attachments to them to make them more versatile.

Certainly a very good option.

 

[magallanas]

Look for a tracked Bobcat to get the land to the point that all the rough work it done. They are low to the ground, have amazing lifting and pulling power, can dig and move material, and are very versatile. You can even get them with the skit steer attachment and add other attachments to them to make them more versatile.

Thank you for your thoughts. I will need something that will be able to do some trenching and possibly some deeper digging further down the line.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

As an L35 owner, I'd check out the L45. My main concern would be its stability on your slopes. And you should know the loader is not removable, but the backhoe is. The loader bucket apparently is SSQA-compatible, so that would make forks or grapple easy to add. The L45 didn't come with the 3pt arms, but the seller may have them, if not, the set is ~$800.

One nice thing about buying a used machine, unless you outright overpay or tear it up, you can probably re-sell it and recoup most of your money. The downside is you're limited to cash buyers.

 

[PaulL]

The usual advice. Work out what you actually are trying to do, and get a machine for that.

An L45 is a great machine, if reasonably maintained and at a reasonable price.

But, it's more a jack of all trades. It will move debris and dirt. A bobcat will do that better. It will trench, but if you only need to trench once or twice and it's for footings, a dedicated mini-ex (rental) will do it better. If it's trenching for cables or pipes, a chain trencher will be way faster and leave less work to backfill.

It's a good tractor, but if you don't need a TLB then you can probably get into a new L2502 for a similar or lower price, and it will do most things an L45 will do, also has no emissions, and would come with interest free and a warranty.

So, one option is to rent/borrow/buy short term a Bobcat. Then get a dedicated trencher when you need to trench (if it's only once or twice), and buy a new L2502 for normal tractor duties ongoing.

If you need a backhoe ongoing for lots of small jobs, then the L45 is the machine to buy.

 

[notforhire]

Howdy folks, Greenhorn/newbie here. Only tractor experience is mowing the lawn as a teenager but I'm not afraid of learning new tractor skills

My wife and I purchased 50 acres in the Catskills and are planning to build a house next year along with other projects. My father-in-law and I built a sauna there a couple years back but now it's time to start doing some more with the land. There's quite a bit of clean up of pesky Beech tree saplings/brush/stumps that need to be moved from when the driveway and clearing for the house happened.

I need something with a bucket, backhoe for trenching and grapple for moving logs, etc around. I've been told above 40 hp is where I should head. My budget is around $45K so I am most likely in the used market. Some have told me to go with 2012 or before d/t DEF and all that emission stuff.

Another thing is that ground is NOT too level and has lots of rocks. Anything I-should be aware of or look for/add on for protection? I have skid plates on the truck for off roading but the tractor world is a whole new world to dive into.

There's an L45 for sale near me but not sure if I should go for something different....

I have a L47TLB. If used in the woods it really needs a skid plate to protect some electrical and hydraulics.
I haven't gotten around to fabricating one yet.

I don't know if the L45 has the same issue. I suggest you take a look underneath one.
Maybe a L45 owner will chime in on this?

fried1765 ?

 

[fried1765]

I have a L47TLB. If used in the woods it really needs a skid plate to protect some electrical and hydraulics.
I haven't gotten around to fabricating one yet.

I don't know if the L45 has the same issue. I suggest you take a look underneath one.
Maybe a L45 owner will chime in on this?

fried1765 ?

Nope.....
I have an L48, not L45, so cannot help.